Popsa vs Cheerz: choosing the right Photo Book experience

Popsa operates globally, including France. This article compares Popsa with Cheerz – one of France’s most established photo book services – for customers ordering from that location.

When it comes to designing a photo book in France, choosing between Popsa and Cheerz depends on what you value most in the process.

Popsa is the stronger choice for customers who want a seamless mobile creation experience, greater reassurance when things go wrong and independently verified sustainability credentials. It leads on offline and cross-device creation, paper quality, satisfaction guarantee and B-Corp certification. Cheerz may suit customers who prioritise a lower entry price, cheaper per-page costs or faster standard delivery.

What Popsa offers

Popsa is best if you:

• want to create your photo book on mobile without relying on an internet connection

• switch between devices and want your project to stay in sync

• value heavier, more substantial paper (200gsm vs 170gsm)

• want a clear satisfaction guarantee and reprint commitment if anything goes wrong

• prefer to get a cash refund rather than store credit if an issue arises

• care about independently verified sustainability credentials (B-Corp certified)

• want AI-powered caption suggestions to save time when labelling photos

• want to import photos directly from Google Photos, Facebook or Dropbox

What Cheerz offers

Cheerz may be a better fit if you:

• want a lower entry price for a large hardcover photo book

• plan to add pages and want the lower per-page cost

• want the fastest possible standard delivery at the lowest shipping price

• prefer a portrait-format photo book, which Popsa does not offer

• want to apply photo filters within the creation app

• want a lower-cost layflat binding upgrade

Getting the job done

Both Popsa and Cheerz are available on iOS, Android and desktop browsers, and neither offers a dedicated desktop app. The creation journeys are equally streamlined, with ten steps each. Where they differ is in flexibility: Popsa works offline and syncs across devices, while Cheerz requires an internet connection and ties you to a single device. 

Popsa supports a broader range of photo import sources, including Google Photos, Facebook and Dropbox, while Cheerz is limited to your camera roll on mobile. Cheerz does offer more photo import options via its website, but this reduces the mobile-first experience. If you start a project on your phone and want to finish it on a tablet – or find yourself somewhere with an unreliable internet connection – Popsa gives you options that Cheerz doesn’t.

Creative outcome

Both apps offer automatic and manual layouts, drag-and-drop functionality, full-page bleed, zoom cropping, rotation, undo/redo and page rearrangement. Popsa’s AI features are more comprehensive on mobile: smart cropping is available directly in the app, whereas Cheerz’s equivalent is limited to desktop. Popsa also provides automatic caption suggestions, a feature Cheerz does not offer.

For captions, Popsa gives users greater flexibility, with multiple placement options available. In Cheerz, adding a caption requires changing the layout first, and the text position remains fixed. Cheerz does have one creative advantage: photo filters, which are not available on Popsa.

Print quality is another area of distinction. Popsa uses 200gsm paper compared with Cheerz’s 170gsm, a noticeable difference in the feel and quality of the finished book. Both brands cover the most popular photo book formats, though Cheerz offers a portrait option that Popsa does not. Popsa, meanwhile, provides three landscape sizes to Cheerz’s two, and offers greater background personalisation across internal pages.

If print quality and a complete mobile editing experience are priorities, Popsa has the advantage. If photo filters or a portrait format are essential, Cheerz is the stronger choice.

Speed and reliability

Both services offer standard, express and tracked delivery options. Popsa provides a rush delivery tier for those ordering against a tight deadline. That said, Cheerz holds an advantage of speed and cost: its express delivery arrives in three to four days, while Popsa’s is around four to seven days at a similar price point. Cheerz’s standard delivery is more affordable starting at €4.99 versus Popsa’s €6.90, with tracking included as standard.

If you’re working to a tight deadline, Cheerz’s standard and express delivery options are faster and more cost-effective. If you need the quickest turnaround, Popsa’s rush service is the best option.

Price clarity and fairness

Cheerz’s entry price for a large landscape hardcover starts at €38.80, compared with Popsa’s €49.00. However, Cheerz includes a minimum of 24 pages, while Popsa starts at 20, so like-for-like comparisons require some adjustment. Beyond the base book, per-page pricing follows a broadly similar pattern.

The gap becomes more noticeable when it comes to upgrades. Cheerz charges less for both gloss paper upgrades and layflat binding, making premium configurations more affordable overall. Popsa, however, offers foil lettering for a flat €4.99 fee, a personalisation option that Cheerz does not provide. Presentation boxes are also less expensive with Cheerz, at €6.90 compared with Popsa’s €9.99.

The headline price rarely tells the full story. If you’re creating a longer book or planning to add premium upgrades, Cheerz generally works out cheaper. Popsa’s lower minimum page count, however, makes it a more flexible option for shorter projects that Cheerz cannot accommodate.

Trust and reassurance

Ordering a printed product sight unseen carries an element of risk, and both brands acknowledge this in different ways. Popsa offers an explicit 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee, with a free reprint if anything goes wrong. Cheerz handles quality issues on a case-by-case basis and does not provide a formal guarantee, while its refund policy defaults to store credit rather than a cash refund.

Both brands hold a 4.4 rating on Trustpilot, but Popsa’s score is based on more than 120,000 reviews compared with Cheerz’s 32,000. On the App Store, Popsa scores 4.8 versus Cheerz’s 4.7, while Cheerz has a slight advantage on Google Play with a 4.7 rating compared with Popsa’s 4.6.

Customer support also differs. Popsa offers human live chat through its website, whereas Cheerz’s in-app chat begins with a bot before routing users to email support. Cheerz’s support team is available seven days a week, while Popsa offers longer daily coverage but may not be available every day.

If having a clear guarantee and straightforward recourse is important to you, Popsa’s commitments are more explicit. Cheerz’s seven-day support availability and slightly stronger Android rating may appeal to users who prioritise accessibility and mobile app performance.

Values and responsibility

Both brands offset carbon emissions, use FSC-certified paper, and package products using recycled materials. Popsa goes a step further by using biodegradable packaging and holding B Corp certification – an independently verified standard that assesses a company’s social and environmental performance. Cheerz does not hold this certification.

There are also differences in production transparency. Popsa confirms local production for UK orders in the UK and for EU orders within the EU. Cheerz manufactures across several facilities in Europe but does not provide equivalent confirmation for customers in the UK or the US.

If independently verified environmental and social credentials are important to you, Popsa’s B Corp status offers a level of assurance beyond Cheerz’s self-reported sustainability commitments.