Cost
LifePages
RoundOne flat £44, about $56.
StoryTerrace
Several multiples of any subscription in this category, quoted per project.
Head to Head
LifePages vs StoryTerrace
These are not really the same product. LifePages gives a storyteller fifty questions and a book at the end; StoryTerrace sends a professional writer to interview them and writes the memoir for them. The price difference is several multiples, and so is the completion rate.
LifePages
getlifepages.com
£44 (about $56)
Fifty guided questions answered by typing or speaking at the storyteller’s own pace, printed as a hardback.
2 rounds won · our pick
StoryTerrace
Premium, quoted per project
A professional ghostwriter interviews the storyteller and writes the memoir for them.
3 rounds won
The verdict
LifePages wins
LifePages wins for most families on cost and on voice — the words in the book are the storyteller’s own. StoryTerrace wins decisively on completion: the work is the writer’s rather than your mother’s, and a book that gets finished beats a cheaper one that does not. If the budget is genuinely there and the deadline is real, buy StoryTerrace.
How we compared these
Desk research against published information and public customer reports read in September 2026. StoryTerrace prices per project rather than publishing a list price, so the cost comparison is directional rather than exact.
5 rounds
Round by round
Each round is one thing that actually decides the choice. The overall winner is not always the one that wins the most rounds — some rounds matter more, and we say which.
Does the book get finished?
LifePages
Depends entirely on the storyteller answering the questions. That is the failure mode for every service of this kind.
StoryTerrace
RoundThe highest completion rate in the category, for the obvious reason that the writing is not the customer’s job.
Whose voice is on the page
LifePages
RoundThe storyteller’s own words and phrasing, tidied for readability.
StoryTerrace
A professional writer’s craft, shaped from interviews. Better prose; less recognisably them.
Effort required from the family
LifePages
Someone usually needs to nudge, encourage and occasionally type on their behalf.
StoryTerrace
RoundScheduling interviews and little else. The heavy lifting is contracted out.
If the storyteller is unwell or short of time
LifePages
A self-paced set of questions still requires them to do the work at some point.
StoryTerrace
RoundThe right answer when there is a real deadline — an illness, a milestone birthday, a limited window.
In fairness to the runner-up
When you should choose the StoryTerrace instead
Buy StoryTerrace when the budget is real and the deadline matters. A ghostwritten memoir that exists is worth more than a self-paced one that never got past question eight, and if the storyteller is unwell or simply will never do homework, this is the only option on our lists that reliably produces a finished book.
Questions
What people ask about this comparison
- Is StoryTerrace worth the money?
- If the alternative is a book that never gets written, yes. It has the highest completion rate in this category because the writing is done by a professional rather than by the storyteller. If your parent will happily answer questions on their own, you are paying several multiples for something you did not need.
- Does a ghostwritten memoir still sound like my parent?
- It sounds like a professional writer working from their interviews — better prose, less recognisably their phrasing. Whether that is a gain or a loss is genuinely a matter of taste, and worth deciding before you spend the money.
- How much does StoryTerrace cost?
- It quotes per project rather than publishing a fixed price, and sits well above every subscription service in this category. Ask for a quote before comparing it to anything else on price.