U.S. Passport Photo Cost 2026: the Most Affordable & Reliable Options

Quick answer: A US passport photo costs anywhere from $0 to $17.99 depending on where you obtain it. September 2026 prices are: $7.64 for two prints at Walmart Photo; $15 at passport-photo appointments at USPS; $15.95 at  FedEx Offices; $16.99 at Walgreens; and $17.99 at CVS. Taking the photo yourself and using a reliable passport photo maker is the most affordable option — for example, prices for a digital passport photo at PhotoGov start at $5.90. These prices don’t include the $130 to $195 government application fee the U.S. Department of State charges to issue the passport itself. This guide breaks down all major providers’ US passport photo costs in 2026. Our experts break down the most reliable options so you can make an informed decision and avoid a rejection.

US Passport Photo Prices in 2026: a Detailed Comparison Table

The table below lists the current price for a standard 2 x 2 inch US passport photo at every major provider, sourced directly from their official pricing pages. All prices below are current for September 2026.

The dimensions and prices in the table above are provided for general reference and may change by location and season. For the current rate at a specific store, check that retailer's page directly before you schedule your appointment or visit the shop.

Passport Photo Prices at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart

Pharmacies and big-box retailers are the most common stop for a U.S. passport photo, mainly because of their convenient locations and easy walk-ins. Prices vary by over $10 for two prints.

CVS Passport Photo Price

CVS charges $17.99 for two 2 x 2 inch prints, taken and printed in-store with no appointment. A digital copy sent by email costs an additional $3.99, and a copy saved to a Kodak Moments USB drive costs $10.99. CVS includes a verification certificate confirming the photo meets government size and background standards, and the store will retake a rejected photo free of charge if you bring back your receipt.

Walgreens Passport Photo Price

Walgreens charges $16.99 for the full passport photo service, which includes two prints and a free digital copy delivered by email. Photos are ready within a few minutes, with the full visit usually taking an hour or less. A USB copy is available for an added fee on top of the base price.

Walmart Passport Photo Price

Walmart Photo is $7.64 for two 2 x 2 inch prints — the lowest price among major in-store retailers. You can upload your photo online for same-day pickup in about an hour, or have it taken in-store. Walmart does not list a bundled digital-copy fee on the same page; the $7.64 covers the printed photos.

Passport Photo Prices at USPS, The UPS Store, and FedEx Office

Shipping and postal counters offer passport photos as a side service alongside their passport application help, and pricing is less standardized than at pharmacies.

USPS Passport Photo Price

U.S. passport photo at USPS costs $15 for two prints at its in-person and appointment-based services. Keep in mind that not every post office offers photo service, and locations that do typically require an appointment; use the USPS location finder to confirm a nearby office offers it before you go. The $15 fee is entirely separate from the $35 execution fee USPS charges to process your passport application in person.

The UPS Store Passport Photo Price

The UPS Store does not have a single national price for passport photo production. Individual store listings show a range: one Charlotte, North Carolina location lists $19.99 for two prints and $34.99 for prints plus a digital copy, while other stores list prices closer to $12 to $14. Call ahead or check your specific store's page, since the cost at one UPS Store can run nearly three times the price at another.

FedEx Office Passport Photo Price

FedEx Office charges $15.95 for a passport photo, available as a print, a digital file, or both (per office.fedex.com, checked August 2026). No appointment is required at a staffed location. FedEx Office also sells separate passport-application expediting packages starting at $119 plus government fees, which is a different service from the photo itself and is easy to confuse with it while booking.

Does Costco Still Take Passport Photos?

Costco's Photo Center does not currently provide a standalone in-store passport service. We recommend using other shops or designated photo studios in your area. If you want to save time on a studio visit, you can always make a passport photo from the comfort of your home by using an online passport photo tool.

Passport Photo Prices at a Photo Studio

Passport photo prices at a professional (commercial) photo studio vary depending on many factors — from location to reputation, from the service range to the photographer’s experience. Expect to pay as low as $20 and as high as $100 for a professional photoshoot. Always inquire about the final price before booking your appointment.

Why Passport Photos Cost More at a Counter Than at Home

A standard 4 x 6 inch glossy print costs $0.42 at CVS, and similar per-print pricing applies at other pharmacy photo counters. The $15 to $18 most retailers charge for a passport photo mostly pays for a staff member's time. That covers positioning you against the background, taking the shot, running it through compliance-checking software like the system CVS describes on its passport photo page, and reprinting it if the first attempt fails.

That gap is also why bringing your own already-cropped, compliant file and printing it as a standard photo, rather than paying for the staffed "passport photo" service, can cut the cost by more than 40 times. The next section walks through exactly how.

How to Get a Passport Photo for Under $1

A 4 x 6 inch print holds two 2 x 2 inch images side by side with room to spare. Create a compliant passport photo yourself, arrange two copies on a 4 x 6 canvas, and order it as a standard photo print instead of the staffed passport photo service. The print itself costs $0.42 at CVS, plus a fee that a photo tool charges to generate the file.

How to take your own passport photo at home:

1. Take the photo against a plain white or off-white wall, in even light, with a neutral expression and both eyes open.

2. Crop and size the image to 2 x 2 inches at 600 x 600 pixels using a free tool or an app that checks the crop against the size and background rules automatically.

