February 13, 2026
New genealogists often ask which online family tree is best. The answer, like so many genealogy answers, is “it depends.” There are pros and cons to all the online family trees, but many genealogists agree that two of the best are Family Search’s Family Tree and Ancestry’s Public and Private Family Trees.
FamilySearch.org is a free website that provides a shared, collaborative family tree. This means that anyone can add or subtract information from the tree. Users can upload sources, photos, stories and audio recordings. Because numerous people contribute to an ancestor’s profile, the profiles are often very detailed and provide lots of information.
FamilySearch is a great place to do research as well. The website contains over 20 billion free, searchable and historical records. These records are from countries all over the world. Finding information to add to your family tree is almost assured.
The biggest downside of Family Search Family Tree is lack of privacy. The Family Tree is not a personal tree. If you post information, it becomes available to everyone. There is no way to keep any of the information on the tree private. The one exception is living people. Any information posted about living people is only viewable by the person who posted it.
Ancestry.com, on the other hand, allows you to build your own family tree. You can make your tree public so that everyone can view it. Alternatively, you can make your tree private and allow only you to access it. You can also allow selected people to see it. In any case, only you, or someone you invite to do so, can make changes to your tree.
Ancestry is a paid site. They will allow you to build a tree on their website for free, but searching records will require a paid subscription. Paid subscriptions vary according to the level of coverage purchased but can run several hundred dollars per year.
While the cost of Ancestry might be considered high, there is value in membership. Ancestry contains over 65 billion searchable records which can help you grow your tree. The platform also supports a massive DNA database of over 25 million people.
Depending on your goals for your online family tree, Family Search and Ancestry are both useful websites. I use both frequently. I have a public tree on Ancestry. I also amend profiles for my ancestors on Family Search. I have found valuable information on Ancestry trees as well as on the Family Search Family Tree. I recommend both.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society