You want to keep your mother's stories, or your parents' boxes of photos, or both. There are several services for this today, and they look alike until you look closer. This article sets four of them side by side, honestly, including the points where The Memory Palace is not the best choice.
The short answer
If you want a printed book with the stories of one parent, choose Storyworth (writing) or Remento (speaking, with video too). If you want to keep the entire photo collection with a single payment and a long-term guarantee, look at Forever. If you mainly want a free backup, Google Photos will do. If you want photos, recordings, stories and the family tree in one place, in your own language, with data in the EU and a plan for who receives it later, The Memory Palace was made for you.
The four side by side
| Storyworth | Remento | Forever | The Memory Palace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | A question by email every week, the storyteller writes | A question every week, the storyteller speaks (audio or video) | Online storage for photos, video and audio | A palace with rooms for photos, recordings, stories and family tree |
| Result | Printed book | Printed book with QR codes to the recordings | Digital archive | Digital palace, no printed book |
| Price | $69, $99 or $199 for the first year (Unlimited renews at $99) | $99 a year, or $12 a month after the first year | One-time, from $179.99 (10 GB) to $10,999.99 (2 TB) | Free (1 GB), Keeper €12 a year |
| Photo collection | No, photos only with stories | No, photos only with stories | Yes, with face recognition | Yes, arranged in wings and rooms |
| Website language | English, Spanish | English | English | Dutch, French, English, German, Spanish |
| After your death | No arrangement found | No arrangement found | Name custodians, guarantee for your lifetime plus 100 years | Heirs per person, per room, on a date or after a silence of 3 to 36 months |
| Data | No region stated | Google Cloud, no region stated | American company, no region stated | EU |
Prices as listed on the providers' websites on 24 September 2026, excluding shipping. Providers adjust their prices regularly.
Storyworth: the book your mother writes herself
Storyworth sends the storyteller a question every week for a year. They write their answer, or record it by phone on the more expensive plans. After a year, it becomes a bound book. That is a strength for anyone who enjoys writing, and for anyone who wants a book on the table. Photos can go with the stories, but Storyworth is not a place for a photo collection. The website and the questions are in English or Spanish, though you can answer in another language. When the subscription ends, you keep access to the stories, and you can download everything as PDF.
Remento: telling instead of writing
Remento is made for people who do not like to write. The storyteller speaks their answer, with or without video, and Remento turns it into a written story. The book contains QR codes that let you hear the storyteller's voice again. That is a lovely idea. The conversion from speech to story works in English and Spanish, not in Dutch. If you stop paying, everything stays visible and downloadable, but you can no longer add anything.
Forever: the whole collection, with one payment
Forever is not a storytelling aid but an archive: you keep photos, videos and sound there, in full quality, with face recognition to group people. You pay for the storage once. For fully paid storage, Forever promises that your files stay available for your lifetime plus a hundred years, backed by its own guarantee fund, and you can set out who gets access after your death. Of the four, that is the strongest long-term promise. The free account is not covered, the website is in English, and Forever is an American company that does not state in which region the data is stored.
Google Photos: the backup you already have
For many people, the photos are already in Google Photos. The first 15 GB are free, after which you pay from €1.99 a month. With a shared album, others can view and add photos. It is an excellent backup, but not a place where a story or a family tree belongs with a photo. If an account goes unused for two years, Google may delete it, unless you named contacts in advance.
The Memory Palace: where it fits, and where it does not
The Memory Palace brings photos, recordings, stories and the family tree together in the rooms of a palace your family can walk through. It works fully in Dutch, French, English, German and Spanish, the data is stored in the EU, and a full export is always possible, even on the free plan. You choose person by person who receives what, and when: on a date, or only after a silence you set yourself, from 3 to 36 months.
Where it does not fit: if you mainly want a printed book, you are better off with Storyworth or Remento. And if you are looking for a promise that spans a hundred years, you will find it at Forever. The Memory Palace deliberately does not promise "forever". It does promise that you can always leave, with everything, and that you will hear at least ninety days in advance if it ever shuts down.
Would you like a taste first, without an account? Have one old photo restored at thememorypalace.ai/restore, or see what is inside your family tree file at thememorypalace.ai/gedcom.