Polaroid Go vs Polaroid Now: Which One Is Right for You?

Print size is the biggest practical difference, and it comes from the film, not the camera. Go film makes a 66.6 x 53.9 mm card (2.6 x 2.1 in) with a 47 x 46 mm picture. The i-Type and 600 film used by the Now makes a 107 x 88 mm card (4.2 x 3.5 in) with a 79 x 77 mm picture, about 3.1 x 3.0 inches.

Using Polaroid's own measurements, the Now's picture covers about 2.8 times the area of a Go picture (our arithmetic). Polaroid's marketing calls Go film "4 times smaller" than i-Type, and The Gadgeteer says nearly triple. Either way, Polaroid pitches Go film as small enough to fit in your phone case or wallet, while a Now print is the classic Polaroid you pin to a wall or hand around a table.

Otherwise the two films behave alike. Both are ISO 640, both give a square picture inside a frame, and both take about 10 to 15 minutes to develop. The Polaroid film guide covers every format and which cameras take it.

The Go is cheaper to run. At Polaroid US list prices on October 28, 2026, a Go Color Film Double Pack is $21.99 for 16 photos, about $1.37 each. A pack of Color i-Type for the Now is $18.99 for 8 photos, about $2.37 each, and Color 600 film, which also fits the Now, is $20.99, about $2.62 each.

That is a gap of about $1.00 a photo. By our math, after about 40 photos, or five packs of i-Type, a Go owner has saved as much on film as on the camera itself ($89.99 vs $129.99, a $40 difference). If you plan to shoot a lot, the Go's cheaper film matters more than its cheaper body.

Buying five packs at a time lowers both: $20.00 per Go double pack (about $1.25 a photo) and $17.00 per i-Type pack (about $2.13 a photo). Digital Camera World puts Go film at $1.24 a shot, close to the five-pack price. The Gadgeteer quotes i-Type at $17.99, below the $18.99 Polaroid listed when we checked.

600 film costs more because every pack carries a battery to power vintage cameras that have none. The Now charges its own battery, so i-Type is the better buy unless you already have 600 packs. Go film comes only in color; i-Type and 600 also come in black and white.

Polaroid calls the Go Gen 3 the world's smallest instant analog camera. It measures 106.5 x 83.8 x 64.6 mm (4.2 x 3.3 x 2.5 in) and weighs 251.9 g (8.9 oz) without film. The Now Gen 3 is 150.2 x 112.2 x 94 mm (5.9 x 4.4 x 3.7 in) and 448 g (15.8 oz), so the Go weighs a little over half as much.

TechRadar's 2021 comparison of the first models picked the Go for travel and for kids, and warned that the Now's bulk might limit how often you take it out. Both come with a wrist strap in the box.

Both run on a lithium-ion battery that Polaroid rates at up to 15 film packs per charge, and the Now Gen 3 charges over USB-C. Digital Camera World points out that the Go's built-in battery can't be replaced without taking the camera apart, which puts a limit on its lifespan.

The Now has autofocus and the Go doesn't. The Now Gen 3 picks one of two focus zones, close (0.40 to 1.3 m) or far (1.0 m to infinity), and chooses from six apertures between f/11 and f/64. Polaroid says Gen 3 brought a better-placed light meter, an improved ranging sensor and an upgraded two-lens autofocus system.

The Go Gen 3 has a fixed-focus lens with two apertures, f/14.4 and f/32, and shutter speeds from 1/500 to 1 second. Polaroid doesn't publish a minimum focus distance for it. TechRadar says the original Go focused from 0.5 m, which rules out close-ups.

The new Go frames almost like the Now. Its 63.75mm lens is about a 42mm equivalent in full-frame terms, per Digital Camera World, against 34mm on the earlier Go models, and its 38° horizontal view is close to the Now's 40°. Older comparisons that call the Go the wider camera describe the earlier models; the Gen 2 has a 48.1° view.

