Kindred Tales vs Remento:
An Honest Comparison

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1. Photo Placement: A Huge Difference

This might seem like a small detail, but it is actually one of the biggest frustrations Remento users mention. With Remento, you can only place one photo at the top of each story. If you want to add more photos, they all get dumped into a gallery at the end of the chapter, completely separate from the stories they relate to.

With Kindred Tales, you can place photos anywhere in your stories with captions, just like a real memoir. Want to show your childhood home when you are telling a story about growing up? Or your wedding photo right in the middle of that chapter? You can do that naturally, exactly where it makes sense.

2. Writing Flexibility: An Important Difference

Remento is built around video and voice recording. You must record audio or video first, then their AI transcribes it. You can then edit that transcript to polish it. This works well if your parent is comfortable speaking their stories out loud.

But what if they want to write a story from scratch? Sit down with a blank page and carefully craft their words without recording first? With Remento, that is not possible, every story must start with a recording.

Kindred Tales gives you complete flexibility: write stories from scratch, speak them using our speech-to-text feature, or have our Ali AI Biographer interview you and create a first draft. You are never required to record. Some of our customers write some stories, speak others, and use the AI for memories they are struggling to articulate. Total freedom.

3. One-Time Purchase vs. Subscription

This is straightforward: Kindred Tales is a one-time purchase. You pay $90-$115 once, and you are done. No recurring charges. No subscription to maintain.

Remento requires a $99 yearly subscription. If you cancel, you lose the ability to edit stories or add new content, you get view-only access. Want to keep editing or add more memories next year? You will need to renew at $99 per year.

Total Cost Example (3 Copies at 300 pages with a digital PDF)

Kindred Tales: $115 (initial) + $45 + $45 = $205 total

Remento: $99/year + $99 + $99 + $50 = $347 in year one (plus $99/year ongoing)

4. Ali AI Biographer: More Than Transcription

Remento's AI transcribes your voice and video recordings and polishes them into readable prose, that is genuinely helpful and quite sophisticated.

But Kindred Tales' Ali AI Biographer does something different: she interviews you. She asks follow-up questions, digs deeper into memories, and helps you remember details you had forgotten. Then she can create a first draft for you to edit. It is like having a professional biographer helping your parent tell richer, more complete stories.

Plus, you still get speech-to-text transcription as a separate feature, so you get both capabilities.

5. Twice the Pages for Your Stories

Kindred Tales includes 400 pages. Remento includes 200 pages. That is twice as much room for memories, photos, and stories without paying extra for page overages. You have to pay an additional $30, just to get up to 380 pages with Remento

To be fair, Remento's video capability is genuinely different, being able to see grandma's expressions and hear her voice as she tells stories about her childhood can be powerful.

Kindred Tales focuses on audio recording rather than video, which keeps the technical barrier lower for seniors who might feel self-conscious on camera. You can still download and share all your audio recordings, they are just not embedded in the book via QR codes, so your book will remain beautiful.

If video preservation is absolutely essential to you and worth the subscription cost, snowballing fees, and photo placement limitations, Remento might be your choice. But for most families, having photos placed naturally throughout the book and the ability to actually write stories matters more than having video embedded via QR codes that may not function in 20 years if Remento is no longer around.

I thought Remento was the only service with AI and voice recording?

That's a common misconception from their marketing. Actually, Kindred Tales, StoryWorth, and other modern memoir services offer voice recording. Many (including us) use AI to enhance transcriptions. The real differences to consider are: pricing models (one-time vs. subscription), extra charges, photo placement flexibility, whether you can write stories, and the AI's role (transcription vs. interactive interviewing) against the desireability for video as the primary medium.

I heard Remento now lets you edit stories - how is that different from Kindred Tales?

Remento allows you to edit the AI-generated transcript after you've recorded audio or video. This is helpful for polishing the transcription. However, you must always record something first—you can't sit down and write a story from scratch without recording. Kindred Tales gives you complete freedom: write stories from a blank page whenever you want, speak them using speech-to-text, or use our AI Biographer for interviews. No recording required unless you want to record. This matters for people who prefer writing over speaking, or who want to carefully craft certain stories without being on camera or audio first.

Can I finish my book in less than a year with either service?

Yes! Both Kindred Tales and Remento allow you to complete your book faster than 52 weeks. You can answer multiple questions per week, skip weeks, or work at whatever pace feels right for your family.

What happens after I've printed my book?

With Kindred Tales (one-time purchase), you maintain full access to edit stories and order additional books at $45 each anytime you want. With Remento, once your subscription ends, you lose editing capabilities and can only view your content. You can't add new stories or make changes without renewing at $99/year.

How does the photo limitation work with Remento?

Remento allows one photo at the beginning of each story. Additional photos get placed in a gallery at the end of the book, separated from the stories they relate to. This makes it harder to illustrate specific moments within stories. Kindred Tales lets you place unlimited photos anywhere in your text with captions, just like a traditional memoir.

Does Kindred Tales support video recording like Remento?

Kindred Tales focuses on audio recording and speech-to-text transcription rather than video. This keeps things simpler for seniors who might feel camera-shy or uncomfortable being on video. You can upload audio recordings you've made offline or record directly on our platform. All recordings are downloadable and shareable with family—they're just not embedded in the book via QR codes like Remento's video feature.

Can my parent write some stories and speak others?

With Kindred Tales, absolutely—you have complete flexibility to write from scratch, speak, or use AI interviews for different stories. Remento requires recording first for every story, though you can edit the transcript afterward. Some parents prefer having the option to write freely without needing to record, while others are comfortable with the record-first approach.

Which service is better for someone who doesn't type well?

Both work great! Kindred Tales offers speech-to-text transcription plus Ali AI Biographer interviews—your parent never has to type a word if they don't want to. Remento also uses voice/video recording exclusively. The key difference is that Kindred Tales gives you the option to write when you want to, while Remento doesn't.

Is the video QR code feature worth the subscription cost?

This depends on your priorities. Remento's video QR codes are special, there is something powerful about being able to scan a code in the book and immediately see your grandmother telling a story. However, this comes with tradeoffs: A possible large object in every chapter of your book, which may not work down the road, the $99/year subscription, severely limited photo placement, and no up-front writing capability. Many families find that audio recordings they can download and share, combined with better photo integration and writing flexibility, provide more overall value even without the embedded video feature.

What's the real total cost if I want 5 copies for family members and a PDF to share?

Kindred Tales: $115 + (4 × $45) = $295 total, one-time. Remento: $99/year + (4 × $99) + $50 = $545 in year one, plus $99 each additional year you want to maintain editing access.