Family memory apps compared (2026): life-story books, photo-sharing apps, and a family yearbook
Storyworth and Remento capture one person's life story. Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum share a family's photos. A group yearbook has everyone write the family's year together. An honest comparison, with current prices.
Written by Philip · Published October 20, 2026
The short answer
Family memory tools do three different jobs. Storyworth and Remento capture one person's life story, usually a parent's. Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum share photos with relatives, mostly of kids. A group yearbook has the whole family add to one book each month. Pick by the job, not the price, and note that they combine well.
- Want a parent's life story in their own words? Storyworth or Remento. Remento is voice-first and links each chapter to the original recording with a QR code.
- Want a private stream of your kids' photos for grandparents? Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum. Both have a free tier.
- Want the whole family to write the year together and end with one printed book? A group yearbook, for a family or close group of up to 25 people.
- A group yeerbook is $129 for a printed hardcover of up to 120 pages with worldwide shipping included. The other tools are priced per year, as shown below.
Three different jobs, not three versions of one product
These tools get compared as if they compete, but they solve different problems. Mixing them up is how people end up buying a memoir service to stay in touch with their grandchildren, or a photo app to capture their mother's stories.
Life-story books look back at one person's past. Photo-sharing apps send a stream of the present from one household to its relatives. A family yearbook is written by everyone, about the year the family is living now. Start by deciding which of those you want.
Life-story books: Storyworth and Remento
Both tools are built around one storyteller and a year of prompts, and both end in a printed hardcover. They are a good fit when a parent or grandparent has stories you do not want to lose.
Storyworth sends a weekly question by text or email. Replies come by email or on the website, and telling stories over the phone is offered as a plan upgrade. Storyworth's site lists more than 500 questions, and family collaboration on a book is also an upgrade.
Remento is voice-first. The storyteller opens a link and records, with no app and no login, and Remento turns the recording into a written chapter. Each chapter in the printed book has a QR code that plays the original recording, which is something a purely written memoir cannot do. Family members can read, listen and react to stories as they arrive.
Where they stop: both are about one person looking back. The rest of the family waits for the finished book instead of adding to it, and neither covers the year the family is living now.
Photo-sharing apps: Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum
Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum are private spaces where a household posts photos and videos for relatives. They are built around parents and young children: milestones, first steps, a stream grandparents can check any day.
Relatives can view, comment and react on Tinybeans, and its updates can also arrive by email, which helps relatives who do not want another app. FamilyAlbum says relatives can view albums in a browser with no account. Both can turn photos into printed photo books.
Where they stop: the photo stream is mostly one-directional, from the parents to everyone else. It records what happened, not what each person thought, and the book is a photo book rather than a shared written record.
A group yearbook: the whole family writes the year
A group yearbook is built for the gap between the first two. Each member adds a recap each month: a few photos and a short story, typed or spoken. Members join through a private link with a name and an email, with no app to download. Recaps are revealed to the group together, and the year ends as one printed hardcover.
It suits a family where the grandparents, the adult children and the grandchildren should all be in the book. Because everyone contributes, no one person carries the project, and no one has to be a good writer.
What it is not: a tool that interviews one person about their whole life, and not a photo stream for a baby's every milestone. If you want either of those, one of the tools above is the better fit.
Which one should you choose?
To capture a parent's life story: Storyworth or Remento. If the sound of their voice matters, Remento's recordings and QR codes are the more natural fit.
To keep grandparents in the loop on young children: Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum. The free tiers are a good place to start.
To stay close as a whole family across distance: a group yearbook. It gives everyone a reason to share something each month and leaves the family with one book that they wrote together.
Using them together
These tools do not compete for the same job, so combining them works well. A family might run a Storyworth or Remento for a grandparent, post daily photos of the kids in Tinybeans, and keep a group yearbook for the monthly highlights everyone adds.
If you have to pick one place to start, pick the job that is hardest to repeat. A parent's stories are easiest to capture while they can still tell them, while a family's year can start in any month.
