Card Lab: Trading Card Maker for Kids, iPhone and Android

The short answer

Card Lab is a free trading card maker for iPhone, iPad and Android. You design the front and back with stickers, drawing and photos, then print up to nine cards a sheet at 2.5 by 3.5 inches. There's no account and nothing to buy, and cards never leave the device unless you share one.

Watch it

Plays from YouTube once you press play.

Screenshots

A new card, already made: a fox with a name and two moves, and the sticker packs open under it

Home: the Make a card button, the deck shelf and the cards made so far

A buddy card for a dog, with the three kinds of card to switch between underneath

The print sheet: up to nine cards at real size, with the backs on a second page

Card Lab shirts and stickers

Printed and shipped by Fourthwall on shirts and stickers. See them all.

A smiling shooting star with a rainbow trail above the words 100% Legendary — 100% Legendary

A smiling shooting star above the words I Make My Own Cards — I Make My Own Cards

Everything for Card Lab

Trading card maker in your browser: make a card, download it or print it.
Trading card template: a blank card to print and fill in.
Card Lab coloring sheets: free to print.
How to make your own trading cards: card stock, printing nine to a sheet, and backs that line up.
Apps like PokeArt: the card maker apps compared.
PokeArt’s free version: what its free version leaves out.
Is Pokémon TCG Pocket free?: the daily packs, Poké Gold and the Premium Pass.
The card maker on itch.io: the browser version, for itch users.

About Card Lab: Trading Card Maker

Card Lab opens straight onto a card. Tap Make a card and one is already there — a creature, a name and two moves — with nothing to answer first. A row of picture buttons under it opens stickers, drawing, a photo, the background, the type, the frame, the back, the kind of card, the words and the numbers, one at a time. The pictures come before the words because the person making the card may not read yet. Nothing needs typing: the dice pick a name, and the moves come from a list. Surprise me fills in a whole card’s words and numbers in one tap, and one Undo takes them back.

There are three kinds of card. A battle card has a power number, two moves and a motto, and either the type or the power can be hidden, or the motto swapped for a third move. A star card is a sports card: a big picture, a number and four stat bars. A buddy card is for pets, friends and family, with star ratings and a few lines about them. Switching between them loses nothing. There are 56 hand-drawn stickers, ten types, six frames and four rarities, and a legendary card gets a foil shine that follows your finger.

Every card has a back. Pick a pattern or a scene, keep the badge with your name on it, or decorate the back with its own stickers, drawing and photo. Cards can go into decks, numbered like a real set, and a deck can share one back.

Card Duel puts the cards to use. Pick eight for a deck, or let Fill for me pick them, and play five rounds against the phone on Easy, Normal or Hard, or pass the phone to a second player. No cards yet? It starts you with a sample deck you can open and change.

Share a card as one picture, front and back side by side, or print a sheet of up to nine at real trading-card size, 2.5 × 3.5 inches, with cut marks. The backs go on a second page, and the app asks the printer for both sides, so each back lands behind its own front. On a printer that won’t print both sides, flip the sheet on the long edge.

Card Lab has no coins, balance or cash-out, so it sits apart from the reward apps. It is free, with nothing to buy. It carries one small banner ad on the home screen and none while a card is being made. Every ad request is marked as directed at children, so it is not personalized, and the app never shows a tracking prompt. Cards and photos stay on the device, with no account. The app does send the ad, anonymous analytics, crash reports and an update check, and those are set out in its own privacy policy.

It has been on Google Play since October 2026, for Android phones and tablets, and on the App Store since 22 October 2026, for iPhone and iPad. It’s in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. There is no browser version.

There are blank trading cards to print and color too, at real card size and in the app’s own layouts. There’s also a trading card template with nine fronts and their backs on two pages. For card stock, sizes and getting the backs to line up by hand, see how to make your own trading cards.

On a laptop or a classroom computer? The trading card maker on this site makes one card at a time with the same types and frames, and prints it at real size.

How to make a card

Tap Make a card. A card is already there, ready to change.
Tap a picture button under the card: stickers, draw, photo, background and the rest. Drag a sticker to move it and pinch to size it.
Tap the dice for a new name, or pick moves from the list.
Tap Back to turn the card over and decorate the back.
Tap the tick to keep it, then share it or print a sheet.

Features

Opens on a finished card, with no questions first
Picture buttons first and words second, for makers who do not read yet
56 hand-drawn stickers to drag, pinch and turn
Draw with your finger, over the picture or the whole card
A photo on the front, and another on the back
Battle, star and buddy cards, switched without losing anything
Ten types, six frames and four rarities, with a foil shine on legendary
A back for every card: a pattern, a scene or your own design
Decks, numbered like a real set, with a shared back
Print sheets of nine at real size, with the backs behind the fronts
Card Duel: play your own cards against the phone or a friend
Surprise me: a whole card’s words and numbers in one tap
Undo and redo everything
No account, no purchases, and no ad while you make a card
English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Runs full screen on an unfolded iPhone Duo, and the card editor keeps its open panel through a fold

Frequently asked questions

Is it on iPhone?

Yes, since 22 October 2026. It is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Google Play for Android phones and tablets. Cards stay on the device that made them, so they don't move between phones. Share a card as a picture to send it across.

Does this app pay me anything?

No. There are no coins, balance or cash-out in Card Lab. If you want an app that pays, ours are on our apps page.

Is it free?

Yes. Nothing is for sale. One small banner ad sits on the home screen, and none shows while a card is being made. The ads are marked as directed at children, so they are not personalized.

Is it safe for young children?

The App Store rates it 4+, and Google Play rates it Everyone, with Violent References noted under that. There is no account, no chat and no way to see other people’s cards. The privacy policy, the support form and Delete my data sit behind a grown-up check. A card only leaves the device when someone shares it on purpose.

Where are my cards kept?

On the device. Cards, decks and photos are never uploaded, and there is no sync. Settings › Delete my data removes all of them. More in the privacy policy.

How do I print cards?

Choose up to nine cards and print the sheet at 100% on Letter or A4 paper, then cut along the marks. Each card comes out at 2.5 × 3.5 inches. Turn on the backs and a second page carries them. The app asks the printer for both sides, flipped on the long edge, so each back lands behind its front. If your printer only does one side, print the backs page on the reverse by hand.

Can you play a game with the cards?

Yes. Card Duel, added in version 1.1, plays five rounds with a deck of eight of your cards, against the phone or a second player on the same phone. Beginner rules compare Strength, Special and Rarity, and Full rules add Type Clash rounds.

Can I make cards from a game or a TV show?

Card Lab has its own types, frames and stickers, all drawn for it, and none of them copies a franchise. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any trading card game.

How does it compare to PokeArt?

PokeArt is the most-rated card maker on the App Store, with 62,050 ratings, but its last update was February 2024 and it has no Android version. Card Lab makes cards in its own designs rather than any franchise's. We compared the two, and five other card makers, in apps like PokeArt, with our interest declared at the top. What PokeArt costs, its ads and its one unlock, is in is PokeArt free.