Looking for the cheapest place to print photos? You've got options.
Which retailer is VERY cheapest depends on the print size and quantity, not to mention the sales! When you add possible shipping charges versus free store pickup, the math gets even more complex.
This post has gathered all that information together, so you can make the best decision for you about the cheapest place to print pictures.
You might be looking for a consistent place to print your photos regularly, or you might be willing to ride the sales cycles and get photos from different retailers.
Keep in mind that photo printing services are trying to get your business overall, so they are often willing to sell 4x6 prints at super cheap prices, hoping that you'll be a return customer for a bigger order.
There's a huge convenience factor here too: if your favorite pictures are already uploaded into their system, it makes it super easy for you to design calendars and other gifts from their store. Basically, you get to decide how to balance out price and convenience every time you order photos.
We researched the 10 cheapest places to order prints.
We looked at Amazon, Shutterfly, Snapfish, Mpix, Printique, Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. We picked five popular sizes to compare across the different retailers.
Note: Costco has since stopped offering photo services and outsources to Shutterfly.
Here's our comparison of their 1) cost per photo and 2) shipping price points so you can make the best decision for you.
- Cheapest Place to Print Photos: 4x6
- Cheapest Place to Order Photos: 5x7
- Cheapest Place to Print Pictures: 8x10
- Cheapest Place to Get Photos Printed: 11x14
- Cheapest Place to Order Prints: 16x20
- But What Do They Cost To Ship?
- Scenario #1: Where To Get Lots of 4x6s Printed
- Scenario #2: Where to Order Prints for a Gallery Wall
Cheapest Place to Print Photos: 4x6
4x6 photos are a classic size: you can use them to fill albums, make a collage wall, print invitations, share with friends, and more.
Sometimes it's hard to find the actual pricing on different sites, so we've done all the work for you.
Here's a cost comparison from low to high of the pricing for 4x6 photos, both with their regular pricing and their typical sale pricing.
| 4x6 | Cost Per 4x6 |
|---|---|
| REGULAR PRICING | $.09 Sam's Club $.09 Walmart $.12 Snapfish $.15 Amazon $.18 Shutterfly $.31 Printique $.36 Mpix $.37 CVS $.37 Walgreens |
| 4X6 SALE PRICING | $.01 Snapfish (couponed price in Feb 2022) $.09 Sam's Club $.09 Walmart $.10 Shutterfly (example sale price) $.15 Amazon $.22 CVS (example couponed price, 40%) $.22 Walgreens (example couponed price, $40%) $.26 Printique (example 15% coupon) $.27 Mpix (with 25% off new customer promo) |
The cheapest place to print 4x6 photos is Sam's Club or Walmart. These two stores have consistent low-pricing.
The big-box stores can offer cheap regular pricing because they know you're not likely to come in just for photos. You'll buy other items and make it worth it for them.
However, if you find the right deal, Snapfish is your best bet for a crazy cheap deal on 4x6 photos! You'll pay for shipping, but a penny each is amazing.
Cheapest Place to Order Photos: 5x7
5x7 photos are a traditional size for framed prints. They are perfect for a desktop frame and add variety to gallery wall of larger prints.
We did the pricing research for you! So here's the lineup for 5x7 prints from low to high:
| Cost Per 5x7 | |
|---|---|
| REGULAR PRICING: | $.58 Amazon $.59 Walmart $.69 Snapfish $.86 Sam's Club $.95 Printique $.99 Shutterfly $1.69 Mpix $2.99 Walgreens $2.99 CVS |
| 5x7 SALE PRICING: | $.27 Snapfish (example sale, 60%) $.58 Amazon $.59 Walmart $.59 Shutterfly (example sale price, 40%) $.80 Printique (example promotion 15%) $.86 Sam's Club $1.26 Mpix (new costumer discount, 25%) $1.79 Walgreens (example sale, 40%) $1.79 CVS (example promotion, 40%) |
Snapfish's sales come and go pretty regularly. If you're lucky enough to catch a 50-60% coupon, then Snapfish is the cheapest place to order 5x7 photos.
However, the quiet winner here is Amazon Photos, which has the next lowest REGULAR price! You don't have to play games or mess with coupons at Amazon - just upload your photos into your Amazon Photos account and print right from their platform. You can't go wrong, especially because they ship all their prints for free.
Cheapest Place to Print Pictures: 8x10
8X10 is another popular size for frames. It's probably the size Grandma has on her wall of the grandkid's school pictures. 8x10 prints work equally well on the wall or a desk.
Here's the pricing for 8x10 prints from different retailers, from low to high.
| Cost per 8x10 | |
|---|---|
| REGULAR PRICING | $1.79 Amazon $1.96 Sam's Club $2.49 Printique $2.84 Walmart $2.99 Snapfish $3.29 Mpix $3.95 Shutterfly $3.99 Walgreens $3.99 CVS |
| 8x10 SALE PRICING | $1.19 Snapfish (example coupon) $1.79 Amazon $1.96 Sam's Club $2.11 Printique (example coupon) $2.37 Shutterfly (typical sale price) $2.39 Walgreens (example coupon) $2.39 CVS (example coupon) $2.46 Mpix (example coupon) $2.84 Walmart |
This puts Snapfish as the cheapest place to order 8x10 prints, if you catch the right sale.
Otherwise, Amazon is regularly cheaper than most other places.
Cheapest Place to Get Photos Printed: 11x14
11x14 is a good size for a family picture on the wall. It frames nicely with a mat. However, because it's a bit bigger, it's also more expensive to print and ship.
We've used the typical sales prices available, which are fairly representative of regular promotions.
Here's the lineup of what it costs to print an 11x14 photo:
| Cost Per 11x14 | |
|---|---|
| REGULAR PRICING | $4.82 Printique $4.86 Sam's Club $5.86 Walmart $5.99 Amazon $9.79 Mpix $9.99 Snapfish $9.99 Shutterfly $11.99 Walgreens $11.99 CVS |
| 11X14 SALE PRICING | $4.09 Printique (typical sale) $4.86 Sams Club $4.99 Snapfish (typical sale) $5.86 Walmart $5.99 Amazon $5.99 Shutterfly (usual sale price) $7.34 Mpix (typical sale price) $7.19 Walgreens (example sale) $7.19 CVS (example sale) |
This puts Printique as the cheapest place to order 11x14 prints.
Cheapest Place to Order Prints: 16x20
A 16x20 print is a gallery wall centerpiece. There are many frames available at this size. A 16x20 print is large enough to hang alone on a wall as well.
Here's the pricing we found for 16x20 prints, from cheapest to most expensive:
| Cost Per 16x20 | |
|---|---|
| REGULAR PRICING | $8.86 Sam's Club $10.93 Walmart $12.49 Amazon $15.74 Printique $15.99 Snapfish $17.99 Shutterfly $18.99 Walgreens $18.99 CVS $23.99 Mpix |
| 16X20 SALE PRICING | $7.99 Snapfish (example coupon) $8.86 Sams Club $10.93 Walmart $11.95 Shutterfly (example coupon) $11.39 Walgreens (example coupon) $11.39 CVS (example coupon) $12.49 Amazon $13.37 Printique (example coupon) $17.99 Mpix (example coupon) |
Snapfish is the cheapest place to order 16x20 prints if you can catch a sale (hint: they are almost always on sale!)
But What Do They Cost To Ship?
So all of the comparison information is helpful, but the shipping is the wildcard. No one wants to feel price-gouged if the cost of shipping is as much as the photos themselves. Then again, shipping is a real fee for retailers, and as consumers, we've grown accustomed to getting a deal or free shipping.
What to do? Well, it depends on the retailer. Some offer free shipping at a certain price point, and some have scaled shipping that depends on how much you order. Some retailers offer in-store pickups, negating the shipping fee entirely.
