The best photo calendar apps do one of three different jobs, and most "top 10" lists mix them up. A print service designs the calendar with you, prints it and posts it. A design app gives you a print-ready file, and you print it yourself. A third kind keeps the calendar on your phone as a widget or wallpaper and prints only if you want it to. Pick the job first, and the app becomes obvious.
Every app below was checked on the App Store and on its maker's own site in October 2026. Prices for printed calendars change with almost every sale, so where we quote one, we say when we saw it.
Best for a bound calendar from the photo site you already use: Shutterfly
Shutterfly (shutterfly.com) is the default for good reason. Its iPhone app has about 600,000 ratings at 4.7 stars, and calendars are one of many products made from the same photo library: wall calendars, desk calendars, monthly planners and bulk orders for family. You can choose a design, place a photo on each month, add birthdays and holidays, and have it printed, bound and shipped.
The app also gives you unlimited free 4x4 and 4x6 prints (you pay shipping), and active customers get unlimited photo storage if they make a purchase at least once every 18 months. When we checked, its site was offering free shipping on orders of $99 or more with a code, and running sales on several products at once. That's normal for Shutterfly, so it's rarely worth paying full price.
Skip it if you only want a calendar and don't want an account full of photo-book and mug promotions.
Best for a printed calendar finished in minutes on your phone: PhotoCalendars
PhotoCalendars (photocalendars.com, made by PlanetArt) does one thing: printed wall calendars. You pick twelve photos and a cover from your camera roll, Facebook or Google Photos, choose a theme, and you're done. You can start the calendar on any month, choose which holidays appear and add your own dates such as birthdays, anniversaries and the first day of school.
Calendars are printed on heavy paper, spiral bound and shipped in a few days, with a money-back guarantee. The app has about 355 ratings at 4.8 stars. Its site doesn't list a price, so you'll see it at checkout.
Skip it if you want to design each page yourself. The speed comes from its themes doing most of the layout.
Best for a cheap printed calendar during a sale: Snapfish
Snapfish (snapfish.com) makes wall calendars in 8.5 x 11, 11.5 x 14 and 12 x 12 inches, plus desk calendars. Its sales are deep. When we checked on October 23, 2026, the 8.5 x 11 wall calendar was listed at a regular $27.99 and on sale for $9.80. If you're not in a hurry, wait for a sale.
US app users also get 100 free 4x6 prints a month (you pay shipping). The app has about 46,000 ratings at 4.6 stars and pulls photos from your camera roll, iCloud, Google Photos, Facebook and Instagram.
Skip it if you need it next week at any price. The good price depends on when you order.
Best for a designer-looking calendar made on a computer: Mixbook
Mixbook (mixbook.com) is best known for photo books. Its calendar editor lets you change themes, layouts and every page, and its calendars started at $34.99 when we checked. One thing to know: the Mixbook iPhone app's App Store listing talks only about photo books. Plan to make a calendar on mixbook.com, ideally on a larger screen.
Skip it if you want to make the whole thing on your phone.
Best for a calendar sorted from your camera roll by date: Photo Calendar
This is the one we built, so read it with that in mind. Photo Calendar starts from a different question: which photo goes on which month? It reads the date each photo in your library was taken, groups a year into twelve months and suggests a cover for each, so the March trip lands on March. Swap any month and the color palette and note follow. Months you've edited stay as you left them.
Then it puts the calendar in three places. The Home Screen widget shows your month with today circled and turns to the next month on the 1st by itself. That's free, along with four of the nine layouts, four of the fourteen filters, date marks, notes and a standard 1600 px export with a small corner signature. Premium (weekly, monthly, yearly or a one-time lifetime purchase) adds a 12-page, 300 dpi print PDF for A4 or A5, a Lock Screen wallpaper at your screen's exact resolution, HD 3000 px and Ultra 4000 px export, every layout and filter, and export without the signature.
Your photos are sorted and edited on the device, there's no account, and nothing is uploaded. It runs on iPhone and iPad.
Skip it if you want a calendar printed and posted to you. Photo Calendar makes the file, and your printer or a print shop does the rest.
