FILM DEVELOPING GUIDE · Checked October 2026

Costco stopped developing film in 2021. Here’s where to go now.

Costco closed its in-store photo centers in 2021. If you used to drop your rolls off while you shopped, these are your options today.

WHAT HAPPENED

Cheap, convenient, and gone.

Costco’s photo centers developed film for under $2 a roll, which is why so many people miss them. In 2021 Costco closed its in-store photo centers, and film developing went with them.

No lab today matches that price. What you can get now is better scans, your negatives back and a gallery instead of a CD, starting at $13.99 a roll.

QUICK ANSWER

Does Costco still develop film?

No. Costco closed its in-store photo centers in 2021. To develop film now, use a mail-in lab, a local lab, or a drugstore that still offers it.

YOUR OPTIONS NOW

Three ways to get film developed today.

01 · MAIL-IN LAB

Mail your rolls to a lab

Most mail-in labs, including ours, send you a shipping label and return scans online. Some return your negatives too.

Best if there’s no lab near you, or you want better scans.

START A ROLL BY MAIL →

02 · LOCAL LAB

Drop off at an independent lab

If there’s a film lab in your city, you can hand your rolls to the people developing them.

Best if you live near one and like to talk through your film.

In store, at many locations.

03 · DRUGSTORE

CVS or Walgreens

Both still develop film at many stores. Walgreens lists $15.99 for a 24-exposure roll.

Best for a quick roll you don’t need to keep the negatives of.

COMPARE US WITH CVS AND WALGREENS →

IF YOU MAIL IT TO US

Developed in our own lab, and back to you as a gallery.

We accept 35mm, 120, 220, 620 and 110, with processing options depending on format. Your scans arrive in a gallery with a digital contact sheet, and our label to the lab is free. Members pay $12.99 for 1K scans, with membership from $9.99 a month, free for students.

Develop your film

A few more things

Questions, answered.

Does Costco still develop film?

No. Costco closed its in-store photo centers in 2021, and film developing went with them.

When did Costco stop developing film?

Costco closed its in-store photo centers in early 2021. The closures were announced in January 2021 and completed by mid-February.

What’s the closest alternative to Costco?

A mail-in film lab: you get a shipping label, your film is developed and scanned, and the scans arrive online. CVS and Walgreens still develop film at many stores, mostly as prints.

How much does film developing cost now?

No one matches Costco’s under-$2 price. Walgreens lists $15.99 for 24 exposures with prints, and CVS doesn’t publish a price. Ours is $13.99 for development and a 1K scan, or $12.99 for members, with a free label to our lab.

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Costco stopped developing film in 2021. Here’s where to go now.