I worked at a popular paper products company for years (hi Vistaprint!). For years I ordered my Christmas cards there. But then I found Minted and loved the ease of their envelope printing. (They also have a LOT of gorgeous designs.) Since Minted’s popularity with printed envelopes, many other companies have started printing recipient addresses. For this year’s cards, I branched out and researched a bunch of different holiday card companies. I thought rather than gatekeep, I’d share my research on customization options, designs, and more to help you find the best place to order your holiday cards!
To make things equal I designed a card with the same photos and options. Here are the parameters I was searching:
- 75-80 cards with one photo on the front
- 3-4 photos on the back with text
- Printed envelopes with printed return address
- Flat cards in a 5×7″ size, rounded edges
- No upgrades on foil print, envelope liners, etc.
Skip to the price comparison chart!
Vistaprint
Some of my favorite designs this year:
See holiday card designs here!
- You can add photos and text pretty much wherever you’d like to, so customization is very easy. It’s also easy to move images around, or add graphics or new text boxes.
- Vistaprint now offers printed recipient addresses, which they didn’t have for a long time.
- Another thing I like about Vistaprint is you can upload your photo FIRST and then see how it looks on different cards on one screen.
- A color backside is included, which isn’t the case at all companies.
Shutterfly
Some of my favorite designs this year:
- I didn’t like that I couldn’t take off the back printed pattern to make it just white. It would be nice if that was a customizable option!
- They’ll mail your cards for you at a cost of 99 cents per domestic card (includes postage cost) or $1.99 per international card (includes postage cost).
- Shutterfly has a lot of great add-on options, like a glass ornament in the same style as your card!
Paper Culture
This is a newer-to-me brand which I only recently discovered via Instagram ads. But let’s throw it into the mix for comparison!
- Lots of card design options to choose from, with styles from minimalist to modern to fun
- There are very limited back options, but you can request design assistance to add text or photos.
Simply to Impress
- Envelope options to choose from include peel and seal, so you don’t have to lick any envelopes (!), plus they’ll even stamp and mail them for you!
- Once you choose a design, you’re pretty much stuck with it. There isn’t an easy one-click option to change the card design on your screen.
Minted
Minted was (I think) the first holiday card company to print recipient addresses. That, plus their beautiful designs, set them apart from the competition for a long time. But over the past few years their competitors have caught up on technology (recipient address printing, yay!) and adding new designs/keeping up with the trends.
Some of my favorite designs this year:
- Many cards come in landscape or portrait design, so if you love a design but your photo is the wrong orientation, it’s easy to change.
- You’ll pay additional for a printed backside (at about $56 for 80 cards)
- They have set options for the backs of the cards. I had their 4 Photo Strip option added to the back of the card and wanted to add just one more photo, but that isn’t possible. You have to change the back of the card to be one of their set layouts with the number of photos you need.
Price comparison chart for holiday card companies
The prices below are for a very similar card, with envelopes printed where possible. I included the price per card because some companies offer a 75 quantity and others 80 and I wanted it to be a fair comparison. Generally, as you order more cards, the price per card gets cheaper. And you’ll also notice that since we’re almost at Thanksgiving week (and Black Friday!), there are some promotions available already.
| Company | Price (Price per card) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vistaprint | $103.47 ($1.29 each) | Pricing is “Black Friday Preview” pricing |
| Minted | $235.51 ($2.94 each) (If I remove rounded edges, it drops the price $2.58 each. Remove return address pricing and it drops the price even further to $1.88 each) | Using 20% off $200+ promotion |
| Simply to Impress | $146.40 ($1.83 each) | Using a promotion for 50% off purchases over $100 + free shipping: use code KP2TN |
| Shutterfly | $178.33 ($2.37 each) | |
| Paper Culture | $129.28 ($1.61 each) | Pricing includes 50% off cards |
*Note: Pricing is from 11/22, the Friday before Thanksgiving. Pricing changed between Monday and Friday (for example, Vistaprint pricing decreased by $80 for the order, Minted decreased by $60 for the order). I assume that prices will drop even further ON Black Friday and Green Monday.
I hope this helps in your holiday card creating!
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