Remento vs Storyworth comes down to how the parent answers. Both send a year of questions and print the answers as a hardcover. Storyworth is built around written answers and costs $59 to $199 for the year. Remento takes answers spoken aloud and costs $99 for the first year, with one book. Neither researches the family's records.
Storyworth and Remento are the best known of the services that turn a parent's answers into a printed book, and several others do similar work at different prices. This page compares them by what each makes, how long it takes and what it costs, as each publishes it. It then sets out which suits which parent, and the questions to add so the book serves the family for generations.
Key points
- Storyworth and Remento both send a parent a question each week for a year and print the answers as a hardcover.
- Storyworth suits a parent who likes to write; Remento suits a parent who would rather talk.
- Storyworth costs $59 to $199 for the year, and Remento $99 for the first year with one book; extra copies add up.
- Memorygram sells a similar book for a single payment, and a fill-in journal costs about $15 to $25.
- None of these services checks the answers against records, so add questions about names, towns and dates.
The services side by side
| Service | What it makes | How long it takes | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|
| StoryworthPrompt book | A year of weekly questions answered by the parent, printed as a hardcover; the top plan includes two | A year of questions, about three more months to finish, and a book about ten business days after it is ordered | $59 to $199 for the year; extra copies from $39 |
| RementoPrompt book | A year of questions answered aloud, printed as a color hardcover of up to 200 pages | A year of questions; about 21 business days to print and deliver the book | $99 for the first year with one hardcover; extra copies from $69 |
| LoristryPrompt book | A life story built from the parent's answers over a year, as a digital book or in hardcover | A year of questions; delivery time not published | $49, $99 or $199 a year; the $49 plan gives a digital book only |
| MemorygramPrompt book | Weekly questions answered in writing or aloud, printed as a hardcover | Delivery time not published | About $99 to $125, paid once; extra copies about $67 |
| Fill-in journalsBookstore titles such as Grandmother Remembers | A printed book of questions the parent answers on its pages | As long as the parent takes | About $15 to $25 |
| StoryTerraceMemoir firm | A memoir of 60 to 120 pages written from interviews with the parent, with four copies | It aims to finish each project within four to seven months | From $3,250 with four copies |
| The family's own conversationsDone at home | The parent's voice and stories, kept by the family | As long as the family likes | Free |
| A researched family historyZichronos | The records behind the parent's stories and the generations before, translated, written and printed as a hardcover book | Three to four months; a first edition in thirty days when the book is needed by a date | Set out in what a family history book costs |
Prices and times as each provider publishes them, checked 12 October 2026. Storyworth's own help pages give its two lower plans at different prices ($59 or $69, and $99 or $109), so confirm on the order page before buying.
What Storyworth is, and how it works
Storyworth is usually given as a gift, and it runs for a year. The buyer names a storyteller, usually a parent or grandparent, and Storyworth sends that person a question each week by email. The family can pick the questions from Storyworth's list or write its own, and can read each story as it comes in.
Its plans run from $59 to $199 for the year. The two lower plans include one hardcover, with a black-and-white or a full-color interior, and the $199 plan includes two color books. Extra copies cost $39 in black and white, and $79 or $99 in color depending on the length. Storyworth says a hardcover arrives about ten business days after it is ordered.
Is Storyworth worth it?
It is good value for a parent who likes to write and will answer most weeks. The book is as full as the answers, so a parent who stops after a few months ends up with a thin book.
What Remento is, and how it works
Remento is made for a parent who would rather talk than write. The family chooses the questions, the parent answers them aloud, and the answers are printed as stories in the parent's own words. Remento charges $99 for the first year, which includes one color hardcover of up to 200 pages with shipping in the United States.
Extra copies cost $69, and a longer book of up to 380 pages costs $30 more. Remento says a book takes about 21 business days to print and deliver once it is ordered, and it does not promise delivery by a set date, so order well before a birthday or holiday.
Is Remento worth it?
It is worth it for a parent who tells stories well and would never sit down to write them. The price covers one book, so a family that wants a copy for each child should add the extra copies to the cost before deciding.
Storyworth or Remento: which suits your parent
A parent who writes letters and enjoys finding the right word will do well with Storyworth. A parent who tells the same stories beautifully at every Shabbos table, and has never written one down, is better served by Remento.
| The parent | What usually suits |
|---|---|
| Likes to write, and will answer most weeks | Storyworth, or a fill-in journal |
| Would rather talk than write | Remento, or conversations the family keeps itself |
| Wants one payment and no yearly renewal | A one-time book such as Memorygram, or a fill-in journal |
| Prefers a conversation with one interviewer to a question each week | A memoir firm such as StoryTerrace |
| The family wants the generations before the parent, and the records behind the stories | A researched family history |
What happens when the year ends
Both services run for a year, and both let the family go on. Storyworth says the stories stay in the account after the year, and the book should be ordered within about three months unless the family renews for another year. Remento renews at $99 a year or $12 a month. Without renewal, Remento says the family can still listen to and keep the recordings and order books from the stories already told, but cannot record or edit more.
