One of the eight photo scanning services most comparisons still rank has stopped taking orders, and the cheapest per-photo figure in this category comes from the same company as one of the most expensive. Most prices below were read on the vendor's own site on 9 September 2026; the two that were not are marked as third-party reads in the table.
- DigMyPics is no longer trading. Its own site: "We are no longer accepting any orders or incoming media."
- The spread is 20× — 7¢ to $1.40 per photo — and the two extremes are both Legacybox.
- The unit matters more than the number. Some services price per photo, one prices per "item" where an item is a set of 25, one prices by print size.
- Cheapest with a real per-photo price: GoPhoto at 29–44¢, then ScanCafe at 48¢.
- 🏆 Not one service on this list repairs the photo — they only copy it. Every scanner here returns exactly what you posted, fading, creases and colour cast included, at up to $1.40 a print. Kavel is the step all nine leave out, it runs on free credits, and it costs nothing to find out whether a scan is worth keeping.
What photo scanning services actually charge per photo in 2026
The table above is the whole photo scanning market as the question is usually asked. Three things in this photo scanning table are worth more than the ranking.
DigMyPics is not on this table because it no longer has a price. Its own site states it is
"no longer accepting any orders or incoming media" (read 9 Sep 2026). Comparisons that still
rank it are ranking a company that will not take your photos. Details below.
| Service | Price per photo | Pricing unit | Standard DPI | The condition attached | Source, read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacybox (bulk page) | 7¢ | per scanned image | 300 | promotional bulk rate | legacybox.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| GoPhoto | 29–44¢ | per image | 600 stated for prints | 29¢ up to 500 images | third-party reads, 9 Sep 2026 |
| ScanCafe | 48¢ | per image | 300 standard | page also shows 34–46¢ tiers | scancafe.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| ScanDigital | 68¢ | per photo | 300 base / 600 premium | premium tier costs more | third-party read, 9 Sep 2026 |
| EverPresent | 98¢ → 68¢ | per scan, volume-tiered | 300–600 | 98¢ first 200, 68¢ from 200+ | everpresent.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| Memories Renewed | 85¢ / $1.25 | per photo, by print size | not stated on pricing page | $1.25 above 8.5×11″ | memoriesrenewed.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| Southtree | $0.25 | per negative | 12 megapixel stated | prints priced separately | southtree.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| Capture | $19.99 first 50, then 29¢ | flat entry + per photo | not stated | entry fee makes small jobs pricier per photo | third-party read, 9 Sep 2026 |
| Legacybox (Starter kit) | $1.40 | per photo, derived | 300 | $69.98 for 2 items = 50 photos | legacybox.com, 9 Sep 2026 |
| Kavel | free credits to start | per image, signed out | n/a — digital input | not a scanning service; this is the repair step after | kavel.ai, 9 Sep 2026 |
First: the cheapest and the most expensive photo scanning rows are the same company. Second: the units are not interchangeable, so most "cheapest photo scanning service" answers are comparing different things. Third: our own row is in a different business — we do not scan anything, and it is there so you can see where the money stops.
DigMyPics has stopped, and the photo scanning lists have not noticed
What the site says now
DigMyPics was a fixture of this category for years — the service other reviews used as the quality benchmark. Its site now opens with a notice instead of a price list:
"We are no longer accepting any orders or incoming media. Please do not ship any digitizing projects to our address."
Why this category goes stale faster than most
The navigation bar above that notice still says "Order Now." The page title reads "DigMyPics - Service Discontinued."
None of the roundups we sampled while researching this page flags it — not photoscanningguide.com, not fixthephoto.com, not zoopy.com, not pixoneye.com, not memorymurals.com, and not foreverstudios.com, all of which still carry it in a ranked list.
The page title now reads "DigMyPics - Service Discontinued".
That is the structural problem with photo scanning comparisons: they are written once, ranked by price, and then left alone, while the underlying businesses take mail-in physical goods and can stop at any time. Before you ship irreplaceable prints anywhere, open the company's own site and check that it is still accepting them. That check costs nothing and it is the only one that matters.
The 2026 photo scanning spread is 20×, but the unit matters more
Three incompatible photo scanning pricing models sit inside this one category, which is why two honest answers to "what does photo scanning cost" can be a factor of twenty apart.
- Per photo — ScanCafe, ScanDigital and GoPhoto price photo scanning this way. You can multiply by your own count and get a real number.
- Per "item" — Legacybox, where one item is a set of 25 photos. You cannot multiply, and a half-full set costs what a full one costs.
- Per size band — Memories Renewed, where 85¢ covers up to 8.5×11″ and larger prints are $1.25.
- Volume-tiered — EverPresent, where the first 200 scans are 98¢ and everything after is 68¢, described on its page as a "30% bulk discount applied automatically."
