Story
So Tell Us vs Remento: Which App Captures Family Stories Better in 2026?
Table of Contents
- What each product is actually trying to do
- How Remento works
- How So Tell Us works
- Side-by-side comparison
- Where Remento does well
- Where So Tell Us does better
- Which one is right for you
- FAQs
You want to capture your family's stories. Or you want your parents to feel heard. Or you want something more than a group chat that goes quiet for three weeks and then erupts with memes.
Remento is one answer. So Tell Us is another. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters depending on what you actually need.
Here is an honest look at both.
What each product is actually trying to do
Remento is built around preserving memories, particularly from older family members. The idea is to prompt someone — usually a grandparent or parent — with questions that draw out stories from their past. The output is meant to be a keepsake.
So Tell Us is built around ongoing connection. A small group of up to five people answers a few warm questions every few weeks, and the answers arrive together as one compiled letter. It is not about archiving the past. It is about sharing what is happening now, in ordinary life, with the people who matter.
Both use question prompts. That is roughly where the overlap ends.
How Remento works
Remento is a mobile app on iOS and Android. You invite a family member — typically someone older — to record audio or video answers to prompted questions. The app transcribes those recordings and builds a library of stories over time. There is also an option to have responses printed into a book.
The experience is largely one-directional. One person is the storyteller. Others may listen or read, but the format is not designed for everyone to answer and everyone to receive.
It requires app installation, a smartphone, and some comfort with video or audio recording. For family members who are not on social platforms but do use email, the app requirement alone can be a barrier.
How So Tell Us works
So Tell Us is browser-based. No app to install. Every few weeks, three to five questions land in everyone's inbox. Each person answers in their own time — a sentence, a photo, or a voice note. On a fixed send day, one compiled letter arrives with everyone's answers inside.
Voice notes are automatically transcribed, so they read naturally in the letter even for people who never listen to audio.
There are no push notifications. No feed. No streaks or likes or anything designed to pull you back in. The email is the only nudge, and it arrives on a schedule you already know about.
The whole group — up to five people — is covered for €5 per month. One person sets it up and pays. Everyone else just replies to emails.
Side-by-side comparison
Format and access
| Remento | So Tell Us | |
|---|---|---|
| App required | Yes (iOS and Android) | No — browser and email only |
| Works for non-smartphone users | Limited | Yes, if they have email |
| Notification style | Push notifications | Email only, no push |
| Reply formats | Audio, video | Text, photo, voice note |
| Voice transcription | Yes | Yes |
Who participates
Remento is primarily designed for one person to share stories with others. So Tell Us is designed for everyone in the group to answer and everyone to receive. The dynamic is different. One is a keepsake project. The other is an ongoing exchange.
Privacy and data
So Tell Us is hosted in Germany with EU-only subprocessors. No ad tracking runs inside the app. Letter content is never used to train AI models. Voice transcription is the only AI in the loop, and it does not retain your content.
Remento's infrastructure and data practices are governed by US-based terms. If data residency or EU privacy standards matter to you, that is worth factoring in.
Cost
Remento operates on a subscription model with tiered pricing, including a printed book option at additional cost. So Tell Us is €5 per month for the whole group, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required to start.
Where Remento does well
If your goal is to capture and preserve one person's life stories — particularly someone older — Remento is built for that. The prompts are oriented toward memory and biography. The printed book is a genuine differentiator for families who want something physical to keep.
If the storyteller is comfortable with a smartphone and video, the experience is rich. The app handles the structure so you do not have to.
Where So Tell Us does better
If you want everyone in the group to participate, not just one person, So Tell Us fits better. The compiled letter format means your sister in Stockholm, your mum in Krefeld, and your old flatmate in Vienna all answer the same questions and all receive the same letter. Nobody is the designated storyteller. Everyone is.
The no-app requirement matters more than it might seem. If anyone in your group is not on a smartphone, wary of installing something new, or simply unlikely to bother, email is the path of least resistance. So Tell Us works entirely through email and a browser.
The zero-notification design is also a deliberate choice, not a missing feature. There is nothing to keep up with between letters. Nothing to feel behind on. The letter arrives, you read it, and that is enough.
For families spread across the EU who care about where their data lives, the German hosting and EU-only subprocessors are worth noting.
Which one is right for you
Choose Remento if you want to preserve one person's stories in a structured archive, you are comfortable with app installation and US-hosted data, and a printed keepsake is part of what you are after.
Choose So Tell Us if you want a living, ongoing exchange where everyone contributes and everyone receives, you want something that works over email without any app, and you want the whole group covered for €5 per month.
The two products are solving adjacent problems. Remento is closer to a memoir tool. So Tell Us is closer to a letter that arrives every few weeks from the people you love.
If that second thing is what you are looking for, you can try it free for 14 days at so-tell-us.com — no credit card needed.
FAQs
Is So Tell Us a Remento alternative?
It depends what you need. If you want everyone in a small group to share and receive answers together, So Tell Us is a strong alternative. If your goal is specifically to archive one person's life stories in a memoir format, the two products are really doing different things.
Does So Tell Us require a mobile app?
No. It is entirely browser-based and works through email. Nothing to install, which makes it accessible to people who are not on smartphones or who would rather not add another app to their phone.
Can older family members use So Tell Us if they are not on social media?
Yes. If they have an email address, they can participate. They receive questions by email and reply by email. No platform account, no app, no feed.
How does So Tell Us handle voice notes?
Anyone in the group can reply with a voice note instead of typing. It is automatically transcribed and appears as readable text inside the compiled letter, so people who prefer not to listen to audio still get the full content.
What happens to the content inside So Tell Us letters?
Letter content is never used to train AI models. Voice transcription is the only AI involved, and it does not retain your content after transcription. Servers are hosted in Germany with EU-only subprocessors, and there is no ad tracking inside the app.
How much does So Tell Us cost compared to Remento?
So Tell Us is €5 per month for a whole group of up to five people, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Remento has tiered pricing with additional costs for printed books. The exact comparison depends on which Remento plan you are looking at.
Can I try So Tell Us before deciding?
Yes. The 14-day free trial requires no credit card. You set up a group, invite your people, and the first letter goes out within two weeks.