StoryKeeper vs Tell Me: two UK ways to keep your parents' stories, one printed and one not
StoryKeeper is a UK product that charges £69 once for a year of weekly questions, answered on its website by voice, video or writing, and prints two full-colour hardbacks with a QR code on each chapter that plays the recording. Tell Me is also UK-built and billed in pounds, but sends the question to your parent's WhatsApp, they answer with a voice note in the chat, and the stories and recordings are kept in a family archive on your phone rather than printed. StoryKeeper is the one for a book; Tell Me is the one for the phone.
When someone on Reddit or Mumsnet asks for a UK version of Storyworth, StoryKeeper is the answer they get, and it's a good one: pounds, free delivery, no customs, two books for £69. Tell Me is UK too, built in Scotland and billed in pounds, and it isn't trying to be a Storyworth. It's built for the phone: the question arrives in WhatsApp, the answer is a voice note, and the next question is written from what they said. So the choice between these two is less about where you live and more about what you want at the end.
I built Tell Me, so read this knowing that.
Every fact about StoryKeeper here comes from its own website and help pages, checked on 11 September 2026, and each one links to where I found it. Where StoryKeeper's own pages disagree with each other, the table says so rather than picking a side, and both products get the same number of things they do well and the same number they do badly. If I've got something wrong, tell me and I'll fix it. How the whole comparison was put together.
Who should pick which
Three reasons each way, because a comparison that only finds reasons for one side isn't one. The cases where StoryKeeper is the better buy are real, and they're first.
Pick StoryKeeper if
- You want a printed book. Two full-colour hardbacks with their voice linked from each chapter, delivered free in the UK, for £69.
- You'd rather pay once than subscribe, with sixty days to change your mind.
- Your parent is happy to sign in to a website each week to record or write.
Pick Tell Me if
- Your parent is on WhatsApp and you'd rather they answered where the question arrived than signed in anywhere.
- You want the questions to follow the conversation: StoryKeeper's come from a library and your own additions, Tell Me writes the next one from what they said.
- You want to try it before paying, and a conversation that carries on past a year: the first 10 stories are free, and everything is yours to download on any plan.
StoryKeeper and Tell Me, in words
Sentences rather than ticks, a source you can open on every StoryKeeper cell, and prices in each company's own currency. Checked 11 September 2026. All five side by side.
| What we compared | StoryKeeper | Tell Me |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the question | ||
| How the question arrives |
A new question by email each week, or they sign in and choose one
StoryKeeper does not say whether questions can also arrive by text. Source: storykeeper.com |
WhatsApp, email, or the storyteller app. You pick one
A couple a week by default (Monday and Thursday); daily, every other day, or your own days if you prefer. Where this comes from |
| Do they need a smartphone or computer? |
Not for the phone option, they say; yes for recording or writing online
StoryKeeper publishes no detail on how the phone option works. Source: storykeeper.com |
Yes. A phone with WhatsApp, an email address, or an iPhone for the app
|
| Who sets the pace |
Weekly, or whenever they sign in
|
An ordered queue you curate. Think of a question on a Tuesday night and it goes to the front
Follow-ups that reference what they said are written for you and slot in next. Where this comes from |
| Answering | ||
| Can they just talk? |
Yes. Voice or video online, or by phone
|
Yes. A voice note on WhatsApp, or a recording in the app (up to ten minutes)
Email replies are typed, with photos attached. Where this comes from |
| Can they write instead? |
Yes. Write, or dictate with voice-to-text
|
Yes. A text on WhatsApp, a typed email reply, or typing in the app
|
| Do they answer where the question arrived? Every extra tap is a place to give up. |
No. They sign in and record on the site (or use the phone option)
|
Yes. Reply to the WhatsApp message or the email, or tap record in the app
|
| Video |
Yes, recorded online
|
Yes, on WhatsApp or in the storyteller app
|
| Works on a landline? |
They say so; details not published
StoryKeeper mentions recording by phone but not how. Source: storykeeper.com |
No
|
| Their voice | ||
| Is the original recording kept? |
Yes. Downloadable any time
|
Yes. Every recording and the exact original words sit next to the story
|
| Where you can hear it |
Online, and a QR code on each chapter of the book
|
In the archive, on the web and in the Tell Me app, and in the download you can take home
|
| What the AI does | ||
| The AI's job |
Transcribes, with one-click AI rewriting for clarity. StoryKeeper edits and lays out the book
|
Shapes each reply into a story and writes the follow-up questions from what they said. Nothing is trained on your family
|
| Can you see what they actually said? |
Yes. The recording is kept and linked from the book
|
Yes. The original words are shown under every story, and the recording plays
|
| Follow-up questions |
Not advertised
|
Yes. Written from what they said, sent as a later question
|
