One entry, Peabody Teach name tags and cubby labels, is our own free tool. It is marked Ours and ranked against the same criteria as the others.
Avery Design & Print is our number one: free, it mail-merges a whole class list onto name badges or labels, and prints at home on Avery sheets. Peabody Teach's own label maker is second for a page of tags or cubby labels from a pasted list, no account. Design tools come next, then a marketplace, then label printers and ready-made labels for families.
| # | Name | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avery Design & Print | Best for a whole class of name tags from one list | Free |
| 2 | Peabody Teach name tags and cubby labels Ours | Best for a page of labels from a pasted list | Free |
| 3 | Word labels and name tags | Best if you already have desktop Word and label sheets | Price varies |
| 4 | Canva cubby labels | Best for decorated cubby and bin labels | Free plan, paid upgrades |
| 5 | Adobe Express label maker | Best free alternative to Canva for labels | Free plan, paid upgrades |
| 6 | Maestro Label Designer | Best for buyers of OnlineLabels sheets | Free plan, paid upgrades |
| 7 | Cubby label packs on TPT | Best for themed, editable label packs | Price varies |
| 8 | P-touch CUBE PT-P300BT | Best for durable laminated labels on bins and shelves | Paid |
| 9 | LetraTag 200B | Best for iron-on name labels on clothing | Paid |
| 10 | Daycare Label Pack | Best for families labeling bottles, shoes and clothes | Paid |
Avery
Free online designer for labels and name badges, with blank or ready designs. It can import a spreadsheet to mail-merge every child's name at once. Print at home on Avery sheets; an account is only needed to save projects.
Watch for Built to fit Avery products, so you need Avery sheets for accurate alignment
Visit Avery Design & Print ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.
Peabody Teach
Paste a list of first names and print a label for each: name tags six to a page or cubby labels ten to a page, plain or with the week's theme drawing. The names are kept in your browser and shared with the sign-in sheet, never put in a link.
Free, no sign-up and no ads
Watch for Two layouts, one font and no label-sheet templates, so you cut along the borders instead of peeling die-cut labels.
Microsoft
Mailings, then Labels, lets you pick a label brand and product number and opens a table sized to the sheet. Type each child's name and print. Microsoft suggests a plain-paper test print first.
Watch for Word for the web can't make labels directly; you need desktop Word or a template
Canva
Canva's template search has cubby label designs. Canva Free includes custom dimensions and PDF, JPG and PNG export, so you can size labels to fit your cubbies.
The free part: Templates, custom sizes, PDF export
Pro US$144 a year (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Premium designs need Pro; aligning to label sheets is up to you
Visit Canva cubby labels ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.
Adobe
Free label maker with thousands of free templates, a resize tool for custom sizes and instant download to print. No credit card required.
The free part: Thousands of templates, download to print
Premium US$9.99 a month (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Examples are product labels; the page doesn't mention name tags or classroom labels
OnlineLabels
Online label designer with thousands of templates, clipart and mail merge for name tags. You can start without signing in. The free trial prints with a watermark until you apply an activation code from a label purchase.
The free part: All features in the trial, with a watermark on prints
Watermark removed with a $9.95+ label purchase (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Made for OnlineLabels products only
Teachers Pay Teachers (marketplace)
A marketplace where individual teacher-sellers sell cubby label packs; a search for cubby labels returns thousands of results, with a Free filter. Listings on the first page were mostly paid.
About $0.95 to $12 on the first page of results (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Quality and editability vary by seller; most listings on the first page were paid
Brother
A Bluetooth label maker you design on from a phone or tablet with Brother's free app. Uses laminated TZe tapes up to 12 mm wide; includes an AC adapter and a starter tape.
$69.99 on Brother's page (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Narrow 12 mm tape only; too small for big cubby name signs
DYMO
A compact Bluetooth label maker printed from the LetraTag Connect app. It uses 12 mm paper, plastic or iron-on fabric tapes, the last for marking children's clothing and backpacks.
Price not stated on the maker's page (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Needs a phone or tablet and 4 AA batteries, which aren't included
Mabel's Labels
Ready-printed personalized labels: 54 labels (large and small rectangles, shoe labels, stick-on clothing labels) plus 2 bag tags. Listed as waterproof, dishwasher-safe and laundry-safe.
$32.00 (as of 2026-10-30)
Watch for Ordered per child, so it isn't for printing a whole class's cubby labels
We weighed these, most important first. The order is our judgement against them, not a score or a vote, and a different teacher could reasonably order it differently. Our own tool sits where those criteria put it; we built it after studying the others, so read its entry with that in mind.
We took no money, free products or affiliate commissions for any place on this list, and no link here carries a tracking code. Every fact was read on the maker’s own page on October 30, 2026; prices carry that date because they change. See how we choose and the ad-free promise.
Last checked October 30, 2026. Something out of date or missing? Tell us and we will fix it; makers can send corrections, never money.