10 Best Free Genealogy Websites for Family History

• You can’t do everything from home, you have to travel to one of the locations and be aware of the opening hours

Related: 8 Websites To Build Your Free Family Tree

Family Search

Owned and founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Family Search provides plenty of free information regarding family history, even if you don’t belong to the church. 

Users can edit family trees of others, and they are encouraged to work together to find more information and possibly exchange things that they wouldn’t find out themselves.

Family Search is completely free to use for all members of the public regardless of religion. You can use this time to build as much as you can and collect information from other users. 

Family Search Pros

• A contributor-based service, it is permanently enriched by those using the service
• It is completely free
• It has over 5,000 physical centers where you can go and research

Family Search Cons

• Users can edit the family trees of others
• You can only have one family tree per account
• It doesn’t provide DNA research

MyHeritage

MyHeritage is one of the first online family tree building services in the world, as its founder discovered that there’s a demand for such websites. MyHeritage also partnered with Family Search to connect the American lineage to the European one. 

MyHeritage has a free 14-days trial, but afterward, you have to pay to browse through its billions of records. It also has services that allow you to edit family pictures, animate them, colorize them, etc. The basic services allow you to build a limited family tree. Once you go premium, the features increase.

MyHeritage Pros

• It has one of the best customer services on the market
• Good for those with European ancestry
• It has faster DNA tests, compared to others (3-4 weeks versus 2 months)

MyHeritage Cons

• It does not provide information on the health of relatives

Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com allows you to build your family tree only using your browser, by creating or uploading a standard family tree file. You can discover trees started by other family members and you get suggestions through the website. 

Ancestry.com offers a 14-days free trial with a credit card provided on initial sign-up. Once the free trial is complete, the following payment plan options are available:

Ancestry.com provides options for monthly, semi-monthly, and annually. For more information, visit Ancestry.com and search through their plan comparison.

Ancestry.com Pros

• No third-party service that you need to go through to get your family tree hints
• It also offers Ancestry DNA, which you can use to track down your family ancestor and even find a migration path that they used

Ancestry.com Cons

• Monthly subscriptions can get expensive, especially if you get caught up in it

FindAGrave

FindAGrave publishes memorials of family members, allowing you to submit listings and upload photos. It is based on cemetery records.

FindAGrave is a free service, as it was when it was founded. 

FindAGrave Pros

• It has a huge database of burial information, with millions of records

FindAGrave Cons

• Too many ads occupy most of the space
• The second version of the website received overwhelmingly negative reviews
• Customer service does not respond to complaints
• The site sometimes freezes

USGenWeb

One of the oldest and most prestigious genealogy websites in the US, USGenWeb is committed to keeping its services free and building a solid database of family trees and historical information. 

Founded by a group of genealogists in 1996, it is thriving as one of the most reliable sources when building a family tree. Its services are supported and maintained by a team of volunteers. 

USGenWeb Pros

• No registration is needed
• Services are completely free and you don’t have to buy a license to see the data

USGenWeb Cons

• It only has records from the US, but it is a US-focused service

AfriGeneas

AfriGeneas is a heritage-specialized family history website that provides information on African-American heritage. The website also reunites those searching for family history on forums where they can exchange information and help each other untangle the past.

AfriGeneas is a free project and it takes donations to support the volunteers working on the project. You have tons of support from the community and the administrators of the website.

AfriGeneas Pros

• It’s one of the most highly specialized free genealogy websites
• You get plenty of support with your research and with navigating the website
• They provide tutorials on how to research as a beginner

AfriGeneas Cons

• The website is relatively outdated and hard to navigate the first time you visit it

Jewish Gen

Dedicated to amateur and professional genealogists interested in finding out about Jewish heritage genealogy, JewishGen is the most prestigious tool in its class. It is an affiliate of the New York City Museum of Jewish Heritage. 

It has plenty of resources worldwide to track down Jewish ancestors in Europe and all over the world. It works with huge databases on Holocaust victims and survivors, Jewish census worldwide, publications, etc. 

It’s a free service but accepts donations to support the people volunteering to keep the project at its high standard. 

JewishGen Pros

• For genealogists creating family trees with Jewish heritage, this resource is incomparable. 
• It has a beginners’ guide explaining how to navigate the available resources.

JewishGen Cons

• If you want to access original records, you will have to put in extra effort or hire a professional genealogist, as they are not always available. 

Dead Fred

Another of the top free genealogy websites you can find online is Dead Fred, a project that started in 1998 as a family history website. It’s built by volunteers and keeps on growing its database. 

Dead Fred Pros

• Free of charge
• It has a Quick Search feature that can save you a lot of time
• Detailed Search for pinpoint precision

Dead Fred Cons

• Navigating the site can be counterintuitive

Olive Tree Genealogy

Named amongst the “Best Genealogy Websites of 2021”, Olive Tree Genealogy has offered family history services and data since its creation in 1996. 

Olive Tree Genealogy is one of the few free online resources for family tree building. The paid packages will buy you research service from the founder of the website, Lorine.

• The 3-hour package is $150.00
• The 5-hour package is $225.00
• 10-hour package is $475.00

Other paid services include checking the Abstract Indexes to Deeds ($50.00 per entry) and checking the Ontario Land Record Index ($15.00 per entry). It makes the research faster, of course, but could give you access to documents you wouldn’t personally be able to get.

Olive Tree Genealogy Pros

• It has a beginner’s section for those who are just starting to research their family history
• It offers records on heritage groups and less familiar ones

Olive Tree Genealogy Cons

• The design of the website is a bit outdated, but it’s easily navigable

How Can I Find My Family Tree Without Paying?

Before the internet, finding information about your ancestors and building your family tree took a lot of research. You would have to go through archives and most probably travel in your ancestors’ footsteps to find what you need. Not only is this difficult to manage financially for some, but it’s also inconvenient and time-consuming.

Today, several online family tree websites use impressive databases of official archive documents and also collect personal items added by users.

Most of these websites have a free version or offer a free trial of their services. Additionally, they provide the ability to speak with dedicated researchers who have experience in locating, reviewing, and translating important family history facts and other information.

Tips for Using Free Genealogy Websites

Genealogy websites also allow you to import data from one another or centralize your information in a separate palace, putting together bits and pieces as you discover them. It can save you some money as you might switch in between genealogy search platforms.

Another good tip for getting genealogic information online is to see if the website you use allows you to return the record you viewed after a short time, without paying any fee. It often happens and saves you a lot of money. 

Building a family tree does take time, though, even when technology drastically reduces it. It is an ongoing process and you need many edits along the way. 

The reward, however, far outweighs the journey as not only do you find answers to your heritage, but you also made new family connections, solve the mystery of where you come from, and find valuable genealogical and historical information for the future.