Like Walgreens, CVS drugstores are ubiquitous, making them a local pickup option for your photo prints.
Also like Walgreens, CVS charges higher per-print prices than most mail-away services do; in fact, CVS Photo's prices were the highest we've seen among the photo printing services.
Unfortunately, the quality of our CVS Photo test prints was inferior to that of the competition, and its site interface is subpar.
Pricing and Getting Started
As mentioned, CVS Photo costs more than its competitors do, at 33 cents per 4-by-6-inch photo.
That compares with just 9 cents at Snapfish and York Photo Labs.
Other in-store pickup options also cost less, with Walmart Photo (0.09 Per 4x6 Print at Walmart) at 25 cents and Target at 31 cents, though Walgreens Photo also charges 33 cents.
Larger sizes are also quite a bit pricier than the competitions', with CVS 5-by-7s ringing up at $2.29 each.
That compares with the top-flight Nations Photo Lab's 5-by-7 price of just 80 cents and Shutterfly's 99 cents.
At the 8-by-10 size, even the highly rated AdoramaPix charges $2.49, compared with CVS's $3.99.
That's quite a premium to pay for local pickup.
As is the case with most photo printing services, you can order more than just paper prints at CVS Photo.
It offers standard options such as cards, calendars, photo books, mugs, tee shirts, and wall canvases, but you can also get things like blankets, potholders, and mouse pads.
For $30, you can get a necktie festooned with multiple copies of your photo.
CVS doesn't offer quite as massive a selection as Shutterfly and York Photo Labs (0.09 Per 4x6 Print at York Photo) do (personalized flowerpots or aprons, anyone?), but there's probably more than most people will ever need and a lot more than AdoramaPix offers.
CVS doesn't let you create an account with your Facebook credentials as RitzPix does, but it's still pretty easy to get started with an order, as the service only requires a name, email address, password, and security question.
The password requirements are stringent, with special characters required.
Photo-Ordering Interface
CVS's photo-ordering site sports a modern, clear interface that bears a strong resemblance to those of RitzPix and Walgreens Photo.
In addition to letting you upload image files from your computer, the service lets you import photos from Facebook and Instagram, a capability social media fans will appreciate.
Before you upload photos, you must create an album to upload them to.
When uploading from your computer, you can select multiple files at once, but the site doesn't support drag and drop.
You can upload JPGs and PNG files, but not TIFF or GIF files.
What can you do once you've got photos uploaded? CVS Photo offers some basic editing options that are identical to Walgreens Photo's.
You can turn on auto color correction, contrast, and fill flash, and use sliders to adjust brightness and contrast.
You can also apply a limited number of effect filters, including black and white, sepia, and color tints.
Finally, you can crop and rotate the images.
You can share the albums you create via Facebook, by email, or with a web link, and the resulting presentation is reasonably attractive.
If you share via email, the recipients have to have CVS online accounts, but sharing via a link doesn't come with that requirement.
I approve of CVS Photo's ordering page, which lets you enter a quantity for each size print you want all at once.
Some services make you choose the prints and then choose the size for each separately.
You can choose a matte finish, but not for in-store pickup, which is restricted to glossies.
As soon as I placed my test order, CVS's estimated ready-for-pickup time shown was identical to the time I placed the order, which doesn't make much sense.
The company should at least build in a 15-minute delay or something more realistic.
To let me know of the actual availability of the prints (as opposed to the estimated), for my 4:52 p.m.
order, I received an email the next morning at 8:35 a.m.
saying the photos were ready, even though the site said the photo department is open until 11:59 p.m, so I should have been able to pick them up the previous evening.
The CVS Pharmacy mobile app (Android and iOS) lets you order prints from photos stored on your smartphone, from your Facebook photos, or from images you've already uploaded to your CVS account.
However it only offers the high-priced same-day pickup option.
You don't get any cropping, editing, or special options with the mobile apps, nor can you order printed gift objects like mugs.
That said, the app has a simple interface that makes it easy to get prints quickly in various sizes.
The Proof Is in the Pictures
I didn't have to pay until I picked up my photo prints at my local CVS; most other services require you to pay online first.
I didn't have to show any ID to pick up the prints, and the clerk twice told me they weren't there before handing them over: Larger prints are placed in a hopper that's unalphabetized.
The prints were presented to me completely loose in a manila envelope.
That's very different than the thick cardboard box AdoramaPix ($0.27 Per 4x6-inch Print at Printique) and Mpix provided, along with plastic sleeves for each size.
