MyPublisher is gone. Shutterfly bought the photo book company in 2013 and shut the brand down in May 2017, more than 20 years after it started printing books in the mid-1990s. Your old BookMaker software stopped working years ago, and any photos in an old project file may not be reachable anymore.

The photo book market moved on, though. Whether your photos sit on an old hard drive, in a Facebook timeline nobody's touched in years, or in a Dropbox folder, there's a service for each case. Here's where your MyPublisher content likely ended up, and seven places to build your next book.

First: where did your MyPublisher photos go?

MyPublisher was founded in the mid-1990s and ran for over two decades before Shutterfly acquired it in April 2013 for roughly $40 million, then closed the brand for good in May 2017. Here's the part that trips people up: accounts weren't automatically moved into Shutterfly, since the two services ran on different software. Before the shutdown, MyPublisher let customers request digital exports and PDF downloads, and unused gift cards converted to Shutterfly credit. Check your Shutterfly order history if you have one; without a past export, the original files are almost certainly gone, and your source photos, if you still have them, are the best option now.

What to look for in a MyPublisher alternative

MyPublisher was known for real hardcover books with strong paper. For that experience without the dead software, check for these:

• Where your photos live now -- migrated to Facebook or Instagram, or still local files needing Dropbox or folder support?
• Hardcover options -- MyPublisher was hardcover-first; plenty of newer services default to softcover.
• Manual control vs. automation -- lay out every page by hand, or let a book assemble itself?
• Print quality -- MyPublisher's paper was a step above the cheapest options. Check paper weight before downgrading.

7 best MyPublisher alternatives in 2026

1. My Social Book

Best for: turning years of Facebook or Instagram posts into a hardcover book automatically

If your photos have quietly moved from your camera to Facebook or Instagram over the past decade, My Social Book might fit better than a MyPublisher-style manual editor. Connect your Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox account, and the service builds a full photo book automatically, in chronological order, with the original dates, captions, likes, and locations intact. The book is a real 21 x 25 cm hardcover or softcover, closer in spirit to what MyPublisher shipped than the small subscription booklets some competitors sell. You can preview every page, remove posts, and pick a cover, though you can't reorder sections or rewrite captions. Photos still in an old folder work better through Dropbox.

Pros:

• Automatic book creation from Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox
• Keeps dates, captions, likes, and locations from the original posts
• 12 years in business, over 700,000 books printed, Trustpilot TrustScore 4.6 / 5 (2,700 reviews, September 2026)

Cons:

• No manual page layout, unlike MyPublisher's BookMaker software
• One source per book -- Facebook and Instagram content goes into separate books

See your book in minutes -- start from Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox

2. Shutterfly

Best for: the direct successor, since it's the company that acquired and closed MyPublisher

Shutterfly is the natural next stop: it's the company that bought MyPublisher and folded it in, and old orders or gift card balances may already sit in an account tied to your MyPublisher email. The editor covers similar hardcover formats with an auto-fill option, though it pushes upsells hard and list prices rarely match what anyone pays. Still, it's the closest thing to where MyPublisher left off.

Pros:

• Direct successor company -- check your account for existing credit
• Wide range of hardcover sizes and formats, frequent deep discounts

Cons:

• Heavy upselling throughout the editor
• No social media import -- manual upload only

3. Mixbook

Best for: replicating MyPublisher's hands-on layout control

Mixbook is the closest match to what longtime MyPublisher users liked about BookMaker: full drag-and-drop control, resizing, layering, and a wide range of sizes including hardcover. It takes real time with hundreds of photos, and there's no import from social media or cloud storage, but if you liked designing your MyPublisher book, you'll like this too.

