Comparing Artkive vs. Doodle Nest for Kids’ Art Books
- May 12, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 20
No matter where you live, parents all deal with the same challenge: keeping up with all the art their kids make. As parents, we want to save every squiggle, brush stroke, and ball of clay, but oh how quickly it all collects. Before you know it, those precious pieces become precious piles that only ever see the inside of a box. The question is, how can parents hold on to kids’ artwork in a way that feels meaningful, not messy?
In this Artkive vs. Doodle Nest post, we’ll look at two standout companies that turn your child’s artwork into beautiful keepsake books. We’ll compare what each company offers and see how they stack up on price, digital access, customization, and more. Wherever you are in the world, you’ll come away knowing which option is best for transforming your kids’ artwork into a lasting heirloom.
Doodle Nest: A Bespoke Way to Archive Kids' Art
Based in the UK, Doodle Nest specializes in turning your child’s artwork into tailored art books, using high-end design and print quality. Many people praise Doodle Nest as a chic, modern solution for saving kids’ art.
Key Features of Doodle Nest for UK Residents
A Full-Service Experience: Doodle Nest offers concierge, hands-off service. Upon purchase, UK residents will be sent a “Doodle Nest” box that you will pack with your original kids' art pieces to send in. Their team professionally photographs and edits each piece to ensure colors pop and every detail shines. You’ll get a digital proof to review and approve before going to print.
High-Quality Art Books: Doodle Nest’s signature product is a premium 30x30 cm hardcover art book. Each book is custom-designed and printed on premium matte paper. Extra copies are available at a discounted rate.
Doodle Nest Makes Custom Wall Art: In addition to books, Doodle Nest can turn your child’s creations into framed art collages. The collage comes in a ready-to-hang custom white box frame. Prices start at £295.00 ($400 USD) for 12 pieces and go up to 30 pieces.
Unique Extras: Doodle Nest can also turn your kid’s art into greeting cards or gift tags.
Things to Note if You Are Considering Doodle Nest:
A Premium Price Point: Books start at £195 for 25 pieces (roughly $250 USD). If you have more than 25 pieces, the price increases on a sliding scale every 10 pieces. This price does include the £39 shipping deposit, but for some, this is still a significant investment.
Art Book Customization: Doodle Nest's process is hands-on, so it doesn’t allow you to directly control the book’s layout. During the proof stage, you can share your preferences with the designers, and you’ll be able to request up to three small changes. They do not include captions, but you can add them to the book at £1 per caption.
International Availability: Currently, the Doodle Nest prepaid box is only available to a UK customer base. If you live outside the UK, you’ll need to email them to place an international order and coordinate shipping on your own.
Turnaround Time: Expect the process to take about 4–6 weeks from when Doodle Nest receives your box of art. This timeline may be longer during busy seasons (like right before Christmas) or if you need extra time to review the proof.
Digital Storage: Doodle Nest does not offer a long-term digital archive or cloud storage for your images. If having a digital backup of the images of your children’s drawings is important, this may not be your best option.
Price for Doodle Nest Art Books
Prices start at £195 for up to 25 pieces of artwork (approx. $258 USD). This price includes the initial £39 deposit for the shipping kit, which covers the outbound box and return postage.
The cost increases according to how many images you include, up to 200, for example:
26–35 pieces is £235 (approx. $311)
36–45 pieces is £275 (approx. $363)
up to 200 pieces Is £915 (approx. $1,230)
Should you want copies for other family members, duplicate books are 50% off the base price. Also, adding page captions costs £1 per caption.
Doodle Nest Reviews in Summary
Doodle Nest reviews from parents in the UK frequently highlight the gorgeous quality and emotional value the books bring. A lot of customers rave about seeing their kids’ artwork beautifully photographed and turned into one treasured book.
Most critiques in Doodle Nest reviews focus on two things: the higher price and the weeks-long turnaround time for their concierge service. Even with those downsides, most people in the UK still feel the product is worth the cost—and the wait. All-in-all, Doodle Nest is a first-rate solution to archive your kids’ art. You’ll pay a premium, but in return, you get a lovely artwork book or collage that delights parents and kids alike.
Artkive: A Trusted Partner for Kids' Art Keepsakes
Artkive started as a popular app for saving kids’ artwork digitally, then expanded into a white-glove archival service. They specialize in transforming you kids' arts and crafts into a memory book or framed mosaic wall art. Artkive is a popular go-to among American parents looking to turn kids’ artwork into a book.
Key Features of The Artkive Box
White-Glove Service: Artkive’s white-glove service helps parents save and organize their child’s artwork. In the U.S., Artkive sends a crush-proof box, a resealable protective bag, and a prepaid return shipping label. If you live outside the U.S. (including the UK), you can ship as many pieces as you’d like in your own package. Once your artwork arrives, Artkive professionally photographs and retouches every piece to keep colors true and edges clean.
