# MakeAlbum compared with Mixbook, Journi, Saal Digital and Blurb

> Who picks the photographs, who writes the captions, square layflat formats, prices, shipping and turnaround, read on each company's own site on 2026-09-17.

Source: https://makealbum.com/compare · MakeAlbum, Lisbon, Portugal

Products compared: Mixbook — 12 × 12 in hardcover (layflat offered; its 12 × 12 price is set in the editor) (https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books); Journi — Layflat Photo Book, 30 × 30 cm (https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book); Saal Digital — Professional Line photo book, 30 × 30 cm (https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/photo-book/professional-line/); Blurb — Large Square 12 × 12 in Layflat, ImageWrap hardcover (https://www.blurb.com/pricing). 300 × 300 mm square layflat hardcover, 26–80 interior pages, €199–€349, shipping included.

| | MakeAlbum | Mixbook | Journi | Saal Digital | Blurb |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Who picks the photographs | MakeAlbum'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 captions | The 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 cm | Yes, 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. |
| Pages | 26–80, 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. |
| Shipping | Included 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 time | Typically 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 to | 25 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 you | Done-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. |

## 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.

## Sources

- Who picks the photographs: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/try-story-mode · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.com/help-center/design-modes-for-photo-books/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/bookwright
- Who writes the titles and captions: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/inspiration/auto-create-make-photo-books-in-minutes · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.com/help-center/design-modes-for-photo-books/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/bookwright
- Square layflat hardcover, about 30 × 30 cm: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/photo-book/professional-line/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/pricing
- Pages: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/photo-book-pricing · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/p/pb/lpb/ · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/photo-book/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/photo-books
- Price of the smallest square book: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/photo-book-pricing · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/e/upbp/ · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/photo-book/professional-line/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/pricing
- Shipping: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/shipping · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/e/upbp/ · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/photo-book/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/shipping
- Production time: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/shipping · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/p/pb/lpb/ · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.com/service/shipping-costs-delivery-time/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/shipping
- Delivers to: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/shipping · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.com/help-center/support-questions/to-which-countries-are-you-able-to-ship/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/shipping
- Someone does it for you: Mixbook https://www.mixbook.com/try-story-mode · Journi https://www.journiapp.com/photo-book · Saal Digital https://www.saal-digital.com/photo-book/ · Blurb https://www.blurb.com/bookwright

## FAQ

### 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.