Best Free Genealogy or Family Tree Software

Genealogy software provides a method for recording the subjects of our research, e.g.  their names, relationships, and events of their lives.  Evidence (citations and sources) should be recorded to support the conclusions reached.  They also print the reports and charts to show off the results of our labor.  This article reviews stand alone programs which run on your PC.  If you are interested in web based applications please see my companion review at Best Free Online Genealogy / Family Tree Applications.

I reviewed several free genealogy programs which will do a reasonable job for the novice or advanced genealogist.  Unless otherwise noted:

• They support unlimited entry of individuals, birth, marriage, death, burial, and other events together with their associated dates, locations, and source citations.
• Alternative names can be entered with the exception of PAF.
• Relationships are not limited, i.e. multiple spouses (sequential or polygamous).
• Polygamous relationships are not completely displayed, e.g. only one pair can be viewed at a time.
• Multiple parents are supported (adopted, foster, or other possibilities) with the exception of Legacy.
• However, only one pair of parents can be displayed at a time.
• Incestuous relationships are supported, e.g. a child can be both the sibling and the parent of another sibling.
• Same sex marriages and parents are supported by half the recommended programs.  See notes associated with each program.
• They support family group, pedigree, and descendant reports and charts together with the associated foot- or end-notes.
• They support multimedia attachments but not all support photos in reports.
• They support import and export of GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunication) format files.

Gramps is my top pick for the best free Genealogical software.  It should be able to run on any operating systems that supports Python, e.g. Windows, Linux, MAC OS (disclaimer--I only tested in Windows).  I liked that I could easily navigate or filter by people or name list, family, relationship, ancestry, events, places, sources, repositories, media, and notes.  An undo function allows easy correction of the most recent entries.

I felt the place entry especially outstanding.  Places have distinct fields for street, city, latitude, church parish, etc.  Alternate locations can be entered for each place, e.g. one could enter Virginia as an alternate for some West Virginia locations prior to the Civil War.  Sources, notes, multimedia, and internet links can be linked to each place.  Also all events linked to the place are displayed and can be navigated to.

I loved the date support.  Dates can be based on several different calendars, e.g. Gregorian, Islamic, etc.  The date can have a quality of regular, estimated, or calculated.  And finally the type can include before, after, range, span, etc.  Events support roles, e.g. bride for a marriage event.  Oddly there is no date calculator so, for example, a birth date calculated from the age at death would need to be manually .

Gramps can create narrative style web sites.  You can select a standard copyright or from any of the Creative Commons copyrights.  Not only can living people be excluded, entirely or name only but also a date range to restrict recently deceased people can be selected, e.g. people who died within the last five years could be treated as if they were still living.

Gramps can create large format reports which could be sent to a facility with the ability to print large sheets.  Alternatively, large sized reports can be printed on individual pages which can be put together like a jigsaw puzzle, with the pages numbered according to their location in the overall report.

Sources can be attached to people, families, events, and multimedia.  I love the ability to copy and paste citations.  I would have preferred source templates based on Mills' or Lackey's books.

Gramps directly supports patronymic and matronymic style names, e.g. ap Robert, verch Evan, etc.  It also supports multiple surnames, e.g. Ramón y Cajal.

Gramps supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  Same sex marriage is supported and each partner is labeled as "spouse."  Same sex parents are also suported but one parent will be labeled as father and the other as mother.  Marriage is not assumed for parents.  Gender need not be specified for parents or married couples, e.g. a marriage can be entered for J. Roe and A. Smith with both listed as unknown gender.  Genealogists worring about how to enter the parents of cloned individuals will be relieved to know that the same person can be entered as both father and mother (found this quite by accident).

The installation can be intimidating.  There are several required programs which must be installed in a specific order.  I highly recommend using the all in one installation or the portable version on the Portable Apps website for Windows installers.

The family group text report did not have foot or end notes.

Legacy Standard is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has plenty of capabilities.  The free version supports family, pedigree, and index views.  You can easily navigate to younger or older generations simply by clicking on the individuals. Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.

You can attach photos or any other type of document.  I love the well structured source templates.  The location field is unstructured but the Master Location List can help keep the locations consistent.  I love the merge feature for people, places, sources, repositories, etc.  You can select specific individuals, families and entire family lines for export or reports by placing them in a Focus Group. 

Strong report generator supports many general report types including citation and to do lists. Legacy can print narrative book style reports using generic sentence templates.  Creates stunning graphical charts, ancestor, descendant, fan, hourglass, bow tie, and DNA charts.  Cannot save some reports to RTF (Rich Text Format); however, text format (ASCII) is supported.

The program provides Research Guidance with tips, Internet Search links, and a To Do List. 

Legacy creates the best looking web pages and has the most features for web site creation of these programs. Supports photos and CSS.

Legacy does not support multiple parent child relationships.  It assumes that parents are married.  Same sex couples are not supported either as parents or marriage.  Polygamous and sequential multiple marriages are supported. 

Many menu items when selected display a nagging message that the feature is available only in the Deluxe Edition.  Greying out and disabling the unavailable options would have been less obtrusive.

Legacy places data files in the C:\Legacy\Data directory instead of the normal %UserProfile% directory unless the default directory is changed in the options.  If the user has backup software they should take care that the backups include the nonstandard location.

Family Tree Legends is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has many capabilities.  Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.  You can add alternate names, birth, marriage, death, and burial events along with the many other events of the individuals life.  You can attach photos or any other type of document. 

