The Best Genealogy Websites Compared (Free and Paid)

There is no single best genealogy website — there's a best one for your next research problem. The short version: FamilySearch is the best free site and the right starting point for everyone; Ancestry has the largest overall record collection and the biggest DNA database; MyHeritage leads for continental Europe and photo tools; Findmypast owns British and Irish research; and Fold3 and Newspapers.com are the specialist add-ons for military records and obituaries.

This guide compares them honestly — no affiliate links, no "deals," just what each site is genuinely good at, what it costs in broad strokes, and a free-first strategy that keeps subscriptions short and useful. Whichever site you use, the relatives it surfaces still need naming — the free relationship calculator on our homepage translates any "great-grandmother's nephew" into the proper term instantly.

The comparison table

FamilySearch: the free foundation

Run as a nonprofit, FamilySearch offers billions of indexed records, digitized films you can browse, a research wiki, and a collaborative world tree — all free. Its census, vital records, and immigration indexes overlap heavily with what paid sites sell.

Choose it when: you're starting, you're verifying, or you're on any budget including zero. Its limits: the shared tree is communally editable, some images are restricted to affiliate libraries, and its hinting/automation is less polished than Ancestry's.

Ancestry: the big commercial engine

Ancestry has the largest total record collection (US strength especially), the slickest research experience — shaky-leaf hints genuinely accelerate easy lines — and by far the largest consumer DNA database, which matters because matches only appear if relatives tested on the same platform.

Choose it when: you're doing sustained US research, you want hint-driven speed, or DNA matching is central. Its limits: meaningful cost, trees silo behind subscriptions, and much of its bread-and-butter content (censuses, vitals) exists free elsewhere. Before subscribing, read our guide to using Ancestry for free — library editions and free indexes cover more than people expect.

MyHeritage: the international one

MyHeritage's record strength tilts European — Scandinavian, German, Dutch, French, and Jewish collections are notably good — and its DNA customer base is more international than Ancestry's, which helps if your cousins live in Oslo rather than Ohio. Its photo tools (colorization, enhancement, animation) are the best in the field, and its tree-matching tech is aggressive and useful.

Choose it when: your lines leave North America early, or relatives abroad might have tested there. Its limits: smaller US collection; the free tree caps at a modest size before upsells begin.

Findmypast: the British Isles specialist

Findmypast holds the exclusive online home of the 1921 census of England and Wales, the best Irish record aggregation, and deep British parish registers, plus the 1939 Register. For UK/Irish research it beats the generalists clearly.

Choose it when: your research crosses the Atlantic eastward — pair it with the free layers in our UK census guide. Its limits: thin for US research; pay-per-view credits sting if you browse carelessly.

Fold3 and Newspapers.com: the specialists

Fold3 (Ancestry-owned) digitizes US military records — service files, pension applications, unit documents — that otherwise mean a National Archives request. Newspapers.com (also Ancestry-owned) is the largest newspaper archive; for obituary-dense research it's transformative. Both are classic "subscribe for one focused month" sites, and both are often free through public libraries.

American Ancestors (NEHGS) deserves its niche mention: for New England and early American families, its journal-quality databases are unmatched.

The free-first strategy

Paying is fine — paying first is the mistake. The efficient order:

1. Build the skeleton free. FamilySearch + the census + Find a Grave + free newspapers, per our free websites list.
2. List what's actually blocked. Specific records you've confirmed exist behind a paywall — a 1921 census household, a pension file, an obituary.
3. Subscribe surgically. One site, one month, work the list hard, cancel guilt-free. A focused month beats a drifting year.
4. Use the library bypass. Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and often Fold3/Newspapers.com are free inside thousands of libraries.

One more universal truth: every site's relationship labels — Ancestry's "2nd cousin 1x removed" DNA estimates, tree-hint kinships — deserve verification. When a site claims someone is your first cousin twice removed, check the actual path with the free CousinChart calculator before you write it into the permanent record.

