Jacquie Lawson alternatives, and who should stay
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On November 10 we gave ourselves one small job on two sites: a Christmas card for a six-year-old grandson, with him in it, sent that evening. He’s made up; we test with photos of people who don’t exist. On Jacquie Lawson, the card we chose had a space marked “Your Photo or Video Here”, and the photo step opened only after a four-step membership sign-up. On HiWith, which is ours, a watermarked picture of him dressed as Santa came up 12 seconds after we tapped Make my card, with no account and nothing paid. We’re proud of that, and it still isn’t a reason to cancel a membership you love. Jacquie Lawson’s cards are painted by people, the classic ones play for about a minute with music, and $36 a year covers every card you send to friends and family. If your cards go out a few at a time through the year, that’s cheaper than us from the eighth card. Below is what each does better, six other options with prices read from their own pages that day, and who we think should stay.
The same Christmas card on both sites
We went through jacquielawson.com first, in Chrome on a laptop, as a visitor who hadn’t joined. Its Christmas / Winter page lists 116 cards. We picked Cosy Christmas, one of the new Postbox cards, because its page says you can upload your favourite photos or a video. The preview opened an envelope addressed to “You”, then a painted sitting room with a fire and a tree. Join & send led to a sign-up in four steps (account, membership, payment, confirmation), and the photo goes in after that, in the card builder. We stopped there. We didn’t buy a membership for this page, so we haven’t seen how a photo looks once it’s placed in a Postbox card.
Its classic cards are a different thing. They’re short animated films with music, they take a greeting and your message rather than a photo, and anyone can watch one before joining. Sleigh Ride, a ride through a snowy English village, is a 73-second film, and its preview opened for us without an account.
Then we did the same job on HiWith. On the Santa, Is That You? card we tapped Add a person, picked the photo, typed his name and tapped Make my card. The pay sheet came up straight away, and 12 seconds after the tap it showed him in a Santa suit and a white beard by the tree, with two children watching open-mouthed from the stairs, all under a watermark. Nobody asked for an email or a password. Paying $4.99 would have made four finished pictures and a short video; we stopped before paying there too.
Twelve seconds is the good news. The catch is that the picture is made by AI from one photo, and a face doesn’t always come out looking like the person. That’s why you see it before you pay, and why we refund any card you don’t love. Jacquie Lawson’s help centre, for its part, says it uses no AI at all.
Jacquie Lawson and HiWith, line by line
| Jacquie Lawson | HiWith | |
|---|---|---|
| What you send | Hand-painted animated ecards, most about a minute long with music. Postbox cards with an envelope, stamp and confetti. Bespoke cards you customise | A card with the person from your photo in the scene: 4 pictures and a short video, with their name and your message |
| Your own photo | Photos or a video on Postbox cards, in a space on the card. The painting stays as painted | One photo of each person, up to 5, and they’re in the picture |
| Price (US) | $8 a month, $36 a year or $50 for two years. $54 a year with Blue Mountain added. Taxes may apply | $4.99 a card, paid once. HiWith Pro is $7.99 a month for up to 10 cards |
| How many cards | As many as you send to friends and family, “within reason” | One per payment, or up to 10 a month on Pro |
| Free | A few cards in its app after a free sign-up. None on the website | A watermarked picture of them in the card, with no sign-up. No free finished cards |
| Before you can send | A membership, with payment details | No account. Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card |
| How it’s sent | By email from its own system, on a date you choose, or as a link for a text or Facebook | A link that opens on any phone, sent by text, WhatsApp or email, or you download the pictures. No scheduling |
| Your message | Up to 1,500 characters | Up to 200 characters |
| Who makes the art | Artists, animators and musicians. Its help centre says no AI | AI, from your photo |
| Extras | Address book, birthday reminders, and an Advent Calendar sold separately | None of those yet |
| Cancelling | Set Automatic Renewal to No under Manage Membership. App plans cancel through Apple or Google | A single card never renews. Pro cancels in 2 taps from any receipt |
| Refunds | Its help centre offers one for a renewal you didn’t want | A full refund if you don’t love the card; reply to the receipt |
| Apps | iPhone and Android, 4.9 stars from about 116,000 App Store ratings | None yet. It works in your phone’s browser |
| Cards to pick from | 116 for Christmas alone | 17 for Christmas, about 140 in all |
Christmas cards made from your photos
Where Jacquie Lawson wins
- Every card is made by people. Its help centre says no AI goes into the artwork or the music, and that it plans to keep it that way.
