Remember that box of old home videos in your attic? Or those fading photo albums from your childhood? These precious memories—captured on VHS tapes, film reels, and yellowing photographs—are at risk. Time isn't kind to these old formats, and with each passing year, the chance of losing these irreplaceable moments grows.

Enter Legacybox and Costco—two popular brands in the field of digitization. While both companies have been offering this service for decades, it's worth noting that Costco's digitization services have always been fulfilled by Capture, with different service offerings than when ordering directly through us. 

We've put together this guide to help you choose the best service for preserving your memories. We'll compare Legacybox, Costco (both their previous in-store service and current Costco Next program), and Capture—giving you a full spectrum of options for digitizing your older collections.

Keep reading to learn about all three companies, the services they offer, and a Legacybox vs Costco vs. Capture Feature Comparison

TL;DR: Capture Delivers The Best Overall Service Capture offers superior quality and competitive pricing across all media types. Costco (fulfilled by Capture) provides better deals when combining multiple formats like photos with videos, while Legacybox's convenient mail-in service comes with longer wait times, premium rush fees, and more frequent quality and lost-media complaints.

 

Jump to:

• Supported Media
• Turnaround Time
• Pricing
• Security
• Reviews and Experience
• Legacybox - Pros and Cons
• Costco - Pros and Cons
• Bonus: Capture - Pros and Cons
• Why Capture is the Clear Choice for Your Memories

 Although Legacybox, Costco, and Capture all offer digitization services, there are significant differences in their features, supported media types, turnaround times, and overall customer experience. Let's see how they stack up against each other:

Supported Media

The types of media you can convert with Legacybox, Costco Next, and Capture are similar, but each offers something a little different.

Costco members can access Capture’s full range of digitization services through Costco Next, where they can convert everything from VHS tapes and film reels to photo albums.

Legacybox offers transfers for audio cassettes, micro-cassettes, and reel-to-reel audio—services Capture and many others don’t provide. This makes Legacybox a rare option for non-copyrighted audio-only conversions. 

Capture also provides unique services, such as transferring data from memory cards, USB drives, and data CDs/DVDs. Additionally, we are the first to offer touchless photo album scanning, which minimizes the risk of damage to your photos.

Advantage: Tie

Turnaround Time

Turnaround time is the amount of time for your order to be complete so you can start enjoying your digital format memories. Legacybox turnaround time is 10 to 12 weeks, which is the industry standard.

Capture is much faster with a turnaround time of less than 30 days, including shipping. Plus, this includes access to the included MemoryCloud storage account (similar cloud storage with Legacybox costs an additional $19.99). Costco, since their services are fulfilled by Capture, offer a similar turnaround time.

Advantage: Capture 

Pricing

Legacybox’s pricing is structured around package deals, which can make you pay more. For example, if you have 6 videotapes, you’ll need to purchase their 10-item kit. Their pricing starts at $69.98 for two items, such as videotapes, film reels, or 25 photos. For 20 items, the cost rises to $639.99, not including additional charges for USB copies, DVDs, or cloud storage.

 Capture offers more flexible pricing, starting at $29.99 for 2 hours of videotape or the first 100 feet of film, with an additional $0.25 per foot beyond that. For photos, Capture charges $29.99 for the first 50 images and $0.50 per extra image, making it a more affordable option if you have large quantities.

Costco members can access Capture’s services through Costco Next, where they receive exclusive discounted rates compared to Capture’s standard pricing. Additionally, Costco members enjoy perks like 60 days of free MemoryCloud access, making it easier to store and share their digitized memories.

Advantage: Capture

Security

Legacybox provides barcode tracking, status updates, and a climate-controlled facility to keep your memories safe, along with a $1000 protection guarantee. They also offer store credit if you're not satisfied with the results.

Costco Next offers the same security as Capture, with 24-hour monitoring, advanced security, and barcode tracking throughout the entire process. Capture offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and will reprocess your order for free if you're not happy with the results.

Advantage: Capture

Reviews and Experience

With 24 years of experience, over 12 million satisfied customers, and partnerships with major brands, Capture is a trusted name in memory preservation. Legacybox, with 14 years in the industry, also has plenty of experience.