Legacybox is 20× apart from itself
The clearest example of the unit problem is one vendor's two pages, both current on the same day.
Its bulk page advertises "as low as 7¢ per scanned image… That's 76% in savings!" Its Starter kit is $69.98 for "up to 2 items." One item is a set of 25 photos, so the Starter kit is 50 photos — $1.40 each.
Both photo scanning figures are true. The 7¢ needs a volume most households do not have, and the kit prices a set rather than a photo. The practical move is to count your prints first, then divide the kit price by your own number instead of the vendor's headline. If that lands above 50¢, a per-photo photo scanning service is cheaper for you.
Photo scanning DPI and turnaround in 2026, briefly
What resolution is actually worth paying for
Resolution is quoted inconsistently across this shelf, which is worth knowing before you compare on it. ScanDigital states 600 DPI as its premium tier, so its base price is a lower resolution. GoPhoto is described as scanning prints at 600 DPI. Southtree does not quote DPI at all — it states "12 megapixels" per image, a different unit again. Memories Renewed's pricing page does not state a resolution.
We did not test scan quality, and we are not going to tell you which DPI you need — that depends on your prints and what you intend to do with them. What the table can tell you is that two services quoting different numbers may not be quoting the same thing, exactly as with price.
Neither photo scanning number is where people get surprised. The photo scanning surprises are the unit, and whether the company is still there.
After the photo scanning: the repair step
A scan copies the damage too
We do not sell photo scanning — photo scanning is a physical, mail-in service and nothing on this site competes with it. What happens next is where we are useful, and it is the part these price comparisons leave out entirely.
Photo scanning produces a faithful copy of what you sent. Paying more per scan does not change that — higher DPI just records the damage in more detail. What comes back is:
- a faded print → a faded file
- a creased or torn print → every crease and tear, in focus
- a colour-shifted print → the same cast, now permanent
- a soft or slightly blurred print → a soft file at higher resolution
That repair is a separate job with its own tools: old photo restoration for creases, tears and colour cast, the AI image tools hub for everything else, and the HD photo converter for resolution. A signed-out visitor starts with free credits, so the cheapest way to find out whether a scan is worth repairing is to run one before deciding anything. We wrote up what works in best free AI old photo restoration, the difference between the two jobs in unblur vs restore, and the case of soft scans in how to fix grainy photos.
Faded colour, physical creases and soft focus are three different repairs, and unblur vs restore covers which is which. What each run costs is on the pricing page. If the scan is fine and you just want it cleaner, the free AI photo editors roundup covers that lane, and how to fix grainy photos handles the soft-scan case specifically.
The sensible photo scanning order is: scan once at the highest DPI you will pay for, keep the raw files untouched, and repair copies. Scanning is the irreversible step because it involves mailing the originals; the repair is not.
FAQ: photo scanning services and cost
How much does photo scanning cost per photo in 2026?
Between 7¢ and $1.40 depending on the service and the unit it prices in. With a genuine per-photo price, expect 29–48¢ at GoPhoto or ScanCafe, 68¢ at ScanDigital or EverPresent above 200 scans, and 85¢ at Memories Renewed. Read 9 September 2026.
What is the cheapest photo scanning service in 2026?
On headline rate, Legacybox's bulk page at 7¢. On a price you can actually multiply by your own photo count, GoPhoto at 29–44¢. The two answers differ because the 7¢ is a bulk rate that needs volume, while the kit prices a set of 25 rather than a photo.
Is DigMyPics still in business?
No. Its own site states it is "no longer accepting any orders or incoming media" and asks customers not to ship projects to its address, read 9 September 2026. Any comparison still ranking it is out of date.
What DPI should photo scanning use?
300 DPI reprints at the original size, 600 DPI allows moderate enlargement. Above 600 you are recording grain rather than detail for most consumer prints, and it costs more at every service that tiers by resolution.
Do I need to repair scans after photo scanning?
Only if the originals have faded, shifted colour or lost sharpness — scanning copies those faults exactly. Repair is a separate, free-to-try step: old photo restoration runs on the free credits a signed-out visitor already has.
Can I do photo scanning myself instead?
Yes, and it is cheaper per photo if your time is free. The trade is throughput and consistency; mail-in photo scanning services exist because a shoebox of 2,000 prints is a weekend of work at home.
Sources
Read on each vendor's own site on 9 September 2026: legacybox.com (both the bulk page and the kit product page), scancafe.com, everpresent.com, memoriesrenewed.com and southtree.com, plus DigMyPics' own site for the discontinuation notice, which was fetched directly and screenshotted. GoPhoto and ScanDigital figures are third-party reads, not vendor pages, and are marked as such in the table. Kavel figures come from our own live configuration.
Related on Kavel: best free AI old photo restoration · unblur vs restore · how to fix grainy photos · old photo restoration
Last updated: September 2026.
