Giving and receiving holiday cards is a cherished tradition for many, and one of the most personal ways to send warm wishes to friends and family near and far. With the holidays on the horizon, now is the perfect time to order your cards — especially if you're planning to customize them with photos or personalized messages.
To find the best Christmas cards, we considered design variety, customization options, print and paper quality, cost, ease of ordering, turnaround time, and additional services such as addressing or foil stamping. Our top pick overall is Minted, which stands out for its elevated designs, luxe paper, and endless customization options. For a more affordable choice, Simply to Impress delivers stylish, customizable cards at a fraction of the price without compromising on quality.
Top picks for photo holiday card services:
Best overall: Minted
Best budget: Simply to Impress
Another great budget option: Shutterfly
Best for designing on your phone: Mixbook
Largest selection: Vistaprint
Best sustainable: Paper Culture
Best for custom illustrations: Etsy
Honorable mentions: Artifact Uprising, Papier
Best overall
Minted offers highly customizable cards with plenty of photo and non-photo options. The images are clear, the paper options are high-quality, and the designs are lovely.
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Minted sources its designs from a wide-ranging team of independent designers, allowing you to support a unique artist's work while still getting all the benefits of ordering from an easy online company.
Minted also offers a few full-service benefits you can't get everywhere else, like optional envelope-addressing and return-addressing. You can even order customized postage for your full-service cards. Want a stamp of your cute little kid in elf ears? Done. Minted is also one of the only sites on our list that offers three-dimensional letterpress printing.
Shop all holiday cards at Minted.
Best budget
Simply to Impress has card options galore, with high-quality printing on sturdy paper for a reasonable price.
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Simply to Impress boasts a huge variety of categories in the holiday section. You can select sub-headings like "photo" or "non-photo cards," "religious Christmas cards," "Hanukkah cards," "baby's first Christmas," and, my personal favorite, "pets."
You can also easily narrow down options by checking boxes, such as the number of photos you'd like to display, the color of cardstock you'd like to use, and the shape you prefer. Optional add-ons include metallic foil detailing options for a pop of something special in your cards. These extra details will add to the final cost somewhat, but overall, Simply to Impress keeps prices reasonable, especially for the quality of the cards.
Shop all holiday cards at Simply to Impress.
Another great budget option
Shutterfly is another solid, affordable option for high-quality, custom holiday cards, especially during sales or for Prime members.
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Shutterfly used to be on the expensive side, but its recent partnership with Amazon Photos has made it a surprisingly budget-friendly option, especially for Prime members. Amazon Prime members will still save big with 45% off all regularly priced cards and free shipping on orders over $35. All you have to do is connect your Amazon account.
Despite the low starting price, Shutterfly offers some truly attractive and unique card designs, including tri-fold options that you can customize with an in-depth family update. The site is relatively easy to use, and you can even generate a link to send to loved ones to request their address changes. Envelope addressing is extra, unless you choose a custom envelope design (which itself costs extra) and there is an additional paid service where Shutterfly will address, assemble, and mail your cards for you.
Shop all holiday cards at Shutterfly.
Best for designing on your phone
If you want to create your photo card in just a few minutes from the convenience of your phone, Mixbook offers the best app experience.
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Mixbook is a strong choice if you want flexibility, creative control, and the convenience of designing holiday cards right from your phone. Its mobile app mirrors the desktop experience, letting you upload photos from your camera roll, Google Photos, Instagram, or Facebook with just a tap. You can start and finish your design without ever touching a computer, making Mixbook especially appealing if you (like many these days) don't have or use a full-size computer.
Pricing is fairly expensive compared to other services, but there's no minimum order size — so you can order just one card if you prefer. Paper options range from satin to luxe board, and while standard envelopes are included, upgrades are also available.
Shop all holiday cards at Mixbook.
Largest selection
If you want to ensure your holiday cards feel unique, choose from one of Vistaprint's nearly 7,000 designs, work with one of its designers to create something special, or upload your very own creation to print through the service.
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Vistaprint has a jaw-dropping amount of holiday card options; if you dig deep enough, there's no chance another family will have chosen the same design. Aside from thousands of pre-made designs poised for customization, you can also upload and print your own design, or work with a Vistaprint designer on something truly unique.
Print quality at Vistaprint is solid, and the service is moderately priced. We've found the photo editor and customization tool can be a little finicky to use. This service is best suited for individuals who have an eye for personalization and a clear vision of what they want — otherwise, the options can feel overwhelming.
Shop all holiday cards at Vistaprint.
Best sustainable
Paper Culture has a strong focus on sustainability and offers many premium features for free, like free designer assistance and envelope addressing.
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Sending paper holiday cards isn't the most sustainable practice. For those worried about the carbon footprint of this tradition, Paper Culture plants a tree for every order and uses sustainable and recycled materials for its cards. The company is a certified B Corp and purchases offsets for its entire carbon footprint each year. No other photo printing service we've found offers as robust sustainability practices.
Artistically inclined shoppers can upload their own design, or Paper Culture can guide you through the process. There are à la carte customization options, such as changing the colors, selecting different messaging (for example, Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas), and choosing the size. However, Paper Culture is also one of the few brands that offers free designer services, so you can truly customize your card to your liking. The brand also offers free addressing for both the recipient and return addresses.
Shop all holiday cards at Paper Culture.
Best for custom illustrations
If you don't have a solid photo to use for your holiday cards, consider commissioning a custom illustration from one of the designers on Etsy.
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You likely already know about Etsy, the popular online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. But if you haven't taken a look at some of its personalized stationery offerings, you'll be amazed by the creative options for cards.
Numerous artists offer custom holiday card packages, ranging from illustrated family portraits to letterpress cards featuring your cat on Santa Claus's body. Etsy gives you the opportunity to hire your own artist to create something special for your family.
Note that if you're getting custom art created, printing and physical cards may not be included. You may have to make your own arrangements for printing.
Shop all holiday cards at Etsy.
Honorable mentions
Artifact Uprising creates stunning custom cards featuring your high-quality photos. The minimalist, bespoke designs are best for those who prefer matte prints and muted tones.
The coolest person you know probably uses Artifact Uprising to print their holiday cards. The service offers a more curated collection of designs with a focus on quality rather than customization. Many of the designs are simple and understated, creating a very elegant base that allows your family photo to be the star of the show.
Because of the more limited options, it didn't make our top picks. Artifact Uprising also focuses heavily on matte printing, so it's not the ideal choice if you prefer glossy, vivid prints. You can add return address and recipient address printing for a fee to make things easier on your writing hand.
Shop all holiday cards at Artifact Uprising.
If you like to handwrite your cards but still want to include a photo, Papier has one of the best selections of bi-fold designs.
We appreciate that Papier offers a wide selection of traditional cards, in addition to its decent range of photo styles. In either case, you can add some customization and personalization to your cards.
While the selection isn't staggering, some filters can help you narrow it down further. You can choose by color, designer, photo option, and style. Most of the options are bi-fold designs, making it a good choice if you want photo cards with ample space to include a special note to your recipients.
When you find a design you like, whether it's a Christmas kangaroo or gingerbread house, you'll be able to alter the interior message and the font. In some cases, you can upload a photo to the card's interior, too.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@bjinnox.com.
