The Free Edition covers the essentials of building and exploring a family tree. The Full Version adds advanced charts, reports, books, media, mapping and publishing tools, as well as project management tools, research tools, AI assistance, and support for the free Family Historian Mobile companion app (available now for Android, with an iPhone version in development). Your project opens unchanged in either one.
| Free Edition Core features only | Full Version Everything included | |
|---|---|---|
| Your family tree | ||
| Add people, families and events No limit on the number of people, families or relationships | Yes | Yes |
| Data entry tools Word-processing features in notes, helper tools for dates, full multi-level undo/redo, fast text entry with auto-complete and auto-list | Yes | Yes |
| Sources and citations Record where every fact came from | Yes | Yes |
| Research notes and to-do lists Keep track of what you still need to find | No | Yes |
| Project Management | ||
| New/imported projects Create new projects and import trees from other programs, and from GEDCOM and GEDZIP files | Yes | Yes |
| Export GEDCOM and GEDZIP files Export to GEDCOM and GEDZIP files | No | Yes |
| Compare and merge projects Combine research from relatives safely | No | Yes |
| Split projects Split off separate branches into separate projects | No | Yes |
| Find and replace Find and replace text across your project | No | Yes |
| Project/backup search Scan your computer for project and backup files | No | Yes |
| Diagrams and charts | ||
| Interactive diagrams and smart trees 30 standard diagrams including ancestor charts, descendant charts, all relatives (and indirect relatives) charts, everyone charts, fan charts, pedigree charts, hourglass charts, waterfall charts … and more. | No | Yes |
| Custom charts and styles Create your custom diagram types and layout designs | No | Yes |
| Create your own wall charts Print across multiple pages or save as PDF | No | Yes |
| Reports and publishing | ||
| Standard reports 49 standard report types, including narrative reports, timeline and calendar reports and much more | No | Yes |
| Family history books & booklets Combine reports, charts, pictures and maps into one book with a title page, contents page, source listings, address list, bibliography, index and more. | No | Yes |
| Scrapbooks & photo books Create scrapbooks and photo books. | No | Yes |
| Create a family website Publish your tree online or share it on a USB stick | No | Yes |
| Pictures and media | ||
| Attach pictures and documents Photos, certificates, census images | Basic support | Yes |
| Face frames Tag each person in a group photo | Basic support | Yes |
| Media management tools Search, browse and filter images in the Media Window. The media link tool makes tagging faces quick and easy. | No | Yes |
| Manage links to media files Manage links to external files and media files in your project. | No | Yes |
| Mapping Tools | ||
| Mark people and events on maps Create multiple sets of markers for people and events, at places and addresses. Click on a marker to view all details of the events that happened there. | No | Yes |
| Time slider Observe changes over time with the Map Window time slider | No | Yes |
| Overlays Install and create overlays marking map areas, ranging from the boundaries of the Roman Empire to the exact location of grave plots in a cemetery | No | Yes |
| Research tools | ||
| FamilySearch The FamilySearch workspace window allows easy searching of the FamilySearch global family tree. Copy data and records into your own program, and contribute to the global family tree if you wish to. Upload projects to your own user trees, and control who can access or contribute to them. | No | Yes |
| Hints Receive hints about possible matches with family tree data and historical records from FamilySearch, Findmypast and MyHeritage | No | Yes |
| Search within your projectFind records across your whole project. | Yes | Yes |
| Filter records Filter records in the Records Window with optional wildcard characters. | Yes | Yes |
| Add columns to record listings Configure record listings to show whatever information you want about people and other record types. | No | Yes |
| Smart Folders We believe, a genealogy world first: your data automatically organised into customisable folders, instantly surfacing the interesting and important information that it contains. | No | Yes |
| Query tool Ask any question of your data and get the answers using Family Historian’s powerful query tool. | No | Yes |
| Web search integration Search online record sites directly from within the program | No | Yes |
| Plugins and AI | ||
| Plugins Download and install more than one hundred free add-on tools from the plugin store, providing extended tools, capabilities and features of all kinds | No | Yes |
| AI Connector Connect Claude, or another compatible AI assistant, to your project. It’s not just advice: with read-write access, your AI assistant can do real work in your project. Access is only enabled while the AI Connector is running, you choose read-only or read-write access, and if you allow changes, you can still undo all of them when you close it. You have full control. | No | Yes |
| Family Historian Mobile | ||
| Export to Family Historian Mobile Create a compact copy of your project (a GEDZIP file) for the free Family Historian Mobile app, with pictures scaled down to suit a phone. The app is available now for Android, with an iPhone version in development. | No | Yes |
| Help and User Manual | ||
| Built-in help, how-to guides and user manual | Yes | Yes |
Ready for more?
- Your project opens in the Full Version exactly as it is. Nothing to convert or re-enter.
- Take out a subscription (monthly or annual), or make a one-off purchase.
- Upgrading from an earlier version? Version 7 users currently get a 25% discount, and version 5 and 6 users a 10% discount, on a perpetual version 8 licence.
- Not sure yet? Try every feature free for 30 days using your own tree.
Features shown are for Family Historian 8.