Strong report generator supports ancestor, pedigree, descendant, descendant summary, time line, family group sheet, kinship, and other reports. Creates ancestor and descendant charts in fan, standard, and vertical formats as well as hourglass and bow tie charts.  Legends can print collections of reports with table of contents, an index, and other pages.  Oddly the reports don't include the photos.

Imports Family Tree Maker and GEDCOM files.  The program supports a To Do List and a correspondence list.  I like having the ability to merge duplicate sources, repositories, places, and people.

Supports multiple marriages (sequential or conscutive) with children from each.  Real time internet backup. Publish to GenCircles.

No location list to help with consistency in place entry but you do have a replace function to help clean up variations on a place name.

Assumes all couples with children are married.  Same gender marriage or parents not supported. Flagging one father as a step father sets all fathers as step fathers. Marriage between individuals of unknown gender automatically assigns one as male and the other as female.  Assigning parents assumes one is father and the other is mother.

I love MyHeritage Family Tree Builder's hour glass view that can adjust from just one generation above and below the focus person to three generations.  This eliminates the need for separate person, pedigree, and descendant views.  There is a handy list for navigation just to the left which can be expanded or retracted out of the way. 

MyHeritage automatically checks for possible duplicates when entering people.  This feature mitigates the absence of a merge duplicate people tool.  Good tree consistency checker.

A button appears next to the place entry field when clicked will offer suggestions from similar places already appearing in your database.  A pop-up calendar is available when entering dates. 

Reports can be saved to HTML format.  Supports a direct upload to the MyHeritage web site but no other independent web site creation.  Imports Family Tree Legends as well as GEDCOM format files.

MyHeritage supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  Same sex marriage is supported and both partner's are labeled as "husband" or "wife" depending on sex.  Same sex parents are also suported.  Marriage is assumed for parents but can be changed to another type of status such as Friends, Engaged, or Other.  Gender need not be specified for parents or married couples, e.g. a marriage can be entered for J. Roe and A. Smith with both listed as unknown gender and "husband."

No place or individual person reports. 

There is no context sensitive help available but the PDF format manual is very helpful.

RootsMagic Essentials has a variety of source templates based on Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence.  I was able to open multiple databases or the same database multiple times and display them side by side.

Supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  However, all parent relationships assume that the parents are married.  Happily I was able to enter a gender neutral relationship for the parents of a child.  However, one of the women was denoted the father and the other as the mother.  I'd prefer to be able to list both as parent, both as mother, or the actual mother as mother and the other as parent.  Supports multiple aliases.

Create a web site is disabled in the free version. 

The reports and charts produced by RootsMagic are generally better in appearance than the other programs listed here.  Place, citation, to-do list, and narrative reports are supported.  Bibliographies are available for some reports.  Saving reports to other file formats is disabled in the free version--viewing and printing is allowed.  There is no option to hide living people or events for living folks and no option to exclude private notes in reports.

I like the copy and paste citation functionality.  There is no optional surety assesment for citations.  There is no relationship calculator.

RootsMagic displays a nagging splash screen at every start up requiring the user to chose between the free and the Full version.  This is immediately followed with a RootsMagic News screen.  Many menu choices are not functional in the free version but I do appreciate that they are highlighted in a reddish color.

If you're interested in a portable application then ScionPC should be at the top of your list. 

I love the lack of gender constraints, e.g. I can add both of my grandchild's same sex parents without resorting to tricks such as changing the gender of one of the parents.  Both members of marriages are referred to as partner's.  (There is a warning that the couple is the same sex.)  I wish other genealogy programs would adopt this standard.  Supports multiple aliases.

ScionPC has exceptional date format support, e.g. Circa, Before, After, Estimated, and Date Range modifiers as well as Georgian, Julian, Hebrew, French Revolutionary, Islamic, Persian, Indian National, Coptic, User Defined and Unknown calendars.  I like the pop up calendar for use when entering dates.

The program creates a complete web site for upload.  Supports CSS. 

Only one source format.  Only one source citation is permitted per event.  No book print function.

I like that Brother's Keeper checks for duplicates when you enter new people.  Multiple names are supported and can be searched.  Supports multiple parents and marriages.  Same sex marriage is supported.  Same sex parents are supported but are labeled as Father & Mother.

Dates are unformatted text fields consequently events may not be sorted in date order.  One can manually change the sort order.  No bookmarks.  No people list view.  Reports cannot be saved to other formats, e.g PDF or JPG.  No photos in reports.

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is the software supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's a good basic genealogy program and easy to use.

The reports are in Born, Married, Died, Buried order but the other events are not sorted by date.  No box style charts.  Reports can only be saved as RTF format--not HTML.  However, there is a separate Create Web Page function for creating web sites.

Only one source format.  No optional surety assessment.

Does not support same gender marriages and parents.  Assumes parents are married.  No support for aliases.

No bookmarks.  No back button for previously viewed people.

The Ancestry Android and Ipad Apps offer a mobile method for accessing your Ancestry.com family trees.

Horizontal pedigree chart with individual and family displays that can shown at the right side. Displays, adds, and edits individuals and events. Easy to search by name. Can add photos to the tree. With internet connection, edits are posted to Ancestry.com, locations are prompted, and Ancestry.com can be searched. Location aware devices can also supply current city for event location.

Does not support sources. No descendant, people, or place list view. No bookmarks or history list of viewed people.

Requires (free or paid) Ancestry.com registration.

Find Grave (beta) Android App offers a mobile method for searching FindaGrave.com for cemeteries and memorials.  Add a memorial if you are registered at FindaGrave.com.

Requires internet connection.

• Best Free Online Genealogy / Family Tree Applications
• RootsWeb WorldConnect
• RootsWeb Freepages
• Cyndi's List - Software

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