# Blurb review (2026): is it any good? > Print-on-demand photo books, books, magazines and wall art Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Blurb prints custom photo books, paperbacks, hardcovers, magazines, notebooks and wall art, one copy at a time or in bulk. Creators design with Blurb's own tools or upload a PDF, then buy copies or sell them through an Instant Store, the Blurb Bookstore, retail distribution to Amazon and Ingram, or Blurb's print API. There is no subscription; you pay per printed product. - **Category:** Print on Demand & Dropshipping - **Made by:** Blurb - **Website:** https://www.blurb.com - **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows - **Who should skip it:** Pricey if you want large formats: a 12 by 12 inch hardcover photo book starts at $67. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Blurb is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** No subscription. Blurb says there are no upfront costs; you pay per printed product, with books from US $8.99 and photo books from US $12.00. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Pay per product | $0 | No subscription or setup fee. The pricing page lists starting prices per product: paperback and hardcover books from US $8.99, photo books from US $12.00, magazines from US $7.00. | Read from https://www.blurb.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Blurb before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Volume discounts from 10 copies** (Other savings): Blurb says volume discounts on printing start at 10 copies, and bulk printing services cover 100 or more copies with custom quotes. Source: https://www.blurb.com/ ## Key features - **Book design tools:** BookWright is a desktop app for Mac and Windows, and there is an online editor, a PDF uploader, and plugins for Adobe InDesign, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. - **Wide range of formats:** Photo books in six sizes, paperback and hardcover books, magazines, notebooks and journals, and wall art, each with its own paper options. - **Instant Store:** A hosted product page for selling a book directly, which Blurb says has no subscription or extra fees. Blurb prints and ships each order. - **Retail distribution:** Books can be listed on Amazon, through Ingram's network to bookstores and libraries, or on the Blurb Bookstore, with ISBN support included. - **Bulk printing:** Volume discounts start at 10 copies on printing, and bulk services with custom quotes and dropshipping to several addresses are offered for 100 or more copies. - **Print API:** Blurb says its RPI Print API has no fees or minimums and white-label packaging, for developers who want to connect a store or app. ## Good for - Photographers and artists making photo books and wall art - Authors who want a book on Amazon and Ingram without paying a subscription - Teams or clients that need a run of 10 or more copies ## Worth knowing - Prices are per product and rise with size and page count: a 12 x 12 inch hardcover photo book with an image wrap starts at US $67.00 on the pricing page. - Not every format can go to retail distribution, and retail fees vary by retailer. - Retail Distribution lists the book on the retailer's own page; there is no hosted storefront from Blurb on that path. - BookWright runs on Mac and Windows only; the other design tools run in a browser or inside Adobe apps. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Blurb prints photo books, paperbacks, hardcovers and magazines on demand, with design tools in a browser, BookWright and Adobe plug-ins. There is no subscription, but every copy is paid for: books start at $8.99, and a 12 by 12 inch hardcover photo book starts at $67. Retail listing does not cover every format. - **Value for money: C.** No subscription. Books start at US $8.99 and photo books at US $12.00, rising with size and pages, and the pricing page shows a 12 by 12 inch hardcover at US $67.00. - **Free plan and trial: B.** No setup fee or subscription, and the design tools cost nothing. But every printed copy is paid, so nothing leaves the building free. - **Features: C.** Design tools, many formats, an Instant Store, retail distribution, bulk printing and a print API. Not every format can go to retail, and there is no hosted storefront on that route. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You design the book yourself, in a browser, BookWright or an Adobe app. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, Mac and Windows, with Amazon, Ingram and Adobe links, plus a print API. No phone app is listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Blurb's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among print-on-demand and dropshipping services - Blurb's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 11 of the 30 other print-on-demand and dropshipping services we grade, and level with 5. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 10 of 30) and worst on value for money (C, above 0). - Blurb has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/print-on-demand ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Blurb is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. - You could not: Printers that make and ship each order. - You could not: Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. - You could not: A real app for macOS and Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Amazon, Ingram and Adobe InDesign among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Amazon, Ingram, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop **Tags:** Print on demand, Online store, Public API ## Alternatives - [Lulu Direct](https://toolgpa.com/tools/lulu-direct): Print API that prints and ships books to your customers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/blurb-vs-lulu-direct) - [Amazon KDP](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kdp): Amazon's free self-publishing for ebooks and print-on-demand books. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/blurb-vs-kdp) - [IngramSpark](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ingramspark): Print-on-demand and wholesale distribution for self-published books. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/blurb-vs-ingramspark) - [Fine Art America](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fine-art-america): Art marketplace where artists sell prints and products made on demand. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/blurb-vs-fine-art-america) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.blurb.com/ - https://www.blurb.com/pricing - https://www.blurb.com/sell - https://www.blurb.com/bookmaking-tools Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/blurb Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).