StoryWorth Alternatives: 5 Other Options in 2025
StoryWorth made family storytelling popular. Send weekly questions. Get written answers. Turn them into a printed book. Simple and sweet.
But StoryWorth isn't perfect for everyone. Maybe you want video, not text. Maybe your loved one won't write but will talk. Maybe you want more than stories—you want a family archive you can search, grow, and pass down.
Here's an honest breakdown of what works, what doesn't, and which one fits your family best.
Article Snapshot
- StoryWorth and Remento work well for people who'll engage weekly
- Video captures voice, face, and emotion that text can't match
- Telloom offers the only family archive with transcripts, search, and a growing database
- Phone interview services turn conversations into polished books
- Private documentarians create cinema-quality films but cost more
- The best choice depends on your family's needs, budget, and timeline
What Makes Each Option Different
Before diving into each service, here's what matters most when choosing how to capture family stories:
Capture format: How do they record? Text, voice only, or video? Each captures something different.
Output: What do you get? Some give you text. Some give you video. Some give you both.
DIY vs. professional: Some families love doing it themselves. Others want a trained interviewer to draw out stories.
Ongoing value: Is this a one-time project or a living archive you can add to? Can you search across everything?
Quick Comparison: What Each Service Offers
| Service | Capture | Output | Family Hub | Search | DIY or Pro | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telloom | Video | Video + Text | Yes | Yes | Both | $-$$$ |
| StoryWorth | Voice or Text | Text | No | No | DIY | $$ |
| Remento | Video | Video + Text | No | No | DIY | $$ |
| No Story Lost | Voice | Text | No | No | Pro | $$$ |
| Heirloom Docs | Video | Video | Yes | Yes | Pro | $$$ |
| Legacy Film | Video | Video | No | No | Pro | $$$$ |
Telloom: Best for Building a Family Archive
Telloom is different from the others. It's not just about capturing stories once—it's about building a secure family database that grows over time.
What Makes Telloom Stand Out
Studio-quality video. Professional cameras, lights, and audio. The recordings look and sound like documentaries, not shaky phone clips. Future family will see your loved one at their best.
Full transcripts with AI summaries. Every video gets transcribed word for word. AI creates summaries so you can skim hours of content in minutes. Find any story fast.
Everything is downloadable. Videos, transcripts, and AI summaries can all be downloaded. You own your content. Keep local copies if you want.
Searchable Family Hub. A private app where all recordings live forever. Search by keyword across all transcripts. Filter by topic, person, or theme. Find "grandpa talking about WWII" in seconds.
Controlled family access. Share with kids, cousins, and future family through private accounts. You decide who sees what. No social media exposure.
Objects: Catalogue what matters. Document the stories behind family heirlooms—jewelry, artwork, quilts, pocket knives, awards. Add photos, record a video story, and note who should inherit each piece. Future family will know why that old watch matters.
Growing family database. Add new recordings over time. Multiple family members can contribute. Your grandpa's stories live next to your mom's. Search across all of them. It becomes a cross-family archive of wisdom, history, and perspective.
600+ professional prompts. Our library covers 50 categories across 8 life themes. We've thought through what stories matter and how to draw them out.
How Telloom Works
- DIY or guided. Use the platform yourself ($10/month), or book a professional interview.
- Record stories. In person or remote, with studio-quality gear.
- Access your hub. Videos, transcripts, summaries, and objects live in your private archive.
- Grow over time. Add more recordings, invite more family, search across everything.
Telloom Pricing
DIY platform: $10/month for self-recording with full hub access.
Remote interview packages: Starting at a few hundred dollars.
Full-service in-person: Custom pricing based on scope.
Best For
Families who want more than a one-time project. Those who value video quality and voice preservation. Anyone who wants a searchable archive that grows. Families with meaningful objects to document.
StoryWorth: The Original Weekly Question Service
StoryWorth pioneered the weekly-question model. One email per week, one written answer, and after a year you get a printed book.
What StoryWorth Does Well
Simple weekly format. One email, one question, no overwhelm. Easy to follow for people who like routine.
Phone recording option. Storytellers can now call and tell stories by phone. The audio gets transcribed into text. Good for people who hate typing.
Printed book included. After a year, answers get bound into a hardcover keepsake. Nice for gift-giving.
12 years of trust. Founded in 2013, over 35 million stories shared, almost 50,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot. They're not going anywhere.
Where StoryWorth Falls Short
Text-focused output. Even with phone recording, the final output is text. You don't see their face or gestures.
No ongoing access. You get a book and a PDF. No searchable hub. No way to add more over time.
Around 100 prompts. The question library is decent but limited compared to specialized services.
Relies on follow-through. If your loved one doesn't keep up with weekly emails, the book stays thin. Many StoryWorth gifts go unused.
Pricing
$99 per year. Includes one hardcover book.
Best For
Writers who enjoy typing or dictating. Self-motivated people who'll stick with weekly prompts. Families who prefer reading over watching video.
Remento: Video + Book with QR Codes
Remento combines video recording with a printed book. The twist: QR codes in the book link to the original recordings.
How It Works
Prompts arrive by email or text. Your loved one records short video answers on their phone. AI turns recordings into polished written stories. At the end, you can order a printed book where each chapter has a QR code linking to the video.
What Remento Does Well
Video + text output. You get both: a physical keepsake with written stories and access to the original video recordings.
Speech-to-story AI. Recordings become readable narratives without losing the storyteller's voice. You can choose first or third person.
QR codes in the book. Scan to hear the story in their voice. Clever touch.
Text + email prompts. More flexible delivery than email-only services.