Giving Storyworth or Remento as a gift
Storyworth's yearly gift can be sent by email on the day it is bought, and the buyer can print a card to hand over. Remento lets the buyer choose the date the gift is sent, and also offers a card to print. Remento sells one storyteller per purchase, while Storyworth's $199 plan covers more than one.
Other ways to record a parent's stories
Memorygram compared with Storyworth and Remento
Memorygram also sends weekly questions, which the parent answers in writing or aloud, and prints a hardcover. The difference is the payment: about $99 to $125 once, with no yearly renewal, and extra copies about $67. Loristry builds a life story over a year, and its $49 plan gives a digital book only.
Fill-in journals and memoir firms
A fill-in journal such as Grandmother Remembers or Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story costs about $15 to $25 and suits a private parent who would rather write alone. A memoir firm pairs a parent with an interviewer and a writer: StoryTerrace starts at $3,250 with four copies, and hiring a biographer for a parent covers what to ask. Legacy books for parents compares every kind, and companies that write family histories compares the firms.
The family can also do it with no service at all, by sitting with a parent and keeping the conversations. How to record a parent's stories explains how to keep the recordings safe and in order.
The questions these services send, and the ones a family history needs
Each service sends questions about the parent's own life: childhood, school, work, marriage and children. They make a warm book of memories. Archives need names, towns and dates, and Storyworth and several of the others let the family write its own questions, so add these:
- What were your parents' and grandparents' full names, including their Hebrew or Yiddish names, and what did people call them?
- Where were they born, what was the town called then, and in which country did it lie?
- When did the family come to this country, from which port, and who came first?
- What did your father and grandfather do for a living, and where?
- Where did you live as a child? Give the street if you remember it.
- Who in the family stayed behind, and did anyone hear from them afterward?
- Where are your parents and grandparents buried, and which society or shul owned the plot?
- Which papers, letters and photographs do you have, and who in the family has the rest?
Sources: Storyworth's and Remento's own pricing and help pages; Memorygram's and Loristry's published prices; StoryTerrace's pricing and its answers on timing. Checked 12 October 2026.
Questions families ask
How much does Storyworth cost?
Storyworth's plans run from $59 to $199 for a year of weekly questions. The two lower plans include one hardcover and the $199 plan two, and extra copies cost $39 in black and white or $79 to $99 in color. Prices checked October 2026.
How much does Remento cost?
Remento charges $99 for the first year, with one color hardcover of up to 200 pages and shipping in the United States. Extra copies cost $69, a book of up to 380 pages costs $30 more, and a second year costs $99, or $12 a month. Prices checked October 2026.
What is the main difference between Remento and Storyworth?
How the parent answers. Storyworth is built around written answers sent each week, and Remento around answers given aloud. Both run for a year and print a hardcover at the end. Storyworth's black-and-white copies cost less, and Remento's books are in color throughout.
Is it worth subscribing to Storyworth, or should I try other options?
Storyworth is worth it for a parent who likes to write. For a parent who would rather talk, Remento or the family's own recorded conversations suit better. For one payment and no renewal, choose Memorygram or a fill-in journal. None of them researches the generations before the parent.
Is there a UK version of Storyworth?
Storyworth sells to families outside the United States, with pages of its own for Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and prices in pounds on its British pages. Its American help pages ask buyers paying in other currencies to contact it for prices. A British family can also give a fill-in journal or use a memoir firm.
What is the best way to preserve a parent's life stories?
Start now, while the parent can tell them. A prompt book or a fill-in journal suits a parent who will answer questions, and conversations the family keeps suit one who would rather talk. Write down every name, town and date the parent mentions, and keep the originals of any papers. Those details are what a researched history needs later.
Where a researched family book fits
A prompt book holds what a parent chose to tell, in the parent's own words, and that is its worth. A researched family history begins where the parent's memory ends. It finds the records behind the stories and reads the ones in Polish, German, Russian or Yiddish. It also goes back to the generations the parent never knew, so the book can say what each record proves and what is still unknown.
The two sit well together. The names, towns and dates a parent mentions in these conversations are what the archives need. A commissioned book starts from them, and the parent's answers become part of the family's history. Family history book examples shows what such a book holds, and Inside a book shows the example's pages. What a family history book costs sets out the price, and How we work explains the steps. Other kinds of help are in hiring help, and what it costs.
More in hiring help, and what it costs