Choose keeps if…
You want to remember more than the camera caught: the exact thing they said, the sound of their voice and what being their parent felt like — kept alongside the photos and videos.
family memory apps compared
The right home for the way you remember.
FamilyAlbum, Tinybeans, Qeepsake and keeps all preserve family memories — but they begin with different kinds of moments. Here's the honest difference.
Reviewed 3 September 2026 · 8 minute read
the short answer
Start with what you're afraid of forgetting.
If it's mainly the photos, start with FamilyAlbum. If you want milestones in a visual journal, look at Tinybeans. If prompts and a printed book will keep you going, Qeepsake is compelling. If it's the things they said, the sound of their voice and the story around the photo, that's what keeps is built for.
side by side
Four good apps. Four different centres of gravity.
| What matters | keepsprivate family journal | FamilyAlbumfamily photo sharing | Tinybeansvisual family journal | Qeepsakeprompted baby book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Keeping the whole story — words, voices, photos and videos | Sharing lots of family photos and videos | A visual diary with milestones and family updates | Building a journal from regular questions |
| How it starts | Capture whatever just happened, in your own words | Upload photos and videos | Add moments to a calendar-style journal | Reply to prompts or write a free-form entry |
| Voice memories | Record, play back and transcribe voice notes | Video-led rather than voice-note-led | Photo-and-video-led rather than voice-note-led | Writing-and-prompt-led rather than voice-note-led |
| How memories return | On This Day and related moments put together automatically | Monthly timeline and compilation films | Calendar view and memory revisiting | Digital journals and printed storybooks |
| Family involvement | One private archive that invited family can add to | Private album with family comments and reactions | Private sharing, comments, reactions and email updates | Family contributors on its Premium plan |
| Price approach | 30 days free, then £4.99/month or £39.99/year per family | A free core service with optional paid tiers | Free access and a paid Tinybeans+ subscription | 7-day trial, then paid annual membership tiers |
On a phone, swipe the table to compare all four apps.
pick by the job
Which family memory app is best for you?
Choose FamilyAlbum if…
Your main job is privately sharing a high volume of photos and videos with relatives, and a generous free tier matters most.
Choose Tinybeans if…
You like a visual calendar, milestone tracking and an established photo journal that keeps distant family updated.
Choose Qeepsake if…
You want questions to prompt your writing and your end goal is turning those entries into a printed baby or family book.
where keeps is different
A photograph remembers the scene. A voice remembers the person.
keeps is not trying to replace your camera roll or turn memory-keeping into homework. It gives the little story a home: a sentence typed while it's fresh, a recording of how they say a word, the nursery painting, and the photo that only makes sense with the story attached.
Over time, related keeps gather into collections and old moments come back through On This Day. Your invited family adds their side too, so the archive holds more than one person's view of childhood.
common questions
A little more help choosing.
What is the best app for recording things my child says?
keeps is designed around exactly that kind of moment. You can save the words as text, capture the surrounding story, or record their voice and keep a transcript alongside it.
What is the best app for sharing lots of baby photos?
FamilyAlbum is the strongest fit when high-volume private photo and video sharing is the main requirement. keeps is a better fit when photos are only one part of the family story you want to preserve.
What is the best digital baby book app?
Qeepsake suits parents who want regular prompts and a printed book. Tinybeans offers a visual diary and milestones. keeps suits parents who want a living family archive that continues beyond the baby-book years.
How we compared them
We're the people who make keeps, so you should know our point of view. We checked each product's own public feature and pricing pages and described the job each appears designed to do. Features and prices change; verify the latest details with FamilyAlbum, Tinybeans and Qeepsake. Last checked 3 September 2026.
try keeps for yourself
Keep one thing they said today.
30 days free. No card required. One subscription covers your whole family.