However, Legacybox has received a lot of negative feedback, with customers complaining about long wait times and some even calling it a scam.

Although Legacybox is not a scam, the negative reviews for Costco Next and Capture are less harsh, focusing on issues like low-quality USBs, buzzing audio, and slight delays. Overall, our reviews are more positive than Legacybox reviews.

Advantage: Capture

To give you a brief overview of the similarities and differences between these three options, here’s an easy-to-read comparison chart!

Service	Capture	LegacyBox	Costco Next
Turnaround Time	3-4 weeks (less than 30 days including shipping)	10-12 weeks (longer, even with expedited option)	3-4 weeks (fulfilled by Capture)
Videotape Pricing	Only $29.99 for first 2 hours per tape	$65.98 for up to 2 tapes	$19.99 per tape
Film Pricing	Only $29.99 for first 100 feet per reel	$65.98 for up to 2 reels	$19.99 for first 150 feet
Photo Pricing	Only $29.99 for first 50 images	$65.98 for up to 50 photos	$19.99 for first 62 images
Digital Media Transfer	Yes	No	Yes (via Capture)
Satisfaction Guarantee	100% Guarantee, reprocess for free	Store credit within 30 days	100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Security for Memories	State-of-the-art tracking, 60-day backup	Barcode tracking, climate-controlled	State-of-the-art tracking, 60-day backup
Touchless Photo Scanning	Yes	No	Yes (via Capture)
Experience	23 years	14 years	Fulfilled by Capture for over 15 years
DVD/USB Option	Yes (smart chapters & personalization)	Yes	Yes
Google Drive Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes

It can help to know what each service specifically offers before making your decision. Here's a closer look at each option:

Legacybox - Pros and Cons

Starting in 2009, Legacybox is a digital transfer service that has preserved memories for over 1 million families at its processing facility located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company that owns Legacybox, AMB Media, also processes orders for Kodak Digitizing Box and SouthTree digitization service.

How Legacybox Works

Legacybox offers a simple process for converting old media. You select a kit based on how many items you want to convert. These kits are available for 2, 10, 20, or 40 items. After packing up your media, you send it to Legacybox for processing, which typically takes 10 to 12 weeks.

Media Types Legacybox Accepts

Legacybox accepts a wide range of media formats, including:

• Videotapes: VHS, VHS-C, Hi8, Video 8, MiniDV, Betamax, MicroMV, PAL, and Digital 8 tapes
• Movie Film: 16mm, 8mm, and Super 8 film reels
• Photos: Print photos, 35mm negatives, and 35mm/126 slides
• Audio Transfer: Audio cassette, micro-cassette, and reel-to-reel audio

Digital Storage Options with Legacybox

Customers can choose from three options for storing their newly digitized media:

• USB Thumb Drive
• Cloud Storage
• DVD Set

Each option ensures long-term preservation of your memories, with easy access for future viewing.

Legacybox Pricing

Pricing is based on the size of the kit and the number of items included. Each item refers to a single videotape, film reel, or 25 photos.

• Up to 2 Items: $65.98
• Up to 10 Items: $299.98
• Up to 20 Items: $599.98
• Up to 40 Items: $1,179.98

Digital storage options come at an additional cost:

• Cloud Storage: $19.99 one-time download or $19.99 per year
• USB Thumb Drive: $19.99
• DVD Set: $19.99

Note: Legacybox charges extra for faster processing, with fees ranging from $14.99 for expedited service (3-4 weeks) to $29.99 for rush service (10 business days).

Legacybox Customer Reviews

While Legacybox advertises a 4.8-star rating with thousands of reviews, independent review platforms tell a different story. 

Like any company dedicated to preserving your irreplaceable memories, Legacybox takes customer feedback seriously. Their Trustpilot rating journey shows this commitment—improving from 3.4 to 4.1 in recent times. Here's what customers have been saying:

• Positive Feedback: Many customers appreciate the high-quality results and smooth digitization process. The kits are easy to use, and email updates provide peace of mind throughout the experience. Some users also report receiving their orders faster than the estimated 10-week timeframe.
• Criticisms: Negative reviews often mention delays in processing, with some customers waiting longer than 12 weeks for their media to be returned. Others feel that the pricing can be misleading or that cheaper alternatives provide better results.

