Photo booth with or without printing: how to choose?
This is THE question to ask yourself before hiring: should your guests leave with a printed photo in their hands, or is a photo on their phone enough? The answer changes the budget, the capacity and, to some extent, the experience. Here is an honest comparison, including the cases where the cheapest package is objectively the best choice.
The two packages side by side
| 100% Digital | With printing | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €79 (pickup) · €99 (delivered) | from €129 delivered |
| Digital photos | Unlimited | Unlimited too |
| Printed photos | None | 50 to 800 depending on the package |
| Animated GIFs | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Recommended capacity | Up to 300 guests | 30 to 300 guests depending on the package |
| Personalised frame | Included | Included |
| Getting the photos | Link after the event (+ QR option) | Instant print + link after the event |
An important point that many people find out too late: the print packages include digital as well. You are not choosing “paper OR files”, you are choosing “files” or “files AND paper”.
When digital is the right choice
Your event has more than 150 guests. A 400-print allowance goes very quickly with 200 people; with 300, no reasonable allowance can keep up. With digital, unlimited settles the question, and your 300 guests can take photos all evening long.
Budget is your number one criterion. At €99 delivered (€79 if collected in Dijon), it’s the full experience (booth + personalised frame + GIFs) at the lowest price on the market, or very nearly. Associations, student parties, school fêtes: hard to beat.
Your crowd lives on their phones. Corporate parties, hen parties, 18-30 birthdays: the photo goes into their stories within a minute. A paper print would end up at the bottom of a bag.
You’re adding a second booth. At a very large wedding, one print booth + one digital booth double the capacity without doubling the budget.
When printing is worth the extra €30
It’s a wedding. The print that guests slip into their pocket, and that the couple still find stuck on fridges years later, remains the number one argument for a wedding photo booth. Industry studies confirm it: the vast majority of guests prefer to leave with a physical photo when one is on offer. For a wedding, our guide to choosing goes into the right packages in detail.
Not all your guests are connected. Grandparents, children: paper is universal, no phone required.
You want a photo guestbook. A printed photo + a handwritten message in felt-tip = the most beautiful guestbook there is. (Our photo booth guestbook guide)
The “wow” effect of a print in 8 seconds. Watching your photo come out of the booth is still a little show in itself.
The volume question: do the maths per guest
The rule of thumb in our trade: allow 1.5 to 2 photos per guest over an evening. In practice:
- 40 guests → a 50-100 photo package is enough (€129-€174)
- 80 guests → 150 photos (€219-€244)
- 150 guests → 300-400 photos (€314-€359)
- 250 guests and more → 800 photos (€479)… or unlimited digital at €99
This is where digital becomes mathematically unbeatable: beyond 200 guests, the cost of paper per person far exceeds the price of the entire digital booth.
Our simple recommendation
- Wedding → printing (the paper keepsake is part of the event), with an allowance matched to your guest list.
- Corporate, association, big party → digital, possibly with the QR code option for real-time sharing.
- Can’t decide? Our simulator does the maths for you based on your budget and number of guests, and recommends the exact package, with no surprises: try it on the prices page.
And in every case: free personalised frame, unlimited GIFs, 5-minute set-up with no attendant, no Wi-Fi needed, and return delivery included anywhere in France.
See the digital photo booth (€99 delivered) · See the print packages (from €129)