Finding the right photo book service can be a daunting task with so many options to choose from. Two popular services are Mixbook and Chatbooks, but they each have their own pros and cons.
This comprehensive guide will compare Mixbook and Chatbook on key factors like price, quality, options, and more to help you determine which is better for your needs.
A Brief Comparison Table
| Feature | Mixbook | Chatbooks |
| Customization | Highly customizable design options | Minimal customization |
| Print Quality | Premium paper available; vibrant, professional printing | Standard thinner photo paper |
| Pricing | Starts at $10 for 20-page book; frequent sales discounts | $8 per monthly book including shipping |
| Ordering & Shipping | Manual order process; ships fast | Automated monthly creation & shipping |
| Selection | Wide variety of book types and photo gift products | Specializes mainly in classic 6×6 inch monthly photo books |
| Ease of Use | Intuitive editing tools, but designing takes time | Extremely easy automated creation; just pick photos |
Overview Of Mixbook
Mixbook is one of the most well-known and widely-used online photo book services. Founded in 2006, they provide an easy to use editor for creating stylish photo books, cards, calendars and more.
Some key things to know about Mixbook:
- Customization – Tons of backgrounds, layouts, and design options to make your book fully custom. Add text, stickers, drawings, and adjust colors.
- Quality – Professional, high-quality printing with semi-gloss or matte pages. You can choose standard or premium paper.
- Price – Fairly priced starting at around $10 for a 20-page softcover book. Price varies based on size, pages, and upgrades. Frequent sales and discounts.
- Features – Collage pages, spread layouts, text wrapping, advanced editing tools. Creative designs and templates.
- Mobile Apps – iOS and Android app to create and order books on the go.
Overall, Mixbook is a great option for those who want lots of creative control over their book design and are willing to spend more for premium quality. Their editor and tools make it simple to customize to your preferences.
Overview Of Chatbooks
Chatbooks takes a more simplified approach to photo books. Created in 2014, they automate the design process and mail users a 6×6 inch hardcover book each month.
Here are the key things to know about Chatbooks:
- Convenience – Automates book creation each month from your phone camera roll or social media. Easy to set up and requires little effort.
- Simplicity – No designing needed. Chatbooks arranges selected photos chronologically in a clean, modern layout. Less customization.
- Price – $8 per monthly book, including shipping. Additional copies are $2 each. No upfront fees or subscriptions.
- Features – Can pull photos from major social sites. QR gifting to share digital book. Family plans available.
- Print Quality – Standard photo paper, not premium. Binding and covers are high-quality.
Overall, Chatbooks is best for busy people who want an automated way to print their memories regularly without having to design anything. The convenience factor makes it easy.
Also watch the review video!
Mixbook Vs. Chatbooks: Comparison Of Key Features
Now that we’ve provided an overview of both Mixbook and Chatbooks, let’s directly compare their key features:
- Customization and Design
Mixbook is the clear winner when it comes to customization options and designing your photo book. Their editor gives you full creative control with unlimited backgrounds, layouts, fonts, and editing tools to craft your book exactly how you envision it. You can tweak every element on the page.
Chatbooks does not allow you to customize or design pages. It automatically arranges your photos chronologically in their signature style. There are a few cover and title options, but overall you cannot change layouts or edit pages. The convenience tradeoff is lack of creative control.
- Print Quality
Mixbook offers noticeably higher print quality with thicker, more vibrant paper options and professional binding. The “premium” paper upgrade is recommended for the best experience. Photos look crisp and richly saturated.
Chatbooks uses standard thinner photo paper. It’s not the most premium feel, but boasts quality construction with sewn bindings and hardcovers. Photos still look good, but some detail is lost. Mixbook wins for quality.
- Pricing and Value
For all the extra customization ability, Mixbook is only slightly pricier than the simple Chatbooks. Chatbooks start at $8 per monthly book. Mixbook softcovers start around $10 for 20 pages. In terms of value for price, the features Mixbook provides makes it a better overall deal. Frequent sales and discounts make it even more affordable.
- Ordering and Shipping
One advantage of Chatbooks is fast, simple ordering since they automatically create and print your book every month. All you do is select photos using the app. Mixbook requires you to manually design and order each book.
Both services print and ship fairly fast. Chatbooks may be a bit quicker since they send out monthly schedules. Overall, the ordering process is easier and more automated with Chatbooks.