Where Remento Falls Short
Requires tech comfort. Your loved one needs to record videos on their phone. Not everyone can or will.
DIY only. No professional guidance. You manage the whole process.
Quality depends on setup. Phone video quality varies. No professional lighting or audio.
No searchable hub. Stories live in the app and book, but you can't search across transcripts or add over time.
Pricing
$99 for one year with one color book. Extra books $69 each.
Best For
Tech-savvy families who want both video and a printed book. People comfortable recording themselves. Those who don't need professional guidance.
No Story Lost: Phone Interviews Turned into Books
No Story Lost handles everything. Their team conducts phone interviews, transcribes the stories, and designs a hardcover coffee-table book.
How It Works
Choose a package based on interview length. Their team calls your loved one for fun, guided conversations. Stories get transcribed, edited, and designed into a beautiful book with photos.
What No Story Lost Does Well
Zero effort for families. You buy the package and they handle everything. Great for busy families or loved ones who won't use apps.
Professional interviewers. Trained writers who know how to draw out stories. Better results than DIY prompts.
Audio recordings included. You get the original phone recordings along with the book.
High-quality book design. Coffee-table style hardcover with photos. Looks professional.
Where No Story Lost Falls Short
Voice only—no video. You hear their voice but don't see their face.
Text output only. The final book is text and photos. No video archive.
No ongoing access. You get the book and recordings, but no hub to add to over time.
Higher price point. Starts at $1,099 for the basic package.
Pricing
The Chronicle (2 hours): $1,099
The Anthology (4 hours): $1,649
The Odyssey (6 hours): $2,199
Best For
Families who want a done-for-you service. Loved ones who'll talk on the phone but won't use apps. Those who value a professional book over video.
Heirloom Family Documentaries: Remote Video Interviews
Heirloom creates video documentaries through remote interviews. They send equipment to your loved one and conduct guided video sessions.
How It Works
Choose a package. They ship a video kit to your loved one. A professional interviewer guides conversations over video call. You get final videos organized by topic.
What Heirloom Does Well
Remote video with shipped kit. Better quality than phone video, without travel.
Professional interviewer. Guided conversations draw out better stories.
Multiple videos by topic. Stories organized into 12-45 separate clips depending on package.
Online hosting included. Videos live in their platform with family access.
Where Heirloom Falls Short
Video only—no transcripts. Videos are organized but not transcribed into searchable text.
Higher price point. Starts at $2,000.
Pricing
Silver (2 hours): $2,000
Gold (3 hours): $3,000
Platinum (4 hours): $4,000
Best For
Families who want video but can't travel. Those who value professional guidance. People comfortable with a one-time project.
Legacy Film Collective: Private Documentary Filmmaker
Legacy Film Collective represents the private documentarian approach. A filmmaker comes to your loved one's home and creates a cinema-quality legacy film.
How It Works
Book a session. The filmmaker interviews your loved one in their home with professional gear. You receive a polished documentary film.
What Legacy Film Does Well
True documentary quality. Cinematic filming, professional editing, emotional storytelling.
In-home comfort. Your loved one stays in their space, surrounded by familiar things.
Personal connection. Working with one filmmaker creates rapport and deeper stories.
Where Legacy Film Falls Short
Location dependent. The filmmaker travels to you, which limits availability.
Higher investment. Cinema-quality comes at cinema prices. Packages typically start at several thousand dollars.
One-time project. You get a finished film, not an ongoing archive.
Best For
Families who want the highest production quality. Those celebrating a milestone (80th birthday, anniversary). People who value a finished film over raw recordings.
Why Telloom Offers More Than Story Capture
Most services give you a finished product: a book, a film, some recordings. That's valuable. But it's a one-time thing.
Telloom is different. It's a family archive that grows.
Add recordings over time. Capture grandpa now, add mom next year, include aunts and uncles whenever they're ready. The archive grows as your family contributes.
Search across everything. Every video gets transcribed. Search by keyword and find the exact moment grandpa talks about his first job or grandma describes meeting grandpa.
Download everything. Videos, transcripts, and AI summaries are all downloadable. Keep local copies. You own your content.
Document objects and heirlooms. That pocket knife grandpa carried in Korea. The quilt your great-grandmother made. The first edition book your dad treasures. Record why these things matter and who should inherit them.
Controlled access for generations. Add children as they're born. Give access to cousins. The archive passes down like an heirloom itself—but one that can't be lost or damaged.
Studio quality that lasts. Professional video today looks professional in 50 years. Phone clips from today might not even play on tomorrow's devices.
Which Option Is Right for You?
Choose StoryWorth if your loved one enjoys writing, follows through on weekly emails, and you mainly want a printed keepsake.
Choose Remento if your family is tech-savvy, wants both video and text output, and will manage the process yourselves.
Choose No Story Lost if you want a done-for-you book from phone interviews and don't need video.
Choose Heirloom if you want professional video but your family is spread out geographically.
Choose a private documentarian if you want cinema-quality and have budget for premium production.
Choose Telloom if you want video quality, searchable transcripts, downloadable content, a growing family archive, and a hub that multiple family members can add to over time.
Don't Wait
Whatever option you choose, the best time to start is now.
Memory fades. Health changes. Time runs out. The stories your loved ones carry will disappear unless someone captures them.
Pick an option from this list. Start small. One conversation. One recording. One story at a time.
Your future family will thank you.
Ready to build a searchable family archive in studio-quality video? Schedule a free planning call with Telloom to see how we can help preserve the voices, faces, and stories you love—organized and searchable for generations.