Compare
How Biographer compares
The common ways to get a life story written down are a weekly question service like Storyworth or Remento, a hired memoir writer, or Biographer. Here's how they differ.
A personal interview, not a question and a text box.
Weekly question services send you one question and leave you to answer it. Biographer interviews you.
A weekly question
This week's question
What was your first job?
A personal interview
What was your first job?
I bagged groceries at Kessler's on Elm Street.
How old were you? Who hired you?
Fifteen. Mr. Kessler himself. He made me practice bagging eggs.
You said your brother worked there too. Were you there at the same time?
Side by side.
| Biographer | Storyworth | Remento | A memoir writer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How stories are gathered | A personal interview, by voice or text, with follow-up questions | A question each week by email or text | A prompt by email or text, and you record your answer | Interviews you schedule with a writer |
| Remembers what you told it | Yes, and comes back to it in later conversations | Each week's question stands on its own | Each prompt stands on its own | Yes |
| Who writes the story | Biographer, after each conversation. You can change anything. | You do. Answers recorded by phone can be transcribed. | Written from each recording, word for word or as a narrative | The writer |
| The printed book | A cloth hardcover, black and white from $39 or full color, ordered when you're ready | Comes with one printed book | Comes with one full-color hardcover, with a QR code for each recording | Varies. Printing often costs extra. |
| What else your stories can become | A song, a podcast, a comic, a children's book, an audio story in your own voice, an audiobook | The book | The book and your recordings | The book |
| Cost | Free. You pay only for printed books and Creations. | Plans listed from $69 to $199 | $99 for a year of prompts and one book | $35,000 to $100,000 or more |
Storyworth and Remento details come from their own websites on October 12, 2026, and may change. Memoir writer costs as reported in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
More than a book.
The other services end with a printed book. With Biographer, the same stories can also become:
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A song
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A podcast
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A comic
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A children's book
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A story read in your own voice
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An audiobook
Hiring a memoir writer
Families hire memoir writers to interview someone they love and write the book. Biographer does the same work for free.
| Private memoir writer | Biographer | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Up to $100,000 | Free |
| Interviews | Booked sessions on their calendar | Any time, day or night, as often as you like |
| Writing | Drafts arrive after the interviews wrap up | A written story after each conversation |
| The book | Printing often costs extra | A printed hardcover with your photos, from $39 |
| After the book | The project ends | Keep talking. Your stories can become more. |
Families commonly pay $35,000 to $100,000, as reported in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Which one fits you?
Choose Biographer if
you'd rather talk than write, you want someone to ask the follow-up questions, you want a finished story after each conversation, and you'd like your stories to become more than a book.
Choose a weekly question service if
you enjoy writing, you like getting one question a week by email or text, and one printed book is what you want.
Choose Remento if
hearing the original recordings matters most to you. Its book has a QR code for each chapter that plays the recording.
Choose a memoir writer if
you want a professional to interview you and handle every part of the book, and the cost isn't a concern.
Want the details? Read how Biographer works or the answers to common questions.
Closer looks: Storyworth alternatives, a Remento alternative and what StoryTerrace costs.
