Storyworth alternatives: 5 ways to capture a life story

Every Monday the question arrives: what was your first job? Your mother reads it, smiles, and closes the email. She would happily tell you the whole story over coffee, but typing it out is another matter. Or the question is in English, and she thinks in Dutch. Storyworth is a lovely idea, and for many families it works very well. For others, a different tool fits better. Here are five, with what they cost and where each one falls short. Prices checked September 2026 on the makers' own websites.

We make The Memory Palace, one of the options below. We describe the others as fairly as we can, and say where they are the better choice.

The short answer

If a printed book of one parent's life is the goal and your parent likes to write, stay with Storyworth. If your parent would rather talk, try Remento. If you want to spend nothing, record one good conversation with the StoryCorps App or keep stories in FamilySearch Memories. If the stories should live next to the old photos, the voices and the family tree, in your own language, look at The Memory Palace. And if all you need is a start, the voice recorder on your phone and a list of good questions will do.

Storyworth and five alternatives at a glance

Option	How the story is told	What you end up with	Price (September 2026)
Storyworth	Weekly question, written answer, or by phone on Color and Unlimited	Hardcover book, PDF, e-book	$69, $99 or $199 a year
Remento	Weekly prompt, spoken answer with audio or video	Book with QR codes, plus the recordings	$99 the first year, then $99 a year or $12 a month
StoryCorps App	A guided, recorded conversation	An audio recording	Free
FamilySearch Memories	You add photos, stories, documents and audio	A free online collection	Free
The Memory Palace	You add photos, videos, voice recordings, stories and a family tree	A walkable 3D palace, no printed book	Free (1 GB), Keeper €49 a year, Guardian €79 a year
Phone voice recorder	You ask, they talk	Audio files on your phone	Free

Prices and features change. Check them with the provider before you buy.

First, what Storyworth does well

Storyworth sends the storyteller one question a week for a year, by email or, on the Color plan and up, by text. They answer in writing, or on the Color and Unlimited plans by phone, with the recording turned into text. At the end of the year the stories are printed as a hardcover book. Basic costs $69 a year, Color $99 and Unlimited $199. When the subscription ends, the questions stop, you get three more months to write and edit, and after that you keep access to your stories. You can download everything as PDFs.

Where it pinches: the interface is in English and Spanish only, the book is the main product, and photos only exist inside stories. It is not a place for the family photo collection, and we found no video recording.

1. Remento: for the parent who would rather talk

Remento also sends a weekly prompt, but the storyteller speaks the answer in the browser, without an app or a login, with audio only or with video, up to 30 minutes per recording. Remento turns each recording into an editable written story. The printed book has QR codes that play the original recording, so the grandchildren can hear the voice behind the words.

It costs $99 for the first year with one storyteller and one hardcover book, then $99 a year or $12 a month. If you do not renew, the account becomes view-only and downloads still work. The catch for many families in Europe: speech-to-story works in English and Spanish only, and the interface is in English.

Better than Storyworth when: your parent is a talker, not a writer, and speaks English or Spanish.

2. The StoryCorps App: one good conversation, free

The StoryCorps App is free, for iPhone and Android, and guides you through a recorded conversation: you prepare questions with its prompts, then record on your phone. You can also call someone and record the interview on the same phone. Afterwards you can keep the recording on your device only, or upload it to the StoryCorps Online Archive and the Library of Congress. On the archive you can set an interview to Public, StoryCorps Community or Private.

There is no weekly rhythm and no book. It is one conversation, well recorded.

Better than Storyworth when: you want to capture a voice this month, not over a year, and you do not want to pay.

3. FamilySearch Memories: free, and close to the family tree

FamilySearch Memories is part of FamilySearch, which is free. You can save photos, stories, documents and audio recordings, tag them by topic and share them with family members. If your family already researches its tree on FamilySearch, the stories sit close to the people they are about.

Nobody sends your parent a question, and it does not print a book. You are the one who writes things down or uploads the recording.

Better than Storyworth when: the family tree is already on FamilySearch and you want the stories there too, at no cost.

4. The Memory Palace: when the story belongs with the photos

The Memory Palace, which we make, is not a question service. It is a place where a family's photos, videos, voice recordings, family tree and written stories come together, arranged as wings and rooms of a 3D palace that relatives can walk through. The recording of your father telling how he met your mother can hang in the same room as their wedding photo.

• Price: a free plan with unlimited wings, rooms and memories and 1 GB of storage. Keeper €49 a year (25 GB). Guardian €79 a year (100 GB, with legacy access for heirs).
• Languages: English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish.
• Privacy: everything is private until you invite someone to a room or wing. Data is stored in the EU (Frankfurt).
• Leaving: a full ZIP export on every plan, including free. The family tree goes in and out as a GEDCOM file.
• Where it is not the best choice: it does not send weekly questions and does not print a book. If a book on the shelf is what you want, Storyworth or Remento gets you there more directly.

Better than Storyworth when: you want the stories, photos, voices and family tree together, in Dutch, French or German, and shared only with the people you choose.

5. Your phone and a good list of questions

The simplest alternative costs nothing. Sit next to your parent, put your phone on the table, open the voice recorder that is already on it, and ask one question. Our free, printable sheet of twenty questions to ask your parents is available in five languages. The recording will not organise itself, so give each file a name and a date the same day.

Better than Storyworth when: you want to start today, and a subscription feels like too big a step.

How to choose

1. Book or archive? If you want a hardcover book in a year, Storyworth or Remento. If you want a place the family keeps adding to, FamilySearch Memories or The Memory Palace.
2. Writing or talking? Match the tool to the storyteller, not to yourself. A reluctant writer will not answer 52 emails.
3. Which language? A question in the wrong language is an unanswered question.
4. What happens when you stop paying? Storyworth keeps your access, Remento goes view-only, and the free options stay free. Download a copy now and then, whatever you pick.
5. Photos too? Storyworth and Remento keep photos only inside stories. If the shoebox matters as much as the stories, pick a tool that holds both.

For a side by side view of the paid services, read The Memory Palace vs Storyworth, Remento and Forever, or the wider overview in the best apps for family memory preservation in 2026. Have an old photo of your parent that has faded? Our free photo restorer repairs one without an account. And if you want to try the palace, get the app, the link opens the right store.