Pros:

• Detailed drag-and-drop editor, similar control to MyPublisher's desktop software
• Strong paper quality, hardcover options, modern templates

Cons:

• Manual upload only -- no Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox import
• Time-consuming for large photo libraries

4. Snapfish

Best for: budget-friendly reprints of a smaller collection

Snapfish sits at the affordable end, with softcover and hardcover options and a basic editor. If you're not recreating a 300-page MyPublisher album and just want a smaller book printed cheaply, it's worth a look. The editor feels dated and print quality is fine for casual use, not the premium paper MyPublisher was known for.

Pros:

• Low starting prices with frequent promotions
• Multiple size and cover options, simple editor

Cons:

• Editing interface feels dated
• Print quality is a step below MyPublisher's old paper stock

5. Chatbooks

Best for: an automatic, ongoing habit instead of one big project

Chatbooks works nothing like MyPublisher did. It connects to Instagram or your camera roll and sends a small softcover book automatically once you hit a photo threshold, through its Monthbooks subscription, at $15 to $24 depending on size. If you miss having a physical book but not the hours of design work, this gets there in a smaller format.

Pros:

• Automatic, ongoing subscription -- no design work
• Pulls from Instagram or your camera roll, affordable cost

Cons:

• Small softcover format, not a MyPublisher-style hardcover
• Subscription can pile up if you forget to manage it

6. Artifact Uprising

Best for: premium paper quality if that's what you valued most about MyPublisher

MyPublisher wasn't cheap, and part of what people paid for was solid paper and a book that felt substantial. Artifact Uprising leans into that harder, with thick matte paper, minimalist templates, and lay-flat binding on some formats. It costs more, there's no automated import, and the design stays deliberately spare, but for a one-off project where quality matters most, it's a strong choice.

Pros:

• Premium paper and print quality
• Clean, minimalist templates, lay-flat binding on some sizes

Cons:

• Pricier than most alternatives on this list
• Manual upload only, fewer templates than larger competitors

7. Blurb

Best for: recreating a large, complex MyPublisher project or going further

If you had a big, ambitious MyPublisher book, a family history or a full year of travel, Blurb's BookWright software gives you the closest professional-grade layout control, plus formats MyPublisher never touched, like trade books and magazines, with the option to sell finished books. It has a steeper learning curve and is overkill for a simple book, but for a serious project, it's built for that scale.

Pros:

• Professional-grade desktop layout software, handles large projects well
• Option to sell your book through Blurb or Amazon

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve than most alternatives
• Overkill and pricier for a simple, small photo book

MyPublisher alternatives comparison table

Related photo book comparisons

More photo book brands people compare before deciding:

• Shutterfly alternatives
• Chatbooks alternatives
• Mixbook alternatives
• Snapfish alternatives
• Blurb alternatives
• Kodak Gallery alternatives
• Groovebook alternatives
• iPhoto book alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Why did MyPublisher shut down?

Shutterfly acquired MyPublisher in April 2013 for around $40 million, then closed the brand in May 2017, once its own tools had caught up.

Can I still get my old MyPublisher photo books?

Not the project files. Projects weren't automatically moved to Shutterfly since the platforms were built differently. Check your files or Shutterfly account for a past export; otherwise the original photos are your only option now.

Does Shutterfly have my MyPublisher account?

Possibly, at least partly. Unused gift cards converted to Shutterfly credit around the shutdown, so log in with your old email to check. Full book projects generally didn't carry over.

Can I make a photo book from my Facebook or Instagram photos?

Yes. My Social Book connects to Facebook and Instagram (via a Professional Account) and builds a chronological book from your dates, captions, likes, and locations. Most other services here need manual upload.

What if my old photos are just sitting in a folder, not on social media?

Move the folder to Dropbox, then build the book from there. My Social Book pulls directly from a connected Dropbox account, skipping the manual upload step most editors still require.

What's the cheapest MyPublisher alternative?

Snapfish and Shutterfly both run promotions that bring softcover books down to around $10. Cheap books tend to be thin, though; for something closer to MyPublisher's hardcover experience, expect to pay more.

Facts about competitors checked on September 9, 2026. Prices and features change; confirm on each company's site before ordering.

Create your book from Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox