FreePrints Photo Tiles pulls the same trick as the rest of the FreePrints family. One 20x20cm photo tile a month, no subscription, no commitment, you cover delivery. That first tile really does arrive at the door for a few pounds and it really does stick straight onto the wall. The trouble starts on the second tile. The per-piece price for extra 20x20cm tiles is close to what Mixtiles charges, the 32x32cm upgrade is pricier still, and the peel-and-stick adhesive gets patchier feedback than the app’s rating suggests, with buyers reporting bubbles, cropped edges, and long waits during promo seasons.
We tested 7 FreePrints Photo Tiles alternatives that handle wall tiles, canvas prints, framed prints, and photo books. Each pick covers a use case where FreePrints Photo Tiles stops being the cheap option.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free tier | Starting price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixtiles | Direct peel-and-stick tile rival | No | Around £12 per tile, cheaper in bundles | Android, iOS, web |
| Snapfish | Cheap canvas and prints on promo | 5x7 prints monthly with code | Canvas from around £20 with promo | Android, iOS, web |
| Shutterfly | Wide catalogue, aggressive discounts | 8 free prints monthly | Canvas from around £25 with promo | Android, iOS, web |
| Photobox | UK-first canvas, frames, and gifts | No | Canvas from around £30 with promo | Android, iOS, web |
| CEWE Photoworld | Premium European finish | No | Wall art from around £15 | Android, iOS, web |
| Chatbooks | Auto photo books instead of tiles | Monthly softcover book slot | Softcover from around £8 | Android, iOS, web |
| Photosi | Italian tile and print specialist | No | Tiles from around £6 | Android, iOS, web |
Why people leave FreePrints Photo Tiles
The free tile is 20x20cm and one per month. After that first tile, the app charges close to Mixtiles list prices for extra 20x20cm tiles, and the 32x32cm upgrade tracks Photobox and Snapfish on price. The free-tier savings do not scale to a wall.
Adhesive quality is inconsistent. Trustpilot and app-review threads flag bubbles between the photo and the tile, wrinkled areas across faces, and prints peeling off after a few weeks. The rate is not universal but it recurs.
Photos get cropped at the edges. The tile format trims a visible border off portrait shots. Faces near the frame get pushed off. There is no bleed control in the editor.
Slow delivery during promo seasons. The free tier is not prioritised. Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s runs report waits longer than the off-season norm, with support responses timing out after the 30-day complaint window.
No canvas, no frames, no books. FreePrints Photo Tiles only sells tiles. Any wall arrangement that mixes canvas or framed prints needs a second app.
The best FreePrints Photo Tiles alternatives
Mixtiles, best direct rival for peel-and-stick tiles
Mixtiles invented the modern peel-and-stick photo tile category and still sets the reference. The app builds a wall preview from your photos, the tiles ship in a few days, and the adhesive is repositionable without leaving marks on paint. On paper the price is close to a FreePrints extra tile, but the bundle discounts on nine, twelve, and sixteen-tile walls close the gap fast.
Mixtiles vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on the adhesive itself is a Mixtiles win. Complaints about bubbles and peeling are rarer, and the tile edge sits flatter against textured paint. FreePrints answers with the free monthly tile, which Mixtiles does not match.
Where it falls short: No free tile. The 20x20cm size is fixed on the standard product, so single statement pieces need the larger classic tile at a higher price.
Pricing:
- Single 20x20cm tile from around £12
- Nine-tile bundles from around £60, sixteen-tile walls cheaper per piece
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Comparable per tile at list price, cheaper in bundles, no free monthly
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Re-upload the same photos, use the wall preview to plan a grid, order the bundle. Existing FreePrints tiles peel off cleanly, so mixing the two brands on one wall works.
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for renters who want a full gallery wall installed in one afternoon.
Snapfish, best for cheap canvas and prints
Snapfish runs near-monthly promotions on canvas, metal prints, framed prints, and standard photo prints. List prices are higher than FreePrints Photo Tiles, but the sale prices on canvas and metal drop below the FreePrints extra-tile rate for a comparable wall size. The editor supports full-bleed cropping and multi-photo canvases, both of which the FreePrints app skips.
