Ancestry.com boasts the biggest name recognitions in the family history field. This company, with headquarters in Utah and offices worldwide, has been the leader in delivering cutting-edge products to its subscribers since 1983. The early days of Ancestry were spent as a publishing company specializing in publishing family histories and magazines. In 1996, the digitization and online publishing of records began and Ancestry.com became a leader in digital records available for genealogical purposes.

Top Ranked Companies

FamilySearch.org

4.8

star star star star star

(764)

View Profile View Profile

Find a Grave

4.6

star star star star star_half

(99)

View Profile View Profile

BillionGraves

4.2

star star star star star_border

(36)

View Profile View Profile

thumb_up

The Good

Records
Mobile app
Publishing options

Ancestry.com is perhaps the biggest name in genealogy work and for good reason. Some highlights include:

Billions of records available to search from
Ability to upload images, documents and attach them to family trees
Mobile app works on all platforms
Relevant blog articles giving up-to-date information
Social Media presence with helpful tips and useful research information: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr
Instructional YouTube videos for beginners as well as more advanced research tips to more seasoned genealogists
Community message boards and opportunities to collaborate with others sharing common ancestors
Comprehensive learning center
Differing levels of membership based upon your individual needs
Customer service representatives available 7 days per week from 9AM-11PM Eastern Time
Publishing options for your findings
Software and books available
Industry-leading software which is easy to use
Ancestry.com DNA tests are cutting edge and link members to their ethnic backgrounds, but to relatives also taking the tests. Adopted individuals have flocked to take these tests and many have found their birth families through Ancestry.com DNA matching.

thumb_down

The Bad

Pricing
Load time

Ancestry.com is expensive and their pricing may be out of reach for some. The most comprehensive membership option has a hefty price tag of $199/annually. Pages can be slow to load, depending on the traffic on the site. Additionally, there are regular late-night upgrades to the service which make the site inaccessible at those times. (The times and dates for updates are published on the site as a bar across the top of pages.)

gavel

The Bottom Line

For those able to afford an Ancestry.com membership, the quantity and quality of what is available surpasses the records by the for-profit competition in the field. Ancestry.com is a solid company with the resources to back up their claims and is constantly looking for new ways to innovate and stay on top of the competition. We recommend Ancestry.com and are confident they will help with your genealogy needs. When purchasing a membership and setting up an account, setting privacy options can be tricky. One should explore the privacy policies very carefully and determine which settings are appropriate for their needs. Maintaining more private settings make collaboration more challenging (even impossible in some cases), so this information should be carefully considered.

Was this content helpful?

thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

border_color Write a Review

User Reviews

Star Rating

4.1

star star star star star_border

559 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

55%

4 grade

24%

3 grade

2 grade

1 grade

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star star star_border

Quality

star star star star star_half

Service

star star star star star_half

Trustworthiness

star star star star star_half

cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down

star star star star star_border

Brian Cowley Riverton, UT

I use ancestry.com in conjunction with Familysearch.org. I like using both as they have slightly different content which helps with getting more information about my ancestors. Their interface sometimes tries to do too much and definitely tries to upsell way too much. But I like the company. I liked the DNA test as well. Interesting information from it.

23 hours ago

star star star star star

Shopman Herriman, UT

I love Ancestry.com. Having an account with them has changed my ability to find my ancestors. They have so many records to search through. When you find one record that has your family member in it, Ancestry will give you hints of other records that my have them also. If you are interested in family history, Ancestry is a must have!

4 days ago

star star star star star

Laurel Dalton Riverton, UT

I have used Ancestry.com in partnership with FamilySearch. I love that these two large genealogy websites have found a way to support one another and make it easier than ever to find past ancestors.

1 day ago

star star star star star_border

Calista Huber Phoenix, AZ

I had such a cool experience on Ancestry.com! It is a little obscure, but I needed to find some family members of a neighbor who passed away. I had limited information on my neighbor, but was able to search for and find some of his family from all over the country, and even in other countries. We were able to chat and figure out what we needed to in order to help with the neighbor's house how we could. I have tried using Ancestry.com for family history and tend to get confused, but I have family members who love it, so I know I just need to keep learning! It is such a wonderful resource!

