MyHeritage
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable for casual family-tree builders and DNA curiosity, especially European ancestry . but keep a close eye on auto-renewals.
Comparison
MyHeritage vs FamilySearch
MyHeritage lands on Depends, and FamilySearch lands on Worth it.
FamilySearch
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Use it: it is genuinely free with a deep record archive and the largest single family tree online.
| Compare | MyHeritage | FamilySearch |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Casual family-tree builders | Budget-conscious genealogists |
| Who it's not for | Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked | Anyone wanting a private, locked-down family tree |
| Privacy | Breached: 92.3M user credentials exposed (disclosed 2018); one old client-side CVE.⁵ | One confirmed 2022 breach, disclosed ~7 months late; MFA added from 2023; no other known issues. |
| Support quality | Billing disputes dominate complaint threads | No reliable support-quality evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Opinion is split: hobbyist genealogists find value in it, while a loud segment of users complain about billing, renewals, and pricing.⁴ | Sentiment is polarized: users praise the free records but frequently slam the interface, shared-tree edits, and site behavior. |
| Biggest gotcha | Auto-renewal traps: users report unexpected renewal charges, including a $149 BBB complaint | Anyone can edit deceased ancestors on the shared tree; no private tree option14 |
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
Pick FamilySearch when
- Budget-conscious genealogists
- Record hunters across global archives
- LDS Church members
- Hobbyists tolerant of a clunky UI
When FamilySearch is not a fit
- Anyone wanting a private, locked-down family tree
- Privacy-critical users who cannot tolerate breach history
- Beginners needing a slick, guided experience
- Users unwilling to learn documented quirks
Sources
- MyHeritage official sitemyheritage.comofficial
- MyHeritage pricing pagemyheritage.comofficial
- 855 MyHeritage Reviews . PissedConsumermyheritage.pissedconsumer.comreview
review
- MyHeritage Data Breach . Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity
- MyHeritage data breach: 92.3M credentials exposed . SecurityAffairssecurityaffairs.comsecurity
- CVE-2013-2602 . NVDnvd.nist.govsecurity
- Best DNA Test for Genealogy . Your DNA Guideyourdnaguide.comreview
- MyHeritage . Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgnews
- Does FamilySearch charge subscription fees?familysearch.orgofficial
- About FamilySearch . Free to Allfamilysearch.orgofficial
- Is FamilySearch A Better Site Than Ancestry? 2026familyhistoryfoundation.comreview
- 3 Reasons Not to Use the FamilySearch Family Treefamilyhistoryfanatics.comreview
- FamilySearch is a joke : r/Genealogyreddit.comreview