FreePrints Cards makes a fair pitch. Design a standard 7x5 card in the app, add a photo and a line of MagicMessage handwriting, and one card a month ships free to the recipient’s letterbox. The maths works for the occasional birthday reminder. It stops working the moment you want a folded premium card, a Jumbo, an invitation pack, or three cards in the same order, because the delivery charge, upgrade fees, and printed handwriting extras stack quickly, and the free allowance is one card per calendar month regardless of your family size.
We tested 7 FreePrints Cards alternatives across price, card size, quality, and how fast a card actually reaches its recipient in the UK. Each pick either beats FreePrints on unit price at real order volumes or offers something the FreePrints editor cannot, from a designer marketplace to click-and-collect at the high street.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free card | Card price from | UK delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moonpig | Widest range and reliable next-day post | No | Around £3.99 | 1st class included on most |
| Funky Pigeon | Personalised gifts alongside the card | No | Around £3.99 | Standard from £1.29 |
| Card Factory | Cheapest personalised cards, high-street pickup | No | Around £1.99 | Free click and collect |
| TouchNote | Photo postcards from a credit pack | Trial credits | Around £2.49 in packs | Included in credit |
| thortful | Independent designer cards | No | Around £3.99 | 1st class included |
| Snapfish | Photo cards bundled with prints | Frequent codes | Around £1.79 with promo | From around £3 |
| Photobox | Cards, photo books, wall art in one order | No | Around £3.49 | From around £3 |
Why people leave FreePrints Cards
The one-free-a-month cap is per account, not per person. A family that wants to send two thank-you cards on the same day pays for the second, plus the difference on any upgrade. The free credit does not roll over if you skip a month.
Premium and Jumbo upgrades are where the price shows up. Folded Premium and the 10x7 Jumbo look great, but each carries an upcharge on top of the postage. Once you add a photo envelope and printed handwriting, a “free” card lands closer to the cost of a full-price Moonpig or Funky Pigeon send.
MagicMessage and RealScript are extras, not defaults. The AI-written message and the handwriting fonts are pitched hard in the interface, and both can push the total up per card. If you want a plain typed note, it is a genuinely low charge. If you want the app’s headline features, it is not.
International postage doubles the price fast. Sending to a friend abroad turns the free card into a paid one, at a charge that rivals Moonpig without the same courier reliability.
Card Packs are useful, but invitation-heavy users can find better volume pricing at Card Factory or on a Photobox promo, especially for save-the-date runs above ten cards.
The best FreePrints Cards alternatives
Moonpig, best for range and reliable post
Moonpig is the reference point for personalised card apps in the UK. The catalogue is enormous, from off-the-shelf greetings to fully custom designs with your photo, name, and inside message. Cards posted before the daily cutoff routinely arrive first class the next working day, and delivery is included on the standard card price rather than added separately.
Moonpig vs FreePrints Cards on the daily send is where the gap opens up. FreePrints does one free card, Moonpig does the tenth one to the same reliability and speed.
Where it falls short: No free allowance, and the “add gift” upsells at checkout are aggressive. The card price sits meaningfully above FreePrints once you strip away the freebie.
Pricing:
- Standard personalised card from around £3.99 with delivery included
- Large from around £5.29
- Card and gift bundles from around £10
- vs FreePrints Cards: Pricier per card, but no delivery upcharge and faster arrival
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Import photos from Google Photos, Facebook, or the camera roll, same sources FreePrints supports. Save the recipient’s address to the address book once and reuse it.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The safe pick when the card has to land on the doormat the next day.
Funky Pigeon, best for cards plus a real gift
Funky Pigeon covers the same personalised-card ground as Moonpig, then leans harder into the attached gift. Balloons, personalised mugs, prosecco, chocolate boxes, and same-day dispatch on the gifting side make it useful when a card alone would feel light.
