A Canadian passport photo must be 50 × 70 mm (591 × 827 pixels at 300 DPI) and meet IRCC guidelines. You can pay $17 at a pharmacy or create one for free with Kindro and print it yourself for about $0.30 CAD.
Price Comparison (2026)
| Option | Cost (CAD) | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Kindro (DIY) | Free + ~$0.30 print | 4 photos (4×6 print layout) |
| Costco Photo Centre | $7.99 | 2 photos (membership required) |
| Walmart Canada | $12.96 | 2 photos |
| London Drugs | $14.99 | 2 photos |
| Shoppers Drug Mart | $16.99 | 2 photos |
| Staples | $16.99 | 2 photos |
In-Store Passport Photo Services
Most Canadian pharmacies and retail stores offer walk-in passport photo services. An employee takes your photo against a white backdrop, prints it on the spot, and hands you two 50 × 70 mm prints. The convenience is real, but so is the markup.
At $16.99, Shoppers Drug Mart and Staples charge roughly $8.50 per photo for what is essentially a small print on glossy paper. If your photo gets rejected by IRCC, you will pay again for a retake.
The Free DIY Method
Here is how to get four compliant Canadian passport photos for under $0.50 CAD:
- Take a photo at home with your phone (any modern smartphone works)
- Upload it to Kindro's free Canadian passport photo tool
- Download the 4×6 print layout (four 50 × 70 mm photos on one sheet)
- Print at any pharmacy or photo lab as a regular 4×6 glossy ($0.25–$0.50)
- Cut along the guides to get four photos
Total cost: $0.25–$0.50 CAD for four photos, compared to $16.99 for two at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Family Savings
The savings add up quickly for families. If you need passport photos for a family of four:
- Shoppers Drug Mart: 4 × $16.99 = $67.96
- Walmart Canada: 4 × $12.96 = $51.84
- Kindro DIY: 4 × $0.30 = $1.20
That is over $66 saved compared to pharmacy prices — enough to put toward your actual passport fees.
Canadian Passport Fees (2026)
For reference, the passport itself costs significantly more than the photo:
- Adult passport (10-year validity): $160 CAD
- Child passport (5-year, under 16): $57 CAD
- Expedited processing (in-person): additional fee applies
- Urgent pick-up (next business day): additional fee applies
With passport fees this high, saving $16+ on the photo makes sense — especially for families applying together.
Why Online Tools Beat Store Services
Store passport photo services charge a premium for walk-in convenience. But most rejections happen because of IRCC-specific rules (wrong face height, shadows, non-white background) — not because of the printer.
Kindro's AI handles background removal, face centring, and compliance checking automatically. You get a 300 DPI, IRCC-compliant photo in under a minute — then print it anywhere for pennies.
Watch out for hidden fees: Many "free" online passport photo tools add watermarks or charge $5–$15 to download the full-resolution file. Kindro is genuinely free — no watermarks, no paywalls, full 300 DPI quality every time.