- Sending all year costs less. $36 covers every card you send to friends and family, so if your cards are spread across the months, Jacquie Lawson is cheaper than paying us $4.99 a card from your eighth card on.
- It keeps track for you, with an address book, birthday reminders and cards you can book for a later date. HiWith has none of that; you send the link yourself.
- There’s room for a proper letter. Messages run to 1,500 characters, and its note cards are made for long ones. Ours stop at 200.
- The choice is far bigger: 116 Christmas cards, 178 Postbox cards, Bespoke cards that can put the recipient’s name or a chosen scene into the art, and an Advent Calendar, sold separately.
- It has apps for iPhone and Android, rated 4.9 stars from about 116,000 App Store ratings, with a few free cards inside. We have no app yet.
- The site carries no ads. It says memberships alone pay for it.
What HiWith does instead, and its limits
- The person is in the scene. You add one clear photo of each person, up to five, and the card is made with them in it, as four pictures and a short video with their name and your message.
- You see it before you pay, with no account, no email and no card details. In our run the free picture took 12 seconds.
- Nothing renews unless you choose it. One card is $4.99, paid once. HiWith Pro is $7.99 a month for up to 10 cards and cancels in two taps from any receipt.
- Photos stay private. We use them only for your card, never to train AI, and delete them after 30 days unless you keep the card.
- Now the limits. The pictures are made by AI, and a face can come out wrong, which is why the free picture comes first and a card you don’t love is refunded in full.
- We’re new and small. There are 17 Christmas cards to Jacquie Lawson’s 116, no app, no address book or reminders, no scheduled sending, no gifts and nothing on paper, though you can download the pictures and print them yourself.
Six other places to look
Prices are US prices from each company’s own page on November 10, 2026, except JibJab’s, which we read on November 7 for our JibJab alternatives page. Going by their privacy policies, Jacquie Lawson, Blue Mountain and American Greetings all sit under American Greetings Corporation, which is why two of them list the same three plans.
| What it’s like | Price | Free option | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Mountain | More playful, with celebrities, songs and parodies; its cards take your message, photos or music | $7.99 a month, just under $36 a year, or $49.99 for two years. With Jacquie Lawson, $53.99 a year | A free trial |
| American Greetings | Seasonal and celebrity ecards, and cards you can schedule up to a year ahead | $7.99 a month, just under $36 a year, or $49.99 for two years | A 7-day free trial |
| Ojolie | Animated cards from its own studio, built around characters | $28 a year, renewing yearly until you cancel; personal use only | None that we saw |
| 123Greetings | Free ecards, wishes and GIFs for most occasions | Free | Yes, with ads on the page |
| Paperless Post | Designer-looking cards and invitations, paid per recipient in Coins | A 3-Coin send was $1.44 on its calculator | Many free designs |
| JibJab | Your face on a dancing character, for a laugh | $36 a year or $24 for six months on the web; $6.99 a month in its apps | A handful of free ecards |
Who should stay, and who should switch
Stay with Jacquie Lawson if you send cards all through the year. From the eighth card it costs less than we do, and if you send one for every birthday in your address book, $36 buys you far more than we could. Stay, too, if the painting and the music are what you love, or if you’d rather your cards had no AI in them. We can’t give you either.
If what you miss is something sillier, add Blue Mountain to your membership instead of leaving; Jacquie Lawson lists it at $18 a year more, as a limited-time price. If it’s the price that bothers you and the hand-made look you like, Ojolie is $28 a year. If you only need a free card now and then, start with the few in Jacquie Lawson’s own app, or 123Greetings if ads don’t bother you.
Use HiWith next to it for the handful of cards where the person matters more than the painting: your grandson dressed as Santa, your sister on a get-well card. It’s $4.99 each time, nothing renews, and your membership can carry on doing the rest. If most of them land in December, one month of HiWith Pro covers up to 10 for $7.99.
How we checked, and our sources
We read every Jacquie Lawson fact on November 10, 2026, from its own pages, help centre and App Store listing, in Chrome on a Mac, and went through its card pages as a visitor who hadn’t joined. We didn’t pay on either site. The HiWith timing is one run on the live site with a photo of a made-up child, and yours will vary with the card and the photo. Prices are in US dollars and they change; Jacquie Lawson calls its bundle price a limited-time offer. If anything here is wrong or out of date, write to support@winding.ai and we’ll fix it.
