The Family History Guide
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
A free, well-regarded genealogy training site . if you're learning or teaching family history, there is no cost to trying it.
New check
Comparison
The Family History Guide vs MyHeritage
The Family History Guide lands on Worth it, and MyHeritage lands 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 | The Family History Guide | MyHeritage |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | Genealogy beginners | Casual family-tree builders |
| Who it's not for | Anyone wanting to store a family tree . it's a guide, not a database | Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.10 | Breached: 92.3M user credentials exposed (disclosed 2018); one old client-side CVE. |
| Support quality | Volunteer community, no paid support | Billing disputes dominate complaint threads |
| Public sentiment | Beginner genealogists and family history consultants on Reddit and Facebook consistently recommend it as a free starting point.⁷ | Opinion is split: hobbyist genealogists find value in it, while a loud segment of users complain about billing, renewals, and pricing.16 |
| Biggest gotcha | Site is free, but Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast subscriptions are where research costs land. | Auto-renewal traps: users report unexpected renewal charges, including a $149 BBB complaint |
Pick The Family History Guide when
- Genealogy beginners
- FamilySearch and Ancestry learners
- Family history consultants and trainers
- LDS ward and stake classes
When The Family History Guide is not a fit
- Anyone wanting to store a family tree . it's a guide, not a database
- Pros needing original-record search . use Ancestry or FamilySearch directly
- People wanting hands-off, automated ancestor discovery
- Buyers expecting support SLAs . it's a volunteer nonprofit
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
- The Family History Guide (official site)thefhguide.comofficial
- TFHG brochure . Free, no ads, no feesthefhguide.comofficial
- Trainers course catalogthefhguide.comofficial
- Donate page (501(c)(3))thefhguide.comofficial
- GuideStar nonprofit profileguidestar.orgnews
- Facebook page . 98% recommend (28 reviews)facebook.comreview
review
- Family Locket podcast RLP 147 reviewfamilylocket.comreview
- Granite FHC . for experienced researchers?granitefhc.comreview
- Security pagethefhguide.comsecurity
- Blog . Some Common Steps to Online Securitythefhguide.comsecurity
- GoFundMe fundraiser coveragegenealogysstar.blogspot.comnews
- MyHeritage official sitemyheritage.comofficial
- MyHeritage pricing pagemyheritage.comofficial
- 855 MyHeritage Reviews . PissedConsumermyheritage.pissedconsumer.comreview