1 week ago

star star star star star

Jackie Gardner Riverton, UT

I love the profile page because you can see a person's timeline, sources, and immediate family members at a glance. The site is easy to use and fun too.

1 day ago

star star star star star

Luke Swierczynski Waterford, MI

Was fun to see my last name given how unique it is to see how many others out there have it. Not too surprising that only a couple 1000 people have my name. Was very interesting going through old census data and learning more about my heritage.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Michelle Chandler, OK

I love Ancestry.com. I've been trying to trace my Native American roots through Ancestry. I can't give enough props to them. I have been able to trace my lineage as far back as the 1500's. I have discovered many, many interesting and historical facts about my ancestors. I definitely recommend Ancestry.com.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Anita Brooks Denver, CO

I like the way the website because I think it is user friendly. I have been using Ancestry for over 8 years and I think it has the most information that I am researching for. There has been a couple of times that I needed to call them for a support issue, and they were very pleasant and knowledgeable and solved my issue very fast.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star_border

Mary Fernandes New York, NY

I really enjoyed using Ancestry to find my ancestors and to find pictures I had never seen before. The tips they give are very good and lead you to some interesting discoveries. It is way too pricey though to maintain an account for very long. While I am happy that I can still see all the genealogy work I did, I can’t find any new info without a pricey membership. I’d say this company is wonderful and so eye opening but that is hard to maintain a membership long term.

3 weeks ago

star star star star star

Sandra Little Eugene, OR

I have found many ancestors some dating back to the early to mid 1700's. Given that records are sparse and sometimes difficult to decipher, I feel like I have been able to identify those that are my ancestors.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Fernando

I found connections to family I have never met and found pictures of my great uncle who was in WW2. I also found his military cause of death card. It’s crazy the info they have. Thank

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Bx Chick Yonkers, NY

I Love Ancestry.com! I have been able to find relatives through other relatives on their own trees. I discovered that a great uncle is buried at Arlington Cemetery. That was really awesome.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Paula Pili Provo, UT

It’s simple pretty advanced and super easy to use! I have gathered so much info on my family and ancestors. Their dna is probably the most accurate compared to the other companies

2 weeks ago

star star star star star_border

Mandy Pesce Laurelton, NJ

I enjoyed seeing all of the hints of my family tree once I signed up. The only thing I don't like is that my family is really huge and it just keeps showing me the same people over and over again, nothing about extended family, cousins, etc. Only my grandparents on both sides. Weird.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star_border

Chrissi Parrish Dallas, TX

Family and I have built a our ancestors tree it has helped us to connect to one another. This has helped us to connect to other family members you would have nor know about. I love how we can find out where we are from and go from there.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

KG Lebanon, NJ

I have used ancestry and was able to trace my family, some of which I didn’t even know of. I have been able to see cousins in different generations and have made some connections as well.

3 weeks ago

star star star star star_border

Kaylee Gay Columbia, MO

I love how easy it is to get DNA results for your family history. All you have to do is mail-in DNA kits to get your whole family genealogy. I love history and it is very important to me to know the background of my family. These results can shape your identity. I also love how easy the website is to navigate. The kits tell you who you are connected to.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Abigail Land Tallahassee, FL

Easy to use and connect with relatives and build your family tree. Accessing documents such as the census or birth certificates is simple on the website. It connects the DNA portion as well and connects you to guaranteed relatives.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Erik Lewis Atlanta, GA

I buy this every year for my mom as a Christmas gift. She has used it to map our family tree back to Europe. Moms happy, I'm a fan.

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Jec Canby, OR

I use another company more often than ancestry.com, but both companies work very well to compliment each other and ancestry.com has been very helpful in helping me link my ancestors record together.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Amber David Tallahassee, FL

Using Ancestry was very easy. I just had to submit my saliva and received my genetic results within the time period they said I would. I learned about my family history as well as other family members.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Morgan Tennant Rexburg, ID

Ancestry.com is the family history website in which I've spent most of my time digging up information about my ancestors. Though I didn't start out with much information, their tips and tricks have helped my research flourish!

