Software MacKiev
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Only buy if you are specifically committed to Family Tree Maker for desktop genealogy work synced with Ancestry.
New check
Comparison
Software MacKiev vs MyHeritage
Software MacKiev and MyHeritage both land on Depends.
MyHeritage
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable for casual family-tree builders and DNA curiosity, especially European ancestry . but keep a close eye on auto-renewals.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Serious hobbyist genealogists | Casual family-tree builders |
| Who it's not for | Businesses or teams . pure consumer hobbyist software | Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked |
| Privacy | 2020 incident exposed private data of ~60,000 genealogy users; no newer incidents found in reviewed sources.⁶ | Breached: 92.3M user credentials exposed (disclosed 2018); one old client-side CVE.16 |
| Support quality | BBB: 'terrible customer support'; users can't reach them | Billing disputes dominate complaint threads |
| Public sentiment | User sentiment is sharply mixed: hobbyists who commit to Family Tree Maker value its depth, but many report poor support, billing issues, and badly delayed releases.¹ | Opinion is split: hobbyist genealogists find value in it, while a loud segment of users complain about billing, renewals, and pricing.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Users report waiting days to reach support; even Facebook groups ask how to contact MacKiev | Auto-renewal traps: users report unexpected renewal charges, including a $149 BBB complaint |
Pick Software MacKiev when
- Serious hobbyist genealogists
- Family Tree Maker loyalists
- Ancestry.com users wanting offline desktop trees
When Software MacKiev is not a fit
- Businesses or teams . pure consumer hobbyist software
- Anyone needing responsive vendor support
- Privacy-cautious buyers handling sensitive family data
- Cloud-first users who want web apps, not desktop installs
Pick MyHeritage when
- Casual family-tree builders
- Hobbyist genealogists chasing European records
- DNA relative and adoption searches
- Ethnicity-estimate curiosity
When MyHeritage is not a fit
- Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked
- Serious US-focused genealogists . Ancestry's records run deeper
- One-time testers unwilling to pay recurring subscriptions for record access
- Anyone who resents auto-renewal billing . complaints are everywhere
Sources
- Software MacKiev Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
review
- The Software Mackiev Company Reviews . PissedConsumerthe-software-mackiev-company.pissedconsumer.comreview
review
- Genealogy Software Maker Exposes Data on 60,000 Usersinfosecurity-magazine.comsecurity
- Leak Exposes Private Data of Genealogy Service Usersthreatpost.comsecurity
official
- TreeVault Account Info and FAQs (official)support.mackiev.comofficial
- Family Tree Maker Connect . Google Play (official)play.google.comofficial
- How Much Does Family Tree Maker 2024 Cost?familytreemakere.comreview
- MyHeritage official sitemyheritage.comofficial
- MyHeritage pricing pagemyheritage.comofficial
- 855 MyHeritage Reviews . PissedConsumermyheritage.pissedconsumer.comreview
- MyHeritage Data Breach . Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity