Our picks
- Family Tree Builder: free desktop software by MyHeritage
- RootsMagic: most popular software amongst genealogists
- Legacy: best option if you want a wider range of reporting features
- Family Historian: best option for beginners and for those not tech-savy
- Family Tree Maker: good software but too expensive
Genealogy software basics
- Build a family tree
- Record information on your ancestors: dates, locations, relationships, etc.
- Document research sources and link them to your family tree
- Maintain more than one database for multiple family trees
- Print out ancestral charts and reports
- Share your family tree with others in print and electronically
- Store photos, audio and video recordings, and scans of your ancestors and documents
- Protect your information through regular backups
- Give you hints on where and how to search for more clues
- Export your information to other genealogy programs
- Download information directly from certain online resources
- Map your ancestors through time and space
- Browse online directly, without switching to a separate web browser
Family Tree Maker 2017
Pros and cons
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/7/126777310/547278773.jpg)
Compatibility
Online support
Integration
Where to buy
Mac Family Tree 9
Legacy 9
Pros and cons
Compatibility
Online support
Integration
Where to buy
Family Historian 6
Pros and cons
Compatibility
Online support
Integration
Where to buy
RootsMagic 7
Pros and cons
Compatibility
Online support
Family Tree Software For Mac
Integration
Family Tree For Mac Free
Where to buy
Family Tree Heritage 9
Pros and cons
Compatibility
Online support
Integration
Where to buy
So which software is for you?
- Family Tree Maker 2017 is a great all-around program for most users, especially if you want to upload your tree to Ancestry.
- Legacy 9 is also a great all-around program, and provides the greatest number of charts for showing off your research.
- Family Historian 6 is excellent if you want ease of use. It lets you dive in right away, spending less time learning the program and more time researching your family.
- RootsMagic 7 is the clear (and only) choice if you want to take your research on the road and don’t have a laptop. It’s also one of the more popular picks among professional genealogists.
- Family Tree Heritage 9 lets you link to more online sites than any of the other programs.
- If you want to work together with other family members on the same tree, Family Tree Maker 2017 is the way to go.
- If you’re looking to create a webpage from your findings, Legacy 9 and RootsMagic 7 are your best choices.
- If you want to create amazing looking ancestral charts, Legacy 9 is your best bet.
- For the most economical route, Legacy 9 and RootsMagic 7 both have free versions with no time limit, but you’ll miss out on some of their best features.
| ||||||||||
• Hinting - Legacy 9 searches through billions of records from key websites - FindMyPast, FamilySearch, GenealogyBank, and MyHeritage. • Stories - Preserve the stories of your ancestors or your own. The new Stories tool lets you record, organize and print multiple stories for any of your ancestors. • Hashtags - Create unlimited hashtags to describe your ancestors. Then search for or print a report of everyone who shares that hashtag. • FindAGrave.com Searching - One-click access to your ancestor's Find A Grave memorial. Create a list of people in your tree with or without Find A Grave IDs. • And much, much more! • Click here to learn more | ||||||||||
The award-winning Legacy Family Tree comes in two editions: | View the Legacy Training Videos | |||||||||
Try Legacy 9.0 at no risk! The Standard Edition is free! Click here for details | ||||||||||
Legacy 9.0 Deluxe is everything that the Standard Edition is and so much more! Click here for details | ||||||||||
|