It’s been a few years of making family photobooks and I remember absolutely studying Google to figure out which one to try when I first began.
Our eldest was going to be born soon and I wanted something that would last for decades.
Now that we’ve used a few, and it’s been a few years of having them I thought I would share our experience on how they’ve held up through the years and pro’s & con’s of each.
P.S. There are NO affiliate links in this post. Just info <3
Once Upon
Once Upon has become my go-to for our family photobooks now.
I’ve used them for 4 years and this will make year 5 creating a family yearly photobook with their company.
I’ll just be straight forward about it, they have the easiest app to navigate for me, good quality books/photos, and the size fits well on the shelf.
If you want specifics with screen shots of the app you can read my review of Once Upon.
Once Upon Photobooks are the kind of family photos that will last decades and make for a great heirloom.
I already flip through them and look and my boys when they were litttle, I can’t believe the school years are already here.
Easily would recommend them to anyone if you are interested in giving them a go.
Chatbook Mini’s
Chatbooks are adorable and the perfect sized for little kids hands.
We tried them first and after 3 years they have held up through the toddler phase and now early school years fairly well.
We did the 12 monthly mini’s.
Do I worry about the next 10 years of them holding up…yeah we’ll see. The binding isn’t looking great at holding sturdy.
They are not as sturdy as proper photobooks, so I wouldn’t want to use them for precious memories you want to keep for decades to come.
Also, 1 years worth takes up A LOT of room on the shelf….and they are awkwardly small.
Ours live in a small drawer that nothing else really fits it that the kids can access.
Because of this we did not continue with them. The photo quality was pretty meh too.
Chatbook Mini Uses
This is not to say to never use them.
Their size and ease of creation could make them a viable option for creating photobooks specifically for toddlers/kids.
Maybe a family album to help youngsters learn extended family.
A way for them to have some memories in a book they can keep in their room (instead of the main photobooks).
An early photography project for homeschoolers or just for fun where they take the photos and get to select which ones to print.
The small size has it’s perks, and their replacement toddler guarantee is nice.
Just not for “main heirloom” photographs in my opinion.
What Other Brands have I tried?
I have tried Snapfish and Shutterfly photobooks as well. I won’t get into huge specifics but I’ll summarize for anyone interested in our experience.
Snapfish
Umm…terrible quality. Photos did not come out great the few times i’ve tried and I was just not impressed.
Are they cheap yes, if you need something that won’t last forever sure. They do have more customization compared to Chatbooks.
I did use them a few times for sending small photobooks to a grandparent to keep them up with how our kids were doing as they aren’t on social media. For that purpose they were fine.
Grandma showed them off at her church ladies coffee group and all was well.
Long term family photos, would not recommend.
Shutterfly
Okay, they’ve changed a bit over the years so I will go off of most recent.
BIG PRO of Shutterfly is their desktop photobook customization options. They are they best I have found with getting creative and making a photobook fun.
I absolutely use Shutterfly for each of my children’s baby books and then print 2 after their first birthday (1 for me & 1 for future adult them).
I use them every year for making a custom family calendar with birthdays in it, our family photos, and just cute creative fun.
I used them to make our Wedding photobook, though I did find their quality better 8 years ago compared to holiday photo book I did this year in 2025. It’s still pretty good quality though.
BUT creative options can totally hold you back from finishing a yearly family photobook and their app is not easiest. So for yearly family photos I do not use Shutterfly.
Would I recommend? Yes, depending on what you’re wanting to do.
Pro Tip: Fun, creative, custom with SLOW you down and often prevent you from finishing a photobook. So be mindful of when “getting it done” and making it cute/fun will suit the photobook you’re making.
We all have 1000’s a kids photos on our phone, so for the sake of making sure to get some printed each year in a easy to keep up with way, I would point you back to Once Upon.
Happy to Answer Anyone’s Q’s if Your Are Trying to Decide!
