Genealogy Online Services

The "where do I start" pages: paid record subscription giants, the free LDS-run baseline, and the collaborative free trees. Pair these with Self-Hosted Document Management (Paperless-ngx) for scanned vital records and certificates, OCR & Vision for typed-text indexing, and Genealogy Document Scanning & HTR for handwritten records.

The big four (paid record databases)

• ★ ★ Ancestry — the largest US-flavored database; 30+ billion records, the deepest US census / vital records collections, ThruLines DNA matches, and Newspapers.com / Fold3 / Find a Grave under the same parent. Subscription only — US Discovery $25/mo, World Explorer $40/mo, All Access $50/mo. Lock-in is real: trees and hints live on Ancestry.com and only export via GEDCOM (lossy for media + sources).
• ★ MyHeritage — strong on European records (Scandinavia, Germany, Israel), best-in-class photo enhancement / colorization (paid extras), Theory of Family Relativity DNA tool. Free tier with 250-person tree limit; Complete plan ~$30/mo. Aggressive marketing but the data is solid and they accept DNA uploads from competitors.
• Findmypast — paid; the UK & Irish records leader (1841–1921 censuses, parish records, military). ~$15/mo Britain, $20/mo World. Smaller than Ancestry but irreplaceable for British Isles research.
• TheGenealogist — paid UK; tithe maps, lloyd george domesday survey, military / occupational lists Ancestry doesn't carry. Niche but deep.

The free everyone-default

• ★ ★ ★ FamilySearch — free, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). World's largest collection of free genealogical records: 8+ billion indexed names, microfilmed parish records from every continent, the FamilySearch Wiki (research guides by locality), Family Tree (one shared collaborative tree of all humanity), and Memories (photos / stories / audio). Free account, no credit card. The honest caveat: it's LDS-affiliated and the shared tree means anyone can edit "your" ancestors — but the records access alone makes it indispensable. In 2024–2026 it's expanded AI-assisted indexing and Full Text Search across handwritten records.

Free collaborative trees

• ★ ★ WikiTree — free; "single tree of humanity" model with strict sourcing rules, an Honor Code, and a real research community. Profiles are owned by Profile Managers; living people are private. The pick if FamilySearch's openness bothers you and you want a serious wiki-style tree.
• Geni — free with paid Pro tier; also single-tree model, owned by MyHeritage. Less active community than WikiTree.
• Werelate — wiki-flavored; tiny but free.
• Forebears — free aggregator of surnames + records + maps; great for surname distribution research.

Regional / specialty hosted

• Geneanet — paid + free tier; the French / Belgian default with growing presence in DE/IT/ES. Free uploads, paid premium for full record search. Recently added DNA matching.
• Filae — paid French records; competing with Geneanet.
• Heredis Online — sync companion to Heredis desktop.
• Storied (formerly OneGreatFamily) — paid + free; focuses on stories + tree.
• CousinsConnected — newer DNA-aware collaboration tool.
• Archives.com — paid Ancestry-owned budget brand.

Honest comparison

• Records breadth: Ancestry > FamilySearch > MyHeritage > Findmypast (overall). Findmypast wins UK/IE.
• Cost over 5 years: Ancestry All Access ~$3,000. FamilySearch $0. WikiTree $0.
• Data ownership: WikiTree > Gramps/webtrees self-host > FamilySearch > Geneanet > MyHeritage > Ancestry.
• DNA integration: Ancestry (kit + ThruLines) and MyHeritage (uploads accepted) lead; FamilySearch has no DNA.
• Tree quality: Privately curated > WikiTree (sourced, peer-reviewed) > FamilySearch (open editing, can be overwritten) > public Ancestry trees (often unsourced copies).
• Photo / colorization: MyHeritage leads (paid). See Genealogy Photo Restoration AI.

What's changing in 2024–2026

• FamilySearch Full-Text Search rolled out across handwritten US records — game-changing for finding ancestors in deeds / probates without an index.
• Ancestry Pro Tools add-on (~$10/mo) layers DNA cluster maps + enhanced ThruLines.
• MyHeritage AI features (Time Machine, AI Biographer, Deep Story) — gimmicky but popular.
• 23andMe data breach aftermath — pushed users to MyHeritage / FamilyTreeDNA. See Genealogy DNA Testing Services.
• GEDCOM 7 adoption slowly displacing 5.5.1; major services support import.

Pick this if…

• Default free starting point: FamilySearch (records) + WikiTree (collaborative tree).
• You want every US record + DNA matching, and the budget: Ancestry All Access.
• European / German / Scandinavian focus, photo enhancement: MyHeritage.
• British Isles research: Findmypast.
• French / Continental Europe: Geneanet.
• Strict sourcing + ownership of profiles: WikiTree.
• Maximum data ownership, minimum trust in any single company: self-host with Genealogy Software Self-Host.