Millions of memories are captured on videotapes, photographs, film reels, and more, but those analog formats can decay over time. Because of the high demand, there are lots of options you can choose to digitize those precious memories and preserve them forever.

Two of the most popular options over the years are Legacybox and Costco, but there are some distinct differences between their services. Additionally, beginning in January 2023, the Costco photo center will no longer offer digitization services, but being in the industry for over 15 years means a lot of Members are still looking for alternatives that offer similar deals.

We hope that this Legacybox vs. Costco guide helps you make the best decision for your memories, and we included Capture in the comparison as well just to give you more choices considering Costco is no longer an option. Keep reading to learn about all three companies, the services they offer, and a feature-to-feature comparison.

Jump to:

-> Legacybox vs. Costco vs. Capture Comparison Chart

-> Overview of Legacybox

-> Overview of Costco

-> Bonus: Capture

-> Legacybox vs Costco vs. Capture Feature Comparison

-> Conclusion

Legacybox vs. Costco vs. Capture Comparison Chart

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

Note that the information in this table is for Costco’s prior services that they no longer offer. In addition, some of the information is identical to Capture. That’s because Capture’s parent company YesVideo was the company that fulfilled the digitization services Costco offered its members for over 15 years.

One of the only differences was the pricing structure, especially with DVD and USB flash drive options. If you are a Costco fan looking for the same affordable pricing and deals that they used to offer, visit csb.capture.com.

	Capture	LegacyBox	Costco
Turnaround Time	3-4 weeks (less than 30 days including shipping)	10 to 12 weeks (expedited processing available for additional fee)	3 to 4 weeks
Videotape Pricing	Only $29.99 for the first two hours of each tape ($29.99 for each additional 2 hours)	$65.98 for up to 2 videotapes, $299.98 for 10, $599.98 for 20, and $1,179.98 for 40	$19.99 total for each tape and includes 2 DVDs
Film Pricing	Only $29.99 for the first 100 feet of each film reel ($0.25 for each additional foot)	$65.98 for up to 2 film reels, $299.98 for 10, $599.98 for 20, and $1,179.98 for 40	$19.99 total for the first 150 feet of film ($0.13 per foot after the first 150) and includes 2 DVDs
Photo, Slide, and Negative Pricing	Only $29.99 for the first 50 prints, slides, or negatives ($0.50 for each additional image)	$65.98 for up to 50 photos, $299.98 for 250 photos, $599.98 for 500 photos, and $1,179.98 for 1000 photos	$19.99 total for the first 62 photos ($0.32 for each additional image) and includes 2 DVDs
Digital Media Transfer	Yes	No	No
Satisfaction Guarantee or Return Policy	100% or we’ll reprocess your entire order free of charge	No-hassle store credit within 30-day return policy	100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Security for Your Memories	State-of-the-art multi-million-dollar order tracking and security system, plus a 60-day backup	Barcode tracking, status updates, and a climate-controlled processing facility	State-of-the-art multi-million-dollar order tracking and security system, plus a 60-day backup
Touchless Photo Album Scanning	Yes	No	No
Digitization Experience	23 years of experience	14 years of experience	Fulfilled by Capture for over 15 years (until Jan. 2023)
Basic Repairs Services	Yes, minor cassette repairs, magnetic tape cleaning, and film splicing, enhanced colors, and scratch reduction	Yes, but only splicing	Yes, minor cassette repairs, magnetic tape cleaning, and film splicing, enhanced colors, and scratch reduction
Google Photos or Google Drive Auto Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes
DVD Option Available	Yes, with automatic smart chapters, highlight videos, and personalization options	Yes	Yes, 2 DVDs included with their standard pricing
USB/Flash Drive Option Available	Yes	Yes	Yes

 

Overview of Legacybox

Starting in 2009, Legacybox, not to be confused with Legacy Digital, 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.

