The Best Photo Scanning Service -Comparison and Buyer’s Guide for 2024

1. Our top picks
2. Comparison table
3. iMemories
4. ScanMyPhotos
5. Memory Fortress
6. Legacybox
7. ScanCafe
8. EverPresent
9. Bottom line

Summary of Our Top Picks

Photo scanning services are the safest, easiest, and best overall solution for scanning and converting photos to digital format. With that said, here are our top pics for the best photo scanning service.

Top 7 Best Photo Scanning Services Comparison Table

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1) iMemories

iMemories is one of the leading digitization services that can transfer your family photos, videos, and films into a digital format that will last forever. In addition, the service provides scanning from analog to digital with an online viewing and sharing option, including a free digital download of photos, for which other services charge an additional amount.

iMemories offers a safe and secure way to send your photos with their SafeShip kit for $14.99, which includes waterproof bags and other protective items that ensure safe shipping.

Also, you can send pictures in your own box if that’s what you want, but you need to email them to receive shipping instructions.

You don’t need to label or organize; simply fill up the box with gathered photos and, on the outside, stick the included shipping label. After that, drop the box at the nearest FedEx pickup location.

Photo scanning with iMemories is a straightforward process. Just send your photos and let the service do the rest. You will end up with digital photos that are ready for viewing and sharing with your family.

For photo scanning services, iMemories charges $0.49 per photo up to 12×16. So, for instance, 1,000 photos would cost $490, give or take additional charges.

iMemories Customer Reviews

People who send their video or photo memories to be digitized aren’t always sure what condition the media will be in. This isn’t something you should worry about, though. The iMemories team will restore your memories to look as good as they can and “splice” videotapes and films without losing footage and at no additional fees.

Besides photos, you can also transfer other media types, such as:

• Slides and negatives for $0.49 per item of any size
• Videotapes (Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, MicroMini) for $14.99 per tape
• Old films (8mm, Super 8, 16mm) for $14.99 per 50ft.
• Digital media (DVDs and MiniDVD) for $14.90 per DVD or MiniDVD

During the process, iMemories lets you stay informed about the digitizing process in real-time via your order status page and email updates. 

For the digital copy options, you have plenty of options to choose from. You can get scanned photos on customized DVDs, USB drives, iMemories cloud, or even download digital files for free. There’s even more. They also offer additional pricing options for blu-ray and a portable 1TB hard drive.

When it’s all finished, the original photos will be returned alongside the digital copy. 

Turnaround time for iMemories is currently 2-3 weeks, but it varies depending on the format and volume of the order.

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2) ScanMyPhotos

If you need your photos scanned fast, these guys offer the best service for a short time. You can digitize your memories and have them in an accessible digital format with the help of ScanMyPhotos. With its high-quality scans, you can get copies of those old photographs on a DVD or even online for easy viewing that will last much longer than any piece of paper could hope.

It also offers a range of services for protecting and preserving all different types of media, including slides, VHS tapes, and 8 and 16mm films.

It takes 5 to 10 business days for them to scan and digitize your photos if you choose the pay-per-photo option, but you can speed that process up if you select the Express Scanning add-on, which costs 5 cents per scan.

When you choose the Express Scanning add-on, they will complete your order within one business day.

There is also a Prepaid Photo Box in which you can put about 1800 photos. The turnaround time is about 25 business days without the Express Scanning add-on.

And finally, there is a Family Generation Collection where you can put about 11,000 photos. This is the same as a Prepaid Photo Box but with six boxes instead of only one.

The quality of the scanned photos depends on the DPI you choose, and the DPI determines the cost of photo scanning. There are three options: 72, 150, 300, and 600 dots per inch (DPI). The lowest resolution costs $170 for 1,800 photos at 72 DPI; this jumps to a $185 price tag if you want higher resolutions that come with more pixels per square inch or DPI.

ScanMyPhotos offers scanning photos for as low as 10 cents per scan for 150 DPI, 18 cents per scan for 300 DPI, and 23 cents per scan for 600 DPI if you choose the Pay-Per-Photo Scanning.

ScanMyPhotos is the best way to preserve your memories and have them in an accessible digital format. With its high-quality scans, you can choose to get copies of those old photographs on a DVD or a USB thumb drive. The default option is their Upload Service, in which you can choose for how long it will stay on the server before it’s deleted. The lowest amount of time is five days until the photos are deleted, so be sure to download them as soon as you receive the link in the email.

