TL;DR: My Social Book creates large, comprehensive photo books (up to 450 pages) from Facebook, Instagram, and Dropbox with full social context preserved. Chatbooks makes small, affordable monthly books (60 pages max) primarily from Instagram. Choose MSB for a substantial yearbook of your social media life. Choose Chatbooks for quick, cheap mini-books on a subscription.
At-a-glance comparison
| Feature | My Social Book | Chatbooks |
|---|---|---|
| Photo sources | Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox | Instagram, phone camera roll |
| Facebook support | Yes (full timeline import) | No |
| Social media metadata | Yes (dates, captions, likes, locations) | No |
| Max page count | 450 pages | 60 pages |
| Book size | 21 cm x 25 cm (~8" x 10") | 6" x 6" |
| Cover options | Hardcover or softcover | Softcover only |
| Pricing model | Per book (frequent 40%+ discounts) | Subscription ($10-15/book) |
| Starting price | From $33 (softcover, 25 pages) | From ~$10 (6x6, 60 pages) |
| Creation approach | Automatic, one-time or anytime | Subscription-based, monthly auto-create |
| Best for | Comprehensive yearbooks, Facebook users, large collections | Small monthly Instagram books on a budget |
How they compare
Photo sources and book creation
My Social Book connects to Facebook, Instagram, and Dropbox. It imports your content automatically, organizes everything chronologically, and generates a complete book in under 3 minutes. You can create a book covering any time period you want: last month, last year, or your entire social media history going back a decade or more.
Chatbooks connects to Instagram and your phone's camera roll. It doesn't support Facebook. The service works on a subscription model: each month, it automatically creates a small book from your recent photos. You can also create one-off books, but the subscription is the core product.
The biggest difference in content is metadata. My Social Book preserves the dates, captions, likes, and locations from your original social media posts. Your book reads like a journal, not just a photo album. Chatbooks doesn't include this social context.
Customization and design
Both services lean heavily toward automation over manual design, but in different ways.
My Social Book generates a professionally designed layout automatically. Before ordering, you can preview every page, remove posts you don't want, add or remove content, and customize the cover. The focus is on editing what the system creates rather than building from scratch.
Chatbooks keeps things simple. You select photos, choose a basic layout, and the book is ready. There's minimal customization available. For some people, that simplicity is a feature. For others, it feels limiting. Neither service tries to compete with full design editors like Mixbook. The whole point is that the book makes itself.
Book quality and formats
This is where the gap is significant. My Social Book produces a 21 x 25 cm book (roughly 8" x 10") with up to 450 pages. You can choose hardcover in glossy or matte finish, or softcover. It's a substantial book that sits on a shelf and holds years of memories.
Chatbooks produces a 6" x 6" softcover book with a maximum of 60 pages. No hardcover option. The format is compact and lightweight. It's fine for a small monthly recap, but it's not the kind of book you'd give as a gift or display on a coffee table. If you want to cover more than a month or two of content, you'll run out of pages quickly.
Pricing
Chatbooks is cheaper per book. A standard 6x6 softcover runs $10 to $15. That's hard to beat on raw price. The subscription model means books show up automatically each month, which is convenient if you like that cadence.
My Social Book starts at $33 for a 25-page softcover and $53 for a hardcover. Most customers get discounts of 40% or more. On a per-page basis, the value is competitive, especially when you consider the larger format, hardcover option, and preserved social context. A 200-page hardcover MSB book with years of memories costs less than buying 12 months of Chatbooks subscriptions and gives you a much more complete record.
The subscription model can also be a double-edged sword. It's convenient when you want it, but it means you're paying monthly whether or not you have enough interesting photos to fill a book. My Social Book lets you create a book whenever you're ready, with no recurring charges.
Who should choose My Social Book
- You want a comprehensive yearbook, not a monthly mini-book. MSB can hold up to 450 pages of content in a single volume. That's years of memories in one place.
- You use Facebook. Chatbooks doesn't support Facebook at all. If your photos and memories are on Facebook, My Social Book is the clear choice.
- You want a hardcover book. MSB offers hardcover in both glossy and matte. Chatbooks is softcover only.
- You want your captions, dates, and likes in the book. Only My Social Book preserves this social context. It turns a photo book into a journal of your digital life.
- You'd rather buy when you're ready than subscribe monthly. No subscription pressure. Create a book on your own schedule.
My Social Book has printed over 700,000 books in 12 years with a 4.7 Trustpilot rating. See your free preview in under 3 minutes and find out how many pages your story is.
Who should choose Chatbooks
- You want the cheapest possible photo book. At $10-15 per book, Chatbooks is one of the most affordable options on the market. If budget is your top concern, it delivers.
- You like the idea of automatic monthly books. The subscription model means a new book shows up without you lifting a finger. If you enjoy that rhythm, it works well.
- You only use Instagram. If your photos are exclusively on Instagram or your camera roll and you don't need Facebook support, Chatbooks covers your sources.
- You prefer small, casual books over large ones. The 6x6 format is compact and easy to stack. If you don't need a big coffee-table book, the smaller size might suit you.
Chatbooks fills a specific niche well: cheap, small, automated monthly books. If that's exactly what you want, it does the job.
FAQ
Does Chatbooks support Facebook?
No. Chatbooks works with Instagram and your phone's camera roll. If your memories are on Facebook, My Social Book is the only option of the two that supports it.
Can I make a book covering multiple years with Chatbooks?
It's difficult. Chatbooks has a 60-page maximum per book, which typically covers a month or two of content. For a full year or multiple years, you'd need many separate small books. My Social Book supports up to 450 pages in a single volume, so you can fit years of content in one book.
Does My Social Book have a subscription?
No. My Social Book is pay-per-book with no subscription required. You create a book when you want one. Most customers receive discounts of 40% or more on their purchase.
Which service preserves social media captions and dates?
Only My Social Book. Every post in your book includes the original date, caption, number of likes, and location. Chatbooks includes photos only, with no social metadata.
Can I get a hardcover from Chatbooks?
No. Chatbooks offers softcover books only. My Social Book offers both hardcover (glossy or matte) and softcover options.
Ready to see your book?
If you want more than a monthly mini-book, connect your Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox account and see what your social media history looks like as a real, substantial photo book. It takes under 3 minutes and costs nothing to preview. Create your free preview now.