Legacybox offers kits to include up to 2, 10, 20, or 40 items. Then, you simply pack up your media, drop it off to send to them, and wait for digitized memories

With these kits, you can mix and match media types including:

• Videotapes: VHS, VHS-C, Hi8, Video 8, MiniDV, Betamax, MicroMV, PAL, and Digital 8 tapes

• Movie film: 16mm, 8 mm, and Super 8 film reels.

• Photos: Print photos, 35 mm negatives, and 35mm/126 slides

• Audio Transfer: Audio cassette, micro-cassette, and reel-to-reel audio.

Pricing

Legacybox photo, film, and video transfer service pricing are based on the size of the kit and the number of items. Items are considered one videotape, one film reel, or 25 photos. With their pricing, they include a $1,000 loss guarantee so you can rest assured that if your memories aren’t protected, you will be compensated.

• 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

In addition, Legacybox offers cloud storage, USB, and DVD options.

• Legacybox Cloud Storage: $19.99 one-time download or $19.99 per year

• USB Thumb Drive: $19.99

• DVD Set: $19.99

Customer Reviews

Legacybox has a mixture of both negative and positive reviews. Some positive reviews indicate high-quality results, faster than 10-week turnaround time, and easy-to-work with customer service. Plus, many of them say the boxes made the entire digitization process easy and included great instructions and barcode scanning for the number of items you have.

Like most businesses, Legacybox also has negative reviews. Some of the more common complaints point out misleading pricing and information on their website. In addition, some users say they’ve been waiting significantly longer than 12 weeks and still haven’t received their order or that a device bought on Amazon offers better quality. Despite these negative reviews, Legacybox still holds a 3.4 score on TrustPilot.

Pros

• Over a decade of experience and 1 million happy customers

• Easy to pick up and ship

• High-quality digital conversion

• Audio cassette transfer available

Cons

• Expensive pricing

• Long turnaround time of 10 to 12 weeks

• Negative Legacybox reviews suggest they are misleading or lose old memories more often than they should

Overview of Costco

Costco photo center offered digitization services for over 15+ years with YesVideo (Capture’s parent company). Unlike Legacybox or other online kit services like iMemories Digitizing Safeship Kit, Costco offered a la carte pricing, which means you pay for each item you digitize instead of paying for the maximum number to include in a box.

While they don’t offer digitization services anymore, they used to transfer movie film, home movies, and photos to digital format including:

• Videotapes: Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, S-VHS-C, Video 8, Hi-8, Digital 8, DV, DVCAM, DVC, and MiniDV.

• Movie film: 8mm film, 16 mm film, and Super 8 film reels.

• Photos: Photo albums, print photos, negatives (35mm, APS film, 110 film, 110/220 film, 126 Instamatic film, large negatives), and slides (25 mm, Super 35 mm, 110/220, 126, 127, 127 Superslide).

Pricing

Costco’s pricing structure includes a digital download with 90-day access to MemoryCloud, similar to Legacybox cloud or iMemories Cloud. This allows you to view and download memories on Android or Apple phone, computer, hard drive, or other storage devices. They also include DVDs or a USB with their standard pricing structure.

$19.99 for 2 DVD copies of:

• Each videotape

• First 150 feet of film ($0.13 per foot after the first 150)

• First 62 photos ($0.32 for each additional digital image)

$24.99 for USB thumb drive copies of:

• 1 videotape ($16.99 for each additional tape)

• First 150 feet of film ($0.13 per foot after the first 150)

• First 62 photos ($0.32 for each additional digital image)

$29.99 for 2 DVDs + 1 USB copy of:

• 1 videotape ($22.99 for each additional tape)

• First 150 feet of film ($0.13 per foot after the first 150)

• First 62 photos ($0.32 for each additional digital image)

Customer Reviews

The customer reviews for YesVideo and Costco digitization services are typically very positive. Many users report exceptional customer service that’s also reflected in the responses to feedback on Yelp and other review websites. Plus, other positive reviews say they cared for their old family memories better than alternatives and the high-quality results were as great as they could ask for.

