Compare
the big 4
tested
S
NZ
EP
R)
OR
REC
LY
EAR
OR
PO
(PR
DS
OR
REC
LAW
DA
NA
CA
US,
DS
ALI
STR
,A
U
OR
REC
AL
MIN
CRI
AN
LLS
WI
DS
E
BAT
DP
RO
EG
OLL
L/C
OO
SCH
A&
RDS
ER
ECO
S
LIST
AL
ION
PAT
CU
OC
PAS
SEN
GE
ED
IRE
ON
R LI
STS
CTO
IES
OR
EPH
TEL
DE
TRA
VY
NA
DIR
REC
OR
ECT
DS
OR
REC
W1
-W
WW
PRE
RM
FO
ON
NC
NO
1R
ECO
RDS
IST
DS
REC
RIE
S
OR
CTI
LLE
CO
ER
IST
REG
ISH
PAR
ERS
OV
DS
ON
S
EXE
DS
BM
EAS
&W
ALE
SB
MD
EN
GLA
ND
RDS
DS
HR
ECO
IRIS
TTIS
CEN
SCO
UK
HER
OT
HR
ECO
R
SUS
ES
IND
&W
ALE
S)
RCH
SEA
SS
DRE
AD
1C
EN
SUS
(EN
GLA
ND
US
ENS
191
184
1-19
01
C
ON
LIN
IEW
PAY
-PE
R-V
AL
ET
RI
FRE
EC
OM
MU
NIT
Y
(EN
GLA
ND
&W
ALE
S)
the market
So you’ve heard our testers’ comments, but you’re still
unsure which site to go for. We’ve put together an at-aglance chart to help you make that decision…
TheGenealogist
GENESreunited
FIND MY PAST
Ancestry
The best of the rest
ESSENTIALS
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔
✘ ✔
✘
✘
PREMIUM
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
WORLDWIDE
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
FOUNDATION
✔ ✔
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔ ✔ ✘
FULL
✘
✔
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
STANDARD
✔ ✔ ✔
PLATINUM
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✔ ✘
✔ ✔
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✔ ✔
✔ ✘
✔ ✔
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✔ ✔
✔
✘
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔ ✔
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✔
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✘ ✔
✘
✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✔ ✔
✔
✘
✘
✔
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
STARTER
✘
✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✔
✘
✘
✘
✔ ✔
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
GOLD
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✔
✘
✘
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✘
✘
✘ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘
✘
✘
DIAMOND
✘
✘
✘
✘
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✘ ✔
Of course there are other websites that offer genealogy
records on a subscription or pay-as-you-go basis. Here
are some of the more high-profile examples…
Familyrelatives.com – While this site lacks census
records, meaning it didn’t make it into our main
comparison, it still has BMD indexes and some more
unusual collections for advanced researchers. These
include Scottish directories and records relating to the
US, peerage, visitations and a hefty military collection.
It’s also good value: subscription is £30 for 12 months
and pay-per-view options cost £6 or £12.
Origins.net – Although it lost the Society of
Genealogists’ digital holdings to findmypast.co.uk in
2011, Origins.net is still one of the best places to visit
for London records, and wills and probate records. It
holds the National Wills Index – almost 3 million names
and counting – which it is updating regularly. Annual
subscription is £55, or 72-hour access costs £8.
ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk – As the name suggests,
this government website is the place to go for Scottish
records. It holds birth, marriage and death records,
census returns 1841-1911, old parish registers and
wills. Access is pay-per-view only, and starts at £7 for
30 credits (viewing an image uses five credits).
For Irish ancestry, try rootsireland.ie – it holds
almost 15 million birth/baptismal, marriage and death/
burial records, census and other basic records. (One
record costs €3.50 (roughly £3) and, of course, there is
Findmypast.ie the Irish branch of findmypast.co.uk.
You’ll need a separate subscription (€59.95/£51.50 a
year); pay-per-view from €9.95/£8.50 for 100 credits.
This is an updated version of a chart originally
published in our January 2012 issue.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of errors on
the original version of this chart, which have now
been corrected. White ticks ✔ indicate a dataset
that
is not
complete
(compiled
February
2012).
A great
chance
to make
your money
work
harder
with offers from these genealogy sites…
Originally compiled November 2011. Subject to change