Autofocus on the Now has a mixed history. Dan Finnen called the first Polaroid Now's autofocus its fatal flaw, and CNET's 2021 Now+ review said the autofocus was not the most precise. Polaroid says the Gen 3 system is better, but independent long-term reports on it are still thin. The Gadgeteer also mentions that some reviewers find the Now Gen 3 can crush shadow detail in high-contrast scenes.

Both cameras lean on their flash indoors. Polaroid gave the Go Gen 3 a stronger flash, but its widest aperture went from f/9 on the Gen 2 to f/14.4, so it lets in less light. Analog.Cafe expects it to need flash in most conditions short of direct sunlight, and T3 reports that backlit subjects still fool its light meter.

Polaroid says the Now's flash works best within about 2 meters, ideally with the subject against a wall. TechRadar's 2021 look at the first models found the Now's flash chamber slightly larger, which gave it a small edge indoors. Digital Camera World, for its part, reports much better exposures from the Go Gen 3 than from earlier Go models, especially outdoors.

With either camera, leave the flash on indoors and stay within about 2 meters of your subject. Outdoors in daylight, turn the flash off and keep the sun behind you.

The Go is the selfie camera. It has a mirror next to the viewfinder, and Polaroid says the Gen 3's new lens and stronger flash give tighter selfies with less glare. A long press on the flash button starts a 10-second self-timer.

Polaroid doesn't list a selfie mirror for the Now Gen 3. Dan Finnen warns that the Now+ can't focus close enough for arm's-length selfies (his review covers the first Now+), so use the self-timer or, on the Now+, the app's remote shutter. The Now Gen 3 does have a tripod mount, which helps with self-timer group shots.

Both make double exposures. On the Go, double-press the flash button and the counter shows 1. On the Now and Now+ Gen 3, press the front button once for the self-timer and twice for double exposure, and long-press the flash button to adjust exposure. See double exposures on film for how to plan the two frames.

The Now+ Gen 3 is the Now with Bluetooth. It costs $149.99 at Polaroid US, $20 more than the Now, and its body is 2 mm deeper and 4 g heavier (452 g, or 15.9 oz). It takes the same i-Type and 600 film.

The Polaroid app adds aperture priority, remote controls, manual mode, and double exposure and self-timer controls. On the first Now+ from 2021, CNET found that manual mode offered f/11 to f/64 and shutter speeds from 1/60 to 30 seconds or bulb.

The Now+ makes sense if you want long exposures or remote shots from a tripod. If you aren't sure you'll use the app controls, The Gadgeteer's advice is to save the $20 and buy the regular Now.

The Go Gen 2 is still on sale at the same $89.99, at Focus Camera for example, so check which one you are buying. Digital Camera World confirms Polaroid kept the Gen 2 in the lineup at the same price after the Gen 3 launched.

The Gen 3 has a longer 63.75mm lens (about 42mm equivalent against 34mm), f/14.4 and f/32 apertures instead of f/9 and f/42, a 1/500 second top shutter speed instead of 1/300, and a stronger flash. It is about 13 g heavier. Reviewers report sharper photos and more even exposures, though T3 found the Gen 3 slower to switch on.

Pick the Gen 3 for people pictures and selfies. The Gen 2's wider 48.1° view suits group shots and rooms, and its f/9 aperture lets in more light when you can't use flash.

Reviewers split on this one. T3 calls the Go Gen 3 "an obvious choice for anyone coming to instant cameras for the first time." The Gadgeteer points most people to the Now Gen 3 for its bigger print, and says the Go only wins if the smallest body matters more to you than print size.

TechRadar's 2021 comparison of the first models found the Now a little easier to use thanks to autofocus and a stronger flash, but liked the Go for travel and kids. There is still no independent full review of the Now Gen 3 among the sources we read, so its performance claims come from Polaroid, The Gadgeteer and reviews of earlier Now and Now+ models.

If neither print size nor film price feels right, Instax film is cheaper: Digital Camera World puts Instax Mini at $0.79 a shot. Our Polaroid vs Instax guide compares the two systems, and best instant cameras covers the wider field, including the Polaroid I-2.