There are some negative reviews as well though. Some reviews highlight delays in turnaround time, especially when going through Costco for YesVideo or Capture services. Other negative reviews indicate unexpected fees for their order and low-quality USB devices.

Pros

• Fulfilled by Capture for great customer service

• Exceptional quality results

• Affordable pricing (especially for DVD copies)

Cons

• Have to get DVD or USB copies

• No digital file transfer or audio cassette option

• Not available anymore (but you can receive the same pricing and deals at csb.capture.com.)

 

Bonus: Capture

Capture offers over 20 years of experience in the industry and over 12 million satisfied customers. We offer an a la carte pricing structure, similar to Costco, for home videos, old photos, and film reels. Capture not only provided digital transfer services for Costco for over 15 years, but also works with other major brands like Walmart, CVS, Sam’s Club, and Google Photos.

Capture offers a wide range of digitization services including:

• Videotapes: Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, S-VHS-C, Video 8, Hi-8, Digital 8, DV, DVCAM, DVC, and MiniDV.

• Movie film: 8mm film, 16 mm film, and Super 8 film reels.

• Photos: Photo albums, print photos, negatives (35mm, APS film, 110 film, 110/220 film, 126 Instamatic film, large negatives), and slides (25 mm, Super 35 mm, 110/220, 126, 127, 127 Superslide).

• Digital formats: SD, SM, MMC, CD, xD-Picture Card, Sony MemoryStick memory cards, Data CDs, MiniDVD, DVD, and USB Drives.

In addition to video and film transfer services, Capture has also developed the first-ever touchless photo album scanning service to digitize old photos contained in photo albums without anyone ever having to touch individual print photos. This revolutionary photo scanning service includes glare removal, cropping, and color correction to create high-quality digital files.

Capture Pricing

This pricing includes minor repairs like broken cassettes, slight ribbon damage, and cleaning mold off videotapes; plus, original audio, cleaning, splicing, enhanced colors, and scratch reduction for film. It also includes access to MemoryCloud storage for easy sharing online or on social media.

• Videotape pricing: For videotapes, you will pay $28.99 for the first two hours of each tape and $28.99 for each additional 2 hours of videotape.

• Film pricing: $28.99 for the first 100 feet of film and only $0.25 for each additional foot.

• Photos: $28.99 for the first 50 prints, slides, or negatives and only $0.50 for each additional image.

• Touchless Photo Scanning: $28.99 for the first 35 photos of each album and $0.70 for each additional photo scanned.

• Digital Media: $28.99 for the first 90 minutes of each digital device and $28.99 for each additional 90 minutes or device. If your digital devices contain images, the pricing can be calculated by using 7 seconds for each photo.

• USB Flash Drive: $14.99 for your entire order.

• DVD: $6.99 per DVD that holds approximately 2 hours of video, 1,600 feet of film, or 500 images.

Quality and User Experience

There are a lot of great reviews for Capture that indicate premium quality in everything we offer. Many reviewers explained that they plan on using Capture for all their memories, old photos, film reels, VHS tapes, and other media because of the high-quality service they receive. Plus, satisfied customers point out that Capture was willing to do everything possible to make sure they had a positive experience from start to finish.

There are also some negative reviews for Capture that point out some issues. For example, one review on the BBB website pointed out some delays and confusion when using our services through Walmart. However, they admitted it was likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Walmart’s advertising by saying, “it certainly appears the Yes Video can be held harmless.” Other negative reviews point out that the audio wasn’t as good as they had hoped and sometimes has a slight buzzing sound during playback.

