Guide

Best Family Video Interview Services in 2026

More and more families are finding ways to capture stories on video. Whether it's a parent sharing childhood memories or a grandparent recounting how they met, the desire to hear and preserve these stories is growing. This guide covers the main options available today.

The landscape

The market for family story recording spans from free community projects to professional documentary productions costing upwards of $80,000. In between, a growing number of platforms make it easier for everyday families to capture meaningful conversations on their own terms.

The options differ in format (video, audio, or text), output (edited film, raw recording, or printed book), time commitment (one afternoon or twelve months), and price. There is no single best choice for everyone. The right platform depends on what you value most: a polished video, a physical book, a public archive, or the most comprehensive production possible.

We reviewed six approaches, from free to premium, so you can find the one that fits.

The platforms

Lived

$79 one-time

Best for: Families who want a professional documentary film from a guided conversation

How it works: You sit down together with someone you love. Lived guides the conversation with thoughtful questions that appear on your screen. Your phone captures the video — no app to download. A few days later, you receive a professionally edited documentary film.

Output: An 8-12 minute professionally edited documentary film with captions, beautiful background music, and documentary-style editing. Dead space and false starts removed, audio cleaned and enhanced. Includes a private lifetime viewing page and a shareable highlight clip.

Strengths

  • Done in one afternoon
  • No app or special equipment needed
  • Professional editing included in the price
  • Affordable compared to professional services
  • Guided conversation — you don't need to know what to ask
  • Storyteller doesn't need to be tech-savvy

Limitations

  • Video only — no printed book
  • Requires being in the same room (no remote recording yet)
  • Shorter output than professional documentaries
givelived.com

StoryWorth

$99/year

Best for: People who enjoy writing and want a printed book of their stories

How it works: Each week for a year, StoryWorth sends an email prompt. The person writes their response — a paragraph, a page, whatever feels right. At the end of the year, all the responses are compiled into a hardcover book.

Output: A printed hardcover book with written stories and photos

Strengths

  • Well-established, trusted platform
  • Beautiful physical book as the end product
  • Good for people who express themselves through writing
  • Family members can suggest questions

Limitations

  • Text only — no video or audio
  • Requires a year-long commitment
  • Typing-heavy, which limits some people
  • Annual subscription model
storyworth.com · Detailed comparison with Lived

Remento

$99/year or $12/month

Best for: Families who want a printed book with video and audio clips alongside it

How it works: Remento sends prompts and the storyteller can respond with video, audio, or text using their phone. Recordings are transcribed automatically. At the end, everything is compiled into a hardcover book with QR codes that link to the video and audio clips.

Output: A hardcover book with written stories and QR codes linking to video and audio recordings

Strengths

  • Storyteller doesn't need to download an app
  • QR codes bridge printed book to video/audio
  • Family members can collaborate and add questions
  • Flexible — video, audio, or text responses

Limitations

  • Primary output is still a printed book
  • Video clips are raw and unedited
  • Subscription pricing
  • QR code experience depends on the viewer having a phone
remento.co

StoryCorps

Free

Best for: Oral history preservation and contributing to a public archive

How it works: StoryCorps operates recording booths in select U.S. cities and offers a free app for recording conversations anywhere. Recordings are archived at the Library of Congress. The focus is on audio conversations between two people.

Output: An unedited audio recording, archived publicly at the Library of Congress

Strengths

  • Completely free
  • Important cultural mission
  • Professional booth experience (where available)
  • Recordings preserved at the Library of Congress

Limitations

  • Audio only — no video
  • Recordings are unedited
  • Booth availability is limited and U.S.-focused
  • App recordings require your own quiet environment
storycorps.org · Detailed comparison with Lived

StoryKeeper

$25.99 - $229

Best for: Families wanting a printed book with flexible pricing and no subscription

How it works: StoryKeeper sends weekly prompts. The storyteller responds with video, audio, or text. An AI editor plus a human editor compile everything into a hardcover book. QR codes in the book link to the original recordings.

Output: Two printed hardcover books plus an eBook, with QR codes linking to video and audio recordings

Strengths

  • No subscription — one-time purchase
  • Flexible pricing tiers
  • Human editor reviews the content
  • Multiple recording formats accepted

Limitations

  • Still primarily a book product
  • Video and audio are raw, accessed via QR codes
  • Newer platform with a smaller track record
storykeeper.com

Professional Video Biography Services

$8,500 - $80,000+

Best for: Families who want a comprehensive, feature-length documentary with full production quality

How it works: A professional crew — typically a director, cinematographer, and editor — conducts multiple interviews over days or weeks. The production includes professional lighting, sound, B-roll footage, archival material, and full post-production editing.

Output: A 30-90 minute documentary film, often with supplementary materials like photo montages or extended interviews

Strengths

  • Highest possible production quality
  • Comprehensive coverage of a life
  • Professional storytelling and direction
  • Archival-grade output

Limitations

  • Extremely expensive
  • Weeks or months of production time
  • Scheduling complexity with crew and subject
  • Can feel formal or intimidating for some people

Examples: Family Legacy Video, Family Tree Video

Side-by-side comparison

Platform Price Format Output Time Best for
Lived $79 one-time Video Edited documentary film One afternoon Professional video from a conversation
StoryWorth $99/year Text Printed book 12 months Writers who want a book
Remento $99/yr or $12/mo Video, audio, text Book + QR to clips Ongoing Book with video extras
StoryCorps Free Audio Unedited recording One conversation Oral history archiving
StoryKeeper $25.99 - $229 Video, audio, text Books + QR to clips Weeks to months Flexible book with no subscription
Professional $8,500 - $80,000+ Video Feature documentary Weeks to months Comprehensive documentary

How to choose

The best platform depends on what matters most to you. Here are some common starting points:

A note on our perspective

This guide is published by Lived, so we want to be transparent: we believe video is the most powerful way to capture someone's story. Hearing a person's voice, seeing their expressions, watching them pause and smile before they speak — that is something a printed page cannot replicate.

That said, every platform on this list serves a real need. Some people express themselves better in writing. Some want a physical book on the shelf. Some want to contribute to a public archive. The best choice is the one that actually gets used.

If you are specifically looking for a way to capture stories on video and receive a finished, edited film — that is what Lived was built to do.

Everyone has a story worth telling

Give someone you love the chance to share theirs.

Give the gift of a story