5 months ago

star star star star star

JJ Jenkins Phoenix, AZ

Ancestry is the best way to search out my ancestors using the internet. I have been able to find hundreds of my ancestors through using the family tree feature. It is simple. And easy to do genealogy research using this great online platform.

5 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

Brittney Mac Gregor Louisville, KY

I have a neutral opinion of Ancestry. Though no fault of their own, the service was just not that useful for me. As an adopted woman, I wanted to learn more about my heritage and my history. What I learned was that there were not many documents related to me or my heritage. I was unable to find any information about my family through ancestry, however I do plan on giving it another shot now that it has been around for several years since I first tried.

4 months ago

star star star star star

Helena Danby Shelley, ID

I love this website! All the tips they give you help with finding out about my family and our ancestors. It's also nice to get the kids involved! It's great for people of all ages!

4 months ago

star star star star star

Emily D Herriman, UT

Ancestry.com has so much to offer and is easy to use.

1 week ago

star star star star star

Brooklyn Jensen Provo, UT

This company provides a great way to learn more about your family. As I was researching and working to find family members, Ancestry was super helpful. They provided hints and records that I could use to find even more members of my family, and to learn a lot more about my ancestors.

4 months ago

star star star star star

Denise Tornga Wyoming, MI

I was very surprised to find my family roots. We moved to a bedroom community in 1984 called Ada, and then 20 yrs later moved further out into the country to Vergennes Twnsp. I was given my Ancestry acct for my birthday. I found my GG Grandparents farm in Ada,not 1mi from my former home. They bought the property in 1860 from the Indians along the Grand River. I found my GGGGrandparents in Vergennes Twnsp, arriving in1852. Their farm is 2mi due west of my present home. When we moved here, I really felt as if I finally was home. Now I know why. There is so much history in this part of my family, I could go on and on. I was so proud to have come from such hard driven good people.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Mary Chillicothe, MO

I have been a member of Ancestry.com since 2007, sometimes paying for the membership (last 3 yrs) and sometimes not. I just read the reviews of the 3 people that has posted and had to comment. You have to read everything when purchasing anything online, even the fine print!! It tells you that if you dont cancel, you will get charged! The membership is a lil pricey but what price would you be paying if you had to drive or order a copy of something that Ancestry already offers at their site that is included in the membership fee. (example: my 4x grandfathers marriage certificate from Ohio, its on Ancestry, if i were to drive their, 9 hrs one way + gas + food + place to stay-over-night + 9hrs to get home + gas + food) this doesn't even include the expense of any copies you want from the count house or library or historical society. It is already adding up! $ ! I have 7 different family trees on Ancestry, only 2 is mine, the other 5 are friends that ask me to help find their families lost past. In the 7+ yrs that I have used Ancestry.com, i have never encountered any problems with the site itself or their information they offer. Ancestry.com is always my go-to site for anything related to genealogy!!!! Everyone should visit Ancestry.com at least once in their lifetime. **Incredible discoveries awaits you at Ancestry.com** Thanks!!!!!

6 years ago

star star star star star

Hannah Barth Tallahassee, FL

Ancestry.com presented my test results in a clear manner and placed the ancestry information in historical context which was super cool.

2 months ago

star star star star star

Yolanda Queer Shelley, ID

Ancestry.com is a fun way to pass time! It's wonderful to learn about your family, and it's easy to get the kids involved, too. It's very easy to access.

5 months ago

star star star star star

Rachel Davenport, IA

You get a lot of bang for your buck. The more time and effort that you put in, the more info you will find. Be mindful, it can cause a lot of family drama with the DNA kit. Have fun with that ride.

7 months ago

star star star star star_border

Joy V Salt Lake City, UT

I got a testing kit for my Dad’s birthday and he loved it! It was super easy to use, but it does take 6 weeks to get your test results in. We found out a ton about our family and it even gives you a map that breaks down the timeline of where and when your family was there. Definitely worth it.

