We all know that photo booths are as essential to a good party as cupcakes and punch, so just in time for all those Halloween parties, we’ve updated our favorite photo booth apps for parties. They’re all intuitive, inexpensive, and mostly kid-friendly. Plus, these apps make it possible to set up a printing station next to the booth for instant and personalized party favors.

Sold yet? Us too. So bust out your best mean mug or goofy grin—or duck lips, if that’s your thing—and get snapping.

Related: A free photo effects app that turns ordinary shots into works of art. 

Mini Photobooth photo booth app

Mini Photobooth is free to download, which means you can give this photo booth app a try before you decide whether or not to spend the $9.99 to remove watermarks from your photos.

It offers a host of different designs to choose from, plus the option to create your own. My favorite feature is that this app includes an event mode which prevents guests from exiting the app without a password. This way, kids trying to stray to play Minecraft will be outwitted before they start.

(Free to download, $9.99 to remove watermark on iTunes)

Photobooth Mini photo booth app

Not to be confused with the Mini Photobooth app for Apple products (above), this photo booth app is designed for Android users. You’ll need to buy the full version to get the whole experience, although there is a free version that lets you try out the basics.

This app features some smart design elements, like the fact that if you ever go offline, the app saves the pictures and email addresses of guests so they’ll receive their photos as soon as it’s connected again. Plus, like many Android apps, you’ll have much more freedom to re-configure and customize in Photobooth mini than in other apps.

(Free for basic version, $5.49 for full version on GooglePlay)

Related: Design Kit: The fabulous new type overlay and stickers app to keep your Insta stories on point. 

Pocketbooth photo booth app

For years now, we’ve loved the old time-y feel of this app which is like a digital take on the popular photostrips from back in the 1950’s — or the mall from the 1980’s. (Not that any of us are old enough to know anything about that.)

The Pocketbooth app is also easy to use. Simply take four photos in a row from your smart device, save them, then send them out via email or share directly on social media. You’ve got about two seconds between camera clicks; just enough time for kids to roll out all their goofy, giddy faces, and scary poses.

(Available on iTunes for $0.99 and Google Play for $0.99.)

My Photobooth photo booth app

This photo booth app is designed for iPad only, and it’s geared more toward printing your pics than for sharing them on social media. If you want to go all out and have a professional photo booth feel at your party without the expense — and have an iPad you can use — this is a solid option. While you can add borders to the photos in this app, just know that you don’t have a ton of options for photo editing. Here, the photos themselves are the star.

($9.99 on iTunes)

Simple Booth photo booth app

We’re big fans of this photo booth app because it’s free [update: not free anymore!] and boasts the cleanest interface of all the apps I’ve tried. You get to choose how many photos you want in each strip, and choose between GIFs and standard photos. It’s simple, making it  great for a casual party, although you may want to upgrade to a paid app if you prefer more bells and whistles.

While you can print your photos from this photo booth app, it is designed for sharing photo booth pictures on social media. It also lets you see what other Simple Booth users are posting around your city (should you care) and even share your own, if you want to spread the FOMO about your own party.

(UPDATE: this is now a $99 download on iTunes, formerly free. Pretty disappointing.)

Top image via Quino Al via Unsplash