The 10 Best Genealogy Services
Where is the Best Place to Discover Your Genealogy Online?
Everyone on earth seems to have an innate, yearning desire to deeply understand who they are and where they came from. One of the most exciting ways to dive into this is through genealogy. Learning about ancestors on both sides of the family, what areas of the world they lived in, and stories from their lives can give an indescribably profound sense of pride and self-worth to an individual.
Genealogy has become a fast growing hobby for people of all ages since it is easier than ever. No longer do you need to go to government agencies for vital documents or "cemetery hop” while trying to learn names and death dates of family members. It used to be a complex puzzle trying to trace your family lineage, but now there are incredible companies that have compiled billions of records and made it possible for people to easily create their own family tree.
Monday, January 13th
2025 Genealogy Service Reviews
FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a free tool available to anyone interested in doing their family history work. Funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch is utilized by over 200 million people per year. The platform is easy to use and understand and each account comes with numerous ways individuals can get help from trained genealogists at no cost. Families can contribute to the same family tree, ensuring information is double-checked and ancestor profiles have as much information as possible. Through FamilySearch, users will have a valuable experience and have more than enough help needed to grow their family tree. We highly recommend starting here to research your genealogy.
LegacyTree Genealogists
Legacy Tree Genealogists is the best place to turn when you are working on an important historical family project and hit a wall. Whether it's trying to learn something about a great grandfather or wanting to find your birth parents, Legacy Tree Genealogists have the resources and training to dig deep and accomplish incredible projects. By requesting a quote and consultation, you can decide on your research goal(s), get pricing, and have an expert start researching for you. Legacy Tree Genealogists have an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and fantastic customer reviews. This is a pricey route for family history work, so it's best saved for unique cases you can't accomplish on your own. However they are the absolute best place to go for professional one-on-one genealogy help.
Ancestry
Ancestry is one of the most well-known and widely-used genealogical sites. They host over 40 billion records and millions of active users on their site. Before choosing one of their three membership options, people can test out Ancestry free for 14 days. Most subscribers are extremely happy with what they've learned through Ancestry and find the family trees easy to add to and build out either by themselves or with the help of other family members. Ancestry has an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and we have given them one of our highest recommendations.
Genealogy Bank
GenealogyBank is a vault of information for people trying to dig deeper into their ancestors' lives. They have thousands of newspapers, historical books, family history records, and census records that you can search through. GenealogyBank isn't somewhere you'll build out your whole family tree, but with their monthly or annual membership you can access tons of information to help you dive deeper into your ancestry. This is an inexpensive platform to utilize, so we highly recommend browsing their records.
Lineages
Lineages is a small team of genealogists who will take on big family history projects to fit individual needs. They have four main packages you can choose from, depending on how many hours it may take to accomplish your research goals. You can read all about Lineages team on their site and explore case studies from previous projects they've accomplished. Lineages has an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau, but not much by way of customer reviews. This seems like a great company, but it is probably a good idea to give them a call and either ask for references or gauge for yourself if this is the right route for you.
Find My Past
Findmypast is a good site for making a family tree. They have billions of records and offer basic services, making it a solid starting place for people interested in genealogy. You can use their services free for 7 days and then choose between month-to-month or yearly memberships. This isn't the most popular choice for genealogy, but we don't see any reason not to take advantage of the information they have. Findmypast hasn't earned our highest rating, but it is still an interesting option for creating your family tree.
The USGenWeb Project
The USGenWeb Project is a hub of links, documents, photos, timelines, cemetery lists, census records, and other resources to help people find more information for their genealogy. It is state and county specific, so you'll need to search a certain area to narrow down what you're looking for. USGenWeb is run by volunteers and open for submissions from the general public, so it's a free site to take advantage of that is ever-evolving and growing. Since this website costs nothing and requires no registration, there's no reason not to add them to your handy list of research tools as you search for more information to grow your family tree. Just don't expect a robust platform that will host your family tree and connect you with living relatives.
My Heritage
MyHeritage was created in 2003 to help people access billions of ancestral records and create their own family trees. They have an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and mostly good reviews from customers, but their services are pricey. Besides their Deep Nostalgia technology that allows you to bring old photos to life, you won't find anything really unique here. There are more robust, inexpensive places to do genealogy online, so we recommend trying one of those instead.
Archives
Archives is a genealogical site that has its glory days in the rearview mirror. The company was purchased by Ancestry and doesn't seem to be getting a lot of updates and platform build-out to continue its growth. The company only offers a 7-day free trial and many customers say it's hard to stop your membership once it gets rolling. Their new parent company, Ancestry, hosts a lot more records than Archives and is one of the most comprehensive genealogical platforms in the world, so it only makes sense to sign up with them instead.
One Great Family
OneGreatFamily began with an aim to connect all family trees and data into one single place. This would make it easier for users to discover other ancestors and get as much information as possible. However, their website is outdated and riddled with broken links, making it impossible to accomplish much. Considering this is a paid platform, we can't imagine why anyone would choose to sign up with OneGreatFamily rather than a higher-rated, robust platform like some of the others on our list. Skip OneGreatFamily and look elsewhere when you're starting your genealogy research.
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Through genealogy websites you can not only learn the names of the people in your family tree, but you can usually see pictures of them and view any documents that are attached to their records. You could spend days pouring over journal entries, news articles, and contributions from other family members about an ancestor. To learn about the people who paved the way for your existence is remarkable and will likely teach you more about yourself than you can imagine.
These online genealogy platforms provide you with instant access to vast databases of historical records, DNA databases, and family trees from the comfort of your own home. This accessibility makes genealogical research much more feasible for people with varying levels of experience and resources.
Once you find an online platform that gives you all the resources you need to do your own genealogy, you'll understand why this pastime is so addicting for people. Incredible things have transpired for people who have looked for lost family members and been able to reconnect through genealogy work. All it takes through most companies is to set up an account and get started.
When deciding which online genealogy service to spend your time and energy with, take the following things into consideration:
- Variety of information. Does the company have a plethora of information that you easily search online? What types of records do they keep on file that you can view? How does the layout of all the information compare to other genealogy sites? You'll want to easily be able to sort through files and keep things organized.
- Features. Can you easily create your own family tree? Or can you search for a family member and easily get connected with a tree that has been started for you? Are other family members able to contribute to your ancestors' information through uploading documents, photos, and stories?
- Cost. Some of the best genealogy sites are completely free. But, there are valuable resources on today's popular paid sites as well. Does the company charge a one-time fee for access to your family tree? Or do you have to pay a subscription? What happens to your family tree if you cancel your membership? How does the price of one genealogy site compare to another?
Ready to research your genealogy? Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked the best places for you to get started on your personal family tree. We know this information will help you make life-changing discoveries that give you a deeper sense of who you are and an appreciation for those who came before you.
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