StoryWorth vs Storii: which life-story service fits your family?
One sends weekly writing prompts and prints a keepsake book. The other phones your loved one and records the answers. Here is a fair side-by-side, plus a third, more interactive option.
Both StoryWorth and Storii help a person preserve their life story, but they do it in almost opposite ways. StoryWorth is built around writing: it emails a question each week and later compiles the written answers into a printed hardcover book. Storii is built around talking: it phones your loved one on a schedule, asks a question aloud, and records and transcribes the answer. Neither is better in the abstract. The right choice depends on whether the storyteller would rather type or speak, and whether the family wants a book on the shelf or a voice in an archive.
A quick note on transparency: this comparison is published by Afterlife AI, which is itself one of the options below. We have tried to describe StoryWorth and Storii accurately from their own materials and public reviews, and we tell you plainly where we fit.
StoryWorth at a glance
StoryWorth is a family-owned US service that has been running since 2013. The format is simple and well worn:
Each week the storyteller gets a prompt by email (or text), drawn from a large library of questions about childhood, work, relationships and so on. You can edit prompts or write your own.
The storyteller writes back their answer and can add photos. Upgraded plans also allow voice-recorded or guided phone responses.
At the end of the year (or whenever you are ready) the answers and photos are bound into a hardcover keepsake book. At least one book is included with every plan.
Pricing is reported in tiers, commonly cited around $59, $109 and $199 per year, with the higher tiers adding colour printing, voice options and extra book copies. Treat these as indicative; check StoryWorth directly for current figures.
The end product is a physical book a family can hold, shelve and reprint.
Storii at a glance
Storii, founded in 2014, is designed for people who do not want to type, and especially for older relatives:
It places automated scheduled phone calls, commonly up to three a week, to any phone, including a landline. There is no app, no password and no internet connection required to take part.
It draws on a large prompt library (reported at 1,000+ questions), and the storyteller can also call in to record any time.
Each answer is recorded and automatically transcribed to an online profile, and families can download the results as an audiobook or an eBook transcript.
Pricing is reported around $9.99 per month for a basic call plan and roughly $99 per year on annual billing, with higher tiers adding book creation. Pricing and plan names vary by source, so confirm current rates with Storii.
The end product is primarily a recorded and transcribed audio archive, with book or eBook options on some plans.
Key differences
Writing versus phone calls. StoryWorth asks people to write (with optional voice on higher tiers). That suits someone comfortable composing at a keyboard who enjoys reflecting in their own words. Storii does the opposite: it calls and listens, which removes the writing hurdle entirely.
Book versus audio archive. StoryWorth is oriented toward a finished printed hardcover as the keepsake. Storii is oriented toward recordings plus transcripts, so you keep the actual voice and tone, with book or eBook export as an add-on.
Tech comfort. This is the sharpest split. StoryWorth assumes a working email habit. Storii is explicitly built for non-technical, elderly, or living-with-dementia users, because answering a ringing phone is familiar where logging into an account may not be. If the storyteller struggles with screens, Storii's phone-first approach is far gentler.
Who each suits
Choose StoryWorth if the storyteller likes to write, the family wants a tangible hardcover book, and a yearly project with a clear finish line appeals.
Choose Storii if the storyteller would rather talk than type, may have limited tech confidence, and you value keeping the real voice and transcript over a printed volume.
Consider a third option if you want the story to stay interactive, not just archived: something a family can ask questions of, in the storyteller's own voice, for years to come.
A third option: Afterlife AI
StoryWorth and Storii both capture a story. Afterlife AI™ goes one step further: it builds an interactive Persona of the person while they are alive, so the memories can be explored in conversation rather than only read or replayed.
You build a Persona by adding memories and chatting with it. The free build gives you 60 memories and 100 conversations, no card required, and it never expires. It is a one-time build budget, not a trial or a countdown.
Afterlife AI also offers consent-based voice preservation: a governed AI voice you create of yourself while alive, with consent that explicitly covers playback for your family later. The voice is created free for everyone; the listening experience is part of the paid plans. Creating the voice is a deliberate, consent-led choice, never automatic, and nothing autoplays in sensitive moments.
Your wishes are fixed at Executor Lock™, the point at which your Persona and voice consent are settled and not changed afterwards, so your family inherits exactly what you intended.
Afterlife AI is an Australian company with Australian-hosted storage, and treats your voice as the sensitive personal information it is.
Paid plans are straightforward: Free to build, Legacy at $14.99 per month, and Eternal at $29.99 per month, with family inheriting the time you have paid for. If you want a book on the shelf, StoryWorth fits. If you want your loved one's voice on call, Storii fits. If you want a living, answerable Persona built with consent, that is where Afterlife AI comes in.