Then again, since my CVS photos were not being shipped, packaging wasn't as big of a consideration.
I do wish that the various sizes came in separate sleeves, the way Shutterfly's do.
Price and packaging aside, CVS delivers acceptable print quality on Kodak Moments paper, which is optimized for the printer used.
I found the results very sharp and pleasing in general.
The 5-by-7s came with 1/2-inch white borders beyond the actual 5-by-7-inch image, so you may have to get out the scissors if you're using a frame.
If not, the white matting adds a pleasing touch.
The black background of one of my test portrait shots wasn't quite as true black as the Nations or AdoramaPix results, both of which use the higher-end Kodak Endura paper.
One photo was slightly scored through the middle too, though that only affected the surface, not the image.
I saw none of the purple color tinting in the sky of my mountain landscape the way I did with an earlier test of Walgreens' prints.
That mountain shot (see above) also had more detail than the Walgreens, which you can see both in the dark green hills and the distant light tan mountains, though the sky is a bit exaggeratedly blue.
The red-hat portrait print (below) from CVS has better colors than the Walgreens and Amazon prints, which are washed out.
But compared with top-end Mpix, the CVS colors are oversaturated.
There was no text on the back of my test photos to indicate the filename or a title, as many other services add.
That's not a key feature, but it is an organization helper that I missed when it wasn't there.
A detail of a second print test shows white spots in the CVS print that didn't appear in other services' prints.
The photo also had a white margin across the bottom, which others avoided.
You'll Pay for Convenience
Our test order at CVS cost more than competing photo printing services, even slightly more than the other big drug chain, Walgreens.
Despite those higher prices, the final results from CVS are unimpressive.
The prints were less sharp though lacking in unnatural color tinges.
There were also minor scratches, white dots, and an unwanted white margin on some shots.
For the best image quality in your photo prints, look to our Editors' Choices, AdoramaPix and Mpix.
For the best bargain-priced photo printing, check out Snapfish and Walmart Photo.
Cons
Expensive.
Flimsy packaging, without separate sleeves for different size photos.
Spots and margins on test photos.
The Bottom Line
You'll pay a little more for the convenience of CVS Photo's same-day pickup service, but don't expect top-quality prints.
Like Walgreens, CVS drugstores are ubiquitous, making them a local pickup option for your photo prints.
Also like Walgreens, CVS charges higher per-print prices than most mail-away services do; in fact, CVS Photo's prices were the highest we've seen among the photo printing services.
Unfortunately, the quality of our CVS Photo test prints was inferior to that of the competition, and its site interface is subpar.
Pricing and Getting Started
As mentioned, CVS Photo costs more than its competitors do, at 33 cents per 4-by-6-inch photo.
That compares with just 9 cents at Snapfish and York Photo Labs.
Other in-store pickup options also cost less, with Walmart Photo (0.09 Per 4x6 Print at Walmart) at 25 cents and Target at 31 cents, though Walgreens Photo also charges 33 cents.
Larger sizes are also quite a bit pricier than the competitions', with CVS 5-by-7s ringing up at $2.29 each.
That compares with the top-flight Nations Photo Lab's 5-by-7 price of just 80 cents and Shutterfly's 99 cents.
At the 8-by-10 size, even the highly rated AdoramaPix charges $2.49, compared with CVS's $3.99.
That's quite a premium to pay for local pickup.
As is the case with most photo printing services, you can order more than just paper prints at CVS Photo.
It offers standard options such as cards, calendars, photo books, mugs, tee shirts, and wall canvases, but you can also get things like blankets, potholders, and mouse pads.
For $30, you can get a necktie festooned with multiple copies of your photo.
CVS doesn't offer quite as massive a selection as Shutterfly and York Photo Labs (0.09 Per 4x6 Print at York Photo) do (personalized flowerpots or aprons, anyone?), but there's probably more than most people will ever need and a lot more than AdoramaPix offers.
CVS doesn't let you create an account with your Facebook credentials as RitzPix does, but it's still pretty easy to get started with an order, as the service only requires a name, email address, password, and security question.
The password requirements are stringent, with special characters required.
Photo-Ordering Interface
CVS's photo-ordering site sports a modern, clear interface that bears a strong resemblance to those of RitzPix and Walgreens Photo.
In addition to letting you upload image files from your computer, the service lets you import photos from Facebook and Instagram, a capability social media fans will appreciate.
Before you upload photos, you must create an album to upload them to.
