Photokive vs ScanMyPhotos: Choosing The Right Digitizer
- Rodnesha Green
- Sep 8
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 14
Digitizing old family photos has become essential for preserving precious memories for future generations. Finding the right service to safeguard your family’s memories matters. Today, we'll look at two photo scanning services in particular and discover which is the best fit for your needs.
In Photokive vs. ScanMyPhotos, we’ll introduce both brands and explore how they operate. We'll compare features like ease of use, album handling, turnaround time, digital storage, and pricing. By the end, you'll hopefully have an idea of which digitizing service provides you with the right solution. Let’s dive in!
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Exploring ScanMyPhotos: A Budget-Friendly Bulk Scanning Digitizer
Founded in 1990, ScanMyPhotos is a well-established name in photo preservation, having scanned over a billion pictures for its customers. If you’re looking to scan thousands of prints at a low cost, ScanMyPhotos’ high-volume approach could be appealing.
Key Features of ScanMyPhotos’ Service:
Prepaid Photo Box: ScanMyPhotos offers a flat-rate photo box service (holds roughly 1,800 loose photos). A video tutorial is available with instructions on how to pack your photo box, which does require album disassembly.
High-Speed Scanning: ScanMyPhotos utilizes high-speed scanners to digitize photos rapidly. They even offer an Express ScanFast option that scans all your images the same day the box arrives.
Photo Enhancements: You can choose your preferred photo resolution based on how detailed you want your digital output (e.g., 150, 300, or 600 dpi). They also offer “Photo Soap,” an image restoration add-on that revives faded pictures.
Physical Backups: Along with your digital download, you can opt to get physical backups, like a USB drive or DVDs. These are handy for sharing with family members who prefer physical media.
Short-Term Storage: Each order includes a temporary online gallery for you to download your scans. The default window is about 5 days unless you pay for an extension. In short, you’ll need to download your files promptly or purchase ongoing cloud storage.
A Few Caveats to Consider:
Prep Work & Album Handling: ScanMyPhotos requires you to remove all photos from albums, frames, or sticky pages before shipping. While they explain how to remove photos from magnetic albums, you still run the risk of hurting irreplaceable prints.
Inconvenient Fees: The base scanning price is enticingly low, but many conveniences are à la carte. Some customers have felt a bit “nickel-and-dimed” by these extras. Extras that cost more include high-resolution scans, concierge support, and image rotation, to name a few.
Organization of Digital Files: Because ScanMyPhotos prioritizes fast turnaround, it charges extra to scan photos in a specific order. Otherwise, you will have to arrange and sort hundreds of image files on your own.
ScanMyPhotos Pricing for Photo Digitization
ScanMyPhotos’ pricing structure favors high-volume orders. If you have a large collection of loose photos, ScanMyPhotos is a cost-effective option. But for someone with carefully arranged albums or scrapbooks, you might want to factor in the “sweat equity” required.
Prepaid Photo Box (up to 1,800 4×6 photos) | $145.00 | (Regularly $290) |
Family Generation Package (6 Boxes | 300 DPI) | $750.00 | (Regularly $995) |
Small Photo Package* (250 images) | $50.00 | |
Pay-per-photo* | $0.12–$0.20 per image |
*These services do not include a prepaid box, so you will also be responsible for shipping via USPS.
Extra Services:
Express turnaround - $97 (prepaid box) | $550 (Family Generation)
In-Order Scanning - $88 (prepaid box) | $500 (Family Generation)
Image restoration - $59 (prepaid box) | $350 (Family Generation)
USB Thumb Drive - $19.95 (prepaid box) | $119 (Family Generation)
Image Rotation - $109 (prepaid box) | $615 (Family Generation)
Concierge Support - $15.95 (prepaid box)
What Customers Have to Say | ScanMyPhotos Reviews
ScanMyPhotos reviews often highlight its affordability and speed. Tech experts have recommended it as a top choice for photo scanning thanks to its combination of price and speed. People also enjoy being able to easily share old photos with relatives once they’re in digital format.
“I mailed in two boxes of family photos. Just days later, I had every image in my inbox. It was like opening a time capsule.” ~ Tina R.
On the other hand, reviewers also mention certain pain points with the service. The additional fees surprised some, and the effort required to remove photos from albums overwhelmed others. Several reviewers raised image-quality concerns with the default settings. They noted that base-resolution scans weren’t sharp enough for large displays and that auto-cropping occasionally slipped.
