MakeAlbum
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MakeAlbum next to the others, on their own numbers.

Four services people weigh against us, each on the product closest to ours: a square layflat hardcover around 30 × 30 cm. Their cells quote their own sites as read on 17 September 2026; the source page is linked under the table. Where a site does not say, the cell says so.

 MakeAlbumMixbook12 × 12 in hardcover (layflat offered; its 12 × 12 price is set in the editor)JourniLayflat Photo Book, 30 × 30 cmSaal DigitalProfessional Line photo book, 30 × 30 cmBlurbLarge Square 12 × 12 in Layflat, ImageWrap hardcover
Who picks the photographsMakeAlbum's own AI: you upload the whole set, it drops blur, bursts and duplicates and picks the frames to fill the book. You heart a few must-haves and can swap anything.You choose the photos; Story Mode then “organizes your photos, creates layouts, writes optional captions”. Auto-Create “instantly places your photos”.“AI automatically selects your photos in seconds” and “sorts your pictures into a perfect timeline”.You choose: the help centre’s next step is “choose the photos you want to include”; the One-Minute book lays out what you uploaded.You choose; BookWright offers “auto-layout suggestions or place every element yourself”.
Who writes the titles and captionsThe AI, from a two-line brief with names, places and dates; you rewrite or re-roll any of them.Story Mode writes “optional captions”; Auto-Create keeps the theme’s placeholder text for you to edit.Adds “maps and dates” automatically; titles and captions are yours to add.Yours to add.Yours to add.
Square layflat hardcover, about 30 × 30 cmYes, the only format: 300 × 300 mm square, layflat, acrylic front, leatherette spine.Layflat offered at “less than 100 pages”; 12 × 12 in appears in the price table as a glossy hardcover.Yes: “12 x 12 inches / 30 x 30 cm (hardcover and layflat only)”.Yes: layflat is standard; 30 × 30 cm in the Professional Line.Yes: “Large Square 12 × 12 in (30 × 30 cm)”, layflat.
Pages26–80, any even number.From 20; layflat under 100.From 25; layflat up to 103.26 to 160, by format and paper.20 to 110 (layflat).
Price of the smallest square book€199 for 26 pages in Europe, about $295 in the United States. Linear per page.12 × 12 glossy hardcover €54.99 for 20 pages, €2.19 a page; the 12 × 12 layflat price is shown in the editor.30 × 30 layflat €89.99 / £79.99 for 25 pages.30 × 30 Professional Line from £99.99 / €99.99; 12 × 12 in from $200.00 on the US site.12 × 12 layflat, Premium Lustre, ImageWrap: $110.00 for 20 pages, $2.52 a page.
ShippingIncluded in the price, tracked. Express is an optional extra.Extra; EU Budget shipping from $8.99 for a small softcover.“Calculated at checkout.”Extra; free above £100 / $100.Extra; shipping calculator at checkout.
Production timeTypically 4–6 working days after you approve; the AI draft itself takes minutes.“1-2 business days to process and print.”“Printed within 3–5 days.”Professional Line 2–3 working days; standard books often under 24 hours.“Printing and binding requires 4-5 business days.”
Delivers to25 EU countries and the United States today; the UK, Canada and Latin America next.US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Asia.US, UK, Australia and New Zealand hubs; other destinations from the EU hub.Inside the country of your account’s market (EU, UK or US account).“Over 70 countries and territories.”
Someone does it for youDone-for-you: MakeAlbum’s editors build the whole book from your brief; you approve an emailed preview.No human service; Story Mode is “order your book as-is or customize”.No; the AI draft, then you adjust.No design service listed.“Hire an Expert” through BlurbNation, independent designers.

Competitor prices are as their sites quote them, in the currency shown, before shipping. MakeAlbum’s include shipping. Checked 17 September 2026.

When one of them is the better buy

  • You want to design every page yourself, from a blank spread. MakeAlbum's editor moves, swaps and re-rolls what the AI laid out; it is not a page designer with free placement. Blurb's BookWright and Saal's desktop software are.
  • You want a small or cheap book. There is no softcover, no 20 × 20 and no €40 option here; one 300 × 300 mm layflat hardcover from €199. Mixbook and Journi start much lower with smaller formats.
  • You need it printed tomorrow. Saal and Mixbook quote one to three days of production; MakeAlbum's book typically takes four to six working days after approval, plus delivery.
  • You live outside the EU and the US. Until the next markets open, Blurb and Mixbook reach further.

Questions

Is MakeAlbum an AI photo book maker like Mixbook's Story Mode or Journi?

Closer to Journi than to Mixbook. Journi's AI selects the photographs; Mixbook's Story Mode designs a book from the photographs you have already chosen. MakeAlbum's AI does the selection, the chapters, the titles and captions and the layout, and only sells one thing: the printed 300 × 300 mm layflat hardcover, shipping included.

Why is MakeAlbum more expensive than a Mixbook or Journi book?

It is a 300 × 300 mm layflat hardcover with an acrylic front, 26 pages, shipping included, and the curation and writing are done for you. Compared like for like, a 30 × 30 layflat from Saal Digital's Professional Line or Blurb's 12 × 12 layflat lands in the same region before shipping. Smaller or softcover books from Mixbook and Journi are cheaper because they are smaller books.

How were the competitor figures collected?

Every cell was read on the company's own site on 2026-09-17, and the source page is linked under the table. Where a site did not state something, the cell says so. Prices and turnaround change; write to info@makealbum.com if a figure is out of date and we correct it.

Sources

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