Dear You vs Qeepsake: an honest comparison
Qeepsake and Dear You solve the same problem — parents want to remember their kids' childhoods but don't have time for a baby book — with two different philosophies. Qeepsake pushes questions to you by text; Dear You asks for one line written to your kid, with prompts available when you want them. Here's how they actually compare, including where Qeepsake is the better pick.
Prices and features verified July 2026 — subject to change; see each provider's site for current pricing.
At a glance
| Dear You | Qeepsake | |
|---|---|---|
| Core format | One photo + one line a day, written to each kid | Text-message prompts you reply to |
| Free tier | Unlimited memories & kids, no ads | 7-day trial only |
| Full price | $44.99/yr or $4.99/mo | $47.88 (Essential) / $95.88 (Premium), annual only |
| Prompts | Optional — ask when you're stuck | Up to 4 questions/day via SMS or app |
| Entry limits | None, on any plan | Capped per month by plan tier |
| Printed books | 25% off with the $44.99 annual plan | Extra cost; Premium includes credit up to $61.99 |
| Platforms | iOS | iOS, Android, SMS |
| Founded | 2025, bootstrapped by a parent | 2015, appeared on Shark Tank |
The core difference: pushed prompts vs. your own words
Qeepsake's signature move is the text-message question: "What made [child] laugh today?" arrives on your phone and you reply. For parents who freeze at a blank page, that genuinely works — the question does the remembering for you.
The tradeoff is that your journal becomes shaped by Qeepsake's questions rather than your days. Answer four prompts a day and the archive reads like a very sweet questionnaire. And because prompts arrive as texts, they compete with everything else in your notifications — it's common to answer enthusiastically for a month, then start triaging them away.
Dear You inverts this. The daily ritual is one photo and one line, written to your kid, about whatever actually happened. When you're stuck, you ask Dear You for a prompt — one simple question to shake a memory loose. Questions on demand, not on schedule. The archive that results is in your voice, addressed to your child, which is what makes it worth printing.
Pricing: free core vs. paid-only
Qeepsake has no free tier beyond a 7-day trial and bills annually only — $47.88/year for Essential or $95.88/year for Premium — with entry caps that reset monthly on the lower tier. Dear You's core app is free with no caps at all: unlimited memories, unlimited kids, no ads. The $44.99 annual subscription adds prompts, PDF export, and a discount on the printed book.
Printed books: discounted vs. extra
Both apps treat the printed book as the payoff. Qeepsake's books are a separate purchase, with Premium members receiving a book credit up to $61.99 — on top of the $95.88 subscription. Dear You's annual plan gets you 25% off the printed book of your year. Put plainly: Qeepsake charges a premium subscription and then charges again for the book — Dear You's entire annual plan costs less than Qeepsake's Premium tier alone, and still discounts the keepsake when you're ready to print.
Choose Qeepsake if…
- You want prompts pushed to you by text, several times a day
- You're on Android, or prefer texting to opening an app
- You want video entries and multiple family contributors, and the $95.88 Premium price is fine
Choose Dear You if…
- You want a genuinely free app — unlimited memories and kids, no trial clock
- You want the journal in your own words, written to your kid, with prompts available when you ask
- You want a discount on the printed book baked into your plan: $44.99/year covers the app and 25% off the keepsake
- You're an iPhone family
FAQ
Comparing other memory apps? See Dear You vs Tinybeans or Dear You vs 1 Second Everyday.