Heirstory and FamilySearch, compared
Checked 28 October 2026
FamilySearch is free, run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and holds more than 22 billion searchable names and images. Its full-text search can read old handwriting that no index covers. Its tree is one shared world tree, where everyone works on the same ancestors together.
Heirstory is the opposite kind of tree: one that belongs to your family alone. Gene, an AI genealogist, researches it with you and talks with each relative, and nothing of it is public.
The short answer
Choose FamilySearch to search free records, and to work on your ancestors alongside everyone else descended from them.
Choose Heirstory for a tree that is your family’s alone, with its memories, photographs and documents kept private to the family.
Use both. Search FamilySearch’s free records yourself, and keep what you find, with your family’s memories, on Heirstory.
Side by side
| FamilySearch | Heirstory | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Free records, and one shared world tree | Keeping a family’s own record: tree, records and memories |
| Records | Over 22 billion names and images, free | Gene searches public records online for those who have died |
| The tree | One tree for everyone; anyone can change an ancestor | Your family’s own; only the family adds to it |
| Interviews your relatives | No; members can upload photos, stories and recordings | Yes, aloud in a web browser or by typing |
| Living people | Seen only by whoever added them | Each decides what relatives see; near family see each other in full |
| Memories about the living | Public unless made private | Never public |
| Take it with you | No direct GEDCOM download; partner programs can make one | A family-tree file, or a full copy with photographs and documents |
| Price | Free | Free to build; Gene’s work uses credits, 100 free, then from £5 |
Where FamilySearch is better
- Free records, and a great many of them, with no subscription.
- Full-text search of handwritten records.
- A shared effort. Many people improve the same ancestors, and a large volunteer community helps.
Where Heirstory is better
- Your family’s own record. Nobody outside the family changes your ancestors, and nothing about your family is public.
- The living family. Gene interviews each relative and keeps what they say, in their own words, beside the people it is about.
- Privacy that is the default. On FamilySearch, memories about living relatives are public unless you make them private. On Heirstory nothing is public.
- A family’s history written up. Gene writes each family’s chapter from the records and what the family has added.
- A family-tree file whenever you want it, from your own menu.
Questions
Can I bring my FamilySearch tree to Heirstory?
FamilySearch has no download of its own for the shared tree. Its help centre points to partner programs that can save a branch as a GEDCOM file, which Heirstory can bring in.
Is my family tree private on FamilySearch?
Living people are seen only by whoever added them. Everyone who has died belongs to one shared tree that anyone can change. Memories you add about living relatives are public unless you make them private, and can be found by search engines.
Is Heirstory free too?
Your tree, records, chapters and invitations are free. Gene’s work, such as research and interviews, uses credits. You start with 100.
Sources
- FamilySearch is free: familysearch.org/en/home/about, read 28 October 2026.
- Records and tree size: FamilySearch 2025 highlights, 7 January 2026.
- Living people and private spaces: FamilySearch help centre, read 28 October 2026.
- Memories about living relatives can be found by search: FamilySearch help centre, read 28 October 2026.
- GEDCOM through partner software: FamilySearch help centre, read 28 October 2026.