If you’ve landed here, you’ve probably already found StoryWorth, and you’re wondering whether it’s the right way to capture your parent’s life story, or whether something fits your family better.
We’ll be straight with you. StoryWorth is good, and it’s the category leader for a reason. But it isn’t the only option, and it isn’t the best fit for everyone, especially if your parent finds typing tiring, or if an annual subscription feels like the wrong shape for a one-time project. Here’s an honest look at the three best-known options, including ours.
Short answer: If your parent loves to write and you want the established name, StoryWorth is a safe pick. If you want video and family collaboration, look at Remento. If your parent would rather talk than type, you want something gentle and senior-first, and you’d rather pay once ($45) than yearly, that’s what we built MyDear to be.
At a glance
| MyDear | StoryWorth | Remento | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $45 one-time | ~$99/year | ~$99 (one year) |
| How your parent answers | Voice or typing, guided | Weekly emailed prompt, typed | Voice/video prompts |
| Designed for | Seniors first | General adult | General adult, family |
| Final keepsake | Real printed book | Printed hardcover book | Printed book + app |
| Subscription? | No, one time | Yes, annual | One year, optional renewal |
Prices and features as of 2026. Check each company’s site, they change. This page is maintained by MyDear; we’ve tried to represent the others fairly.
StoryWorth: the established leader
StoryWorth has been around the longest in this category, with tens of thousands of reviews. The model is simple: once a week, your parent gets an emailed question (“What was your childhood home like?”), they reply in writing, and after a year their answers become a hardcover book.
It’s a great fit if: your parent enjoys writing, is comfortable with email, and a weekly rhythm over a year suits them.
Where families look for an alternative: it’s a yearly subscription, so for a one-time project some would rather pay once; it leans on typing and email, which can stall for a parent who finds writing tiring; and the pace is fixed at one prompt a week.
Remento: video and family collaboration
Remento (which appeared on Shark Tank and took a deal with Mark Cuban) leans into voice and video prompts and family collaboration. Relatives can follow along and every story is shared with the family as it’s recorded. It also turns into a printed book.
It’s a great fit if: you want your parent’s voice or face on record, and you want siblings and grandkids participating along the way.
Where families look for an alternative: the video-forward, app-based, family-feed experience is more “product” than some seniors want. If your parent would find an app and a family feed overwhelming, a calmer, simpler experience may land better.
MyDear: voice-first, senior-first, pay once
We’ll be transparent: we’re the newest of the three. We don’t have StoryWorth’s decade of reviews yet. What we built MyDear to do is the thing we kept wishing existed when we recorded our own grandfather’s story (that real, published book is why the company exists).
What makes MyDear different:
- Your parent talks; they don’t have to type. MyDear guides them through their life story in a warm, back-and-forth conversation (by voice or typing, whichever they prefer) about ten minutes a day at their own pace.
- Built for seniors first. Large type, plain language, calm and unhurried, designed for an 80-year-old, not a 30-year-old.
- One price, $45, no subscription. A memoir is a finite project: capture it, print the book, done. Pay once, keep it forever.
- A real printed book at the end, plus instant digital delivery and a printable card so you can give it in person.
- Their words stay theirs. Private by design.
It’s a great fit if: your parent would rather talk than write, you want something gentle and dignified, and you’d rather pay once than subscribe.
Where you might prefer something else: if a long track record of reviews is what makes you comfortable, StoryWorth has more history. We’re earning that, one family’s story at a time.
MyDear is the voice-first, senior-first, pay-once way to save a parent’s life story. $45, no subscription, a real book at the end.
A real printed book · no subscription · their words stay private.
How to choose
- Choose StoryWorth if your parent loves to write, is happy with weekly emails, and you want the most-established name.
- Choose Remento if you want video and a collaborative family experience.
- Choose MyDear if your parent would rather talk than type, you want a senior-first, unhurried experience, and you’d rather pay $45 once than subscribe yearly.
There’s no wrong choice here: any of these is better than the most common option, which is meaning to ask and never doing it. The stories are what matter. Capture them while you can.