We recommended photo book services with an overall score of 75% or more.

This overall score is made up of total quality score (60%) and total ease of use score (40%).

Total quality score is comprised of image quality (50%), paper quality (30%), and cover quality (20%).

Makes up 50% of the total quality score.

Makes up 30% of the total quality score.

Cover quality for hardcover books. Makes up (20%) of the total quality score.

Total ease of use score is comprised of the following assessments: sign-up and set-up process (10%), adding pictures (5%), assistance (10%), autoflow process (5%), editing tool's general layout (10%), page layouts (15%), container movement and resizing (15%), text placement (15%), preview function (10%), and the ordering process (5%).

Makes up 10% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 5% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 10% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 5% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 10% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 15% of the total ease of use score.

Ease of moving and resizing pictures within the layout. Makes up 15% of the total ease of use score.

Ease and flexibility of placing text within the layout. Makes up 15% of the total ease of use score.

How easy it is to preview the book. Makes up 10% of the total ease of use score.

Makes up 5% of the total ease of use score.

Price as of May 2021 for a standard hardcover book including any bank or foreign exchange fees incurred as part of the transaction (not inclusive of extra shipping costs).

Based on the standard price and the standard (minimum) number of pages required to create the photobook (not taking into account special offers for extra pages).

Note that in most cases, extra pages will have to be purchased in pairs (for Cahoots, it only accepted increments of four pages); cost per page for Shutterfly, and Mimeo converted from USD at the time of testing.

Delivery cost for a standard hardcover book.

Foreign exchange fee incurred for overseas orders, where applicable.

Minimum page count refers to the default page count that is offered for the standard book.

Maximum number of pages allowed for a standard-sized book. May vary with other sizes, formats and types of photo book. See 'cost for extra pages' to estimate the cost of adding pages to the base book price.

The weight of the paper used in the standard book, in gsm (grams per square metre). A higher number means the paper feels thicker and more robust.

The number of business days taken for delivery (not including weekends).

Where the book is printed, determined by examining the packaging labels.

Whether the service offers the option of a softcover instead of a hardcover.

Whether the service offers the option of high-resolution printing (if noted on the service's website or software). Does not indicate the resolution of the specific book we tested from a service.

Books are available in landscape (horizontal) orientation. Usually, various sizes are offered and displayed either in inches, centimetres, or page size (such as A4 or A5)

Books are available in portrait (vertical) orientation. Usually, various sizes are offered and displayed either in inches, centimetres, or page size (such as A4 or A5).

Books are available in square-shaped format. Usually, various sizes are offered and displayed either in inches or centimetres.

Whether a web browser-based online layout program is available.

Whether a Windows app for book creation is available for download.

Whether an iOS app for book creation is available for download.

Whether an Android app for book creation is available for download.

Whether a Mac (macOS) app for book creation is available for download.

Whether the book editor offers an auto-fill (or autoflow) feature that can place photos in a book automatically, potentially saving you time and effort in the book creation process.

Whether the editor allows for the layout of each page to be changed individually.

Whether the editor gives you the ability to add and move photo boxes (containers) manually so that you can create your own layouts.

Whether photo boxes on the page can be resized manually so that you can change the look of your layout.

Whether text boxes can be placed over photos, in addition to blank spaces, so that you can change the look of your layout.

Whether there is a grid pattern on each page (either by default or enabled via a menu) to help with manual layouts; the grid can be shown by dots or lines.

This feature aligns design elements such as photo boxes against a gridline or central alignment line; it can be a useful feature when creating manual layouts.

These are lines that appear momentarily as you move a photo box in the layout. They're useful because they show you where one box is in relation either to other boxes on the page, or to central lines.

The ability to place a photo behind or in front of another one in the layout.

Tools within the book creation program that allow the colours or luminance of the photo to be enhanced.

The ability to move pages to other locations within the book. Some software may allow only double-page spreads to be moved.

Allows you to import pictures from Facebook.

Allows you to import pictures from Instagram.

Allows you to import pictures from Flickr.