Pros

• High-quality results and customer service

• Affordable pricing that only charges for successful transfers

• State-of-the-art tracking and security system that tracks orders every step of the way

• Complimentary 60-day MemoryCloud storage

• Turnaround time of less than 30 days (including shipping)

Cons

• No audio cassette transfer services

• No Blu-ray option or App feature

Legacybox vs Costco vs. Capture Feature Comparison

Now that we’ve provided an overview of these three companies let’s look at how they stack up against each other with some of the most important features.

Supported Media

The types of media that you can convert when going through Legacybox, Costco, or Capture are similar, but there are some differences. Costco never offered digital media transfer services, for example. In addition, Capture can transfer some videotape and film types that Legacybox doesn’t include on their website like S-VHS tapes, DVCAM tapes, and DVC tapes.

LegacyBox will transfer audio cassettes, micro-cassettes, and reel-to-reel audio which is a service unavailable with Capture and many other digitization companies. That makes them one of the only choices for non-copyrighted audio without video.

Capture also offers some services unavailable with Costco or Legacybox. First, we offer digital transfers for memory cards, USB drives, data CDs, and DVDs. Second, we provide the first-ever touchless photo album scanning service that you can’t get anywhere else. This allows you to convert photo albums without any risk of fingerprints and other damage.

Advantage: Tie

Pricing

Legacybox prices are structured so that you may have to pay more because of the package deals. For example, if you have 6 videotapes, you will have to purchase the 10-item kit. While they have coupons and discounts often, their regular price starts at $65.98 for only two videotapes, two film reels, or 50 photos, which is expensive even if you completely fill the box. For 20 videotapes, 20 film reels, or 500 pictures, you will end up paying $599.98 and that doesn’t include USB copies, DVDs, or even access to the Legacybox cloud.

Capture starts at the affordable price of $28.99 per 2 hours of videotape (and each additional 2 hours) or for the first 100 feet of film. Capture only charges $0.25 per foot of film after the first 100 feet as well. For photos, the difference is greatest and you could end up saving hundreds of dollars if you have 500+ photos to convert.

Costco’s old pricing structure favored DVD copies because they were included in the standard pricing of $19.99 per videotape, for the first 150 feet of film, or for the first 62 photos, slides, or negatives. The pricing was also good for USB thumb drives starting at $24.99.

Advantage: Capture

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 were fulfilled by Capture, offered a similar turnaround time as Capture.

Advantage: Capture (and previously Costco before they ended their digitization services)

Security

If you choose Legacybox, you get barcode tracking, status updates, and a climate-controlled processing facility that is designed to keep your family memories safe and secure. They also include a $1000 protection guarantee on orders, which is certainly comforting. However, your memories are priceless so the best situation would be one where your memories are never lost or damaged. Legacybox also offers no-hassle store credit for unsatisfactory results.

Costco used to offer the same security as Capture and YesVideo, which is a state-of-the-art tracking and security system that promotes 24-hour monitoring, advanced security, and barcode tracking to watch your memories every step of the way, through every hand, and right back to your doorstep. Plus, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, or we’ll reprocess your entire order for free.

Advantage: Capture

Reviews and Experience

With 24 years of experience and over 12 million satisfied customers, as well as partnerships with several major brands, Capture is a long-time trusted brand in the memory preservation industry. However, Legacybox also has a lot of experience with over 14 years under its belt.

The difference comes with negative reviews and low ratings on several third-party sites. Legacybox has a 1.16-star rating with the BBB and many customer reviews say that their order is taking way too long or even that their service is a downright scam.

While we know that Legacybox is certainly not a scam, the negative reviews for Costco and Capture are not quite as severe. They point out things like low-quality USB, buzzing audio, and slight delays for photo scanning services compared with local stores or Walgreens. In all, they lean closer to positive than Legacybox reviews.

Advantage: Capture

Conclusion

Legacybox vs. Costco is a long-running debate because of their distinct differences in pricing and services. However, now that Costco no longer offers premium digitization, you will have to select another option for your precious memories.

Legacybox offers kit-based services, a wide variety of media transfer option, 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 comparisons page!