Snapfish vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on wall-art breadth is decisive. Snapfish carries canvas, metal, acrylic, framed, mounted, and standard prints. FreePrints Photo Tiles is one product.
Where it falls short: UK delivery slows down noticeably in December. List prices without a promo code are not competitive. The account push for upsells is heavy.
Pricing:
- Free 5x7 prints monthly with code
- Canvas from around £20 with promo, from around £45 at list
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Cheaper on canvas with a promo, pricier without one
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Upload the same photos, pick canvas or metal for the pieces you want ready-to-hang, keep the tiles for the peel-and-stick corners of the wall.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick when the wall wants canvas and framed, not just tiles.
Shutterfly, best for the widest product catalogue
Shutterfly carries almost every wall-art format on the market. Canvas, metal, acrylic, wood, framed, mounted, photo blankets, and photo tiles all live in the same editor. Promo codes fire weekly and stack on the volume tiers, which is where the price advantage over FreePrints Photo Tiles opens up. The mobile app handles a full gallery-wall layout in a single session.
Shutterfly vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on catalogue depth is a clear Shutterfly win. FreePrints answers on the free monthly tile, which Shutterfly does not offer.
Where it falls short: UK shipping is slower than Photobox. The upsell email cadence after an order is aggressive. List prices are worse than FreePrints without a working promo code.
Pricing:
- 8 free 6x4 prints monthly through the app
- Canvas from around £25 with promo
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Cheaper on canvas at promo, pricier without
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Sync the same photos, pick a promo-day canvas for the centrepiece, order a small batch of metal or framed prints for the surrounding pieces.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick when the wall mixes canvas, metal, framed, and prints in one order.
Photobox, best for UK buyers
Photobox is the UK photo-print incumbent and its logistics show it. Standard delivery lands in three to four working days on average, faster than any of the US-based apps and faster than FreePrints Photo Tiles during promo weeks. The canvas range is broad, the framed-print options include several timber choices, and the promo codes stack with a Photobox Plus subscription for regular buyers.
Photobox vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on delivery reliability is a Photobox win in the UK. FreePrints keeps the edge on the free monthly tile.
Where it falls short: No peel-and-stick tile format. The Plus subscription is worth it only for households ordering monthly. List prices without a promo are close to Snapfish list prices.
Pricing:
- Canvas from around £30 with promo
- Framed prints from around £20 with promo
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Comparable on framed prints, no tile format
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Import the same photos, pick canvas or framed for anything larger than the FreePrints 32x32cm tile, keep FreePrints for the small squares.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for UK households that want canvas or framed with reliable delivery.
CEWE Photoworld, best for premium finish
CEWE Photoworld ships out of a large German print facility and it shows in the finish. Wall art comes in canvas, aluminium, acrylic, and wood formats, with edges that sit flat against the wall and colours that hold up in daylight better than the cheaper competitors. The photo book side is the strongest in Europe on paper stock alone.
CEWE Photoworld vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on print quality is a decisive CEWE win. Colour accuracy, tile edge, and paper weight are a step above.
Where it falls short: No free tier at all. Delivery to the UK is a few days slower than Photobox. Prices climb quickly past the entry-level formats.
Pricing:
- Wall art from around £15 for small formats
- Canvas from around £30
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Pricier per piece, noticeably better finish
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Upload the same photos, pick the format based on wall space rather than price, order the centrepiece first and add smaller pieces after seeing the finish.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick when the finish matters more than the price.
Chatbooks, best for photo books instead of wall tiles
Chatbooks goes the other direction. Rather than wall art, it turns a camera roll into a small softcover photo book on a monthly schedule, auto-pulling the last month’s photos with a light editor for cover, captions, and layout. The result is a shelf of dated volumes rather than a wall of prints, which suits families and long trips better than tiles do.