- Jacquie Lawson’s prices, the Blue Mountain bundle and the no-ads line are on jacquielawson.com/prices-membership
- What a membership covers, and why the two-year plan is website-only, is at jacquielawson.com/faq/3452
- The free cards being app-only is at jacquielawson.com/faq/7983, and the app is described at jacquielawson.com/faq/8220
- The App Store listing with its ratings is apps.apple.com/us/app/jacquie-lawson-ecards/id1538019085
- Cancelling, and refunds for a renewal you didn’t want, are at jacquielawson.com/faq/3462 and jacquielawson.com/faq/6385
- Its answer on AI is jacquielawson.com/faq/8413, and what happened to the old photo cards is jacquielawson.com/faq/6480
- Postbox cards are listed at jacquielawson.com/cards/postbox, and the card we tried is jacquielawson.com/card/cosy-christmas/3564892
- The Christmas list is jacquielawson.com/cards/christmas, and the classic card we opened is jacquielawson.com/card/sleigh-ride/3474767
- Bespoke cards are at jacquielawson.com/cards/bespoke
- Booking a card for later, message length, sending by text, and the address book and reminders are covered at jacquielawson.com/faq/3475, jacquielawson.com/faq/7985, jacquielawson.com/faq/7900 and jacquielawson.com/faq/3473
- Its parent company is named in jacquielawson.com/privacy-policy, and Blue Mountain’s in bluemountain.com/privacy-policy
- Blue Mountain’s plans are on bluemountain.com, and what it adds to the bundle is on jacquielawson.com/subscription-bundle
- American Greetings’ plans are on americangreetings.com, its trial on americangreetings.com/ecards and its scheduling on americangreetings.com/join
- Ojolie’s membership is at ojolie.com/membership, 123Greetings is 123greetings.com and Paperless Post explains Coins at paperlesspost.com/pricing
- JibJab’s prices, read November 7, are at help.jibjab.com/hc/en-us/articles/200094590-What-s-the-difference-between-a-Free-Account-and-a-Premium-Membership
- Its Advent Calendar is the lead in its own ads, which we read in the Meta Ad Library on November 3, 2026, at facebook.com/ads/library
How it works
- Pick a cardPilots, mermaids, rock stars, one very surprised cake. Every one shows a real example first.
- Add their photosOne clear face each, up to 5 people. A selfie is fine. No sign-up.
- See it free, then payOne picture of them in the card in about 10 seconds. Like it? Apple Pay or Google Pay, and four pictures arrive about 20 seconds later, the video in about 90.
What it costs
One card, or 10 a month. Full refund if you don’t love it.
Is Jacquie Lawson free?
Not on the website. Sending cards there needs a membership: $8 a month, $36 a year or $50 for two years in the US, as we read them on November 10, 2026. Its iPhone and Android app has a few free cards once you register, and anyone can watch a card’s preview before joining.
How much is a Jacquie Lawson membership, and how many cards does it cover?
$8 a month, $36 a year or $50 for two years, or $54 a year with Blue Mountain added, which it calls a limited-time price. It covers every card you send to friends and family; the help centre says “within reason”, meaning no business mail or spam. The two-year plan is sold only on the website, not in the app.
How do I cancel a Jacquie Lawson membership?
If you joined on the website, log on, open My Details, then Manage Membership, and set Automatic Renewal to No. The membership then runs to its end date and stops. If you joined in the app, cancel it in your phone’s Apple or Google subscriptions. If it already renewed when you didn’t want it to, the help centre says to contact its helpline for a refund.
Can I put my own photo in a Jacquie Lawson card?
On its new Postbox cards, yes: once you’ve joined, you can add photos or a video in a space on the card. Its older photo cards stopped working when Adobe Flash ended in 2020. Either way the painting stays as it was painted. HiWith works the other way round: the person from your photo is put into the scene.
Is Jacquie Lawson legit?
Yes. Its privacy policy names American Greetings Corporation as its parent company, and its app has 4.9 stars from about 116,000 App Store ratings.
Does Jacquie Lawson use AI?
No. Its help centre says all the artwork and music is made by people, and that it plans to keep it that way. HiWith does use AI; that’s how the person from your photo gets into the picture.
Is HiWith cheaper than Jacquie Lawson?
For a few cards a year, yes. Seven HiWith cards cost $34.93, just under Jacquie Lawson’s $36 a year, so if your cards are spread through the year, Jacquie Lawson costs less from the eighth card on. If they all go out in one month, say at Christmas, HiWith Pro is $7.99 for up to 10 cards that month. HiWith has no yearly plan.
By HiWith (Winding AI, Inc.) · support@winding.ai · Updated