Clean your images so they are not dusty and messy, so they turn out good when they’re scanned. ScanMyPhotos offers a comprehensive package for care and shipping. To learn more about this service and what else you can do with it, read our in-depth ScanMyPhotos review.

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4) LegacyBox

LegacyBox is a highly experienced digitization service with over a decade of experience and over one million memories digitized. They offer a comprehensive range of conversion services, including photos, video tapes, films, and audio cassettes. The ease of use and convenience make it a popular choice for digitizing memories.

To make the process even more convenient, LegacyBox offers different sizes of shipping kits, which can be chosen based on the number of items to be digitized. One item can be equivalent to one video tape, film reel, audio cassette, or 25 photos, slides, or negatives.

The company offers four different kit sizes: the 2-item Starter, 10-item Family, 20-item Closet, and 40-item Trunk. Each box kit has barcodes that you need to stick on each item you send. If you need to add extra items to your order, the kit comes with additional barcodes for this purpose.

LegacyBox is known for their frequent discounts and promotions, making it a cost-effective option for digitizing your memories. The prepaid return shipping label that comes with each kit makes the process even more seamless.

Customers can expect high-quality media after digitization, although the company does not offer enhancements. LegacyBox provides excellent customer service, with polite and helpful representatives who keep customers informed throughout the digitization process, ensuring a pleasant experience.

In conclusion, LegacyBox is a company that constantly strives to improve its services and simplify the transfer process while maintaining the safety and quality of customers’ memories.

Pricing for the conversion of photos:

• $59.99 for two sets of 25 pictures
• $279.99 for ten sets of 25 pictures
• $559.99 for twenty sets of 25 pictures
• $1099.99 for forty sets of 25 pictures

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3) Memory Fortress

You won’t easily find this service, but it certainly deserves a place among the top services. Memory Fortress scanning service was founded by veterans and those with strong military backgrounds and started with photo scanning at first and video transfer service afterward.

With MemoryFortress, you can expect the following:

• Affordable prices
• Fastest turnaround time (1-2 days for small orders and 4-5 days for larger orders)
• You can order through the website or via phone.
• High-quality scans

For the photos, you can send loose photos, which can be in any size up to poster size, and photos in albums (non-scrapbooks). They can also scan the backs of photos, which is excellent if you have important notes, dates, and signatures on the back of photos. Honestly, this feature is a big plus, and we are disappointed not to see this feature with other photo-scanning services.

They handle all photo albums, and during the scanning process, photos will be removed from albums if possible. If they can’t remove the photos from the album for some reason, in that case, they will be scanned safely with special software while the images remain in the album.

Besides photos, Memory Fortress also accepts media such as:

• Slides: 35mm, 35mm half frame, Super 35mm, 126, 127, 110
• Negatives: 35mm, 110, 126
• Videotapes: VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV/HDV, MicroMV
• Old film: 8mm
• Scrapbooks 12×12

You first have to gather all your photos. Memory Fortress says they take photos if loose, in albums, or put in rubber bands; you don’t even need to worry about organizing them if you don’t want to. Then pack them in a sturdy box to be safe during shipping. If you already have photos in a box or shoebox, as most do, you can leave them in if you prefer.

They know how most people store photos, so they don’t bother customers about photo organization or packaging.

When they receive your photos, they will scan them. So if you send, for example, two boxes, they will be scanned and organized in that fashion, like a folder for each box.

All photos will get a crop, rotation, and color correction.

After completing the scanning process, photos will be transferred to the digital copy you choose while making an order. All your original photos will be returned to you alongside a digital copy.

Current prices for photo scanning start at $0.38 per loose photo at 300dpi and $0.42 per loose photo at higher quality 600 dpi scan.

For photos in albums, the price is $0.54 at 300dpi and $0.58 at 600dpi.

Since Memory Fortress receives a large volume of orders, they have a minimum order policy of $99. If your order is below $99, they will direct you to their smaller partnership scanning facilities, which can also handle your order.

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5) ScanCafe

ScanCafe is a one-stop for all your scanning needs. They’ll take care of everything from photos, slides to negatives and even videos at affordable prices.

ScanCafe photo scanning ranges from 28 cents to 39 cents with Value Kits. The Value Kit ranges from 500 scans all the way up to 10,000 scans. With a higher number of scans, the lower the cost is per photo. Every image is color corrected and edited by hand before being sent out to the customer.

