The honest answer is: it depends on the object you buy, and you should read the live total at checkout rather than a number copied out of an article. On Ottermagic the usual split is a printed A5 card versus the e-card (a hi-res, watermark-free download after payment). Posters and canvas are available if you want the same artwork on a wall; check Ottermagic.com for those details. What you are paying for, if the preview lands, is a Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap of a real photo, printed to order in the UK or delivered as a file. Start the preview at Ottermagic.com and look at the price on the page you actually buy from.
Short answers
| Question | What actually drives the cost |
|---|---|
| Why do AI Christmas cards cost more than a supermarket pack? | You are buying a made-to-order likeness, not a stack of robins printed last July |
| Printed A5 vs e-card? | Print includes card, envelope, UK make-to-order, and postage to a UK address (or to a US address from the US shop). The e-card is the file |
| Several cards to several houses? | Each design is its own line. Delivery is charged per address on Ottermagic; read checkout |
| Wall art? | Posters and canvas exist; they are a different product from a folded card. Check the live page |
| Competitor “from £…” banners? | Check that site today. Packs, postage, and sale strips move |
| How do I know if it is worth it? | Generate the preview. Pay only if it looks like them |
No prices in this guide are the current till total. Offers change. Checkout shows pounds in the UK shop and dollars in the US shop.
What you are paying for on Ottermagic
Outcome: a Christmas card that still looks like your household, or your pet, once it is on a shelf.
Mechanism: upload a photo, run Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap (Text Swap if you have no picture), preview, then choose printed A5 or the e-card.
What is included on the printed path:
- A5 folded, 148×210mm
- 330gsm gloss
- Envelope in the pack
- Blank inside, or a printed message
- Printed to order in the UK
- Posted with Royal Mail, typically around 3–5 working days
- Recyclable stock and water-based inks
The e-card is the same artwork as a download. You skip the envelope, the printer, and the wait. You still pay for the paid, watermark-free file, not for a screenshot of the website preview. Previews stay watermarked until you buy.
Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
Live styles include Brick, Chibi, Emoji, Anime, Watercolour, Caricature, Cartoon, Classic Cartoon, Action Figure, Clay 3D, Retro Halftone, Retro Game, Royal Portrait, Pixel Art, Bobblehead, Sticker Sheet, Tarot Card, Photobooth, Sketch, Lucky Leprechaun. Trying a second style is part of getting the likeness right. It is not a separate mystery fee in this article; watch the basket.
Printed A5, e-card, or wall art
These are different products, which is why the totals differ.
Printed A5 is the object most UK lists are asking about: folded card, envelope, Royal Mail. Choose it when you want something they can stand on a mantel. Allow around 3–5 working days, and more air around bank holidays. See personalised card delivery times and UK print specs.
E-card is cheaper in the sense that there is no print run and no postage line, and it is ready after payment. It is the right spend when they live far away and should have it today, when you have missed the letterbox window, or when you want to print at home on paper you already like. See printed A5 vs digital download and how to send an Ottermagic e-card.
Posters and canvas are available. They cost what the wall-art page says today, and they still need make-to-order time. Do not assume the A5 envelope price or the A5 delivery window. Check Ottermagic.com. For Christmas wall gifts, personalised Christmas posters and canvas stays at availability level on purpose.
Free generators that only give you a file are a different category again. Some are genuinely free and watermarked. Some upsell a download. They are not a 330gsm card with an envelope. That comparison lives in free AI Christmas cards vs printed.
What usually changes the total at checkout
Without quoting a figure:
- Format. Printed card, e-card, or wall art.
- How many cards. Each likeness is typically its own line. A “pack” on another site may be eight copies of one photo. On Ottermagic you add what you need; read the basket.
- How many addresses. Ottermagic charges delivery per delivery address for printed cards. Two houses means two postage lines. Confirm the wording at checkout.
- Inside print. You can print a message or leave the inside blank to write by hand; the studio shows both options.
- Quantity of work you skip. Home printing the e-card shifts ink, paper, envelopes, and trimming onto you. The posted A5 is paying someone else to do that.
If you are sending lots of office cards, corporate Christmas packs explains the basket workflow.
Other sites’ “from” prices
Moonpig, Lookalikey, PostSnap, supermarket multi-packs, and high-street own-brands all show prices on their own checkouts. Some sell eight identical photo cards. Some sell a named-text catalogue. Some add gifts and flowers. Postage bands differ. Sale strips in December come and go.
Use their sites for their numbers. Use Ottermagic’s checkout for Ottermagic. A cheaper unmodified photo pack can still be the wrong card if what you wanted was Clay 3D of the dog.
For how Ottermagic sits next to a photo-pack / mail-for-you service, see Ottermagic vs PostSnap. For catalogue-plus-gifts context, see Ottermagic vs Moonpig Christmas 2026.
Is an AI Christmas card worth the money?
Worth it when the preview looks like them, and when a keepable front matters more than a stack of identical robins. A dark, distant group photo will not become better value because the category is fashionable. Retake it by a window, try Photobooth or Sketch, and decide.
If they dislike stylised pictures of their own face, buy a simpler card. The cost question includes knowing when not to spend.
A longer, non-Christmas version of that judgement is are AI greeting cards worth it?.
Ready when you are
See the live price on the card you actually like. Upload a photo on Ottermagic, run Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap, and read the total for the printed A5 or the e-card before you pay. Printed cards are 148×210mm, 330gsm gloss, envelope included, around 3–5 working days with Royal Mail. Posters and canvas are there if you want the wall version. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
How much is an Ottermagic Christmas card?
Whatever checkout shows for the format you pick, on the day you buy. Open the printed A5 or the e-card option after you have a preview you would actually send.
Is the e-card cheaper than the printed card?
Usually you are not paying for print, stock, envelope, or postage with the e-card, so the file is the smaller object. Confirm both prices on the product page. Value still hangs on the likeness.
Does UK delivery cost extra?
Printed cards have a delivery line. On Ottermagic that is described per delivery address. Read the current sentence at checkout rather than an old blog. E-cards have no postage.
Why not just use a free AI Christmas card maker?
Free tools often give you a picture, sometimes with a watermark, and no 330gsm card. If you only need a file in a family chat, that can be enough. If you need an envelope on a UK doormat, you are in printed-card territory. See free vs printed.
Do posters and canvas cost the same as a card?
No. They are different products. Check live wall-art details on Ottermagic.com. Do not reuse the A5 card total.
Are competitor Christmas cards cheaper?
Sometimes a photo pack or a supermarket box is a lower till number. Sometimes postage makes a “cheap” card less cheap. Check their site. Ottermagic’s case is Style / Face / Pet Swap plus clear UK A5 specs, not a race to the lowest unmodified print.
Will a sale or voucher change this?
Possibly. Ottermagic checkout is the place to see any live offer.
I am in the US. What should I budget for?
The US shop prices in dollars. Budget for the printed A5 plus its delivery line if you have around three weeks (it is sent by airmail to US addresses in around 2–3 weeks), or the e-card if the date is closer than that. Read the live total at checkout.