4 months ago

star star star star star

Jason Spokane, WA

I love Ancestry.com!!! I like to do a lot of family history research and ancestry.com is super helpful I don't know what I would do without it. It has tons of records and its easy to use this has helped me out so much over the years.

6 months ago

star star star star star

Madisen Cluff Los Angeles, CA

My Grandma loves Ancestry.com. Last summer I helped her navigate the app so she could figure out how to do it herself. It is very easy to use which is important if the user isn't exactly adept at using technology. Sense then, she has found a lot of relatives and filled in many gaps in our family tree.

6 months ago

star star star star star

Will T

Ancestry.com continues to roll outr new innovations, such as a kind of rating system for each of its hints that the user can check off various factors indicating why he or she approved, questioned, or dismissed the hint. (This feature is selectable by the user). With advances in DNA technology, new data is continually pushed out to assist users in locating relatives, which has ben a very useful feature. Overall, the web site is highly interactive and can provide a wealth of information.

2 years ago

star star star star star_border

Glenda Channel Kansas City, KS

I have been a subscriber to Ancestry since the very beginning and have generally found it to be excellent. However, the recent changes to the search function appear to have been implemented for the sole purpose of "looks" not for ease of use. Were any end users involved in this change????? Also, the print function is ridiculous. I have not seen printing like this (small picture in the middle of a full sized page) since the late 1980s when vendor software was in the early development stages. Is this printing problem because the new Ancestry is not compatible with Family Tree Maker (the software I use)? Sometimes changing for the sake of change (or appearing to change) is not as helpful as you might imagine.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Charlotte Gogola Houston, TX

I've spent many pleasurable, fascinated hours on ancestry.com. I traced my ancestors back to English royalty, assuming the links that I borrowed from other people's trees are accurate. And that's the only gotcha on ancestry.com: you have to be careful whose links you adopt in your tree. Otherwise I have nothing but good things to say about ancestry, and they seem to be getting better with age.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Susie Labry Hammond, LA

I love ancestry.com and have had it since 1999, when I created my tree and have been adding to it since then. Love their photos, stories, and citations. Very manipulative and love their technology, networking, and connectivity I love their leads and they do perform miracles and enabled me to do what I did. Their leaves are the most fascinating thing in the world to me. A great place to keep my records, history, stories, etc. It is beautiful. It is the best! Mary S. Susie Labry (Migneault dit Labrie)

6 years ago

star star star star star_border

Thomas C Saint Petersburg, FL

I have been a member of ancestry.com for a few years now. I thoroughly enjoy utilizing this product. First, I have learned a great deal about my family tree. I've obtained a lot of valuable information via the U.S. Census, state census records (mostly from NY, NJ, and PA), military records. However, it is quite frustrating that death records are not available unless your purchase them (such as NY death certificates). Second, I've met many distant cousins via ancestry.com. We've exchanged information, as well as old family photos. This has been very exciting to catch up with relatives I never even knew or thought existed. I recently became acquainted with the new release of ancestry.com, which incorporates historical data into your family tree. This is an excellent feature, and a great addition to ancestry.com. However, where is the "share" on Facebook feature? It appears to be gone. I called the ancestry.com customer service number, and they were unable to assist me with locating the option to share my ancestry.com information on Facebook. In my view, this is a lost opportunity for free marketing and advertising for ancestry.com. Basically, I am happy with the ancestry.com product. Of course, as any novice genealogist, I hit dead ends in my researching efforts. However, the benefits far outweigh the costs and frustrations associated with this unique product.