| The rest of the family | ||
| Family members |
Invite family to suggest questions, comment and read
|
Invite family free, as viewers or as editors who can manage the questions
|
| Both parents, or a grandparent too |
Not published
Presumably a second £69 book; StoryKeeper does not say. Source: storykeeper.com |
UK
The second is +£5.00/month or +£30/year; each after that +£39/year
Each storyteller gets their own questions, their own archive and their own free stories. Where this comes fromUS
The second is +$6.00/month or +$40/year; each after that +$49/year
Each storyteller gets their own questions, their own archive and their own free stories. Where this comes from |
| The questions | ||
| Question library |
A library of expert-written prompts (size not published), plus your own
|
Every question is written for them, with their name, their family and their era. Around 200 to start, plus your own and the follow-ups written from what they said
Every one starts "Tell me…". Sensitive topics can be switched off per storyteller. Where this comes from |
| What you end up with | ||
| A printed book |
Yes. A full-colour hardcover up to 500 pages; the first two copies are included
|
Optional. The archive is the product and it works from the first week; a printed book is an extra you order when there are enough stories worth printing, with a QR code on each story that plays their voice
|
| What you can download |
The recordings, and a free eBook
|
Everything: every story, the original words, every voice and video recording, and every photo, in one download, on any plan
|
| Money | ||
| Can you try it before paying? |
No. £69 up front
|
Yes. The first 10 stories are free, with no card
A free story is only used when they actually reply, so a question they skip costs nothing. Where this comes from |
| What it costs to start |
US
Priced per country at checkout; £69 on the UK site
The US-site price was not verified. Source: storykeeper.com |
UK
10 free stories per storyteller, then £9.99/month or £69/year
A free story is only used when they actually reply. No card to start. Where this comes fromUS
10 free stories per storyteller, then $12.99/month or $89/year
A free story is only used when they actually reply. No card to start. Where this comes from |
| Each year after |
Nothing on the one-time plan. A 12-month plan is also mentioned
Only the £69 option is priced on the page. Source: storykeeper.com |
UK
£9.99/month or £69/year while questions are being asked. When they stop, a free year, then Legacy at £20/year to keep reading and listening
US
$12.99/month or $89/year while questions are being asked. When they stop, a free year, then Legacy at $25/year to keep reading and listening
|
| Extra copies of the book |
£49 each
|
|
| Changed your mind |
60-day money-back guarantee
|
No money-back window: the free stories are the trial, and you can cancel any time
|
| If you stop paying | ||
| What happens to the stories |
"Lifetime access" to the archive
|
UK
Nothing is deleted. The archive stays open for a year at no charge, then Legacy at £20/year keeps it online and looked after, with every story, recording and photo still yours to download; the full plan restarts whenever you like
The full download is included on every plan, so take your copy before you stop, or on Legacy. Where this comes fromUS
Nothing is deleted. The archive stays open for a year at no charge, then Legacy at $25/year keeps it online and looked after, with every story, recording and photo still yours to download; the full plan restarts whenever you like
The full download is included on every plan, so take your copy before you stop, or on Legacy. Where this comes from |
| Where you are | ||
| Billed in | ||
| Getting the book to you |
US
Shipped from the US site; terms at checkout
US delivery terms were not verified. Source: storykeeper.com |
|
| Phone numbers and messaging |
Not published
|
WhatsApp in every country bar six; email anywhere
|
| The company | ||
| Who's behind it |
StoryKeeper Ltd, London
|
Tell Me Stories Ltd, Scotland, 2026. One person: me, David. I built it for my own parents, who use it, and I answer the email
My parents' own stories are in it. That is the plainest reason I can give that it isn't going anywhere. Where this comes from |
| Reviews Trustpilot, checked 11 September 2026. |
4.8 from 1,068 reviews
|
Launched 2026. The first 10 stories are free, so you can judge it yourself before paying
|
| Languages |
Sites for 27 countries; languages not published
|
English only
|
"Check at checkout" marks a place where StoryKeeper's own pages disagree with each other, or say nothing. Sources open in a new tab. How this was put together.
One at a time, properly
What each one is, what it does well, where it falls short, and what it costs where you are. The same questions for both, mine second.
StoryKeeper
£69 once, two hardbacks, their voice by QR code on each chapter
StoryKeeper is the one people recommend when someone asks for "a UK Storyworth". A question arrives each week; your parent records voice or video online, writes, dictates, or, they say, records by phone. StoryKeeper transcribes it, tidies the text with AI, edits and lays out a full-colour hardcover, and puts a QR code on each chapter that plays the original. £69 includes the first two copies and UK delivery, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
What it does well
- The best value book of the five: two hardbacks, up to 500 pages, free UK delivery, no customs, for £69.