Funky Pigeon vs FreePrints Cards on the gift path is not a contest, FreePrints does not sell gifts. On the card itself the design libraries are close in size, with Funky Pigeon leaning slightly more into humour and topical cards.
Where it falls short: Standard card delivery is not included in the price, and postage is a separate line at checkout. Dispatch is fast, but the Royal Mail leg can be slower than Moonpig on weeks with strikes or seasonal load.
Pricing:
- Standard personalised card from around £3.99
- Postage from around £1.29 for 1st class
- Card with attached gift from around £10
- vs FreePrints Cards: More expensive at the till, but a real gift option that FreePrints does not offer at all
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Pull photos from the same sources, then browse by occasion. Save recipient details to the address book so repeat sends take two taps.
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: The right choice when a card and a bottle need to arrive together.
Card Factory, best for cheap cards and high-street pickup
Card Factory has the lowest per-unit personalised card price on this list, cards from around £1.99 for a design you build in the app with your photo and message. The distinctive bit is click and collect, free from any UK Card Factory store, which sidesteps the postage question completely.
Card Factory vs FreePrints Cards on absolute cost, Card Factory wins on any order above the free monthly one. FreePrints wins if you send one card a month, at cost of postage, and never buy a Premium upgrade.
Where it falls short: Design tools are simpler than Moonpig or Funky Pigeon, and the photo card catalogue is smaller. The app has been prone to sync hiccups after big updates, but the current release is stable.
Pricing:
- Personalised photo cards from around £1.99
- Larger and boxed cards from around £3
- Free click and collect from stores
- vs FreePrints Cards: Cheaper per card, plus a genuinely free pickup option that FreePrints cannot match
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Upload the same photos and pick a Card Factory template close to the FreePrints layout. Save your regular store as the default pickup point.
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: The best pick when the card is a gift add-on and the shop is on your route home.
TouchNote, best for photo postcards on a credit pack
TouchNote built its business on the photo postcard, a real card printed from your photo, addressed and posted anywhere in the world for a fixed credit. The app also sells folded greetings cards and gift cards on the same credit system. New signups get a small trial credit worth a first send.
TouchNote vs FreePrints Cards on postcards is a clean win for TouchNote, FreePrints does not sell postcards at all. On greetings cards, TouchNote is comparable per unit once you buy a credit pack.
Where it falls short: The single-card price without a credit pack is higher than Moonpig. International delivery is included in the credit, but the exact price per credit changes with pack size.
Pricing:
- Postcards from around £2.49 per credit in the biggest pack
- Greetings cards from around £3 per credit
- Trial credit for new accounts
- vs FreePrints Cards: Cheaper per unit at pack pricing, includes worldwide delivery
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Pick a credit pack rather than paying per card. Import photos, address the card, and TouchNote handles the print and post.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for regular photo postcards, especially to family abroad.
thortful, best for independent designer cards
thortful is a marketplace of independent card designers, closer to Etsy for greetings cards than a mass-market printer. The catalogue skews younger, funnier, and more design-led. Cards are printed to order and posted 1st class, with the price of postage included in the sticker.
thortful vs FreePrints Cards on the design catalogue is a genuine gap. FreePrints has neat templates. thortful has thousands of one-off designs from named illustrators.
Where it falls short: No free tier, and the personalisation is usually limited to the inside message rather than heavy layout customisation. Some designs have a small artist upcharge.
Pricing:
- Standard card from around £3.99 with delivery included
- Large from around £4.99
- vs FreePrints Cards: Pricier per card, and worth it when the design matters more than the price
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Search by occasion or recipient personality. Save favourite designers so their new drops surface quickly.
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: The pick when the front of the card is doing the emotional work.
Snapfish, best for cards bundled with prints
Snapfish is a photo-print service first and a card service second, which is exactly the right shape when the order includes 20 6x4 photos plus a birthday card. The card side leans into flat photo cards and folded greetings, and Snapfish runs frequent code-based discounts that drop the per-card price below FreePrints on comparable Premium tiers.
