Start a Fablr memoir
Tell Mel makes a website. Fablr makes the book, and the whole family helps write it.
Both hold a real spoken conversation that follows the story. Tell Mel phones the storyteller and builds a private Living Memoir website. Fablr talks in a browser or the app, invites family and friends to add their memories, and prints a full-color hardcover.
Fablr vs. Tell Mel: which should you choose?
Choose Fablr if you want a book on the shelf that the whole family helped write. Fablr is a voice life-story service at fablr.ai. It holds a guided conversation, remembers earlier visits, invites the people in the stories to add their own memories, and prints a large-format, full-color hardcover with a code on each recorded chapter that plays it in the storyteller’s voice.
Choose Tell Mel if the storyteller should be interviewed by telephone, or in one of its 10 languages, and a private website with the chapters and audio is the keepsake you want.
When Tell Mel is the better pickTell Mel calls the storyteller, so there is no app, browser, or internet to manage on their side. It places calls in 26 countries, and its Starter plan, at $39 for 2 hours, is a lower way to try it.
The full comparison.
Tell Mel is the closest service to Fablr on the conversation itself. The difference is what the family keeps: a website renewed each year, or a printed book.
| Feature | Fablr | Tell Mel |
|---|---|---|
| A real spoken conversationBoth ask the natural next question in the moment and keep continuity from one conversation to the next.Follow-up questions as you talk | ||
| Interviews by telephoneTell Mel calls the storyteller, interviews in 10 languages, and places calls in 26 countries. Fablr’s conversations happen in a web browser on a phone, tablet, or computer, or in the optional iPhone and iPad app. | browser or app | 10 languages |
| Printed hardcover bookFablr’s full-color 8.5″×11″ hardcover is included with the $149 plan, and optional on monthly ($79 up to 300 pages, $99 up to 480, plus shipping). Tell Mel delivers a website; its blog says hardcover books are not included in the price of the service. | included with $149 | not in the price |
| The Chorus™Fablr notices the people in the stories and invites them to add their own memories to the same book. Tell Mel’s public pages describe choosing who can read and listen to the chapters; they do not describe family adding memories of their own.Family & friends help write the story | family reads and listens | |
| Hear it in their voiceFablr prints a code on every recorded chapter that plays it in the storyteller’s voice. Tell Mel keeps the original audio with each chapter on its website. | scan codes in the book | on the website |
| Conversation timeFablr monthly includes 3 hours of conversation a month, about one visit a week, with extra hours at $10 each; the $149 plan includes 15 hours. Tell Mel’s first year includes 2, 12, or 24 hours by plan, and extra hours are $10 each. | 3 hrs a monthor 15 hours with $149 | 2, 12 or 24 hoursfirst year |
| Keeping the storiesFablr has no yearly fee to keep the stories; they stay in your account, and the family website stays up free too. Tell Mel’s membership renews from $39 a year for website hosting plus 2 new interview hours. | No yearly fee | From $39 a yearhosting + 2 hours |
| Money-back guaranteeFablr’s $149 plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the first month of monthly is refundable within 30 days. Tell Mel offers a 14-day satisfaction guarantee. | 30 days | 14 days |
| PriceFablr is $25 a month (cancel anytime in one click, book optional), or $149 once with the full-color hardcover, which never renews. Tell Mel is $39 (Starter), $129 (Standard), or $219 (Premium) for the first year. | $25/mo or $149 oncecancel monthly anytime | $39, $129 or $219first year |
Tell Mel details come from tellmel.ai and tellmel.ai/pricing, checked October 18, 2026, and the hardcover line from its blog post comparing StoryWorth, Remento and Tell Mel, checked October 7, 2026. Product details, pricing, and plan terms can change; check each provider's site for the latest information.
Fablr vs. Tell Mel: quick answers
Is Fablr better than Tell Mel?
Does Tell Mel include a printed book?
How does the price compare?
What happens to the stories if we stop paying?
Which one interviews by phone?
What is the money-back guarantee?
A book they can hold, written with the whole family.
Start for $25 a month, or get the whole story and the book for $149.
Start a Fablr memoir