- Their voice is kept and linked from each chapter, and the recordings can be downloaded any time.
- Billed in pounds, edited by people, and more than a thousand Trustpilot reviews at 4.8.
- Sixty days to change your mind.
Where it falls short
- The phone option is a sentence on the website with no detail on how it works, and the second plan they mention (12 months versus no time limit) isn't priced.
- Answering means signing in to a website, not replying where the question arrived.
- Nobody writes follow-up questions from what your parent said; it's a library and your own additions.
- Reviewers mention lost written work, photo formatting, and slow replies to update requests.
What it costs where you are
UK £69 including two copies of the book and delivery. Extra copies £49. A second storyteller isn't priced on the site.
US Priced per country at checkout; £69 on the UK site. The US-site price and delivery terms were not verified.
Checked 11 September 2026.
Tell Me
A question in their WhatsApp, a voice note back, and the next question written from what they said
Tell Me sends your parent a question every few days on WhatsApp (or by email, or in a small app of its own). They answer with a voice note or a text in the same chat, whenever they like. Each reply is shaped into a story with the recording and their exact words kept underneath, and the next question is written from what they said. The stories go into a searchable archive the family can be invited into, and everything can be downloaded, on any plan. A printed book is an optional extra rather than the point, on purpose: Tell Me is built for the phone you will reach for when you miss them, not the shelf, and the book is what you order at the end if you want one. I built it for my own parents. They use it, their stories are in it, and I have more reason than anyone to keep it running.
What it does well
- The only one of the five where the next question is written from what they said last time. Mention the pub and the next question asks about the pub. Think of one yourself and it goes to the front of the queue.
- It lives where they already are. The question arrives in the WhatsApp chat they open every day and they answer it right there, with a voice note. No link, no sign-in, no app to learn.
- Everything is yours to take. Every story, every original word, every recording and photo, in one download, on every plan. Remento won't export the written stories at all.
- The only one you can try before paying. The first 10 stories are free, no card, and a skipped question never costs a story. Each question is written with their name, their family and their era.
Where it falls short
- It can't phone a landline. WhatsApp or email needs a device they use.
- The storyteller app is iPhone only; Android storytellers use WhatsApp or email.
- It is a subscription while the questions are running, not a one-off, and a year after they stop a small yearly Legacy fee is what keeps the archive online.
- English only. If your parent would answer more happily in another language, Storii and Storyworth can do that and Tell Me can't.
What it costs where you are
UK 10 free stories per storyteller, then £9.99/month or £69/year. A second storyteller adds £30/year. Legacy, for reading and listening once the questions stop, £20/year after a free year.
US 10 free stories per storyteller, then $12.99/month or $89/year. A second storyteller adds $40/year. Legacy, for reading and listening once the questions stop, $25/year after a free year.
Checked 11 September 2026.
Short answers
Is StoryKeeper or Tell Me the UK version of Storyworth?
Which is cheaper, StoryKeeper or Tell Me?
Where does my parent answer, on StoryKeeper and on Tell Me?
Which one asks follow-up questions, StoryKeeper or Tell Me?
Do StoryKeeper and Tell Me both keep the recording?
Tell Me against the others
- All five side by sideStoryworth, Remento, Storii, StoryKeeper and Tell Me: a fit-finder, the full chart, and what families worry about.
- Storyworth vs Tell MeThe original weekly-question memoir, now with phone calls
- Remento vs Tell MeSpeak, and it writes; a book with their voice on every page
- Storii vs Tell MeIt phones them. Nothing to install, nothing to tap
Start with one question.
Every storyteller starts with 10 free stories. No card. Pick a question, send it, and see what comes back. If the first voice note doesn't make you sit down, you've spent nothing. If it does, you'll know what the rest are for.
Every fact about Storyworth, Remento, Storii and StoryKeeper was taken from that company's own website, pricing page or help centre on 11 September 2026. Storyworth and Remento each publish articles about the other, and several smaller rivals publish "best alternatives" lists; none of those was used as a source for anything. Review scores are Trustpilot's on the same day. Forum quotes are paraphrased and unattributed.
Where a company's own pages disagreed with each other, the chart marks the cell rather than choosing. Where a figure isn't published, it says so. Tell Me's prices are pulled from the same place the rest of this site gets them, so they can't drift.
Prices change. If you find one that has, email me, and I'll check it and update the date above.
David
Tell Me Stories Ltd