When I first started digging into my family history online, the question I kept asking myself was, “Are there any good free genealogy websites?”
Back then, my family was young, we were living paycheck to paycheck, and paying for a subscription just wasn’t something we could swing.
As I looked for ways to keep my genealogy hobby affordable, I was surprised at how many really great free sites are out there. You can find tons of helpful information, printable charts, and even searchable records—without spending a penny. And here’s the thing: just because something is free doesn’t mean it’s not good. In genealogy, some of the most useful tools won’t cost you a dime.
Best Free Websites for Genealogy Research
Some of the best materials that I have found, like my great uncle’s death certificate, have come from free sites. Free doesn’t have to mean mediocre, it just means that someone was kind enough to share their knowledge with us and not charge us for it.
Since there are so many free sites that I love using, I had a hard time narrowing down which ones I just can’t live without. So, after much soul searching, here are my top 5 favorite free genealogy websites. Just remember that no matter what someone else’s favorite is, the best free websites for genealogy research are the websites that work for you.
Top 5 Free Genealogy Websites
Family Search
FamilySearch is probably one of the very first websites I started using for genealogy. Run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this site not only gives you a place to build your family tree online but also offers endless free records to search.
It does require a sign-up (don’t worry—it’s free!), but once you have an account, you can search records, explore other people’s family trees, and see memories that others have shared about your family members. Got some extra time? You can even volunteer to help index some of their records.
Just remember: some of the information on FamilySearch comes from user contributions, so you’ll want to verify anything you find before adding it to your own family tree.
Find A Grave
Have you ever needed information from a headstone that’s in a cemetery too far away, or wondered where someone is buried? This one’s for you!
Find A Grave is an online virtual cemetery with a searchable database—you can look up people by name, cemetery, or location. Contributors help out by taking photos of cemeteries and headstones or recording grave information when they visit, then adding it to the Find A Grave website to create memorial pages. These memorial pages act like a digital grave site, showing the information from the headstone and, if you’re lucky, a photo of it. Each page can also be linked to the memorial pages of family members.
Want to contribute? Check out Find A Grave to see if they have a list of all the cemeteries in your town. If you know of one they missed, record the graves by taking photos or writing down the information, including the cemetery’s name and location. Once you’re done, sign up on Find A Grave and become a contributor!
At Find A Grave, we all work together to create a virtual cemetery where it’s easy to learn about the final resting place of millions of people from around the world.
– Find A Grave
The US Gen Web Project
When you first visit the US GenWeb Project’s website, you’ll be greeted with an interactive map of the United States, broken down by state. Pick a state and click on it, and you’ll be taken to a brief history of that state along with a map of its counties. Click on a county, and you’ll find all sorts of tidbits about its history, first settlers, cemeteries, churches, and much more. There are even lists of surnames for each county, with links to people researching those names—so you can reach out to them for information or share what you know.
Don’t be surprised if you come across links that do not work, or areas without information. Keeping genealogy free is no small task, and websites like this rely heavily on contributions. Have information to share? Some counties are “up for adoption” on the US GenWeb Project’s site, or you can send your information to the curator of a county that’s already adopted. The more information the site receives, the more everyone benefits.
National Archives (archives.gov)
The National Archives is a must-visit for anyone digging into their family history. This is the official archive of the U.S. government, and it’s full of records that can help you trace your ancestors and learn about their lives. You’ll find census records, military service files, immigration papers, naturalization documents, old maps, photographs—you name it.
The website is pretty easy to navigate, letting you search by topic, record type, or collection. Lots of records are online, so you can access them from home, though some of the more detailed files might require a visit to one of their locations.
What I really love is that the National Archives doesn’t just store records—they also have guides, tutorials, and tips to help you figure out how to use them. Even if you’re new to genealogy, you can dive right in and start finding valuable information for your family tree.
Want more free genealogy websites? Check out my Genealogy Websites and Resources page!
Ellis Island Foundation / American Family Immigration History Center (AFIHC)
If your family includes immigrants (like mine), the Ellis Island Foundation is a fantastic place to start. Their American Family Immigration History Center (AFIHC) has around 65 million passenger arrival records for the Port of New York between 1820 and 1957, and it keeps growing.
Using their free passenger search tool is simple. Just enter a name, choose your search options, and click “search.” If there’s a match, you’ll see the immigrant’s name, arrival year, last residence or birthplace, and the name of the ship they traveled on. You can then view the passenger record, a scanned manifest, and sometimes even an image of the ship.
With a free account, you can save records to your profile to look at later. If you want a physical copy of a manifest, the Foundation offers hard copies for a fee, though they can be a little pricey. And if you happen to be visiting New York, you can also use the terminals at the Family History Center on Ellis Island to access records in person.
One exciting update: the Foundation is expanding its database to include more ports of entry beyond New York. Eventually, the database will grow to about 154 million records, giving researchers even more opportunities to uncover their family history.
Dig In and See What You Find
Digging into your family history doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With these free genealogy websites, you can find records, trace your ancestors, and even connect with other people researching the same names—all without spending a dime. From checking out passenger lists at Ellis Island to exploring county histories on USGenWeb, there’s so much out there just waiting to be discovered.
The cool thing is, a lot of these sites run on contributions from people like us. So not only can you find information, but you can also give back by sharing what you know and helping others on their family history journey.
Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been at it for years, these free tools make genealogy easier, more fun, and full of surprises. So jump in, start exploring, and see what stories you uncover about your family—you never know what hidden treasures are waiting for you.
Note:
Sites that rely on contributions from their users can sometimes be a bit tricky. If someone adds incorrect information about “Aunt Sally” and it gets posted as fact, that mistake can spread quickly. Before you add anything to your own family tree, take the time to verify it—you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches later on.
The Legal Stuff
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