Family Historian 8 is a paid-for upgrade from version 7 and earlier versions.

Minor version updates are usually free in Family Historian. Major version updates are not free – but if you own a recent version, you may be eligible for a discount off the usual price. A minor update is any update where the first part of the version number does not change. Version numbers are usually displayed in 3 or 4 parts. For example, if you have version 7.0.24.1 and you wish to upgrade to version 8.0.1, that is a major upgrade because the first part has changed from 7 to 8.

To check which version you have, click on “About Family Historian” on the Help menu. The version you have is shown at the top.

If an upgrade is available, you may be informed of this when you run Family Historian. You can also check yourself by clicking ‘Check for Updates’ on the Help menu. If the upgrade is a free minor upgrade, you can normally apply it immediately by clicking on a button labelled ‘Upgrade Now’. Paid-for upgrades do not work like this. In that case there will be no ‘Upgrade Now’ button.

To purchase a paid-for upgrade, please go to the Family Historian 8 Pricing page in the Family Historian Store. If an upgrade discount is available, there will be a link for you to click on to apply for it. If there is no discount, you just buy a Family Historian 8 licence in the ordinary way. With or without a discount, when you install Family Historian 8 it will automatically detect any previous version that you have installed, and automatically copy your settings, customizations and configuration options. Family Historian 8 installs alongside all previous versions and does not replace them.

Upgrading to a Subscription

As well as offering perpetual licences for version 8, it is also possible to purchase a monthly or annual subscription to Family Historian – which entitles you to the latest version of the software, whatever that is, as long as your subscription is active. If you have a perpetual licence for a previous version, you can switch to a subscription if you want to, when upgrading.

What’s New in Version 8

See What’s New in Version 8 to learn about the new features in the latest version.