Photokive vs. Forever Studios: Photo Album Digitizer Showdown
- Rodnesha Green
- Oct 9
- 4 min read
When it comes to safeguarding old prints and family photo albums, choosing the right digitizing service is essential. This is especially true for those with decades of memories in fragile photo books.
In this post, we compare Photokive and Forever Studios - two popular digitizers that specialize in preserving photo keepsakes. We’ll look at their scope of services, quality, turnaround time, pricing, and unique perks to help you make an informed choice. By the end, you will be able to confidently choose which company offers the best photo scanning service for your needs.
Forever Studios – The Mixed Media Digitizer
Forever Studios is a Florida-based photo scanning service with over a decade of experience. They convert not only photos, but also videos, film reels, slides, and more. For those with a variety of media to convert, this is a good all-in-one solution.
After placing your order, you’ll receive a prepaid mail-in kit to safely send your items. Forever Studios uses high-resolution scanning so images are small enough for easy digital storage while maintaining visual clarity. They also provide advanced restoration editing with the "Forever Gold" upgrade.
Their technicians will also create digital folders to correspond with whatever groupings you provide. If your photos are in albums, you will receive a digital folder for each album. If you have loose photos, you can organize them as you see fit.
The average turnaround time is 2–3 weeks for photo-based orders (depending on volume). Each order comes with 30 days of digital storage to view and download your files. For extended storage, you can upgrade to the Forever Cloud annual membership.
Pros: Wide range of services that can handle mixed media beyond photos; quick processing times; strong reputation.
Cons: The add-ons can add up, as you'll see below. Large photos, premium edits, USB backup, or extended cloud storage increase your costs. Forever Studios will need to disassemble your albums for scanning, which can be risky with old adhesives.
Bonus: If you live in South Florida, Forever Studios offers a drop-off location in Boca Raton.
Forever Studios Pricing for Photo Digitization
Forever Studios sets its pricing per piece, as opposed to kits or bundles.
Loose Photos (up to 8x10) | $0.40 per photo | (regularly $0.75 per photo) |
Photos in Albums | $0.75 per photo | (regularly $1.00 per photo) |
Large Photos (Between 8x10 and 11x17) | $2.50 per photo | (regularly $5.00 per photo) |
Forever Cloud (30-Day Storage) | $20.00 |
The price includes: the crush-proof photo box, round-trip shipping, "Classic" high-resolution scanning service, image downloads, and the return of your originals.
A la Carte Add-On Options:
USB Drive - $30.00
Forever Cloud Membership - $55.00 per year
Photo Disc - $20.00 per disc
Quick Prints (4x6) - $0.95 per photo
Slideshow + USB - $95.00 per USB
Overall, Forever Studios reviews generally indicate customers are happy with the quality and service. However, if your main goal is to preserve your albums with minimal handling and cost-effective options, you may prefer a service designed exclusively for that.
Photokive – The Album-Focused Digitizer
Photokive is a newer service that specializes in digitizing photo prints and albums. Unlike many big-box services, with Photokive, you do not have to remove photos from albums at all.
Simply pack your albums and loose photos in the provided Photokive memory box. Inside your shipping kit are labels you can use to organize your photo sets by name, date, or category. The Photokive team will use these designations to create your digital folders. Find tips on how to organize your Photokive box here.
Photokive’s team of professionals will carefully capture each image with high-resolution photography (300 DPI or more). Photokive cleans, color-corrects, and applies standard edits, helping your digital images outshine the originals. We also assign a dedicated concierge who keeps you updated throughout the process.
Pros: Truly white-glove handling of photo albums with no disassembly needed; albums stay intact. Includes high-quality editing for clear, color-corrected digital images. A secure online gallery with 90 days of free cloud storage to download and share your digital photo album. Also, each order includes personal concierge support.
Cons: Photokive focuses only on photos – they do not handle videos or tapes. The turnaround time is longer, about 6-8 weeks, due to the specialized process that keeps albums intact.
Bonus - The Photokive Guarantee: Photokive's pledge is that if a natural disaster hits your family, we’ll print photo books of all your albums at no cost. In the worst of times, your memories will be safe.
Have additional questions about Photokive?
Pricing for Photokive Photo Digitization
Photokive offers package pricing based on the number of photos you need, whether they are loose prints or in albums. They also offer 50% off to first-time customers.
These are the 4 Digitizing Packages:
Snapshot (up to 100 photos) | $59 for first-timers | (regularly $118.00) |
Portfolio (up to 250 photos) | $139.99 for first-timers | (regularly $279.98) |
Gallery (up to 500 photos) | $259.99 for first-timers | (regularly $519.98) |
Archive (up to 1,000 photos) | $489.99 for first-timers | (regularly $979.98) |
This price includes: a crush-proof shipping kit, return label, premium photography and editing, free cloud storage (90 days), and return of original albums & photos.
Add-On Options Include:
Backup USB storage - $19.99
Photokive Annual Cloud Storage - $18 per year
Ready to preserve your photo collection with care?
The savings with Photokive are evident. Digitizing 100 photos in albums, with standard cloud storage, and a backup USB is about $78 with Photokive. The same service with Forever Studios costs $99. Better still, with Photokive, you get their concierge care and 60 days more of FREE cloud storage.
Early Photokive reviews have been excellent! One customer was happy to report that Photokive “didn’t have to take apart my albums!” Others remark on how the process was “so easy and professional”. Photokive is essentially a boutique digitizer that has quickly earned the trust of those who have tried it.
Photokive vs. Forever Studios - Which Photo Box is Right For You?
As illustrated, both services will safely and beautifully digitize photos from your collection, but they have different strengths. Forever Studios is great if you need an all-in-one solution for various media or a faster turnaround. However, if you want to archive photo albums with extra care and personal support, Photokive is the top choice.
No matter which service you choose, the one thing you don't want to do is wait! Digitize your family's photo story sooner rather than later to protect against loss, decay, and the unexpected. And if you want a white-glove service that offers expertise, peace of mind, and museum-quality results...
