- What exactly is a MakeAlbum photo book?
- A physical book, delivered by post: a 300 × 300 mm square layflat hardcover with 26 to 80 interior pages, printed from your own photos. An AI does the first curation pass; you review and approve every spread before it is printed and shipped to your door.
- Can I get the album as a PDF or a digital file?
- Yes, once your book is made: the digital album is a PDF of it — the cover, then every spread as it is bound — for phones, tablets, a TV or sending to family, for €9 ($9 in the US, £8 in the UK). It is made for screens, not for printing at full size; our main product is the printed 300 × 300 mm layflat hardcover, and if you order the printed book of the same album within 30 days, what you paid for the PDF comes off its price. Uploading, the AI curation, the editor, the online preview and a share link for family are free.
- How much does it cost?
- €199 for 26 interior pages, up to €349 for 80. Pricing is linear — about €2.78 per extra page — and standard shipping is included. Your choice of matte or glossy paper and a white or black leatherette cover is included. No VAT is added (Portuguese small-business exemption, art. 53.º CIVA), so the price you see before checkout is the final price. In the United States prices are set in dollars (around $295 for 26 pages, DHL Express included) and the checkout charges in dollars.
- Do I pay before I see the album?
- No. Creating an account, uploading, the AI curation and the editor are free. Checkout only happens when you order the printed book, after you have seen every spread. Have a promo code? There is a field for it at checkout.
- How does the AI choose the photos?
- Upload everything — you do not need to pre-select. A pre-filter drops blurred, badly exposed and near-duplicate frames using image analysis and EXIF data (time, GPS, camera). Our AI then picks the stronger frames to fill the page count, keeps each moment together and lays the pages out in the order the photos were taken. A short brief from you (names, places, dates) grounds the album title.
- Can I edit the album before it is printed?
- Yes. You can swap in frames our AI set aside, move photos between pages, move a photo inside its frame, add or remove pages, rename the album or ask our AI for title suggestions, re-roll a spread's layout, switch the look in one tap and choose the cover image. Nothing is printed until you click approve.
- Can you build the album for me?
- Yes. Choose Done-for-you when you order (+€59 on top of the album price): upload your photos and a short brief, and our team curates and designs the whole book for you. You get a preview by email, typically within 2–4 business days, and can ask for changes. Nothing is printed until you approve — the only two things you do are pay and approve.
- Where do you ship?
- To 25 EU countries plus United Kingdom, United States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States. Standard tracked shipping is included in the price.
- How long does it take to arrive?
- Production typically takes 4–6 working days after you approve the album, and delivery inside the EU a further 2–4 working days — so plan on roughly 6–10 working days door to door. To the United States and the United Kingdom the book travels by courier from the printer, 4–8 working days, with nothing to pay at the door. You get a tracking link by email when it ships.
- What happens to my photos? Are they used to train AI?
- Your photos are stored privately in EU object storage and are never sold, shared or used to train AI models — ours or anyone else's. We delete originals and previews 90 days after your order ships, or as soon as you delete the album. Email info@makealbum.com to have everything removed sooner.