Overall, users feel ScanMyPhotos delivers on its promise of bulk scanning at a bargain price. But is it truly the best option for careful album handling and a well-organized set of digital files?
Photokive | Premium Digitizing for Priceless Family Albums
Launched by The Kive Company, Photokive specializes in digitizing prints and photo albums with a white-glove approach. Their photography-based process elevates digital images while keeping the original albums intact and safe.
Every client is given a prepaid, crush-proof box, album labels, and a shipping guide. With Photokive, there's no need to remove photos from your albums or scrapbooks - simply fill up your box and send it back. Our team will be able to digitize your loose prints and precious albums fully intact.
Key Features of Photokive:
High Image Quality: Photokive digitizes each photo at 300 DPI or higher using professional equipment. Includes color correction, balancing, and blemish removal at no extra cost.
Organized Digital Archive: You can use the provided labels to sort your albums or groups of photos. Photokive will create corresponding folders in your digital gallery.
Concierge Support: Each Photokive account comes with a Photokive Concierge to provide regular updates and answer any questions. This white-glove support provides great peace of mind when sending off one-of-a-kind heirlooms.
Free Extended Cloud Storage: Every order comes with 90 days of free cloud storage, giving you plenty of time to share with family. An ongoing annual storage plan is available for just $18/year.
Optional Photo Memory Book: Photokive can seamlessly turn your newly digitized images into a premium coffee-table photo book. For $99, you can add a 100-page hardcover book of your restored images.
The Photokive Guarantee: Photokive offers a unique guarantee born from the founders’ experience with the California wildfires. Should a natural disaster destroy your albums, Photokive will reprint every digitized image into new books for free. This extraordinary promise means your memories remain protected, even in worst-case scenarios.
Some Considerations with Photokive
Photos-Only Service: Photokive specializes solely in photos and albums. This singular focus makes Photokive excellent at photo preservation, but unable to process other media types.
Premium Add-Ons: Photokive’s base price is quite reasonable, but some premium options do cost extra. For example, a USB backup is $19.99, a custom photo book is about $100, and extended cloud storage after 90 days is $18/year. None of these are mandatory, but if you opt for several extras, it can increase your total spend.
Turnaround Time: Photokive’s meticulous process typically takes about 6–8 weeks for completion. This is faster than some all-in-one services, but not as fast as a bulk scanner like ScanMyPhotos. If you have an urgent deadline, you may need to request a rush or plan ahead.
Photokive Pricing for Photo Digitization
Photokive offers four tiered packages (with 50% off for first-time customers):
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)
If you exceed the package photo count, extra pieces are billed at a per-photo rate. With the 50% discount, that comes to about $0.59 per additional photo beyond the package limit.
A Strong Start! – Photokive Reviews in Summary
Because Photokive is a relatively new service, dedicated Photokive reviews from customers are just beginning to roll in. Early feedback we’ve seen echoes many of the sentiments from Artkive’s customer reviews – which is a great sign.
"The pictures are so crisp and clean, incredibly professional looking.” ~Emily M.
Photokive users love being able to send their entire albums intact. In fact, for many, this was the number one reason they chose Photokive over a competitor. Customers also highlight the personal touch of the concierge service. One early user noted that working with Photokive felt like “a collaborative project” because of the inclusive communication.
In short, Photokive draws strong reviews for delivering high quality with minimal hassle. For families seeking a hands-off way to preserve albums, it performs well. It may be pricier than ScanMyPhotos, but the concierge approach and comprehensive care add notable value.
Photokive vs. ScanMyPhotos: Which Service Should You Choose?
At the end of the day, both Photokive and ScanMyPhotos will help you restore old photos and bring them into the digital age.
ScanMyPhotos is ideal if you have a massive quantity of photos to scan on a limited budget. Customers looking for affordability and speed will be satisfied, provided they can handle the album prep and file organization.
Photokive is ideal if you prefer a hands-off, high-touch experience. Those who value convenience and quality over speed will find it to be the stronger choice. You’ll get white-glove treatment and pristine results, with none of the hassle.
Whichever route you choose, you’ll be taking an important step. The sooner you embark on this project, the sooner you can relax knowing your photo memories are safe for years to come.
If Photokive feels like the right fit, use the link below to start preserving your photo memories today.