How to Digitize Old Photos: Phone, Scanner or Service

There are three ways to digitize old photos: a phone app, a flatbed scanner, or a scanning service. For 100 prints, plan on roughly 20 to 40 minutes with a phone app that recognizes the photos on an album page, about 2 to 3 hours with a flatbed scanner, and several weeks of turnaround with a service. The phone and the scanner cost you time; the service charges a fee per photo or per box.

Which way suits which photos?

The right choice depends on where the photos are (albums, a box of loose prints, or film) and how many there are. All times in the table are estimates for 100 standard prints, including handling.

Way 1: Scan old photos with a flatbed scanner

A flatbed scanner has a glass plate and a lid. You place the print face down, and a light bar with a sensor moves across the picture. The light is even, so there is no glare and no shadow. Of the three ways, this one records the most detail per photo.

For prints, 300 dpi is enough if the digital copy should be the same size as the original. If you plan to enlarge or crop a picture later, scan at 600 dpi. Higher values make the files bigger without showing more of a paper print. Which number applies when is covered in the guide to the right scan resolution for old photos.

The weak point is time. Every print has to go on the glass, be straightened, scanned, named and taken off again. With preview and save dialog, that is roughly 1 to 2 minutes per photo, so about 2 to 3 hours for 100 prints. Albums are awkward: a bound album rarely lies flat, and the spine casts a shadow across the page.

Flatbed scanners suited to photos cost, as a rough guide, 100 to 400 euros in German retail, as of October 2026; check the current price at a retailer before you buy. Slides and negatives need a transparency unit, a light source in the lid that shines through the film. Without it, a flatbed cannot read film at all. Our comparison of a flatbed scanner and a phone app goes into the details.

Way 2: Send old photos to a scanning service

A scanning service does the work for you. You pack the photos, mail them in, and get the files back on a USB stick or as a download. In the US, Legacybox, ScanMyPhotos and ScanCafe work this way; see the provider's price list for the fee per photo or per box. In Germany, MediaFix charges 0.59 euros per photo and 0.89 euros per album page, as of October 2026.

The result is consistent because the provider uses professional scanners and a fixed workflow. The downsides are the waiting time, usually several weeks, and the fact that your originals travel by mail. Many providers take loose prints only, and few add names or dates to the files. Our article on the cost of a scanning service compared with doing it yourself runs the numbers for typical collections.

Way 3: Scan old photos with a phone app

A phone app uses the camera to capture a print or a whole album page and then crops and straightens the result. The difference between apps lies in what they recognize. Document scanner apps such as Adobe Scan and Microsoft Lens save a page as one PDF and do not separate the photos on it. Photo scanner apps find each print on the page and save it as its own image file.

The setup is the same for all of them: daylight from the side, no flash, the phone held level above the page. Glossy prints and plastic sleeves reflect light, and glare is the main reason a phone capture looks worse than a flatbed scan. Our guide on scanning a photo album without removing the photos shows the setup step by step, and the article on scanning photos without a scanner covers the plain camera route without any app.

Three apps are worth knowing, judged by the same criteria:

• PhotoScan by Google Photos captures one print at a time from four corner positions and removes glare that way. It does not recognize several photos on an album page. It is free with no in-app purchases; its last updates were November 2022 on iOS and July 2023 on Android, as of October 2026.
• Photomyne captures several prints per shot. Scanning is free; according to the footer of the Photomyne website, the subscription costs 59.99 USD per year after a 3-day trial, as of October 2026.
• Albumbox captures a whole album page with up to six photos in one shot, then crops, straightens and saves each one as its own file. Scanning, viewing, labeling and sharing an album as a link are free and need no account; saving several photos at once and exporting as ZIP or PDF need Plus, 39.99 USD per year or 79.99 USD once for three years, as of October 2026. It runs on iPhone and Android.

With an app that detects the photos on a page, capturing a page takes a few seconds, and checking the crop a little longer. For an album with 100 photos on 20 to 25 pages, that adds up to roughly 20 to 40 minutes. Loose prints take about an hour per 100. A phone capture is enough for screens and prints up to postcard size; for large enlargements, use a flatbed. The article on scanning versus photographing old photos goes through the differences one by one.

What to do after digitizing

1. Label the photos while you still remember who is in them. Put the year, the place and the names into the file name or the caption field of the app. This is the information that disappears first.
2. Keep two copies in two places: one on your computer or phone, one in a cloud service or on an external drive stored elsewhere. A single copy on one phone is not a backup.
3. Repair damage last. Scratches, tears and faded colors can be corrected in software after scanning; the guide to restoring old photos on your phone shows what is possible and what is not.

Which way should you choose?

• Photos in albums you do not want to take apart: a phone app with page detection.
• A shoebox with fewer than 500 loose prints: a flatbed at 300 dpi, or a phone app if screen quality is enough.
• More than 1,000 loose prints, or no time at all: a scanning service. Count the photos first and compare the fee per photo with the price of a scanner.
• Slides and negatives: a flatbed with a transparency unit or a service.
• A handful of important pictures for a large print: a flatbed at 600 dpi.

Many families combine the ways: the albums with the phone, the loose stack with a scanner or a service.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to digitize old photos?

There is no single answer. A flatbed scanner records the most detail per photo, a phone app is the quickest way through albums, and a service takes the work off your hands for large collections.

How much does it cost to digitize old photos?

With your own phone, the only cost is your time, unless the app charges for export. A flatbed scanner is a one-time purchase, rough guide 100 to 400 euros in German retail, as of October 2026. Services charge per photo or per box; check the provider's price list.

What resolution do I need to scan old photos?

300 dpi is enough for a print at its original size and for screens. Use 600 dpi if you want to enlarge or crop later. Slides and negatives need a transparency unit and a far higher resolution.

Can I digitize photos without taking them out of the album?

Yes. A phone app that detects several photos on a page captures the page as it is; the album stays intact. A flatbed scanner only works if the album lies flat on the glass without strain on the binding.

Is it better to scan or to photograph old photos?

A scanner gives even light and more detail; a phone is faster and works with albums. For screens and small prints, a careful phone capture is good enough. For enlargements and for film, scan.

If you want to start today, pick one album, look up what is free and what Plus costs on the Albumbox pricing page, and scan the first page. If a scanner suits you better, start with the photos that matter most.

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Photomyne is a trademark of Photomyne Ltd., PhotoScan by Google Photos a trademark of Google LLC, Pic Scanner Gold and MyHeritage Reimagine trademarks of their owners. Prices and features as of October 2026, sources: App Store, Google Play, provider websites.