Popsa Photo Book review

I’ve been on a mission to find the best photo book service, and after a lot of trial and error, I think I’ve finally found a worthy contender. Popsa is the easiest way to create a photo book and get premium results. Customization is super simple, and the layflat binding option means wear and tear is minimized.

While color replication is generally impressive, blues can sometimes appear oversaturated. It’s also on the expensive side when compared to some budget counterparts — but I think the premium price is worth it for the book’s quality.

You can find out more about my experience with the photo book service by reading this full Popsa review.

Popsa Photo Book review: Specs

Popsa Photo Book review: Price & availability

You can purchase Popsa photo books directly from the Popsa website with prices starting at $44 for a hardback book. If you’d rather try out something cheaper, Popsa also offers a softcover book starting at $34, but I would recommend the hardback book for the best quality and longevity.

When creating the photo book I tested, I added a gloss finish to the pages, silver foil on lettering and layflat binding, and the book came to $86. These features come at an extra cost, but in my opinion, they made the photobook feel incredibly premium. If you’re looking for something that will look good on display as well as when you’re flicking through photos with friends and family, Popsa is a great option, thanks to all its features.

The minimum number of pages you need to order the book is 20, and you can add up to 130 extra pages, which would take the book to a maximum number of pages of 150. While I think this is more than enough pages to make a great photo book, Chatbooks allows up to 366 pages.

The Printique photo book service starts around the same price for $45, but its superior quality makes it more of a coffee table book, and something to display. Although the Popsa book feels of premium quality, it also looks less expensive, and is more comfortable to use for casually looking through pictures.

Photo book newbies may want to try something a little more friendly on the bank account first time around, so Mixbook would be a good option as it starts from just $14 and offers a wide range of customization options.

Popsa Photo Book review: Software & production

With the premium results, you’d be forgiven for thinking that designing a photo book with Popsa would be a complicated process. But you’d be wrong. I used the free mobile app and tried out Popsa’s AI software.

This process is super simple. I just had to upload all of the pictures I wanted in the book from my camera roll and into the app. The software then analyzed the photos and organized them. I think it did a pretty good job at suggesting designs, but I was able to manually resize some pictures to ensure the best layout.

I also tested out the background colors. You can have a different color on each page if you’d like, but I opted for a light purple color on all the pages. It’s easy to add text to the pages too. The software feels basic, but I like that because everything is laid out in a satisfying way that feels relaxing to process — totally stress-free.

Making the book was very straightforward, and the software makes the whole process feel accessible to even the most inexperienced photo book curator. If you’re looking to have more creative control over the book, I would recommend Mixbook, which is user-friendly but offers a very wide variety of customization tools.

Popsa Photo Book review: Print quality

The quality of print you get with Popsa is totally worth the money you spend on it. The 200gsm paper is a lot thicker than the paper you get with other photo books like Chatbooks, Mixbook or Vistaprint, and feels almost like card. This means that the pages don’t bend or fold, and the pictures always look perfect.

Colors in the images are well presented throughout the book, although blue tones sometimes appear oversaturated compared to the originals. However, this isn’t an issue for me, as I love my images to be as bright as possible, and I think it lends well to water images, adding an extra dose of vibrancy.

Despite the tendency to oversaturate blues, the Popsa deals with colors that are already oversaturated extremely well. In other photobooks like Vistaprint, bright colors look blown out, but this isn’t an issue with Popsa.

However, I think that black and white images are slightly sepia-toned. This isn’t something that my colleague Erin noticed, but when I looked at all of the photobooks I have tested side by side, this was clear.

The glossy finish of the pages makes the book feel more authentic, like a printed photo. And the layflat binding is a great way to minimise any damage to the book from bending or folding pages, and you can use the entire margin of the book for photos.

The binding also makes the book feel a little thicker because of the way it’s put together, but it’s worth it. The front cover of the hardback book is nicely padded and has a luxurious, glossy finish. I think the silver foil lettering on the cover also lends to the premium look and feel.

It feels like a lot of care has gone into making this book, which is what you want when you’re creating something to help you look back at memories.

Popsa Photo Book review: Verdict

Popsa’s photo book service offers a quick and easy way to put all of your favorite photos in one place, and I found the whole process extremely straightforward. There was no fussing with different settings and sizing, and I could even use AI software to take care of all the fiddly bits like choosing layouts and resizing photos for me.

The book can easily be upgraded with additions such as glossy pages and silver foil lettering to make it feel premium, but still have an accessible look. Blue tones are sometimes oversaturated, which I don’t mind, but it won’t be for everyone.

Popsa is a little more expensive than other budget services like Mixbook and Vistaprint, but I think paying a little extra to get something that feels so high-quality is definitely worth it.