We've done the nitty-gritty research so you can see what makes the most sense for you.
Amazon Photos
Amazon does everything! When you account for their free prime shipping, they are probably the very cheapest place to print photos online and get them shipped to your door. No one else consistently offers free shipping for photos.
It's super easy to use - you just upload your files into Amazon Photos and then the printing platform is all integrated.
| AMAZON PHOTOS - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 15¢ 5x7 prints : 58¢ 8x10 prints : $1.79 11x14 prints : $5.99 16x20 prints : $12.49 |
Sales at Amazon Photos:
Prime Photos almost never go on sale. There was a Prime Day deal once, but that's it. You can click here to check the pricing, but you shouldn't hesitate to order at full price, because it's already an amazing deal.
Amazon Photos Shipping Cost:
Amazon Prime Photos ship for free! However, keep in mind that this is only for Prime members.
They take a few days to process and then they ship out with 2-day prime shipping. Sometimes they come on their own and sometimes they arrive in a box with other ordered items.
I love that Prime Photos makes it so easy to order prints from my Amazon Photos account.
Head to Amazon Photos here to get started.
Shutterfly
Shutterfly is probably the most well-known photo printer for consumers. They have high-quality prints, and are usually one of the cheapest places to print pictures since they are perpetually on sale! Seriously, they offer great sales.
| SHUTTERFLY - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 18¢ 5x7 prints : 99¢ 8x10 prints : $3.95 11x14 prints : $9.99 16x20 prints : $17.99 |
Shutterfly Sales:
Shutterfly is ALWAYS offering sales, including regular sales like "40% off everything" even 50% or 60% off certain items. There is usually a pop-up window that gives you 10,15 or 25% off on the website as well.
Shipping Costs at Shutterfly:
Like other retailers, Shutterfly offers scaled shipping for their prints. That means that there is not a flat rate per order - the amount they charge depends on how many items you order in each size.
Each different item has a base price and then an additional charge for multiples of that item. If you have a lot of different items in your cart your shipping price will add up quickly!
In the cases where those items ship separately, this makes total sense, but sometimes all my items come together, and that irks me. Since Shutterfly is one of the cheapest places to order prints, they have to offset those prices by charging a little extra on shipping. Perhaps it all evens out.
If you want to calculate your shipping costs before committing, then the price chart can be found here: https://www.shutterfly.com/print/shipping/
Check for Shutterfly deals here.
Snapfish
I've always known in the back of my mind that Snapfish was a cost-effective printer, but writing this post made me realize that Snapfish is nearly always the cheapest place to print photos online.
They always have something on sale: for example, at the time of publication, there was a coupon for paying a penny per 4x6 print!
| SNAPFISH - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 12¢ 5x7 prints : 69¢ 8x10 prints : $2.99 11x14 prints : $9.99 16x20 prints : $15.99 |
Snapfish Sales
Snapfish has sales almost constantly on their website. They definitely follow the model of marking things up so they can offer deep discounts.
On the Snapfish website, check the right side for a popup bar that says deals. That's where the crazy-cheap coupons will be on prints!
Shipping Cost at Snapfish:
Snapfish offers standard shipping, ground, expedited, and rush shipping.
Similar to Shutterfly, the shipping cost varies based on what products you're ordering and how quickly you want your order. It also scales for how many prints you're ordering.
Prices are around at $4.09-$6.99 for the slowest options, and go up from there. The full chart of Snapfish shipping prices is here; you'll have to toggle the shipping dropdown under the first standard prints chart.
You can also find an in-store retailer near you for free same-day pickup.
Click here to see what's on sale at Snapfish. (Remember to click that right side "deals" button!)
Printique
You might not have heard of Printique as a consumer, but they are well known in the professional photography world. Printique was formerly called AdoramaPix, and it's run by the very popular camera & gear company Adorama.
They cater to professionals, but their print company is open to all, so you are getting super high-quality photos like your photographer can order!
As a caveat, Printique isn't trying to be the cheapest place to order photo prints - they are trying to be the best.
Hands down, your photo will look better with Printique than say, a pharmacy that printed your photos in an hour off a generic machine. Do the hourly workers there know anything about printer calibration and color space and saturation? Possibly, but probably not. (No offense!)
On the other hand, Printique is passionate about photography and they stand by their products.
If it's for special pictures, like heirloom quality, I recommend Printique over your pharmacy. Their 4x6's are a few cents more, but their other prices are very comparable to other retailers. Sometimes the very cheapest place to order prints isn't the best quality, if you know what I mean.
| Printique - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 31¢ 5x7 prints : 95¢ 8x10 prints : $2.49 11x14 prints : $4.82 16x20 prints : $15.74 |
Printique Sales:
Printique offers sales throughout the year, but especially around holidays. You can find out about any current promotions on their homepage. They also occasionally have coupon codes available for prints and other products.
For example, they had a 15% off everything code on their website at the time of publication.
Shipping Cost at Printique:
The only thing I don't love is that Printique doesn't offer cheap shipping. Their slowest economy shipping is $8.30. It technically could slowly scale up, but I put $85 dollars worth of photos in my cart and still had that $8.30 shipping.
So, definitely recognize that your money would be best spent with a larger order at Printique, and use something else for random one-off prints you need to make.
I do appreciate that they aren't marking up the products to compensate for shipping prices. They are very transparent that the fees are calculated by weight and product dimensions.
Check the Printique homepage for sale information.
Mpix
Mpix is a professional-level lab that is open to regular consumers as well (much like Printique, as discussed above).
So they might not appear to be the cheapest place to print photos, but they definitely have better quality than the big-box stores and pharmacies.
If you're printing special photos for posterity, I totally recommend paying a few cents more to print at Mpix. They know what they're doing: the colors will look amazing, especially if you have a particular editing style that you've worked on.
| MPIX - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 36¢ 5x7 prints : $1.69 8x10 prints : $3.29 11x14 prints : $9.79 16x20 prints : $23.99 |
Bulk ordering: There is also special pricing for ordering 11+ of the same photo. However, this only applies to multiple copies of that file, not for multiple images.
Mpix Sales:
If you're looking at REGULAR Pricing, then Mpix prices isn't the cheapest place to order photo prints. However, you're likely to see prices ranging at 15-25-30% off those listed above: Click here to see their current sale and Mpix coupons here.
For example, there's always a new customer special to get 25% off your first purchase by getting on their newsletter.
Shipping Cost at Mpix:
Standard shipping is $9.99, and they have free shipping on orders over $35+.
There is also $4.99 Economy Shipping available for small orders of certain items. This only applies to orders to small orders of just a few prints, but it's a fair way to offer cheaper shipping on orders that qualify.
Sam's Club
Sam's Club wins for the cheapest place to get photos printed, at least in the 4x6 size! They are the cheapest regular price option at that size, and just 9 cents per photo.
Sam's Club Regular Pricing:
| SAM'S CLUB - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 9¢ 5x7 prints :86¢ 8x10 prints : $1.96 11x14 prints : $4.86 16x20 prints : $8.86 |
Remember, you do have to have a Sam's Club membership to take advantage of this pricing. Full pricing list for Sam's Club is available here.
Sam's Club Sales:
Sam's doesn't really have sales, because they are already so cheap.
However, they do have some free print promotions, including one for new members of Sam's Club Photo Centers. Sign up here to get 50 free prints.
Most of the promotions for photos from Sam's Club come from being on their email list. You'll periodically get links, where you click through and get a certain number of prints just added to your account.
Shipping Cost at Sam's Club:
Sam's Club offers free ground shipping on all orders for 6-10 business days. It's slow but it's free! They also have faster alternatives for a price.
Big Box Member-only stores like Sam's can offer very cheap prices because they know you'll probably spend more on other items at their store. So cheap photo printing is a perk they are including in their yearly fee to make sure you keep paying that membership fee.
Head to Sam's Club Photo to get started.
Walmart
Walmart ties Sam's Club for the cheapest place to print pictures in the 4x6 size - which makes sense because Walmart owns the Sam's Club brand. 🙂
In addition, Walmart actually outsources to Snapfish for photo printing. So if you're familiar with one brand, that's the same quality of the other brand.
| WALMART - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 9¢ 5x7 prints : $1.44 8x10 prints : $2.84 11x14 prints : $5.86 16x20 prints : $12.86 |
Walmart Sales:
There are occasionally sales on Walmart prints and photo products. For example, at the time of writing, there is a sale for 40% off prints and canvas photos. Make sure to double-check online before you place an order and see if there's a promo code available.
Walmart Pickup & Delivery Options:
If you're using their "1 Hour Photo" service, then pickup is free.
If you have a Walmart nearby, you can order prints online for free in-store pickup. This is called "Site To Store" and it means you pay no shipping fees!
You can also ship them to yourself. The pricing on this varies, but it looks like it starts at $4.00 for "Home Delivery."
CVS
You gotta admit, it's super convenient to be able to pick up prints in an hour while you're out on errands. Pharmacies like CVS are definitely an easy place to order photos.
However, CVS isn't always the cheapest place to order photo prints, but it's one of those things where you have to weigh a few cents against convenience and see what matters most to you.
| CVS - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 37¢ 5x7 prints : $2.99 8x10 prints : $3.99 11x14 prints : $11.99 16x20 prints : $18.99 |
CVS Sales:
CVS frequently has sales and coupons available for various sizes and products. Check their website or app and you should be able to find a sale. For example, there was a 50% coupon code at the time of publication!
CVS Pickup & Delivery Cost:
Prints through CVS are available for free same-day pickup, and there is also free in-store pickup.
You can have your order shipped to you as well. Pricing varies, but starts at 99 cents.
Click to see what's offered at CVS.
Walgreens
Like other retailers, Walgreens doesn't necessarily look like the cheapest place to print pictures. But I feel like their photos are on sale literally ALL of the time - l'm not sure I've ever seen their website without a sale or coupon going!
| WALGREENS - REGULAR PRICING |
|---|
| 4x6 prints : 37¢ 5x7 prints : $2.99 8x10 prints : $3.99 11x14 prints : $11x14 16x20 prints : $18.99 |
Walgreens is convenient because they are nationwide and offer in-store pickup.
Walgreens Sales:
Walgreens has very regular sales on their prints. You'll be able to find their sales and promotions on their photo center homepage.
It's also pretty obvious that Walgreens and CVS are in lockstep for pricing, so you can assume they are running the same sales at the same time.
Walgreens Shipping & Pickup Options:
Obviously, it's free to use Same Day Pickup. You can also utilize the free Ship To Store options for most products and prints.
If you happen to not have a Walgreens within 5 square miles, where the heck do you live?! Never fear, you can still have them shipped to your home.
Ship To Home takes 3-5 business days after processing. The cost varies but starts at $1.99 for economy and $3.99 for standard. Full price chart here.
Head to Walgreens Photo to order your prints!
Costco
Costco no longer has a photo department. They outsource to Shutterfly, and you have a 51% discount at Shutterfly whenever you want it.
Go to this link to enter your membership number on your Shutterfly Account.
Costco used to be my favorite place to get cheap prints in an hour - but sadly, they no longer have local photo departments.
However, they will still ship to your house! And Costco is still one of the cheapest place to get photos printed; you just have to wait for them to arrive in the mail. But the small sizes ship for free! Which makes up for the wait time.
Scenario #1: Where To Get Lots of 4x6s Printed
Let's make all the information above useful. Here are some likely scenarios so you can figure out the cheapest place to order prints of the size of photos you need.
Let's pretend you're just ordering 50 4x6 photos. Maybe you're printing party invitations or want to fill a small photo album.
With that scenario, here's the total cost of a sample order of 50 4x6 photos:
- Walmart - $4.50 with free store pickup = $4.50
- Sam's Club - $4.50 with free shipping= $4.50
- Snapfish - $6.00 with 1 cent/photo coupon = $.50, plus $6.99 shipping = $7.49
- Amazon - $7.50 with free prime shipping = $7.50
- Walgreens - $18.50 with 40% coupon = $11.10 plus free store pickup = $11.10
- CVS - $18.50 with 40% coupon = $11.10 plus free store pickup = $11.10
- Shutterfly - $9.00 with 40% coupon = $5.40 plus $6.40 shipping = $11.80
- CVS - $18.50 with 40% coupon = $11.10 plus 3.44 shipping = 14.54
- Walgreens - $18.50 with 40% coupon = $11.10 plus 4.99 shipping = $16.09
- Mpix - $13.50 plus $4.99 economy shipping = $18.49
- Printique - $15.50 with 15% coupon = $13.17 plus $9.96 shipping = $23.13
This makes a lot of sense: Sam's Club and Walmart have the same parent entity, so they match each other's pricing (especially on a loss leader like 4x6 prints!). So for the cheapest place to get 4x6s printed, try Sam's Club or Walmart.
Amazon Photos also offers free shipping. However, not everyone pays for a membership.
If you don't belong to one of those options, then your best bet is Snapfish! Anyone can get in on the cheap Snapfish pricing, and their sales are amazing.
Scenario #2: Where to Order Prints for a Gallery Wall
For the second scenario, let's pretend you're making a gallery wall. You'll need a variety of pictures in different sizes.
So you order four 8x10 prints, two 11x14s, and a 16x20 print. We'll throw in two 5x7 for your desk.
Sample order of a variety of prints:
- Sam's Club - $28.14 with free shipping = $28.14
- Amazon - $32.79 with free prime shipping = $32.79
- Snapfish - $49.31 with 60% off coupon = $19.75 plus $16.06 shipping = $35.81
- Printique - $37.24 with 15% coupon = $31.65 plus $7.72 shipping = $39.37
- Walmart - $38.82 with free store pickup = $38.82
- CVS - $64.91 with 40% coupon = $38.94 with free store pickup = $38.94
- Walgreens $64.91 with 40% coupon = $38.94 with free store pickup = $38.94
- Mpix - $60.11, then 25% off = $45.08 with free shipping (at over $35) = $45.08
- Shutterfly - $55.75 with 50% coupon is $27.87, plus $19.50 shipping= $47.37
- CVS - $64.91 with 40% coupon = $38.94 with $9.45 shipping = $48.39
- Walgreens $64.91 with 40% coupon = $38.94 with $13.26 shipping = $52.20
If you're ordering a variety of different-sized prints, then Sam's Club is the cheapest places to get photos printed. Member-only stores like this subsidize their photo pricing because they know you'll buy plenty of other items from them.
Amazon Photos is a favorite since the prints always ship free.
You'll notice that shipping at Shutterfly and Snapfish is high - nearly the same price as your prints! That's because of how they use scaled shipping for EACH different print size - it means you pay the base fee for each size, and then an additional fee for more than one print. I've never liked this practice, but at the same time, they do have high coupon values that offset this.
On the other hand, you'll pay slightly more for prints from Mpix or Printique, but it's easier to qualify for free shipping at Mpix, and Printique's shipping is a lot more fair (meaning it doesn't scale anywhere near as aggressively as Snapfish & Shutterfly.) Both of those are also offering a higher-quality product, so your photos will look better with their color calibration and printers. It's a trade-off.
If you're focused on price, then this post covers the cheapest place to print photos online. These sites have the best prices, even when you add in shipping costs! Depending on what size, style, and finish you want, it should be easy to find prints you'll love.
The cheapest options continue to be Sam's, and Amazon, but these do require a membership fee to use.
Your best bet for finding a good deal without a membership is Snapfish!
If you like same-day pickup, then Walgreens, Walmart, or CVS are very cost-effective options.
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