Tipsy Tuesday – Ancestry.com vs. Familysearch.org

Last Tuesday we talked about beginning your family research, and the importance of being hands-on in the beginning. If you missed that post you can click here to read it. Today, we are going to talk about two of the largest genealogical databases on the web, and the pros and cons of both sites.

ANCESTRY.COM

Ancestry.com is a great website for researching your family history. The database is extensive, and the ability to connect with newfound family members is great.

Cons –

1. Though you can do basic research for free. Any in-depth information requires a paid monthly/annual subscription.
2. Even though you can research international records they are hard to weed through to find your ancestor.

Pro –

1. With the paid subscription the access to the 20 billion records on the site helps to confirm lineage.
2. Ancestry.com lets you create a family tree and share it with other family members, as well as connect with newfound family members.
3. Ancestry.com has DNA to help discover more about your past than just research alone can do.

FAMILYSEARCH.ORG

Familysearch.org is a new database for my research. I knew it existed but thought that I had everything I needed with ancestry.com. After all, I paid to access Ancestry.com so I assumed it had better quality and more information. However, after using Familysearch.org I find that it has great benefits that Ancestry.com does offer.

Cons –

1. Familysearch.org has access to 6 billion records compared to Ancestry.com’s 20 billion.
2. Unlike Ancestry.com, familysearch.org does not have the capability to connect with other people searching your ancestors or sharing your family tree.

Pros –

1. The big pro (at least for me) is that Familysearch.org is free, except when the results sends you to outside sources (i.e. Fold3.com, Ancestry.com).
2. When searching for international records, Familysearch.com is the best place to go. Where Ancestry.com boasts billions of records, once you start researching internationally you will find it harder to find your ancestor.

All in all, both sites are great. If you are a new genealogist starting out you may not want to pay a monthly fee, but if you are dedicated to your new hobby it will be worth it to meet with others and connecting your family history together. I also wouldn’t put familysearch.org on the backburner. I use both of these sites consistently. Not only do I find more information using them both, but it also helps validating sources.

Thanks for stopping in and reading today’s posts. Don’t forget to leave a comment or question below.