3. Arrange two copies of the cropped image on a single 4 x 6 inch canvas using any basic photo-editing or collage tool.

4. Upload the 4 x 6 file as a standard PDF file, and print it at a local print shop or photo lab.

5. After printing, cut the two photos apart with scissors or a paper cutter along a straight edge.

Making a photo by yourself is the easiest and time-saving way, but it leaves the compliance check entirely up to you. If you’re only printing the file at a shop, the staff at the print counter won’t verify the size, background, or expression. Therefore, it is recommended to run the file through a checker before you print it.

Online Passport Photo Tools: Prices Compared

An online passport photo tool crops an uploaded photo to the required 2 x 2 inch size, checks it against government background and lighting rules, and returns a digital file ready to print or upload. Prices for this service range from free to $22.95.

Online photo-making tools spare you a trip to a photo counter, and a reliable and highly rated service will cost much less too. Depending on the tool, you can bundle services, get printable files, and compliance checks. Read more to make a smart choice.

Passport Photo Cost vs. Passport Application Fee

The price you pay for a passport photo has nothing to do with the U.S. Department of State passport issuing fee. Below are the current issuing fees for different types of U.S. passports.

Expedited service adds $60, and one- to three-day return delivery adds $23.36 on top of the base fee. The $35 execution fee applies only to in-person, first-time applications and to most minor applications. All these fees are paid to the passport acceptance facility.

Passport Photo Costs for Babies and Children

A passport photo for a baby or child costs the same base price as an adult photo at nearly every retailer and online tool listed above. The cost difference may come from the number of attempts while taking an actual photo. See US baby and child passport photo rules for the specific requirements that make a child's photo harder to get right on the first try, including the neutral-expression rule and the restriction on anyone else appearing in the frame. Use our convenient Baby passport photo tool to escape a visit to the photo shop.

Who Doesn't Need to Pay for a New Passport Photo

If you have a fully compliant passport-size photo that has been taken within the past six months, you may not need to capture a new one. If it matches all current US Passport Photo Requirements, you can submit it digitally or print it out on photo-quality paper for in-person submission.

Avoiding a Second Passport Photo Charge

A rejected passport photo does not just cost time. If you paid $15 to $18 at a counter for a photo that gets flagged during application review, and mailed a paper application, you will need to pay for a second photo and wait for a new one to arrive before your application can move forward. That delay stacks on top of standard passport processing time.

Checking a photo against the official size, background, and expression rules before you submit it removes that risk. A tool like PhotoGov checks a photo against the current specification before you download or print it, which catches an off-center crop, a shadowed background, or a wrong pixel count before a government reviewer does, rather than after you have already paid for a print.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Cheapest Way to Get a Passport Photo?

Taking the photo yourself at home and printing it as a standard 4 x 6 photo сan cost you under $1 in print fees. But keep in mind that this option puts you at risk of non-compliance. It is safer to use a reliable passport photo checker that will compare your photo to all current requirements and adjust it, if needed. Among the “offline” providers, Walmart Photo is the least expensive at $7.64 for two prints.

Is Getting a Passport Photo at USPS Free?

No. USPS charges $15 for appointment-based passport photo services. This fee is separate from the $35 processing USPS fee for in-person passport applications.

Does CVS or Walgreens Charge More for a Passport Photo?

It depends on what you compare it with. Prices at CVS and Walgreens are higher than most online photo-making tools, and more than double what Walmart Photo charges. At CVS, two copies cost $17.99, plus  $3.99 extra for a digital file, and at Walgreens — $16.99 for two prints and a free digital copy by email.

Can I Reuse an Old Passport Photo to Save Money?

Yes, but only if it was taken within the last six months and still meets the current requirements. A photo taken more than six months ago, or one that no longer looks like you, has to be retaken regardless of how well it met the rules when it was taken (per travel.state.gov, checked August 2026).

How Much Does a Passport Photo Cost for a Baby or Child?

A baby or child passport photo costs the same as an adult photo: from about $5.90 with an online tool to $17.99 at CVS, depending on the provider. The only thing that can increase the price is the need for a retake — sometimes it takes more than one visit to get a sufficient photo. That’s the reason online tools make so much sense for children’s passport photos. 

Is the Passport Photo Fee Included in the Passport Application Fee?

No. The $130 to $195 the U.S. Department of State charges to issue a passport does not include the price for capturing a photo at a studio or with an online tool.  

Does It Cost More to Get a Digital Passport Photo Than a Printed One?

Usually, yes, but not if you’re using an online passport photo maker. CVS charges $3.99 extra for a digital copy on top of its $17.99 print price, and Walgreens includes a digital copy for free. Online tools typically deliver a digital file as the base product (sometimes it’s free, sometimes at an affordable price), with printing as the optional extra step.

Is It Cheaper to Use an Online Passport Photo Tool Than a Store?

In most cases, yes. A free or low-cost digital file from a tool like PhotoGov, printed as a standard photo for $0.42 to $1 at a pharmacy, costs under $10, and well under the $15 to $18 that USPS, FedEx Office, Walgreens, or CVS charge for their passport photo service.

How Can I Get a Compliant Passport Photo Without Overpaying?

Take the photo at home against a plain background, run it through a compliance check with a reliable online passport photo maker, and print it on high-quality photo paper — or simply download a digital file if you’re applying online.

Official Sources

US Passport Photo Requirements Official Website: The US Department of State — Travel

CVS Passport Photo Service: CVS Photo

Walgreens Passport Photo Service: Walgreens Photo

Walmart Passport Photo Service: Walmart Photo

FedEx Office Passport Services: FedEx Office

USPS Passport Photo Services: USPS

The UPS Store Passport and ID Photos: The UPS Store