Prices and what is included
Figures come from each company’s own pages in October 2026. Plans change often, so check each site before you buy.
| Tool | What it is for | Price | Printed book | Who contributes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storyworth | One person's life story, through weekly questions | Plans shown starting at $59 to $69 on its site | One premium hardcover after about a year | The storyteller; family collaboration is an upgrade |
| Remento | One person's life story, recorded by voice | $99 for the first year, including one hardcover. Renewal is $99 a year or $12 a month | 8" x 10" hardcover, up to 200 pages included (up to 380 for a $30 surcharge), with a QR code per chapter that plays the recording. Extra copies are $69 (up to 200 pages) | One storyteller; family can read, listen and react |
| Tinybeans | A parent's private photo stream for relatives | Free tier of 20 uploads a month. Tinybeans+ is $74.99 a year or $7.99 a month | Photo books, with free US shipping on Tinybeans+ | Parents post; relatives view, comment and react |
| FamilyAlbum | A household's private photo sharing | Free tier (videos limited to 2 minutes). Premium Family is $59 a year and Pro is $109 a year | Photo books, with free shipping on Premium | Invited relatives; the company says viewing works in a browser with no account, though that view is more limited than the app |
| Group yeerbook | The family writes its year together, month by month | $129 one time | Printed hardcover of up to 120 pages, worldwide shipping included | Every member adds photos and a story; up to 25 people |
Comparison at a glance
How the three kinds of tool compare across the things that matter to a family.
| Dimension | Life-story books | Photo-sharing apps | Group yeerbook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looks at | One person's past | A household's present, mostly children | The whole family's current year |
| Who writes it | One storyteller answering prompts | The parents who post | Every member, a little each month |
| Voice | Remento is voice-first and links recordings in the book; Storyworth offers phone storytelling as an upgrade | Video clips | Spoken recaps are supported |
| Pace | Weekly prompts for about a year | Whenever parents post | A light monthly rhythm |
| Finished keepsake | A printed hardcover | Optional photo books | A printed hardcover of the year |
| Best for | Preserving a parent's stories | Keeping grandparents in the loop on young kids | Staying close as a whole family |
Ready to try it? See how yeerbook works end to end, read the guide for family circle yearbooks, or see how yeerbook compares to other options. If you want to give one, learn about gifting a yeerbook credit.
Choosing a gift for a parent? Read the best Storyworth alternatives, and what a family yearbook is.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Storyworth, Remento, Tinybeans and a family yearbook?
Storyworth and Remento capture one person's life story over a year of prompts. Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum share a household's photos privately with relatives. A family yearbook has every member add photos and a short story each month, so the whole family writes the current year together.
Is Remento better than Storyworth?
They suit different storytellers. Remento is voice-first, needs no app or login, and links each printed chapter to the original recording with a QR code. Storyworth sends weekly questions and takes replies by email or its website, with phone storytelling offered as an upgrade. Check both sites for current pricing, because plans change.
Which is best for keeping grandparents updated on young children?
A photo-sharing app such as Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum. Both have a free tier, and relatives can follow along without posting anything.
Can the whole family contribute to a Storyworth or Remento book?
Both are built around one storyteller. Family can read and react on Remento, and Storyworth sells family collaboration as an upgrade. If you want every family member to add to the same book by default, a group yearbook is built for that.
How much does a group yeerbook cost compared to these apps?
A group yeerbook is $129, a one-time purchase, covering a printed hardcover of up to 120 pages with worldwide shipping included. Storyworth, Remento, Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum are priced per year or per plan, as shown in the table above. Members can also order their own copies of the finished yeerbook for $79 each, with worldwide shipping included at checkout.
Can I use a family yearbook alongside one of these tools?
Yes. They do different jobs. Many families record a parent's stories in one tool, share kids' photos in another, and use a yearbook for the monthly highlights everyone adds.
References
- Remento. Pricing and how it works. https://remento.co and https://help.remento.co/en/articles/8365892-remento-s-pricing-guide
- Storyworth. Plans and what is included. https://welcome.storyworth.com
- Tinybeans. How much is a Tinybeans+ subscription? https://tinybeans.helpscoutdocs.com/article/22-how-much-is-a-tinybeans-premium-subscription
- FamilyAlbum. Is FamilyAlbum really free? https://blog.family-album.com/blog/is-familyalbum-really-free-what-you-get-without-paying/
- Prices and features were read from each company's own pages in October 2026 and change often. Check each site before buying.
Write the family’s year together.
Start a family yeerbook. Everyone adds a few photos and a short story each month from their phone, and the year ends as a printed hardcover.
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