Snapfish vs FreePrints Cards on the pure card comparison, Snapfish wins on price with a live promo, loses without one. On the bundled order, prints and cards on the same delivery, Snapfish wins outright.
Where it falls short: The card catalogue is narrower than Moonpig or Funky Pigeon. The app pushes email signup for promo codes hard.
Pricing:
- Flat photo cards from around £1.79 with promo
- Folded cards from around £2.99 with promo
- Delivery from around £3 for the whole order
- vs FreePrints Cards: Cheaper per card at promo prices, especially when you are also ordering prints
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Import from Google Photos or the camera roll. Wait for the next promo email before checking out, they come through most weeks.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick when the card ships alongside a stack of prints or a photo book.
Photobox, best for cards inside a bigger photo order
Photobox covers cards, calendars, wall art, mugs, and photo books in one app. The card side is competitive on price and quality, and the shared shopping basket means a birthday card, a canvas for the parents, and a set of prints all land in one shipment.
Photobox vs FreePrints Cards on the standalone card is close on unit price after postage. On any multi-product order, Photobox is the sensible single-vendor pick.
Where it falls short: Standard delivery is not included in the card price. The interface is slower than Moonpig or Funky Pigeon on older phones, and the checkout is heavier.
Pricing:
- Standard card from around £3.49
- Multi-pack cards from around £2 per card in packs of 10
- Standard delivery from around £3
- vs FreePrints Cards: Comparable per card after postage, better fit when the order includes prints or a book
Migrating from FreePrints Cards: Use the same photo sources, then browse by product to bundle a card with the rest of the order. Save the recipient address once for reuse.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick when the card is one line item in a larger keepsake order.
How to choose
Pick Moonpig if the card has to arrive the next working day and you send often enough that per-card price beats postage-plus-upgrade maths.
Pick Card Factory if you can pop into a store, £1.99 personalised cards with free pickup is the cheapest way to get a real photo card in the UK.
Pick Funky Pigeon when the send needs a real gift alongside the card, prosecco, balloons, or chocolates.
Pick TouchNote for photo postcards, and for anyone regularly sending to family abroad.
Pick thortful when the design carries the message, funny, niche, or illustrator-led cards.
Pick Snapfish or Photobox if you are already ordering prints, a photo book, or wall art, add the card to the same basket and save a delivery leg.
Stay on FreePrints Cards if you send one card a month, always take the standard size, and treat the free tier as a subsidised prompt to remember the birthday.
FAQ
Is Moonpig better than FreePrints Cards? For reliability, catalogue size, and next-day arrival, yes. Moonpig charges for every card while FreePrints Cards gives one free monthly, so the answer flips if you send a single standard card and never upgrade.
What is the cheapest FreePrints Cards alternative? Card Factory personalised cards start around £1.99 with free click and collect from stores. Snapfish drops flat photo cards below £2 with a promo. On repeat orders both undercut FreePrints Cards after the free monthly card is used.
Can I send cards abroad from a FreePrints alternative? Yes. TouchNote includes international delivery in the credit price, and Moonpig, Funky Pigeon, and thortful all ship worldwide with a per-card surcharge. FreePrints Cards charges an international postage add-on that eats most of the free-card saving.
Do any of these apps include the postage in the card price? Moonpig and thortful include standard 1st class postage in the sticker price on most standard cards. TouchNote includes it in the credit. Funky Pigeon, Snapfish, Photobox, and Card Factory add postage or offer free store pickup.
Which app has the best design range? Moonpig has the widest overall catalogue. thortful has the strongest independent designer selection. Funky Pigeon leans into topical and humour ranges. FreePrints Cards has good templates but a smaller catalogue overall.
Is there a truly free card app? FreePrints Cards is the closest, one free standard card a month, delivery paid. Snapfish and Shutterfly often run “first order free” promos, but those are one-time. No mainstream card app posts unlimited free cards.
