Artkive vs. Scribble: Which Company is Best for Creating a Beautiful Book of Your Child's Artwork

If you're a parent, chances are you've got piles of your child’s artwork stashed in drawers, taped to the fridge, or tucked away in “keep forever” bins. While every scribble, doodle, and finger-painted masterpiece is precious—it can add up pretty quickly. Before you know it, your closet is full of bins and boxes of your kiddos’ art. Instead, turn those pieces into an artwork book that adorns your coffee table or fits neatly on your family's bookshelf. That’s where services like Artkive and Scribble come in.

Drowning in Kids' Artwork? Here’s a Smarter Way to Save It.

Platforms like Scribble and Artkive specialize in helping  you preserve your kids’ art in a meaningful way. Additionally, taking advantage of these services can help declutter various spaces in your home.  But one might ask, what’s the difference between them? And more importantly—which one makes the most sense for me?

In our Artkive vs. Scribble review, we will show you point-by-point what these two great services have to offer. We will discuss each company’s product options, pricing, and a summary of their reviews. Perhaps you want the concierge-style experience of an Artkive box. Maybe you prefer to be more hands on by scanning your own Scribble art. Our breakdown will provide insights to help you decide which one fits your needs, style, and budget best. 

Because let’s face it: your child’s art deserves better than a dusty storage box.

Let’s Talk Scribble: A Creative, DIY Approach

If you love a hands-on project and want more control over how your child’s artwork is preserved, Scribble might be your jam. Scribble offers a DIY experience where you can upload, design, and customize a printed book filled with your little one’s art. With Scribble, there’s no waiting for a shipping kit or relying on someone else to arrange your book. You scan or photograph the artwork yourself, upload it onto their platform, and start building your own layouts. For creative parents or families on a budget, it’s a solid choice that balances flexibility and affordability.

Key Features of Scribble.art:

• All In Your Hands: With Scribble art books, creative control is in your hands from start to finish. Capture and upload is on your timetable. You can easily remove the background and select your choice of colored background for each piece. You can even add “collaborators” who can also contribute art to the book.

• Books or Custom Wrapping Paper: Scribble primarily offers photo books, but another fun offer is the ability to turn your kid’s art into custom wrapping paper. This is a unique way to personalize gifts for parents, grandparents or other special occasions. 

• Digital Books: While Scribble lacks photo gallery storage, it does include a free digital version of the children’s artwork book you create. You have the ability to make access to this digital art book public or private. 

• Light Customization: As mentioned, the ability to edit and stylize your photos is placed exclusively in the user’s hands. Parents can choose their backgrounds, adjust image orientation, and make modest tweaks to image color and brightness. You can also add text on photo pages or text-only pages

What Makes Scribble Different?

• Because you’ll need to scan or photograph the art yourself, this means the image output is on the customer to best capture. While Scribble art can remove any background, it cannot make fixes to the piece itself. This puts the responsibility on the customer to make sure their child’s art is well lit and laid out, which can be time consuming.

• Book quality depends on your images and design choices. In other words, if you submit photos with poor image quality or low resolution, this will impact the outcome of your book. This also includes typos, misspellings, customization choices, or color differences between your computer and the Scribble printer.

• Due to the labor-intensive process, this option might not be ideal for busy parents, those who aren’t tech savvy, or those with high standards for the final product. 

• At this time, Scribble does not offer the option for International Orders.

How Much Does A Scribble.art Book Cost?

Pricing starts at $49.99 for the  8.5" x 8.5" book and $59.99 for the 8.5" x 11" version. Each book starts with 24 pages (12 printed pages) and additional pages are $0.40 each up to 200 pages  (100 printed pages).

Scribble Reviews Summary:

Overall, users who have submitted Scribble Reviews find the platform intuitive and user-friendly. The automation simplifies the process, so you don’t need to be a professional to make your kid’s art stand-out!  The resulting photo books are praised for their quality, and parents appreciate the vibrant pages. ​The flexibility of this platform enables parents to create a unique book that reflects their child's artistic journey. Some drawbacks mentioned include inconsistencies in image quality and a mild disappointment that the site is primarily for creating art books for younger children.

If you enjoy "the process" and want a personal touch, Scribble gives you the tools to create a unique keepsake—your way.

A Look Inside Artkive: A Hands-Off, Concierge Experience

If you’re short on time, big on sentiment, or just want someone else to handle the heavy lifting, Artkive might be your new best friend. Unlike DIY platforms, Artkive offers a full-service experience that removes the chaos from preserving kid's art, and turns it into a professionally made keepsake you’ll actually want to show off.