Best for designing every page and printing at home: Calmaker
Calmaker (likoapps.com) is a design tool for calendars. You place the calendar grid, photos, text and shapes anywhere on the page, and choose fonts, colors, the first day of the week and the date format. It knows public holidays in 518 regions, lets you mark birthdays and business days, and exports a high-resolution JPG or PDF for A4 or A3 posters, cards and postcards. It can also make a Lock Screen wallpaper and Instagram layouts.
Projects sync over iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Macs. It's free to start, and Pro unlocks the premium features. The app has 65 ratings at 4.6 stars.
Skip it if you don't want to make layout decisions. A blank canvas is slower than a template.
Best for a free calendar printed at home: Create Calendar With Photos
Create Calendar With Photos (koruskan.net) is the simplest route to a free calendar you print yourself. Choose a template, the month and year, add your photos, then download it to print and hang. Making and downloading as many calendars as you like is free. Text, stickers, new backgrounds, calendar colors and high-resolution export are paid extras. The app has about 169 ratings at 4.5 stars. Its last update was in March 2025.
Skip it if you want to print large. Sharp prints need the high-resolution export, which is paid.
Which one for which job
| App | Who prints it | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shutterfly | They do, and ship it | Many calendar styles, gifts | Per calendar + shipping; frequent sales |
| PhotoCalendars | They do, and ship it | Fastest on a phone | Shown at checkout |
| Snapfish | They do, and ship it | Lowest price on sale | 8.5 x 11 regular $27.99 (Oct 2026) |
| Mixbook | They do, and ship it | Design control on the web | From $34.99 (Oct 2026) |
| Photo Calendar | You, or a print shop | Months sorted by photo date; widget and Lock Screen | Free; Premium for print PDF and wallpaper |
| Calmaker | You, or a print shop | Laying out every page yourself | Free to start; Pro |
| Create Calendar With Photos | You, or a print shop | A free print-at-home calendar | Free; paid HD export |
Print service or print it yourself?
A print service is the right choice for one bound gift calendar: binding, heavy paper and delivery are done for you, and the price is fair during a sale. Printing it yourself wins when you want several copies (grandparents, both offices, the fridge), when you want to start on a month the shops don't offer, or when you'd rather not upload a year of family photos to an account.
If you print it yourself, aim for about 300 pixels per inch. A full A4 page at 300 dpi is roughly 2480 x 3508 pixels. Recent iPhone photos are big enough. Screenshots and photos saved from chat apps are the ones that print soft. Our free calendar photo check tells you whether a photo will print sharp at A4, A5 or Letter before you commit. For the full how-to, see how to make a photo calendar on iPhone. And if your calendar is going on the phone rather than the wall, adding a photo calendar widget takes about a minute.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best photo calendar app?
It depends on who prints it. For a bound calendar shipped to your door, Shutterfly has the widest range and PhotoCalendars is the quickest to finish on a phone. To print it yourself, Calmaker gives you the most design control. To have your camera roll sorted into twelve months and kept on your iPhone as well as the wall, use Photo Calendar.
What is the best free photo calendar app?
For a free calendar you print yourself, Create Calendar With Photos lets you make and download designs at no cost, with text, stickers and high-resolution export as paid extras. Calmaker and Photo Calendar are free to start, with Pro or Premium for the full feature set. Print service apps are free to download, but you pay for each printed calendar and shipping.
Which photo calendar app is cheapest to print?
Printing a file yourself is the cheapest per copy, especially if you want more than one. Among print services, prices move with sales: Snapfish listed its 8.5 x 11 wall calendar at a regular $27.99 in October 2026, discounted to $9.80 that week, and Mixbook's calendars started at $34.99. Check the current deal before you order.
Is Shutterfly or Snapfish better for photo calendars?
Both make wall and desk calendars from your phone. Shutterfly has more calendar styles and a larger product range, with free shipping on orders of $99 or more under its current code. Snapfish tends to be cheaper on sale and gives US app users 100 free 4x6 prints a month (you pay shipping). If price matters most, wait for a Snapfish sale; if you want more design choice, use Shutterfly.
Your year, already sorted by month
Photo Calendar reads when each photo was taken and builds the twelve months for you, for your wall, your Lock Screen and your Home Screen.
Download Photo Calendar on the App Store →Related: How to Make a Calendar Wallpaper for Your iPhone Lock Screen · How to Make a Photo Calendar on iPhone. Questions? Email us.