Chatbooks vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on the underlying use case is a straight substitution. Both offer a free monthly item, both target the same reflex to do something with the phone photos. Chatbooks wins on volume of photos captured per pound. FreePrints wins on visibility, since a wall tile shows every day.
Where it falls short: Not a wall product. UK delivery is slower than Photobox. The app pushes the subscription tier hard on new users.
Pricing:
- Softcover book from around £8, monthly slot available on the free tier
- Hardcover from around £25
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Cheaper per photo captured, no wall output
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Point Chatbooks at the same camera roll folder, let the monthly book fill automatically, keep FreePrints for the individual photos worth a wall spot.
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for households that want a photo record on the shelf rather than the wall.
Photosi, best for tile-first European buyers
Photosi is the Italian tile and print house that treats photo tiles as a headline product rather than an add-on. The 10x10cm and 15x15cm tile formats come cheaper than a FreePrints extra tile, the layout preview supports full gallery walls, and the promo cadence is close to Snapfish. Photobooks and standard prints sit in the same app for one checkout.
Photosi vs FreePrints Photo Tiles on tile price at volume is a Photosi win. FreePrints holds the free monthly slot.
Where it falls short: UK delivery is slower than Photobox. English-language support is thinner than the UK-first competitors. No 20x20cm tile in the standard range, tile sizes cap at 15x15cm.
Pricing:
- Small tiles from around £6
- Canvas from around £20 with promo
- vs FreePrints Photo Tiles: Cheaper per tile, smaller sizes only
Migrating from FreePrints Photo Tiles: Upload the same photos, drop the tile size expectation to 15x15cm, order a denser grid to cover the same wall space.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for a dense grid of small tiles at the lowest per-tile price.
How to choose
Pick Mixtiles if the goal is a full gallery wall installed in one afternoon, without waiting for twelve free monthly tiles to arrive.
Pick Snapfish or Shutterfly if the wall wants canvas or metal alongside the tiles, and if you can wait for a promo code to fire.
Pick Photobox if you are in the UK, need delivery in a few working days, and you want framed or canvas rather than peel-and-stick.
Pick CEWE Photoworld if the finish matters more than the price, especially for a single statement piece rather than a wall of small tiles.
Pick Chatbooks if the underlying urge is to do something with the camera roll, and a photo book on the shelf beats a tile on the wall for your household.
Pick Photosi for the lowest per-tile price at 15x15cm, ordered in bulk.
Stay on FreePrints Photo Tiles if the free monthly 20x20cm tile is the whole point and you only want one tile every month or two. The maths on that first free tile is real. The maths breaks down at wall scale.
FAQ
Is Mixtiles better than FreePrints Photo Tiles?
Mixtiles has fewer complaints about adhesive quality and offers larger bundle discounts, but it never offers a free tile. FreePrints wins on the first tile, Mixtiles wins on the wall of nine.
What is the cheapest FreePrints Photo Tiles alternative?
Photosi has the lowest per-tile price in the group at the 10x10cm and 15x15cm sizes, especially when ordered in bulk. Chatbooks is cheaper per photo overall if you accept a book rather than a wall.
Can I get free wall art like FreePrints Photo Tiles offers?
Chatbooks offers a free softcover book slot on a monthly schedule, and Snapfish and Shutterfly hand out free 5x7 or 6x4 prints monthly with a code. Only FreePrints and Chatbooks offer a fully free item per month with no minimum spend beyond delivery.
Which alternative has the best UK delivery?
Photobox is the fastest in the UK on average, with standard delivery landing in three to four working days. FreePrints, Snapfish, and Shutterfly ship from further away and slow down during promo weeks.
What do people use instead of FreePrints Photo Tiles?
Mixtiles for a direct peel-and-stick replacement, Photobox for UK canvas and framed, CEWE Photoworld for premium wall art, and Chatbooks for a photo book alternative to the whole wall category.
Do these apps import photos from Google Photos?
All seven pull from the phone’s photo library and most connect directly to Google Photos, Dropbox, and Facebook. The FreePrints workflow works the same way, so the migration is a matter of picking the same photos in a different app.
