Artkive vs. Plum Print: Which Makes the Best Kids Art Books?
- Rodnesha Green
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Keeping track of arts and crafts for kids can overwhelm even the most organized parent. Painted suns, glittery collages, and stick-figure families are exciting to receive, at first. But the art piles up quickly and ultimately ends up in a drawer or storage bin.
Artkive and Plum Print transform those piles into polished keepsakes. Both turn kids’ original art into beautiful books and other products, but they differ in price, process, and personalization. Below, we compare them on ease of use, pricing, product range, and customer feedback so you can choose the best fit for your family.
Artkive at a Glance: Art Books Designed to Let Kids' Art Shine
Artkive is a leader in turning children’s artwork into elevated, personalized books and framed mosaics. Founded in 2012, Artkive offers a truly hands-off, white-glove experience. The company sends a pre-labeled artwork box, professionally photographs every piece, and designs the final layout.
Because Artkive began as an app, the service includes digital storage of your professionally edited children's art. This is ideal for duplicating memory books or creating personalized kids' books as gifts for grandparents. These artwork boxes make decluttering easy while protecting every masterpiece in transit.
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Key Features of The Artkive Box
Ease of Use: Artkive’s process is simple. You receive a pre-paid box to fill with your child’s creations. When it's full, send it in! The Artkive pros will take it from here.
Free Digital Storage: Artkive provides each customer with 90 days of free cloud storage after book approval. With the virtual book builder, you can quickly reorder books you love and make gift versions for family.
Flexible Product Options: You can choose between the archival-quality kids' artwork books or a beautiful framed mosaic. The easy-to-use book builder lets parents add age/grade labels, write captions, and choose the cover image during proofing.
Artkive Pricing
Artkive Box: $39; comes with a crush-proof shipping kit and prepaid return label.
Kids Art Book: $75 for a 25-page book. Price scales per additional piece of art over 25.
Want to Get An Estimate For Your Kids' Art Book?
Artkive Reviews Summary
Parents consistently praise Artkive’s premium look and concierge-style service. Some reviews mention premium costs and wait times as a drawback, but this is because each book is custom-made. Overall, many customers feel the books’ craftsmanship and the joy of a clutter-free home make the cost worth it. Many parents remark that Artkive's finished product makes one of the best coffee table books for showcasing childhood creativity.
Why Use Plum Print?
Plum Print specializes in converting kids’ art into books, plus products such as pillows and canvas prints. Like Artkive, Plum Print offers a convenient, hands-off process where parents send in their child’s artwork. Plum Print reviews from real users highlight the fast process and hand-designed layouts.
Plum Print's Key Features
Ease of Use: Similar to Artkive, you mail your child's art in their kit; Plum Print processes and photographs each piece.
Variety of Products: Beyond books, shoppers appreciate their product range. You can get kids' art pillows, prints, and framed pieces to complement your book on the shelf.
Limited Customization: Unfortunately, customers can’t directly edit the book proof the way you can with the Artkive book builder. You may request up to four minor changes, or pay $20 for every 5–10 edits needed. This also doesn't include the fee for art captions.
Plum Print Pricing: A 25-page 10"×8" hardcover begins around $188. This includes the $49.99 initial deposit to receive your box.. By comparison, this far exceeds Artkive’s $75 Artkive book price combined with their $39 prepaid box deposit.
Plum Print Reviews Summary
Plum Print reviews frequently praise the range of products and options. Users value the variety and unique picks, like pillows, which add personality to a child’s room. However, some Plum Print reviews mention inconsistent print quality, especially for larger orders or less traditional products.
Overall, customers are mostly pleased with their experience. However, some reviewers suggest that new customers check out samples or place smaller orders their first time.
Plum Print vs. Artkive: Which is Right For You?
Both companies turn a jumble of drawings into polished memory books. Artkive stands out for its app-backed gallery, meticulous photography, and design control. This is great for families who want sleek, personalized books with a premium look and feel.
Plum Print is a touch faster on delivery and offers more non-book items, which can be fun for unique gifts. Given that Plum Print’s book pricing is higher, budget-savvy parents might want to consider choosing Artkive. Then use savings for rush processing if time is a factor.
Both options preserve your child’s creations and turn them into stunning, personalized books that become beloved family mementos. And in the end, we believe that's what matters most.
Does The Artkive Box feel like the best fit for your family?