When uploading from your computer, you can select multiple files at once, but the site doesn't support drag and drop.
You can upload JPGs and PNG files, but not TIFF or GIF files.
What can you do once you've got photos uploaded? CVS Photo offers some basic editing options that are identical to Walgreens Photo's.
You can turn on auto color correction, contrast, and fill flash, and use sliders to adjust brightness and contrast.
You can also apply a limited number of effect filters, including black and white, sepia, and color tints.
Finally, you can crop and rotate the images.
You can share the albums you create via Facebook, by email, or with a web link, and the resulting presentation is reasonably attractive.
If you share via email, the recipients have to have CVS online accounts, but sharing via a link doesn't come with that requirement.
I approve of CVS Photo's ordering page, which lets you enter a quantity for each size print you want all at once.
Some services make you choose the prints and then choose the size for each separately.
You can choose a matte finish, but not for in-store pickup, which is restricted to glossies.
As soon as I placed my test order, CVS's estimated ready-for-pickup time shown was identical to the time I placed the order, which doesn't make much sense.
The company should at least build in a 15-minute delay or something more realistic.
To let me know of the actual availability of the prints (as opposed to the estimated), for my 4:52 p.m.
order, I received an email the next morning at 8:35 a.m.
saying the photos were ready, even though the site said the photo department is open until 11:59 p.m, so I should have been able to pick them up the previous evening.
The CVS Pharmacy mobile app (Android and iOS) lets you order prints from photos stored on your smartphone, from your Facebook photos, or from images you've already uploaded to your CVS account.
However it only offers the high-priced same-day pickup option.
You don't get any cropping, editing, or special options with the mobile apps, nor can you order printed gift objects like mugs.
That said, the app has a simple interface that makes it easy to get prints quickly in various sizes.
The Proof Is in the Pictures
I didn't have to pay until I picked up my photo prints at my local CVS; most other services require you to pay online first.
I didn't have to show any ID to pick up the prints, and the clerk twice told me they weren't there before handing them over: Larger prints are placed in a hopper that's unalphabetized.
The prints were presented to me completely loose in a manila envelope.
That's very different than the thick cardboard box AdoramaPix ($0.27 Per 4x6-inch Print at Printique) and Mpix provided, along with plastic sleeves for each size.
Then again, since my CVS photos were not being shipped, packaging wasn't as big of a consideration.
I do wish that the various sizes came in separate sleeves, the way Shutterfly's do.
Price and packaging aside, CVS delivers acceptable print quality on Kodak Moments paper, which is optimized for the printer used.
I found the results very sharp and pleasing in general.
The 5-by-7s came with 1/2-inch white borders beyond the actual 5-by-7-inch image, so you may have to get out the scissors if you're using a frame.
If not, the white matting adds a pleasing touch.
The black background of one of my test portrait shots wasn't quite as true black as the Nations or AdoramaPix results, both of which use the higher-end Kodak Endura paper.
One photo was slightly scored through the middle too, though that only affected the surface, not the image.
I saw none of the purple color tinting in the sky of my mountain landscape the way I did with an earlier test of Walgreens' prints.
That mountain shot (see above) also had more detail than the Walgreens, which you can see both in the dark green hills and the distant light tan mountains, though the sky is a bit exaggeratedly blue.
The red-hat portrait print (below) from CVS has better colors than the Walgreens and Amazon prints, which are washed out.
But compared with top-end Mpix, the CVS colors are oversaturated.
There was no text on the back of my test photos to indicate the filename or a title, as many other services add.
That's not a key feature, but it is an organization helper that I missed when it wasn't there.
A detail of a second print test shows white spots in the CVS print that didn't appear in other services' prints.
The photo also had a white margin across the bottom, which others avoided.
You'll Pay for Convenience
Our test order at CVS cost more than competing photo printing services, even slightly more than the other big drug chain, Walgreens.
Despite those higher prices, the final results from CVS are unimpressive.
The prints were less sharp though lacking in unnatural color tinges.
There were also minor scratches, white dots, and an unwanted white margin on some shots.
For the best image quality in your photo prints, look to our Editors' Choices, AdoramaPix and Mpix.
For the best bargain-priced photo printing, check out Snapfish and Walmart Photo.
Cons
Expensive.
Flimsy packaging, without separate sleeves for different size photos.
Spots and margins on test photos.
The Bottom Line
You'll pay a little more for the convenience of CVS Photo's same-day pickup service, but don't expect top-quality prints.