Where should your master tree live?

Records get all the attention, but the tree question matters just as much — because these sites treat trees very differently, and moving house later is a chore.

Ancestry gives you a personal tree, private or public, that only you and people you invite can edit. Hints wire records straight into it, which is the site's real magic. If your subscription lapses, attached premium records lock again — but the tree itself stays yours, forever, on the free account.

FamilySearch runs one enormous shared tree for the whole world. You don't own "your" branch — anyone can edit your great-grandmother's dates tomorrow, and occasionally someone does. That openness makes it brilliant for collaboration and maddening for control; attach your sources and it mostly self-corrects.

MyHeritage works like Ancestry — private personal trees plus automated Smart Matches — but the free tier caps your tree at 250 people, a limit two serious weekends will blow past.

WikiTree earns a mention here too: completely free, one collaborative tree like FamilySearch, with an unusually strict sourcing culture that keeps its quality high.

Whichever home you pick, protect the work. Every major site exports a GEDCOM file — the universal family-tree format — so download one regularly. Photos and record images don't travel inside a GEDCOM, so save copies of those separately. Your research should never be hostage to one company's pricing page.

Paying smart when the time comes

When a paid month genuinely earns its place, a few habits keep the cost sane:

• Go monthly, not annual. The surgical strategy means subscribing for a project, not a lifestyle. A monthly plan you cancel on schedule beats an annual plan you forget about.
• Check the tier before you pay. Ancestry's cheapest plan covers US records only; a trail that crosses an ocean needs the international tier. Its top bundle folds in Fold3 and basic Newspapers.com access — good value only if military files and obituaries are both on your blocked list.
• Time it to a sale. Genealogy subscriptions and DNA kits discount predictably — Black Friday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and DNA Day (April 25) are the reliable windows. If your list can wait a few weeks, let it.
• Mind pay-per-view expiry. Findmypast's credits are handy for grabbing two or three records without subscribing, but credits carry expiry dates — buy small batches.

None of this changes the order of operations: free foundation first, paid month second.

FAQ

What is the best genealogy website overall?

For value, FamilySearch — it's free and covers the foundations. For sheer collection size and polish, Ancestry. The honest answer is that serious researchers use FamilySearch constantly and add paid sites in short, targeted stints.

Is Ancestry worth paying for?

If you're researching US families actively for months at a time, its collection and hints justify the cost. If you're occasional, use the free indexes, the 14-day trial, or Ancestry Library Edition at your public library first — many researchers never need more.

Which genealogy site is best for British or Irish ancestors?

Findmypast, clearly — the 1921 census, deep parish registers, and the strongest Irish sets. Do the free groundwork first: FamilySearch and FreeCEN index the 1841–1911 censuses, and Ireland's 1901/1911 censuses are free at the National Archives of Ireland.

Which site has the best DNA database?

Ancestry's is the largest, meaning the most matches for most testers with American roots. MyHeritage's skews more international. Remember that DNA match labels are estimates — a "2nd–3rd cousin" match fits several relationships, which is exactly what a relationship calculator helps untangle.

Can I use these paid sites for free?

Substantially, yes: Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest at public libraries, Fold3 and Newspapers.com through many library systems, free record indexes on Ancestry and Findmypast, free trials, and free portal access to several premium sites at FamilySearch Centers.

Do I need more than one genealogy website?

Eventually, yes — their collections genuinely differ. But sequence matters: free foundation first, then the one paid site your specific blocked records live behind. Two subscriptions running simultaneously is almost always one too many.

Match the site to the problem

The best genealogy website is a rotating answer: FamilySearch today, a month of Findmypast when the trail hits Liverpool, Fold3 when the pension file beckons. Build free, subscribe surgically, cancel cheerfully. And whichever site delivers your next discovery, bring the relationship back to the free CousinChart calculator — it names every cousin, removed or otherwise, so your tree stays as accurate as your sources.