Comparison
Both capture family stories. One has your parent recording alone on their phone over months — you end up with a book. The other has you sitting down together for one afternoon — you end up with a film. Here is the honest comparison.
Remento is a story-gathering app that sends weekly prompts and turns short solo recordings into a hardcover book with QR codes linking to audio clips.
Every week, Remento prompts your parent with a question. They open the app on their own phone and record a short audio answer — sometimes a video. Recordings are transcribed automatically. Over months, the answers build up. At the end, Remento binds them into a hardcover book. Each story has a QR code that links back to the original recording.
Remento appeared on Shark Tank and took a Mark Cuban investment — $300,000 for 10% of the company. Pricing is around $99 per year, with a Mother's Day discount code (THANKSMOM) that brings the first book down to about $84.
Lived is a cinematic video interview platform. You sit down with someone you love, Lived guides the conversation, and we edit the video into a beautiful 8 to 12 minute documentary film.
The whole experience takes one afternoon — about 45 minutes to an hour of conversation. No app download. No equipment. Your parent does not touch anything — they just talk. You sit beside them holding the phone. Questions appear on your screen, not theirs. A few days later, the finished film arrives.
Lived is $79, one-time. No subscription.
| Lived | Remento | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Cinematic documentary film (8–12 min) | Hardcover book with QR-linked audio clips |
| Format | Video | Text + short audio clips |
| How it works | One guided video conversation together | Weekly prompts, recorded alone on phone |
| Time commitment | One afternoon | Several months of recurring prompts |
| Who sits with the storyteller? | You do — that's the gift | No one — they record alone |
| App download required? | No — browser only | Yes — Remento app |
| Price | $79 one-time | $99 / year |
| Shared with others | Private link to the film | Printed book copies |
Remento is a clever product. A book with QR codes linking to your parent's voice is a beautiful object. But if you read between the lines, the Remento experience is solo. Your parent gets a prompt. They open the app. They record on their phone. Alone.
Lived is the opposite. It is together. You sit on the couch beside them. You read the questions. You laugh when they laugh. You are in the room when they pause and say something they have never said before. That is the thing no book can hold.
A book captures what someone said. A film captures how they said it — the way they lean forward when the story gets exciting, the way their voice softens when they talk about someone they love.
Unlike Remento, Lived requires no app download, no months of piecemeal recordings, and no solo time on the phone. Unlike Remento, Lived is a video you can press play on at Thanksgiving. And unlike Remento, Lived is the experience itself — the afternoon you spent listening.
You will not get a Hollywood crew. The lighting will not be perfect. The framing might be a little off. But when your dad pauses mid-sentence and his eyes go somewhere far away — that's the moment no studio could have planned, and no book could have captured.
Lived produces a cinematic documentary film from one guided conversation you have together. Remento produces a hardcover book with QR codes that link to short audio clips, based on prompts your parent records alone on their phone over months. The biggest difference is the experience: with Lived, someone sits with the storyteller. With Remento, they record alone.
Remento is a legitimate, well-funded company with a Shark Tank investment from Mark Cuban. It is a thoughtful product, especially if you want a printed book with audio clips. But investment does not determine the right product for your family. The better question is: do you want a book or a film? Alone or together? That is what decides this.
Lived is $79 one-time — no subscription. Remento is about $99 per year, ongoing. Over two years, Lived costs $79 and Remento costs $198. Over five years, Lived still costs $79.
Remento records short audio clips by default. Some prompts allow video, but the final product is a book with audio QR codes — not a film. If you want a video you can watch together, Lived is built for that. If you want a printed book with audio clips, Remento fits.
Lived is built for sitting down together in person. That shared afternoon is part of the gift. If you cannot be in the same room, Remento can work at a distance since it is phone-based — but you lose the experience of being there while the stories are told.
Give someone you love the chance to share theirs.
Give the gift of a story $79, one-time. No subscription.