Family Tree vs Ancestry
A private alternative to Ancestry
A calm, dimension-by-dimension comparison. Where Ancestry fits, where Family Tree fits, and how to pick the tool that matches the family record you actually want to keep.
The short version
Ancestry is the largest family history service in the world. It is built around two engines. The first is the records archive, especially deep US, UK, Canadian, and Australian census, military, and immigration data. The second is AncestryDNA, with its hint-driven loop that surfaces possible relatives the moment you upload a sample. If that loop is what you came for, Ancestry will deliver it better than anyone else.
Family Tree does not try to do either of those things. It is a private canvas for people who already know their family and want a quiet place to record them. No ads. No DNA upsell. No AI guessing your relatives. Your tree is yours, hosted in Australia, and exportable as GEDCOM the day you sign up.
What follows is the comparison broken into the dimensions that actually matter when you pick a tool.
Historical records
Ancestry
The largest searchable archive of US, UK, Canadian, and Australian census records, plus passenger lists, military service files, parish registers, and newspaper clippings. Records are the headline feature and the reason most people pay.
Family Tree
Does not index records. We are not a records database and we are not trying to become one. If records are your research backbone, keep an Ancestry subscription and use Family Tree alongside it as the curated, private tree.
AncestryDNA
Ancestry
Sells a saliva kit, returns an ethnicity estimate, and matches you against millions of other people who have taken the same test. AncestryDNA is the largest consumer DNA database in the world.
Family Tree
Does not sell DNA tests. Does not run a DNA marketplace. Does not handle, store, or process DNA data of any kind. This is a posture, not a missing feature, and it is not on the road map.
Hints and ThruLines
Ancestry
The leaf-icon hint loop is the defining surface of the product. ThruLines proposes ancestors by cross-referencing your tree against other Ancestry trees and records. The product nudges you toward the next branch.
Family Tree
No hint stream. No ThruLines. No cross-account inference. Every person in your tree is there because you put them there. We do not train models on your data and we do not surface other accounts to you.
Privacy posture
Ancestry
Cross-tree matching and a member directory by default. People in your tree can surface in other accounts. Ancestry is a US company, and your data largely lives in the United States.
Family Tree
Trees are visible only to the account that owns them. No public profile, no member directory, no cross-tree match surface. Data lives in a database in Sydney and is not replicated overseas.
Pricing model
Ancestry
Free guest tier with a hard cap, plus World Explorer, All Access, and AncestryDNA tiers that gate records, DNA tools, and exports. Renewal pricing is reliably higher than first-year pricing.
Family Tree
Free, with no caps and no feature gates. No subscription, no upsell inside the editor. Funded by a voluntary one-time membership for the people who want to support the project.
Data export
Ancestry
GEDCOM export is supported, but attached records and DNA results stay with the account. Cancelling the subscription leaves a gap between the tree and the documents that proved it.
Family Tree
PDF, JSON, and GEDCOM from the same dialog, free, on day one. The data is yours and the export is the proof. If you ever want to leave, you take everything with you.
Sharing model
Ancestry
Multiple Ancestry accounts can collaborate on the same tree as editors or guests. Good for an extended family that wants to crowdsource the same record.
Family Tree
Single-author by design. One owner per tree, no co-editors. A read-only encrypted share link is on the road map so you can show a relative the tree without giving them an account.
Mobile
Ancestry
Native iOS and Android apps with offline editing, hint notifications, and camera-roll integration for photos.
Family Tree
Mobile web only. The canvas pans and zooms on a phone, and the editor works, but there is no app to install and nothing offline.
Quick comparison
| Ancestry | Family Tree | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo hosting | Hosts photos and offers MyCanvas print products. | Does not host photos at all. |
| Public profiles | Member directory and cross-tree matches by default. | No public surface. Only the owner can see the tree. |
| Cancellation friction | Subscription with renewal prompts and DNA-test add-ons. | No subscription. Nothing to cancel. |
| GEDCOM import | Supported. | Supported. Drop a GEDCOM (or JSON) file into the New tree modal on day one. |
| Sources and citations | First-class sources tied to records. | Sources field is on the road map. Not in the product today. |
Who Ancestry is for
Pick Ancestry if any of these is the work you are doing.
- Your research depends on US, UK, Canadian, or Australian records and you want one tool that holds the tree alongside the documents that prove it.
- You want a DNA test, an ethnicity estimate, or a way to be matched with biological relatives.
- You want the hint-driven discovery loop where the product proposes the next person, the next record, the next branch.
- You want a shared tree where the rest of your family can edit alongside you.
Those are real reasons. They are not the reasons Family Tree exists. If they are your reasons, Ancestry is the right place to start.
Who Family Tree is for
Pick Family Tree if any of these sounds like you.
- You already know who your family is. You want a quiet place to record what you know, by hand, without being prompted to upgrade or to take a DNA test.
- You read the Ancestry privacy and DNA policies, looked at the subscription tier table, and decided you wanted out.
- You want one private surface that holds every generation, with keyboard shortcuts and no advertising chrome.
- You want a GEDCOM export that works on the day you sign up, in case you ever want to leave.
- You are happy that the product is small, hand-built, and deliberately narrow.
What we deliberately do not do
We try to be clear up front so nobody arrives expecting a feature that is never coming.
Never coming: DNA testing, ethnicity estimates, cross-account relative suggestions, AI auto-fill of people or relationships, hint streams, photo hosting, multi-editor collaboration where two accounts edit the same tree at once.
Keep reading
Family Tree vs MyHeritage
The same honest comparison, applied to the records-and-DNA service most often weighed against Ancestry.
Every feature, on one page
The canvas, keyboard shortcuts, focus mode, export, and everything else Family Tree actually does today.
Read the FAQ
Common questions about privacy, hosting, pricing, and what is on the road map.
Privacy policy
What we collect, where it lives, and what we will never do with your tree.
Try Family Tree
The product is free, with no caps and no feature gates. Make an account, add yourself and a parent, and you are on the canvas inside a minute. If a sample tree helps you get a feel for the shape first, six fictional families ship with the app.