- Selection of Book Types
Mixbook definitely offers a wider variety of photo book types – just about any style you can think of from wedding books to planners to yearbooks. They also offer cards, calendars, wall decor, and more photo gift options beyond books.
Chatbooks specializes in their classic 6×6 inch hardcover monthly books. You can order additional one-off gifts, but the selection is minimal. Mixbook is better for versatility in book styles.
- Ease of Use
Lastly, Chatbooks wins for basic ease of use. With automated creation and no designing required, it doesn’t get much easier than simply selecting your photos each month and having a book shipped out.
Mixbook requires using the editing tools to design your layouts, which has a learning curve. But for most users, their editor interface is still modern and intuitive enough to create a book fairly easily. Those less tech-savvy may prefer Chatbooks’ simple mobile app.
Also Read: Is Mixbook Better Than Artifact Uprising?
Mixbook Vs. Chatbooks: Which Is Better For You?
We’ve compared the key differences, so which service is right for your needs? Here are some recommendations based on different use cases:
- For creative projects – Mixbook is best if you want lots of design flexibility whether you’re making a themed family book, wedding album, or special photo project.
- For grandparents – Many grandparents will appreciate the convenience and simplicity of Chatbooks to have keepsake photo books printed and shipped each month.
- For gifts – Mixbook offers a much wider selection of beautifully designed, high-quality photo gifts from books to calendars to cards and more. Great for gifting.
- For busy people – If you want an effortless way to transform your phone photos into printed books each month, Chatbooks does the work for you automatically.
- For premium quality – Go with Mixbook for thicker, richer paper and professional-grade printing to make your photos really pop on the page.
- For price – Chatbooks monthly pricing can’t be beat at only $8 per book, but Mixbook offers frequent discounts up to 50% off and sale pricing.
Hopefully this makes it easier to weigh your options! The overall best service comes down to your priorities like design Vs. convenience and customization Vs. simplicity. Both produce high quality printed photo books in the end.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Chatbooks and Shutterfly both provide printed photo book options, but Chatbooks has some advantages:
Chatbooks is cheaper especially for regular monthly books at $8/month
The automated creation is easier than designing books on Shutterfly
Chatbooks integrates directly with your phone camera roll and social media sites for pulling photos
Prints arrive faster; Chatbooks sends out books in the mail each month
However, Shutterfly offers many more customization options for one-off photo book projects. It also has a wider selection of photo gift products.
Some top alternatives to Chatbooks for automated printed photo books include:
Artifact Uprising (similar Instagram-based book creation)
Lifeprint (prints photos from mobile automatically each month)
Printique (easy-to-use mobile app for auto-generating softcover books)
FreePrints (popular for mailing you free photo prints each month)
These all focus on convenience like Chatbooks. Mixbook is an alternative if you want more customization control over book designs.
There are several top-rated photo book companies, including:
Shutterfly – The largest provider with the widest selection of photo gift products.
Artisan State – Known for extremely high-quality printing and materials.
Mixbook – Best for creative freedom to customize your own designs.
Chatbooks – Best for automating and mailing printed books monthly. -Artifact Uprising – Great Instagram integration and stylish designs.
The “best” option depends on your specific needs and budget, but these companies have the best reputations and user reviews when it comes to photo books.
Mixbook is better than Shutterfly in a few areas:
More customizable design options for DIY photo book creation
Higher quality premium paper upgrades available
Frequent discounts and sales to save money
More modern and intuitive online editing tools
However, Shutterfly still leads when it comes to:
Overall product selection and variety (cards, calendars, home decor, etc)
Convenience of in-store pickup options at Target, CVS., Walmart
Occasional free promos and free shipping sitewide
So Mixbook has better quality and customization, but Shutterfly offers more convenience and product selection. Overall, they are both great options.
Also Read: Choose Between FractureMe And Shutterfly.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully this detailed comparison of features has helped illustrate the pros and cons of Mixbook Vs. Chatbooks. To recap the key points:
Mixbook is ideal for those who value customizing their own designs and want premium quality printing with the best paper and vibrant photos. The endless creative options make it versatile for all types of photo books.
Chatbooks is perfect for hassle-free photo book creation where you want speed and convenience without having to manually design anything. It’s one of the easiest ways to turn your phone camera roll into printed memories each month.
Both services create high quality photo books in the end – Mixbook just offers more flexibility while Chatbooks automates much of the process for you with minimal effort required.
Consider which features matter most to you. And the good news is you really can’t go wrong with either of these top-rated services.