Here’s how it works: Artkive sends you a prepaid shipping kit, so you can pack up all those drawings, finger paintings, and construction-paper creations with zero hassle. Once they receive your child’s artwork, their team of professional photographers carefully shoot and edit each piece before designing a beautiful, bound book (or even a custom-framed mosaic). You get to review and approve the layout, but beyond that, your job is basically done. ✨

So what sets Artkive apart from Scribble? It’s the white-glove treatment. You don’t need to spend hours scanning pages, uploading files, or wrestling with layouts and adequate lighting. Everything is handled for you—with care.

Key Features of the Artkive Process:

• Artkive is Easy: Because Artkive’s process is designed to cater, getting started is simple. You receive a box with a prepaid label to fill with your child’s artwork - big, small, 2D or 3D! Once filled, it is sent back directly to Artkive for processing and creation. That’s it! Artkive also offers their services Internationally! 

• Hardcover Art Books or Custom Framing: Artkive offers both kids art books and framed mosaics. Artkive's Framed Mosaics are 26" x26" with white frames and matting and hold 25 pieces. Customers can choose between an 8"x8" or 11"x8.5" Hardcover Art Book holding up to 350 pieces. Additionally, you can add-on digital access to your professionally photographed images via a USB thumb drive or a virtual gallery.

• Artkive's Free Digital Storage: You will receive access to custom digital images with your book or mosaic. This includes 3 months FREE access and the option to extend digital membership for long-term safe keeping of your stored artwork. This digital access also allows you to reorder books you’ve bought in the past and turn them into unique gifts for family and friends.

• Additional Personalization: After the book proof is professionally created, Artkive’s book-building tool allows for another level of personalization, if the client desires to utilize it. This includes adding titles, editing images, cover image selection, image orientation, and image labels.

• WOW Factor: We all know that kids come in all ages. While Artkive specializes in art books for kids, their books are not solely for young kids' artwork. If you want to celebrate your teen’s first professional art show, or commemorate your adult child’s hand-drawn designs from architecture school, Artkive can handle that too! While Scribble is great at what they do, they make sure to mention that their expertise is in creating custom books suited to younger children. At Artkive, kids of all ages are welcome! 

How Is Artkive Different?

• Yes, it is more expensive. But, that investment is going into the things that save you time and return a top-drawer product. What you’re paying for is expertise, convenience, and quality. Because Artkive’s team of professionals handle all of the nitty-gritty, what you get is a polished keepsake of your kiddo's art that will make them proud and you excited to share. 

• As Artkive is offering you a hands-off experience, the turnaround time to receive a book is longer. The average processing time is 6-9 weeks from the time you order your Artkive Box to the time your book is delivered.  So if you're pressed for time, this may not be the best option for you.

• The design style for the Artkive book is clean and opts for a white background  so the art can shine, while some parents prefer color background options such as what Scribble provides. Artkive can include colored backgrounds at the customer's request for an additional fee, but they are not automatically added within the tool.

Artkive Book Price

Pricing starts at $75 for a 25-piece 11”x8.5” or 8"x8" hardcover book (roughly $3 per piece). Additional pieces cost from $2-$3 per piece (the per-page cost decreases after 50 pieces).

Artkive Reviews Summary:

Artkive reviews often mention the premium quality of the end-result, be it a book or framed mosaic. They also appreciate how easy-to-use the service is, particularly for busy parents. The biggest drawbacks some users mention are the price and the wait time, as each book is custom-made and requires several weeks to complete. However, users often feel that the finish of the product and the emotional value it brings make it worth the cost.

If you’re looking for a polished, high-end product with minimal effort or impact on your time, Artkive is the clear winner. It’s ideal for busy parents, sentimental gift-givers, and anyone who wants a keepsake that feels just as special as the art inside.

Final Thoughts: Two Great Options, One Meaningful Goal

At the end of the day, both Artkive and Scribble offer creative, thoughtful ways to preserve your child’s artwork—and that’s a win for parents everywhere. If you love rolling up your sleeves for a DIY approach, Scribble is an excellent (and colorful!) budget option. But, if you’re looking for a high-quality, stress-free option that takes the pressure off your plate, Artkive’s concierge service is hard to beat.

No matter which route you take, you're doing something meaningful—turning your child’s creativity into a lasting treasure. And, if today feels like the right time to finally let someone else take care of that overflowing pile of art, you can get started with an Artkive Box right here. ✨