Family Diary vs StoryWorth
Looking for a StoryWorth alternative?
StoryWorth is a lovely way to end up with a printed book of written answers. But if what you really want is your parent's actual voice, and a living story the whole family can read and hear, not a book that arrives once a year, Family Diary is built for that.
| Family Diary | StoryWorth | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | An app that asks one gentle question a day | One question emailed each week for a year |
| How they answer | By voice, they just talk (or type if they prefer) | In writing, by replying to the email; a speech-to-text option transcribes the words |
| Their real voice | Preserved. Family can hear the story read in the storyteller's own cloned voice | Not in the finished book, which is text only |
| The result | A living life story, in chapters, read in the app or on a family website, growing over time | A 6x9 hardcover book, compiled once a year |
| Family reading it | Free to read and to join | The printed book (extra copies cost extra) |
| Built for older adults | Large text, big buttons, spoken prompts, nothing technical | Comfortable email and writing |
| Extras | Scan old journals, a family tree, reactions and questions, memorial QR stickers | 350+ prompts; guided phone interviews on the top plan |
| Price | $6.99/month or $49.99/year for the storyteller, free for family to read, 7-day free trial | $59, $109, or $199 a year, includes a hardcover book |
The real difference: their voice
StoryWorth turns written answers into a text hardcover. Family Diary is voice-first: your loved one simply talks, and beyond writing their words into clear prose, it keeps their actual voice. Years from now, your family can open the story and hear it read aloud in the storyteller's own cloned voice. For most families, that is the part that matters most.
A living story, not a once-a-year book
With a weekly-email service, the story arrives as a book after a year. Family Diary is a living story that grows a little each day and is ready to read the whole time, in the app or on a private family website you can share with a link or a QR code. Family can react, ask questions, and read along as it fills in.
When StoryWorth is the better pick
To be fair: if the one thing you want is a printed hardcover book on the shelf, and your storyteller is happy writing their answers, StoryWorth does that well. Family Diary is the better fit when you want their voice preserved, a story the family reads and hears together, and an app made for someone who would rather talk than type.
See Family Diary for yourself
One gentle question a day. They just talk. Their words and their voice become a life story your family keeps forever. Free for a week.