There are plenty of free resources out there for genealogical research, but if you’re just starting out with genealogy, and want to try one of the subscription-based sites, do it for free. That way you can see if you even like the site before you shell out any cash. Just about every site I can think of offers a 7- or 14-day trial. One caveat: be sure to cancel in time!
Today, I will briefly go over some of the top pay sites that offer free trials; if you are looking for in-depth reviews, Google is your friend. With the exception of Ancestry, I have not used these other sites extensively and cannot offer a thorough analysis.
Ancestry
I’ll be honest here; Ancestry is the only subscription-based site I regularly use. For that reason, I can offer a bit more information on it than the other sites.
Pros:
- As the largest subscription-based genealogy company in the world, Ancestry boasts 40 billion records online.
- I find the layout and interface, not only aesthetically pleasing, but pretty intuitive to use.
- You can create multiple family trees with no limits on size.
- Profiles are generated for each ancestor, and you can upload an unlimited amount of photos, documents, stories, audio files, etc. to their profiles.
- Ancestry has the “Hints” feature, which is fun when you’re just starting out. As you add names to your tree, little green leaves will appear; these are hints, and they let you know that Ancestry may have found a record for your ancestor. If the record matches, you can attach it to your ancestor’s profile, and it will appear under the “Facts” tab.
Cons:
- Despite containing billions of records, there are billions more records that are not on Ancestry. That means Ancestry will not be the only resource you ever use for your research. Remember that when considering the next con.
- The monthly subscription cost is quite expensive at $24.99/month for the base membership. However, they often offer sales such as 40% off a 6-month subscription, so keep an eye out for those.
- If your research is outside of the US, Ancestry is probably not the best choice for you. While they offer their “World Explorer” subscription, I have tried it out and was not very impressed.
- Ancestry has the “Hints” feature. Yes, this is both a pro and a con. You need to be incredibly careful when it comes to vetting the information you find. First of all, you need to make sure the person is actually your ancestor. Secondly, my warning about using the internet also holds true for Ancestry: just because it’s published on Ancestry, doesn’t mean it’s true. While the hints are great for newcomers, the hints are often from sketchy databases or other users’ family trees that are chock full or errors. Remember our lesson on sources. Look for the primary sources amongst your hints. For secondary sources, make sure to corroborate the information using other sources before attaching it to your ancestor.
Try Ancestry free for 14 days, and feel free to cancel anytime; your subscription will remain active through the duration of your free trial.
MyHeritage
According to the company, “MyHeritage historical records search engine includes more than 18 billion genealogy records such as birth, marriage, death, burial, census, military, immigration, yearbooks, and other types of records, including scans of the original documents.”
Pro:
- If your research is more focused on Europe, MyHeritage is supposed to offer more European sources than Ancestry. However, I’ve not had any better luck researching my English & German ancestors here than I’ve had using the World Explorer subscription on Ancestry; however, your mileage may vary.
Cons:
- I do not find the layout and interface aesthetically pleasing, nor do I find it intuitive to use.
- You are billed annually, so that means you’re locked in for a full year and spending $129.00 (base package) right off the bat.
- They are known to hound users to upgrade. No thank you.
Just because I do not care for MyHeritage does not mean you won’t like it. Maybe try Ancestry first, then give MyHeritage a whirl for 14 days, and see for yourself.
Findmypast
If your research takes you to the British Isles, you may want to check out Findmypast, which I have never used. They offer a 7-day free trial. After that, their base subscription is $13.33/month.
Newspapers.com
Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry, advertises 912,289,625 newspaper pages to explore. In reality, I’ve only managed to find a couple items of interest. There aren’t enough newspapers on there to justify me spending $7.95/month for the base subscription. But try a 7-day free trial, and see what you can find.
Fold3
The second Ancestry-owned subscription service is Fold3.com, which “provides convenient access to military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.” Honestly, I have not had much luck with it. Any time I’ve gotten hits for records, they just link me back to Ancestry. Why pay for something that’s already on Ancestry? Plus, I hate the layout of their veteran profiles. Of course, your mileage may vary, so try it out yourself for 7 days. After the 7 days, a membership will cost you $7.95/month.
Generations 