Legacybox Pros	Legacybox Cons
Experience: Over 10 years of helping families digitize their memories.	Cost: Some customers feel the pricing is higher compared to other services.
Simple Process: The kits make it easy to send in various media formats.	Turnaround Time: It can take up to 12 weeks or longer to get your media back.
Good Quality: Digital conversions are often high-quality, preserving memories well.	Handling Concerns: There are reports of lost or damaged media, but there’s a $1,000 guarantee to cover losses.
Audio Transfer Available: Legacybox handles audio formats, like cassettes and reel-to-reel.

Costco - Pros and Cons

Costco continues to offer media digitization services through Costco Next, with all orders still fulfilled by Capture. This partnership has been helping Costco members digitize tapes, films, and photos for over 15 years. Costco members can access the same trusted service with exclusive pricing by visiting the Costco Next website to place an order.

How Costco Digitization Works

Previously, customers could drop off their media at Costco stores. Now, through Costco Next, members can easily digitize their media by placing an order online. After ordering, customers pack their media—such as VHS tapes or photo albums—into a box and attach the provided shipping label. They can then drop it off at any UPS location. All orders are fulfilled by Capture, with a typical turnaround time of 3 to 4 weeks. Customers can track their orders online to see the progress.

Media Types Costco Next Offers

Costco Next, fulfilled by Capture, offers digitization for a wide range of media formats, including:

• Videotapes: Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, Video 8, Hi-8, Digital 8, DV, DVCAM, MiniDV
• Movie Film: 8mm, 16mm, and Super 8 film reels
• Photos: Print photos, photo albums, negatives (35mm, APS, 110 film), and slides (35mm, 126, 127 Superslide)
• Digital Media: SD cards, MMC, SM, MiniDVD, CDs, and other digital storage formats

Costco Next members can also benefit from Capture's exclusive touchless photo album scanning service, which digitizes images directly from album pages without touching the individual photos—ensuring no risk of damage.

Digital Storage Options with Costco Next

When using Costco Next (via Capture), customers can choose from the following digital storage options for their digitized media:

• USB Flash Drive
• MemoryCloud: 60-day access to download your digitized media
• DVDs: Personalize with smart chapters and highlight videos

Costco Next offers the flexibility of choosing both DVD and USB copies for added convenience.

Costco Next Pricing

Costco members benefit from exclusive discounts on Capture’s digitization services through Costco Next. They also get 60 days of free MemoryCloud access, making it easy to download and share digitized files.

The discounted prices look like this:

• Videotapes or first 100 feet of film: $29.99 per item
• USB thumb drive copies: $14.99 per order
• DVD copies: $6.99 per DVD
• Additional photos: $0.50 per extra photo
• Additional film footage: $0.25 per extra foot of film

These exclusive discounts make it more affordable for Costco members to convert their media while enjoying Capture’s trusted services.

Costco Next Pros	Costco Next Cons
Fulfilled by Capture: The service was managed by Capture, offering great customer service.	Limited to DVD or USB: Customers had to get DVD or USB copies—no option for digital file transfer.
Exceptional Quality: The results were often high-quality, preserving family memories well.	No Audio Cassette Option: Costco didn’t offer the ability to digitize audio cassettes.
Affordable Pricing: Especially for DVD copies, Costco's pricing was more competitive than other services.

Bonus: Capture - Pros and Cons

TL;DR: Capture is the biggest brand that has helped the most, but not always through their brand so customers may not know them.

For over 20 years, Capture has been quietly leading the memory preservation industry, digitizing precious memories for more than 12 million customers—though you might not recognize us immediately. 

Unlike other providers, Capture offers both convenient digitization kits (like Legacybox - so you can mix various media types and send them all for digitization) and individual order options. 

We’re also the trusted digitization partner behind major retailers like Costco (for over 15 years), Walmart, CVS, and Google Photos. Our flexible service model lets you pay only for what you need, whether it's home videos, photos, or film reels.

