How much to develop a disposable camera in 2026
What Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Mpix, The Darkroom and Dwayne's charge to develop a disposable camera in 2026, what you get back and how long it takes.
The short answer
Developing one disposable camera costs about $12 to $24 in the US in October 2026. Mpix charges $13.95 with scans, Dwayne's $11.50 with scans plus shipping, The Darkroom $17 with scans, and Walgreens $15.99 to $16.94 with prints. Walmart and CVS don't publish a price online. Mail-in labs send your negatives back, and Walgreens doesn't.
How much to develop a disposable camera comes down to the lab and what you want back: about $12 to $24 in the US for prints, scans or both. I checked each lab's own price page on October 31, 2026. Drugstores bundle 4x6 prints, mail-in labs sell scans first and prints as an extra, and only the mail-in labs reliably send your negatives back.
I make Unposed, a camera app guests use at weddings instead of film, so I have a side in this. The prices below are the labs' own, with a link to each.
Disposable camera developing prices in 2026
| Lab | Price for one disposable | What you get | Negatives back | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwayne's Photo | $7.50 developing, $11.50 with scans, plus shipping | Scans, prints $5 extra | Yes | About 12 business days |
| Mpix | $13.95, plus shipping | Scans and downloads, prints extra | If you ask | Scans in 1 to 3 days |
| Walgreens | $15.99 for 24 exposures, $16.94 for 27 | 4x6 prints and a photo CD | No | 3 to 5 business days |
| The Darkroom | $17, free shipping label | Scans, prints $10 extra | Yes | 2 to 4 days in the lab |
| Richard Photo Lab | $23.98, plus shipping | Developing and web scans | Yes | Not stated |
| Walmart | No price online | 4x6 prints, digital copies extra | Not stated | About 6 days |
| CVS | No price online | 4x6 prints | Not stated | 7 to 10 days |
Most disposable cameras hold 27 shots, so check the 27-exposure price. The Kodak FunSaver and the Fujifilm QuickSnap both have 27 exposures.
Drugstores: Walgreens, Walmart and CVS
Walgreens lists $15.99 for film processing per 24 exposures, with a free photo CD, ready in 3 to 5 business days. Its help page prices 27 exposures with 4x6 prints at $16.94 and says orders "will not include negatives". Only some stores take disposable cameras, and they send the film to an outside lab.
Walmart says most film orders are ready in about six days and prints on Fujifilm paper, but its page shows no price, and it charges extra to save the photos to a USB stick or CD. CVS says disposable camera prints take 7 to 10 days and also shows no price online. Call your store before you drive over.
The drugstores suit you if you want paper prints and don't care about the negatives. If you want to reprint or rescan the photos later, use a lab that sends the negatives back.
Mail-in labs: Mpix, The Darkroom, Dwayne's and Richard
Mpix charges $11.95 per roll and $13.95 per disposable camera, with standard scans and downloads, and shipping on top. You choose whether the negatives come back. Scans are online one to three days after the lab gets your camera.
The Darkroom starts at $17 for a disposable with standard scans, and the negatives always come back. Prints add $10 a set. It sends a free prepaid label that covers as many cameras as you put in one box, which helps after a wedding.
Dwayne's Photo is the cheapest per camera. Developing starts at $7.50, standard scans add $4, and one set of 4x6 prints adds $5. Shipping is $5.00 for the first roll and 50 cents for each one after, and Dwayne's says its lab time is generally 12 business days.
Richard Photo Lab costs $23.98 for a color disposable with web scans, plus shipping.
What it costs to develop wedding disposable cameras
A wedding multiplies the price. For 10 cameras sent together, using the prices above:
| Lab | 10 cameras with scans |
|---|---|
| Dwayne's | $115, plus $9.50 shipping, so $124.50 |
| Mpix | $139.50, plus shipping |
| The Darkroom | $170, shipping label included |
| Walgreens | $169.40 with prints, at stores that take them |
That's on top of the cameras. A Fujifilm QuickSnap costs $31.37 for a 2-pack at Walmart, about $15.69 a camera, so 10 cameras cost about $157 before you develop a single roll. The guide to disposable cameras for weddings covers how many to buy and which ones.
If you'd rather skip developing, guests can shoot the same kind of limited roll on their own phones. Unposed gives each guest 36 shots and keeps the photos hidden until a reveal you pick, and the disposable camera app for weddings page explains how it works and what it costs.
Black and white disposables need a different lab
Black and white cameras such as the Kodak Professional 400TX and the Ilford HP5 Plus single use use true black and white film, which drugstores and Mpix don't develop. Send them to a lab that processes black and white film, such as The Darkroom, Dwayne's or Richard. The Ilford XP2 single use is the exception: it's black and white film that any C-41 color lab can develop.
Questions
How much does Walgreens charge to develop a disposable camera?
Walgreens charges $15.99 for 24 exposures and $16.94 for 27 exposures with 4x6 prints, according to its own help page. You get a photo CD but not the negatives, and the order is ready in 3 to 5 business days at stores that take disposable cameras.
How much does CVS charge to develop disposable film?
CVS doesn't publish its disposable camera price online. Its film page says prints take 7 to 10 days, so call your local store for the price.
What is the cheapest way to develop a disposable camera?
Among the labs above, Dwayne's Photo is the cheapest: $7.50 to develop, $11.50 with scans, plus $5 shipping for the first camera and 50 cents for each one after. Sending several cameras in one box brings the shipping cost per camera down.
Can I develop a disposable camera years later?
Usually, yes, but the colors fade. Kodak says to process film promptly after exposure and to keep it under 70°F. Mpix develops old film but can't guarantee the result, and The Darkroom says that more than 12 years past the process date the colors fade and skew toward magenta.
Do I have to finish the roll before developing it?
No. The Darkroom says it develops all exposed frames, so a half-used camera develops fine. You pay the same price as for a full one.
