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So Tell Us vs Letterloop: Which Family Letter App Is Right for You in 2026?
Table of Contents
- What both tools actually do
- Where they differ
- Who should choose Letterloop
- Who should choose So Tell Us
- A quick comparison at a glance
- FAQs
If you searched for a Letterloop alternative, you're probably in one of two situations: something didn't quite fit after trying it, or you're weighing options before committing. This article covers both tools honestly — including where each one falls short.
The core mechanic is the same: send questions to a small group, collect answers, deliver everything in one email. But that's roughly where the overlap ends.
What both tools actually do
Letterloop sends periodic question prompts to a group and compiles the answers into a shared newsletter. Members reply by email, and the result lands in everyone's inbox. It's been positioned for families, friend groups, and workplace teams.
So Tell Us works similarly on the surface: questions go out every few weeks, each person replies in their own time with text, a photo, or a voice note, and on a fixed send day one compiled letter arrives for the whole group. No app, no feed, no notifications beyond that single email.
The mechanic is similar. The intent behind each product is not.
Where they differ
Focus and audience
Letterloop positions itself broadly — families, friends, professional teams. There's a Teams beta priced at $50 per month. That range makes it versatile, but it also means the product isn't shaped around any particular kind of relationship.
So Tell Us is built for small, close groups: the family spread across three cities, the four friends who haven't lived in the same place since 2019, the adult child who wants a gentle way to stay close to a parent who isn't on social apps. The five-person group limit is a design choice, not a constraint to apologise for. The questions are warm. The whole thing is built around the idea that a letter from the people you love should feel like one — not like a company update.
How the letter arrives
With Letterloop, the compiled newsletter is the output. It's readable, functional, and does what it says.
With So Tell Us, the letter arrives on a fixed send day the group knows in advance. That predictability is part of the ritual. You're not waiting for a notification — you know when it's coming. Nothing pings you before it arrives. The email is the only touchpoint, and that's a deliberate commitment, not a missing feature.
Privacy and data
This is where the two products diverge most clearly.
Letterloop is a US-based product. Its data handling follows US standards.
So Tell Us hosts all servers and subprocessors in Germany and the EU. Letter content is never used to train AI — stated plainly as a commitment, not buried in a terms page. The only AI in the product is speech-to-text transcription for voice note replies, and it doesn't retain your content.
For anyone in the EU, or anyone who cares about where their family's private conversations are stored, that difference is worth knowing.
Price
Letterloop costs $5 per month after two free issues, per group.
So Tell Us costs €5 per month for the whole group. One person pays; up to four others join and participate for free. There's a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
At roughly the same price point, the So Tell Us model means the person who sets things up carries the cost. Everyone else just gets the letter.
Format and effort
Letterloop accepts text replies. So Tell Us accepts text, photos, and voice notes. Voice replies are transcribed into text so they appear in the letter like any other answer — readable, not just playable.
There's no minimum reply length. One sentence is enough. Skipping a round is fine too. The product doesn't track participation or nudge you when you haven't replied.
Who should choose Letterloop
Letterloop is a reasonable choice if you want something that works across personal and professional contexts. If you're running a small team that wants a regular check-in format, or you want a tool without a particular emotional register, it covers that ground well.
It's also worth considering if US-based data handling isn't a concern for your group.
Who should choose So Tell Us
So Tell Us fits better when the group is small and the relationships are close. It's built for the kind of exchange where you actually want to know how your sister's week went — not just that she's doing fine.
It's a strong fit if:
- Your group is geographically spread out and the group chat has gone quiet
- You want something that works for a parent or grandparent who isn't on social apps — email is the only interface required
- Privacy matters to you or your group, and EU hosting is a meaningful factor
- You want a fixed ritual rather than an open-ended feed
- You'd rather not ask everyone to download something or create an account on a new platform
The compiled letter arriving on a fixed day is the whole product. Nothing to scroll, nothing to react to, nothing to keep up with. Just a letter, when it arrives.
A quick comparison at a glance
| So Tell Us | Letterloop | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €5/month, whole group | $5/month, per group |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card needed | 2 free issues |
| Group size | Up to 5 | Not publicly specified |
| Reply formats | Text, photo, voice note | Text |
| Notifications | None (email only) | Email-based |
| Data hosting | Germany / EU | US |
| AI training | Never | Not stated |
| Audience focus | Close personal groups | Families, friends, teams |
| App required | No | No |
| Fixed send day | Yes | Yes |
FAQs
Is So Tell Us a direct Letterloop alternative?
It covers the same core function — question prompts, group replies, compiled letter by email — but it's built specifically for close personal groups rather than teams or broader audiences. If Letterloop felt too wide in scope or too workplace-adjacent, So Tell Us is worth trying.
Can I switch from Letterloop to So Tell Us without losing anything?
There's no import function, but setup is straightforward. You start a new group, invite the same people, and the first letter goes out within a couple of weeks. Past Letterloop letters stay in your inbox as they are.
Does So Tell Us work for groups outside the EU?
Yes. The product is available in English at so-tell-us.com and in German at erzaehl-doch-mal.com. The EU hosting is about where your data lives, not where you need to be to use it.
What if some of my group members aren't comfortable with technology?
Email is the only interface. There's no app to install, no account to create for participants, no feed to navigate. If someone can reply to an email, they can take part.
Is there a free trial before I commit?
Yes. It runs for 14 days and doesn't require a credit card. You can start a group, invite people, and see a letter arrive before deciding whether to continue.
What happens if someone skips a round?
Nothing. No streaks, no reminders, no guilt mechanics. Their slot in the letter is simply empty that round, and the letter still goes out.
Can I have more than five people in a group?
The standard plan covers up to five people. Larger groups can be arranged by writing to the founder directly at richard@so-tell-us.com.
Both tools address the same real need: keeping a small group in touch without the noise of social media or the pressure of a group chat. The right choice comes down to what your group actually needs.
If you want something built for close relationships — EU hosting, no app, a fixed letter ritual — So Tell Us is worth a look. Start a group at so-tell-us.com.