Guide
Contour Prints vs Upload-and-Proof Strava Print Services — Compared
Most personalised running prints are made the same way: you upload a file or a screenshot, a designer lays it out, a proof comes by email, and a print follows. Contour Prints is made the other way round. This page says what each does and what it cost when we checked, so you can pick the right one, which is sometimes not us.
By Contour Prints · 17 September 2026
How the print is made
| Contour Prints | Upload-and-proof services | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Strava in one tap, or a GPX file | An uploaded file, screenshot or race name |
| Who lays it out | You, live, in the Studio | A designer, then a proof by email |
| Time to a print you can see | About a minute | One to three days, typically |
| Styles | 23 from the same data | Usually one, sometimes a few |
| The race | 50 marathons recognised from the run and drawn on the course with landmarks | A standard course map, or your track as uploaded |
| The line | Pulled onto the streets; official course where mapped | Your GPS track as recorded |
| Editing | Move, size, recolour or remove any part | By email with the designer |
| Your data | Read in the browser; only the print file is sent | Uploaded to the service |
What it costs
Prices as shown on the listings we opened on 17 September 2026.
| Service | Unframed | Framed | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contour Prints | £19.95 (A3) | £64 (A3), larger priced on the order page; medal frame from £105 | 11 × 14 to 24 × 32 in, plus 8 × 10 in for the medal frame |
| Framing Glory | £19.50 | not shown | not shown |
| Hood Designs Co | £15 | not shown | A5 to A3 |
| Runners.Gifts | £17 to £27 | not shown | A5 to A3 |
| Sprint Finish Studio | not shown | optional frame | A4 to A2 |
| Mappology | not shown | not shown | A4 to A2, with a digital copy |
| Mark Your Moment | not shown | framed, canvas or unframed | US sizes |
"Not shown" means the listing page we opened did not state a price. UK delivery from us is £7.85 tracked for a framed print; Mappology lists free UK shipping.
Where we are not the right choice
- You want a person to design it. The Studio is self-serve. If you would rather send a file and get a proof, the services above do that well.
- You want the cheapest sheet. £15 on Not On The High Street is cheaper than our £19.95, and for a small unframed print the difference in paper may not matter to you.
- You do not use Strava or have a GPX. The Photo Print and the Course Print work without data; the rest of the collection does not.
- You want a canvas. We print on paper only.
Where we are
- You want the race drawn by pace, with the time and the splits, on the course. Nobody else recognises the race from the run.
- You want to see it before you pay, and change it. The print is on the page in a minute and every part is yours to move.
- You want more than one style from the same run. A marathon and a heatmap of the year it was in, from the same account, in the same sitting.
- You care where your data goes. It stays in your browser.
Do you copy the other services' designs?
No. Every style is our own drawing, and the map data is OpenStreetMap, credited on the print guide.
Will you keep this page up to date?
We check the prices before each race season and date the table; if you find one wrong, tell us and we will change it.
Which would you honestly buy for £15?
Hood Designs' card print, for a first race, if the medal frame is out of budget. Then ours, a week later, when the time has sunk in.
How it works
From the Studio to your wall in three steps.
Step 01
Choose your subject
Connect Strava in one tap for a race, a ride or a whole year. Or search for a place, type a postcode for your street on the old Ordnance Survey, or add a photograph — none of those needs an account.
Step 02
Choose your style
Start from a finished design and make it yours: the words, the colours, the size. Twenty-three styles for your own miles, four treatments for a place, six layouts for a photograph, and the old survey as drawn or in your colours.
Step 03
We print and frame it
Pick a frame, check out, and it is printed to order on fine-art paper, framed by hand and posted to you, tracked.
- Made to orderPrinted for you, never from stock
- Fine-art paperArchival inks, framed by hand
- Tracked deliveryUK delivery £7.85, tracked · worldwide, priced at checkout
- Arrives damaged?We replace it, no quibble