6 years ago

star star star star star_border

Linda Smith Daytona Beach, FL

My mother passed away approximately 20 years ago and at that time, I didn't know of any living relatives that I had ever met or known. I was curious and so I tried Ancestry.com on the free trial basis. I could never find anyone this time, so I left a message asking that if anyone had any info regarding my mothers' family to please contact me - so I left my email. I waited but I never saw any response, so I gave up. Then 10 years later, my daughter got on Ancestry.com and put my mothers' name in and she saw my message along with a message from someone with information. She told me about it and so I got on it again - never found the message she was telling me about; however, I did come across something that opened the secret door. I contacted this person by email and gave some specifics about the family. She contacted me back and asked some questions that I answered. I hit the jackpot!! She gave me access to her family tree and when I got on it, I couldn't believe my eyes. I never saw so many relatives - from my Great Great Grandfather all the way down to 3rd cousins. I was able to contact one of my 2nd cousins that lived only 3 hrs from my home and we met for the very first time. I couldn't believe how much she and my mother resembled each other. From this point, I met her children and also drove up North to Vermont to meet other relatives at the Family Reunion they have every two years. I highly recommend Ancestry.com as it is very informative and easy to use.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Sharon Howell Colorado Springs, CO

I LOVE Ancestry.com! I have been able to trace my, and my husband's, line back to Charlemagne. I have first cousins I did not know were out there. I found that the stories I was told since I was a child of family coming over on the Mayflower are actually true! Not only that they're true, but my ancestor was one of the captains. We have had some financial problems with our business so I can't afford Ancestry right now, but I can't wait until I can renew my membership again. I've gotten LOTS of hints I want to see. Sharon Howell

6 years ago

star star star star star

Sue Vest Tyler, TX

I was able to find my moms father and the sisters and brothers she never knew she had because of this company. I have found a lot about my fathers moms side of the family and well really I have learned a great deal. I do think it is worth the money. To me it is sad to think that all those who I am a part of are forgotten. But they are important to me for with out them .... So it is great to find my way back in time and sort of meet with family.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Luke

Loved the depth of my family lineage .they revealed more than I expected

2 weeks ago

star star star star star

Valerie Beus Richland, WA

I’ve used Ancestry in connection with Family Search and the two together have been so great in helping me locate my ancestors. Ancestry will often contain information that I couldn’t find on other sites and it is pretty easy to use. You may need to play around the site for a bit to figure it out but it shouldn’t take too long and then you’re good to go!

11 months ago

star star star star star

Steve Anderson Lindon, UT

I have used Ancestry.com for several years now and I am 100% head over heals in love with this company. They have literally changed my world. They offer two different services. First, they are am AMAZING record collections service. I use Ancestry in conjunction with FamilySearch. The two of them can help me find almost anything. I have extended my ancestral lines back many generations because of Ancestry.com The second service they offer is their DNA testing services. Doing my own family research, I found out that me and my 8 brothers and sisters are not the biological children of the man who raised us. Yes, that was a real shocker to all of us. Through the use of AncestryDNA, I was able to locate the families of all but 2 of us 9 children. This is a truly amazing company. By the way, their customer support is great. They were so helpful and pleasant to work with.

2 years ago

star star star star star

Tami Allen Gilbert, AZ

I have used Ancestry.com for years to find out more about my ancestors and my history. But recently, I had the opportunity thanks to my kids, to use Ancestry DNA testing. This was a really cool experience, to go to the website and see my DNA, and see people who also had their DNA tested and are related to me. I also found out that I was wrong about where many of my ancestors came from, and it gave me new information that I could search that would point me in the right direction. Ancestry is great for searching your family history, finding your ancestors, and connecting with ancestors you might not even know that you had! I love it.

3 years ago

star star star star star_border

The Bean Spiller Provo, UT

The wealth of information this website has is fantastic, but the looks and functionality is a little outdated, making it slightly difficult to use the website for its indented purpose.

4 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

Mona-Lissa Tallahassee, FL

Ancestry has great intentions and has helped a lot of people who I know to connect with old families they never knew. As someone who is Haitian however, I struggled immensely trying to find family on the website and feel as though they should look to broadening their platform to people from other countries as well, not just Americans.

4 months ago

star star star star star_border

Alicia Turner Denver, CO

Ancestry is amazing and helped me to connect with those that paved the way for me. It did take me a while to figure it out and keep records straight but after getting the hang of it. It is a great resource.

5 months ago

We're on a mission to empower consumers to make the best decisions and connect confidently with companies that deserve their business.