How Capture Works

Capture provides flexible options to digitize your old media. You can either choose to pay for individual items based on what you need or use one of our Time Capsule kits, which come in three sizes:

• Individual Orders: Only pay for the specific tapes, films, or photos you want to digitize—no kits required.
• Time Capsule Kits: Available in 2-item, 10-item, or 20-item sizes, these kits are designed for larger projects. Simply pack your media and ship it to us for processing.

Most orders are completed within a few weeks, and you’ll receive email updates to keep you informed throughout the process.

Media Types Capture Accepts

Capture works with a wide range of media formats, including:

• Videotapes: Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, Video 8, Hi-8, Digital 8, DV, DVCAM, MiniDV
• Movie Film: 8mm, 16mm, and Super 8 film reels
• Photos: Print photos, negatives (35mm, APS, 110 film), and slides (35mm, 126, 127 Superslide)
• Digital Media: SD cards, MMC, SM, MiniDVD, CDs, and other digital storage formats

In addition to video and film transfer services, Capture has also developed the first-ever touchless photo album scanning service. You can use it to digitize old photos contained in photo albums without anyone ever having to touch individual print photos. The service is exclusively available on Capture.com and not via any retailers.

Digital Storage Options with Capture

After your media is digitized, you can choose from three options to store your files:

• USB Flash Drive
• MemoryCloud: 60-day access for downloading your media
• DVDs: Personalize them with smart chapters and highlight videos

Each option provides long-term storage and easy access to your memories.

Capture Pricing

Capture’s pricing is based on the type and amount of media you want to digitize. Each price includes minor repairs and cleaning as needed.

• Videotapes: $28.99 for the first two hours of each tape, $28.99 for each additional two hours
• Film reels: $28.99 for the first 100 feet of film, $0.25 for each additional foot
• Photos: $28.99 for the first 50 photos or slides, $0.50 for each additional image
• Touchless Photo Scanning: $28.99 for the first 35 photos per album, $0.70 for each additional photo
• USB Flash Drive: $14.99 for a complete digital copy of your order
• DVDs: $6.99 per DVD, holding up to two hours of video or 500 images

Capture Customer Reviews

Capture has received mostly positive feedback from its customers.

• Positive Feedback: Many customers are impressed with the quality of our digital transfers, saying their old photos and tapes came out looking great. They also appreciate how easy the process is, from sending in the media to receiving their files. Some users mentioned that they plan to stick with Capture for future projects because of the reliable service and good customer support.
• Criticisms: Some negative reviews mention delays, especially when using Capture through retailers like Walmart. A few customers reported minor audio issues, such as a faint buzzing sound on older tapes. While these concerns are not common, they highlight some areas for improvement. However, most customers still feel satisfied with the overall experience despite occasional delays.

Capture Pros	Capture Cons
Trusted by Major Brands: Capture is trusted by top brands like Costco, Walmart, CVS, and Google Photos.	No Audio Transfers: Capture doesn’t offer services for audio cassettes.
Secure Tracking: State-of-the-art tracking ensures your media is secure and accounted for every step of the way.	No Blu-ray or App Feature: Some customers may want more viewing options.
Fast Turnaround: With a 30-day turnaround, Capture is quicker than many competitors.
Guaranteed Satisfaction: We offer a 100% guarantee to make sure you’re satisfied with the results.
Exclusive Deals for Costco Members: Special pricing and value offered to Costco members.

Why Capture is the Clear Choice for Your Memories

Legacybox vs. Costco is a long-running debate because of their distinct differences in pricing and services. While Costco's in-store digitization service has ended, members can still access premium digitization through Costco Next, powered by Capture.

Legacybox offers kit-based services, a wide variety of media transfer options, and DVD or USB copies. However, while we may be a little biased, we believe that Capture offers the best value with premium results, fast turnaround time, and special services like touchless photo album scanning.

If you want answers to FAQs or would like to compare other companies like ScanCafe or iMemories vs Legacybox, Capture, and other options, check out our comparison page!