Art Book Customization: Contrary to Doodle Nest, Artkive offers a savvy book-building tool to customize your book pages. The Book Editing tool allows parents to reorder pages, choose a custom cover, and add captions or text for each piece. You don’t have to work with a designer or pay extra for layout tweaks — you can make changes you want yourself. Many parents appreciate this blend of professional design and personal touch.
Wall Art Mosaics: Artkive also offers collage-style wall art that can showcase 9 images (14” x 14”) or 25 images (26” x 26”). The result is a clean, gallery-worthy piece that puts your kid’s art front and center. It can be a great gift for grandparents or a statement piece in a child’s bedroom. You can buy a mosaic on its own or add one alongside a book, and Artkive offers a discount when you choose both.
Free 90-Day Cloud Storage: Artkive recognizes that having digital copies of your children’s artwork is equally important nowadays. Artkive created a digital gallery that coincides with your book or mosaic purchase. Customers get 90 days of FREE cloud storage option with the ability to extend their digital membership long-term.
International Considerations When Choosing Artkive
Send Your Own Box: Because of fluctuating shipping costs, Artkive unfortunately cannot send out a prepaid box internationally. However, Artkive International is popular with families all around the world, especially in the UK. Parents simply pack and ship the art in their own box; shipping costs will depend on size, weight, and local postage. Once Artkive receives your artwork, everything follows the same process, and your child’s coffee-table-worthy art book ships straight to you.
Longer Turnaround Time: Artkive’s typical timeline for US orders is 6–8 weeks. An International customer might be looking at potentially 8–12 weeks. So, if you’re hoping to use Artkive for a holiday gift or a birthday present, you’ll need to plan accordingly in advance.
Different Design Aesthetic: Artkive's memory books opt for a clean layout that highlights each piece of the kids' art. Doodle Nest, by contrast, combines some art pieces on a single page. This may result in groupings of photos that, while creative, don’t allow every piece to shine. With Artkive, every piece gets to be the star of its own page.
Artkive's Book Price
Pricing for customers shipping within the US starts at $75 for a 25-piece 11” x 8.5” hardcover book. Additional pages cost $2-$3 per piece (the per-piece cost decreases after 50 pieces).
International package options:
50-piece book - $193 (£139)
100-piece book - $298 (£210)
200-piece book - $488 (£363)
You can view additional information about our international book packages here.
Artkive Reviews in Summary
In Artkive reviews, parents frequently mention feelings of relief and joy. Many parents feel relieved to finally preserve years of artwork in one book. Others tend to express the joy they get from seeing their child’s eyes light up when flipping through a real book of their own artwork.
Reviewers also praise Artkive’s customer service and the care that their team puts into the process. Most people agree Artkive delivers a keepsake that feels both high-end and meaningful. In fact, plenty of families make an Artkive book every year, which says a lot about how much they like (and trust) the brand.
The process might require patience, but as one review put it, “good things come to those who wait, and Artkive delivers”.
Which Option is Best for Families Outside the US and UK?
For turning kids’ artwork into a keepsake book or framed collage, Artkive has a clear edge over Doodle Nest. Here’s why Artkive is the more accessible choice for customers abroad:
International-Friendly Process
Artkive has processed tens of thousands of orders across the U.S., Canada, the UK, and beyond since its launch in 2012. They have become one of the most internationally known kids' art preservation services. While you supply the box, Artkive guides you step-by-step, with responsive customer support and dependable shipping.
By contrast, Doodle Nest is primarily limited to UK residents. International orders require special arrangements by email, and the site offers no transparent pricing or timelines.
Built-In Digital Archiving
Artkive includes 90-Days of free digital access to your child’s digitized artwork. Customer cloud access allows you to view, download, and share high-resolution images from anywhere in the world. You can even opt for a USB drive or extend digital storage with a long-term subscription. Over 70% of Artkive users opt to keep a digital backup with either USB or cloud services.
Doodle Nest, however, does not offer digital backups as a standard feature. For international families who want to share artwork with family abroad, this can be a major drawback.
Ideal for Larger Collections
With Artkive, you can send up to 350 pieces in one book, and pricing scales efficiently with volume. For large collections, this is both more economical and more practical. For example, a 100-piece book with Artkive is £210 ($277 USD).
Doodle Nest, while elegant, charges based on tiered piece counts and becomes costly if you have more than 25–50 artworks to include. The same 100-piece book would cost around $687 USD (£520), and that price doesn’t include the shipping of your book.
Choosing the Right Service for Your Kids' Art
Both Doodle Nest and Artkive offer ingenious ways to turn kids’ art into lasting treasures. Doodle Nest provides a boutique experience with gorgeous results, making it a top pick for UK parents who prefer a done-for-you approach. Artkive offers all this plus digital access and international shipping, making it a stronger overall value.
When deciding between Artkive vs Doodle Nest, consider your desired customizations, budget, and how much artwork you have.
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