Wallet-Size Photo vs. Passport-Size–What’s the Difference? (2024)

Remember those school picture days when your parents would order oversized prints to adorn the top of the mantlepiece? They usually got some wallet photos as well, didn’t they?

Those wallet photos were similar in size to passport photos, were they not? As such, some people may wonder whether they can use wallet-size photos for U.S. passport applications and renewals.

Here at PhotoAiD®, we’ve done the math to present you with our wallet-size photo vs. passport-size guide. Everything anyone could possibly want to know about these two common photo sizes is listed below for your reading pleasure.

Don’t worry about checking the size of your passport photo. Let our AI-powered app & biometric photo experts do this for you! Snap a photo—we’ll make sure the size is correct.

Wallet-size photos–price, size, and availability

To get our wallet photo stats, let’s look at the top 3 retailers in the United States that offer passport photo services: Walmart, Costco, and Walgreens, respectively.

• Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., offers wallet-sized photos measuring 2.5” x 3.5” that cost $0.38 for 2 (two) prints.
• Costco, through its online subsidiary costcophotocenter.com, offers wallet-size photos that measure 2 ¼” x 3 ¼” and cost $0.59 for 4 (four) prints.
• Walgreens sells 4 (four) 2” x 3” wallet-size photos for $0.99.

Thus, it becomes apparent that no uniform wallet-size dimensions exist among the top 3 wallet-photo providers in the United States. However, it is possible to claim that wallet-size photos are 2×3 inches at minimum, available at all major retailers, and relatively cheap on a per-photo basis, with individual prints costing less than 25¢ each.

Check out these related articles:

• Printing Passport Photos on 4×6 Inch Paper
• How To Convert a Photo To a Passport Size
• Where to Take Passport Photos in the U.S. [7+ Ideas]

Passport photos–price, size, and availability

Now, let’s repeat the process for passport photos. However, since Costco no longer offers passport photos in their online store, we’ve included pricing based on printing your passport photos using our Costco passport photo lifehack.

• Walmart charges $7.44 for 2 (two) 2” x 2” U.S. passport photos (for in-store pickup); the total price for photos with home delivery is $11.44.
• Costco, while not explicitly offering passport photos, can print 2 (two) 2 x 2 inch U.S. passport photos that have been superimposed onto a 4×6” template for $14.06 (with delivery to anywhere in the U.S.).
• Walgreens allows customers to purchase 2 (two) 2×2” U.S. passport photos for $16.99 (in-store only).

Firstly, it becomes apparent that U.S. passport photos at all national retailers are uniformly sized at 2 (two) by 2 (two) inches. There is no discrepancy in sizing between the retailers since this is the size mandated by the U.S. Department of State.

Additionally, it’s also obvious that passport photos cost significantly more than wallet-size photos. This is due to their specific biometric requirements (e.g., the head must be centered and measure between 1” and 1.4”). These requirements also make it impossible to simply trim a wallet-size photo (2×3”) to the 2×2” passport size, as the ratios between biometric features would invalidate the trimmed photo.

Lastly, availability-wise, getting passport photos, although still common, is a little harder than obtaining wallet prints. This reduction in availability is due to the stringent requirements mandated by the U.S. government on all passport photos– retailers simply do not want to deal with rejected passport photos.

In fact, out of the three major retailers listed in this blog post, only Walgreens has a compliance guarantee where proof of rejection entitles the customer to a refund.

Get perfect passport-size photos with PhotoAiD®

If you’re in the market for passport photos, we’re here to help. With our dedicated mobile application, available on Android and iOS, getting government-compliant 2×2” U.S. passport photos has never been more convenient. Simply download the app, follow the intuitive interface, and you’ll have a compliant passport photo in seconds.

Best of all, PhotoAiD® pictures are guaranteed to be accepted by the relevant U.S. authorities. If passport agents reject your photos, we’ll refund double your purchase price–that’s how serious we are about our service.

Wallet vs. passport photos: FAQ

Read through the following questions and answers to gain more insight into the differences between wallet-size and passport-size photos.

Wallet-size v. passport photos–conclusions

The differences between wallet-size photos and passport-sized ones are significant in size, price, availability, and in the compliance guarantees offered by retailers selling these products.

For wallet-size photos, Costco’s online subsidiary, costcophotocenter.com, offers one of the best deals with 4 wallet-size photos costing $0.59 with free delivery for Costco membership holders.

For U.S. passport photos on the other hand, trust PhotoAiD® to deliver government-complaint passport photos to anywhere in the U.S. –all backed up by our 100% compliance or double your money back guarantee. Fast, affordable, and compliant–that’s the PhotoAiD® way.