Dear Moment vs Tinybeans
Short answer. Dear Moment costs $39.99/year, about half the price of Tinybeans+ ($74.99/year). Both are private family journals with voice notes and email updates for family. Dear Moment has no ads anywhere, stores your data in the EU and never uses it to train AI. Tinybeans is the better choice if you rely on its milestone tracker or want printed photo books today, or if you need a free plan and can live with 20 uploads a month and ads.
We make Dear Moment, so we're not neutral. Every fact about Tinybeans links to Tinybeans' own pages or its published results, and we say where Tinybeans is better. If something is out of date, email hello@dearmoment.app and we'll fix it.
Side by side
| Dear Moment | Tinybeans | |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly price | $39.99 · £39.99 · €39.99 | $74.99 · £69.99 · €79.99 (Tinybeans+) |
| Monthly price | $5.99 · £5.99 · €6.99 | $7.99 · £7.99 · €8.99 |
| Free option | 14-day free trial with every feature | Free plan: 20 uploads a month, 5GB, with ads |
| Ads | None, on any plan | Yes: on the free plan, and Tinybeans' own articles and emails on Tinybeans+ |
| Voice notes | Yes, on every plan, transcribed automatically | Yes, on Tinybeans+ |
| Photos, videos and written notes | Yes (videos up to 3 minutes) | Yes |
| How family follow along | Private link with no app or account; email digest weekly, every two weeks or monthly | App, or daily or weekly email updates |
| Milestone tracker | No | Yes |
| Photo books | Coming soon | Yes |
| Where data is stored | EU (Frankfurt) | US |
| AI training | Never used to train AI | May use machine learning to analyse your content; training not stated |
| Export | Everything, on request | Tinybeans+ only, up to 3 years at a time |
Prices from the US, UK and Irish App Stores. Sources are listed at the end.
Where Dear Moment is better
About half the price
Dear Moment's yearly plan costs $35 less than Tinybeans+ in the US, £30 less in the UK and €40 less in euro countries. There is one plan, with every feature included.
No ads anywhere
Tinybeans relied on advertising for years, and its free plan still shows ads around your journal. Even on Tinybeans+, Tinybeans' own articles and marketing emails continue. Dear Moment has no ads on any plan.
Voice notes you can read
Both apps let you save voice notes. Dear Moment includes them on every plan and writes out a transcript, so a bedtime song or a grandparent's story can be read as well as played.
Privacy you can check
Dear Moment stores data in the EU and never uses your memories to train AI. Tinybeans' service is maintained in the United States, and its privacy policy says it may use machine learning to analyse the content you upload.
Family without the admin
Each person you share with gets a private link that opens in a browser, so grandparents don't need to install anything or remember a password. You choose how often their email digest arrives.
Where Tinybeans is better
- Milestones. Tinybeans has a milestone tracker. Dear Moment doesn't track milestones.
- Photo books today. Tinybeans sells printed photo books now. Dear Moment's photo book is still coming.
- A free plan. Tinybeans has one, limited to 20 uploads a month with ads. Dear Moment has a 14-day free trial and no free plan after it.
- Track record. Tinybeans is more established. Dear Moment is newer.
Switching from Tinybeans
Export first, while you still have Tinybeans+, because bulk export is a Tinybeans+ feature. Export from the Tinybeans website, no more than 3 years at a time, and download the emailed links within 5 days. Tinybeans doesn't say whether captions and comments are included, so save the ones that matter. Our step-by-step guide to leaving Tinybeans covers every step, including downgrading instead of deleting.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Dear Moment if you want an ad-free private diary with voice notes, family who can follow along from a link, and your data in the EU, for about half the price of Tinybeans+.
- Choose Tinybeans if the milestone tracker or printed photo books matter most, or if you want a free plan and don't mind the upload limit and ads.
Looking at other options too? See our guide to seven Tinybeans alternatives.
Questions
Is Dear Moment cheaper than Tinybeans?
Yes. Dear Moment costs $39.99 a year or $5.99 a month. Tinybeans+ costs $74.99 a year or $7.99 a month. In the UK it is £39.99 against £69.99 a year, and in euro countries €39.99 against €79.99.
Does Tinybeans have ads?
Yes. The free Tinybeans plan shows ads around your journal. Tinybeans+ removes ads in the app, but Tinybeans' own articles and marketing emails continue. Dear Moment has no ads on any plan.
Do Dear Moment and Tinybeans both have voice notes?
Yes. Tinybeans offers voice notes on its paid Tinybeans+ plan. Dear Moment includes voice notes on every plan and transcribes them automatically, so you can read a spoken memory as well as play it.
Can grandparents use Dear Moment without an app?
Yes. Each family member gets a private link that opens in a browser, with no app to install and no account to create. They can also get an email digest of new moments every week, every two weeks or every month.
How do I move from Tinybeans to Dear Moment?
Export your photos from Tinybeans first, while you still have Tinybeans+, because bulk export is a Tinybeans+ feature. Export from the Tinybeans website, no more than 3 years at a time, and download the emailed links within 5 days. Then keep the export as your archive and add the moments you care most about to Dear Moment.
Sources
- Tinybeans: Tinybeans+ price and features, free plan limits, ads on Tinybeans+, email updates, export, privacy policy, App Store (UK, Ireland)
- Tinybeans price rise and advertising: FY24 results, Mi-3 interview with the CEO
- Dear Moment: pricing and FAQ, privacy policy, comparison with Tinybeans, FamilyAlbum and TinyNest
Try Dear Moment free for 14 days. Then $5.99/month or $39.99/year. Cancel anytime before your trial ends and you won't be charged.