With time, photos naturally fade and lose color. Even those stored away in photo albums can be affected by fading or reaction to their surroundings.

They repair the photo if needed, re-orientation, photo cropping, removing light scratches and dust marks, photo color correction, and removing the case of red-eye.

If you’ve got a heart-wrenching photo that needs repairing, the team of experts will take every single one and give them their best examination so they can get back on track with all those precious memories.

ScanCafe may be a good option if you need to digitize photos and other media, but it’s not as fast or reliable as ScanMyPhotos.

You can get individual photos scanned at 600dpi for $0.44 per photo.

You can choose from paper photos (both color and black-and-white), 35mm film negatives, or slides for that classic look.

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6) EverPresent

EverPresent is a service that has decades of experience in photo scanning and converting other media types. They can scan photos with standard sizes up to 8×10″, photo albums, oversized items and frames, letters, memory cards, and even newspapers. 

Besides photos, they also convert media such as slides, negatives, videotapes, films, and audio. Like with Memory Fortress, you don’t have to organize the photos for them. Also, they scan photos that are in envelopes, shoeboxes, bags, etc. 

With EverPresent, you have three options for delivering your photos to them. You can choose from dropping it off by yourself in one of their pickup locations, sending it by mail, or arranging a home pickup (available across the northeast).

Standard photos are scanned at 600dpi on professional scanners. During scanning, processed photos are ordered, titled, and numbered. They get dust removal, cleaning, and orientation and go through three levels of quality control during the scanning process. 

EverPresent can transfer scanned photos to DVD, USB, or personal cloud. They will also return all originals to you with the completion of the order.

We could not find the precise turnaround time you may expect, but the website states that over 80% of their projects are completed within one month. 

The standard photo (up to 8×10″) scanning price is $0.59 per photo at 600 dpi. For albums and scrapbooks, prices start at $2.99 per page, and you can choose from 300 and 600 dpi scanning. For handling albums, additional fees may be applied.

7) DigMyPics

DigMyPics is a well-known scanning service with 20 years of experience in transferring photos, slides, negatives, videotapes and old films. The company offers two websites for different types of orders. If you want to send your media using your own shipping box and carrier, you can visit the DigMyPics website. If you prefer a shipping kit equivalent to the number of items you have, you can visit DigMyPics Memory Box.

The process for DigMyPics Memory Box is similar to the LegacyBox, but it allows for more possibilities as it allows you to mix different media formats. After choosing a kit equivalent to your media count, you will receive the MemoryBox with all the necessary items for safe shipping.

To send your media, simply fill the box with your items, making sure to pack them securely, and attach the prepaid shipping label to the outside of the box. You can track the shipment through the online order status page.

At DigMyPics, your media will undergo a dust removal process before the digitizing process begins. The photos will also undergo color correction and digital cleaning to remove any remaining dust. The company offers “Real Time Scanning,” which allows you to watch your images being scanned online.

Upon completion of the scanning process:

• Your original media and chosen digital copy will be returned to you.
• Available options for the digital copy include: DVD set, flash drive, hard drive, or digital download.

Estimated Turn Times:

• 4 items: 10 business days
• 10 items: 12 business days
• 20 items: 15 business days
• 40 items: 20+ business days

Pricing for converting photos:

• $130 for 4 sets of 25 photos, slides, or negatives
• $320 for 10 sets of 25 photos, slides, or negatives
• $620 for 20 sets of 25 photos, slides, or negatives
• $1200 for 40 sets of 25 photos, slides, or negatives

Final Words

The best way to ensure the longevity of your photos and other media is to digitize them. This way, your photos, negatives, and slides will not deteriorate over time as they would if left to chance. Each service will return your original images to you so that you may use them as desired. However, we suggest keeping them securely stored, just in case.

Our article lists the top photo scanning services, each with its unique scanning process. These options are ideal if you’re seeking high-quality results, but it’s important to keep in mind that each service has its own unique features. Take the time to carefully choose the one that best suits your needs. In our opinion, iMemories is the quickest and most cost-effective way to digitize your photos and also with highest customer ratings on Trustpilot, Sitejabber and Yelp. 

Be sure to also check out our comprehensive comparison table between services and our top-pick summary. They will provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision.