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Best Family Tree Software 2019 - Genealogy Software Reviews

I spent 40 hours researching and testing genealogy software to find out which program is the best. Throughout that week, I consulted with genealogy experts, built my own family tree back five generations, created family trees based on fictional characters, and learned a lot about Irish Kings and U.S. Presidents by importing GEDCOM files. In the end, Legacy Family Tree and Family Historian stood out among the others due to their superior GEDCOM accuracy.

Legacy Family Tree

Legacy Family Tree earned perfect marks in my GEDCOM test, is easy to use, and has comprehensive research and scrapbooking tools. It’s comparable to the best genealogy software but costs less.

Family Historian

Family Historian performed perfectly in my GEDCOM test and received the highest grades for ease of use and data management. Those scores, combined with its excellent scrapbooking tools and feature set, give it the most intuitive user experience of the programs we tested.

Heredis 2018

Not only does Heredis 2018 feature the most stylish family tree charts and genealogy reports, but it also has the widest variety. Also, the quality of its charts is unmatched.

Best Value

Legacy Family Tree

Legacy Family Tree emerged from my tests and research as one of the best performing family tree apps because of its excellent data management and research tools. The interface is a little dated, but it's very effective and easy to use. Most importantly, Legacy Family Tree was one of only two programs with 100-percent accuracy in my GEDCOM test. This, along with its lower price point, make it the best value genealogy software.

In my GEDCOM import tests, I used four genealogical records to gauge how well each program interpreted this universal genealogical file format. Legacy Family Tree and Family Historian were the only programs that earned perfect scores.
These weren't simple records either. Two of the files contained over 1,000 family names, including media files, notes, memories and more. I purposely made the other two GEDCOM records difficult for genealogy software to interpret by including same-sex marriages, polygamous families and mixed families. Legacy Family Tree’s accuracy makes it ideal for incorporating a family member’s research into your own.
Legacy Family Tree received A grades for navigation and data entry in my ease of use tests. Its interface is pleasantly simple, not overwhelming like many of the programs I reviewed. This makes it easy to manage data, especially when there's so much to get lost in. I also liked the automatic warnings the software gave when I entered possibly incorrect information, such as if a parent was too young at the entered marriage date or too old at death.

Best User Experience

Family Historian

If your main reason for doing genealogy is to record and tell your family's story, then Family Historian is your best software option. Not only did it most accurately interpret data from GEDCOM files (which makes it easy to incorporate data collected by other family members) but its interface was also the easiest to use.

Its scrapbooking tools are also effective and easy to find. In addition, Family Historian’s integration with online databases makes it a powerful genealogy tool.
Only two genealogy programs perfectly interpreted data in GEDCOM files – and Family Historian was one of them. I imported four GEDCOM files – two very large records and two smaller records I created specifically to test each program’s ability to interpret tricky information, such as same-sex marriages, polygamist families and mixed families. Each of these records included media files, memories, notes, burial locations and more. Family Historian interpreted the data and incorporated the records into its format without flaw. If someone else in your family has done a lot of research already, this is the best program for incorporating their records into your own.
Family Historian received the highest grades for ease of use. It’s easy to navigate, with almost no learning curve. Also, the tabbed menus make data entry quick and effortless because you don't have to open new windows for every piece of information you want to enter. If you do genealogy for hours at a time, opening and closing windows can add a significant amount of time to your work. It's also one of the few programs with a time-saving undo/redo feature.

Best Charting Capabilities

Heredis 2018

Heredis 2018 wasn’t impressive, particularly because of its subpar GEDCOM accuracy. In fact, it completely failed to import one of my four test GEDCOM files. However, the software’s charts are unmatched in number, quality, variety and style. If you primarily want genealogy software to print out family trees, genealogy reports and books, Heredis 2018 is the best option.

The software has more chart options than any other app I reviewed by a long shot. There are 45 charts and 33 report styles to choose from – nearly double the options other programs have. Its selection includes charts with actual trees as the background, charts with fancy designs linking people together and charts made to look like antique scrolls. Heredis’ charts are of high enough quality you can print and frame them.
In many ways, Heredis is my favorite interface to work in because of its modern design and customizable tools. It doesn't feel like it was designed in the 1990s like some of its competitors do. In fact, the module-based interface is fully customizable, so you can mold it to your preferences, making it great for novices and experts alike.
Heredis lacks undo and redo tools and doesn't offer hints to guide you in your research. It also doesn’t have a task list and doesn’t automatically back up your data. Perhaps most important, though, it didn't perform very well in my GEDCOM tests, completely failing to import one of the files and having issues with the others.

Best for Beginners

Family Tree Maker

Family Tree Maker is a great tool for comprehensive genealogy research.

In our tests, it received an A+ for data entry efficiency, scrapbooking tools and ease-of-use. Very few features require you open new windows, eliminating the possibility of getting lost in a sea of data. For testing, we entered the information of 10 people and it took under 5 minutes. Charting is also easy so if you've never used software like this before, the learning curve is small. The scrapbooking features are also right at the top of the interface, where you can add photos, videos and other material to flesh out your family's story.

Best for Mac

Reunion 12

The only reason this product doesn’t rank higher in our rankings is because its limited to Macs, but if you’ve got an Apple laptop, iPad or iPhone this software is one of the best options out there.

Reunion 12's charting displays crisply, making your family tree easy to print out. You can easily attach photos, video and other media to a family member via the main toolbar, which is displayed vertically on the left side of the screen. It only took us 7 minutes to enter data for 10 individuals, which is incredibly efficient compared to other products we tested that took 10 minutes or more. The one flaw we discovered with Reunion 12 had to do with importing your family tree as a GEDCOM file. The programming excluded a same-sex marriage and some media files. Aside from some GEDCOM compatibility problems though, this software is easy to use on your Apple device.

Why Trust Us

Top Ten Reviews has reviewed genealogy software since 2004, testing and comparing the best products on the market each year. As I tested these programs, I put most of my focus on ease of use, evaluating each software’s GEDCOM accuracy, interface navigation, tools and features, and data entry process. However, I also considered the apps’ charting capabilities and data management, paying special attention to their scrapbooking tools because genealogy is about much more than tracking down your ancestor’s records – it's about collecting, recording and managing your family's story.

While this is the first time I've reviewed family tree software, genealogy is a frequent topic of conversation in my family. My ancestors’ stories make up a core part of who I am and how I came to be. I've traveled to Ireland, Wales and England specifically to visit ancestral sites. Genealogy software has an existential value for me, and I approached each program as someone recording his family’s story.

How We Tested

Sharing research is a major part of successful genealogy work. To do this, you create a GEDCOM file, a universal format for recording genealogy records. It allows you to incorporate research from others, such as a great aunt or a cousin, into your own database. However, while GEDCOM files are universal, not all programs accurately interpret their data.

To test the apps’ accuracy, I used GEDCOM files of Irish kings and U.S. presidents. Then I created a GEDCOM file based on my own family tree and a fictional file based on characters from my favorite TV show. The purpose of the first two records was to test the breadth of the program, as each file had thousands of names and hundreds of families. The other two records were made to be as difficult as possible – they included same-sex marriages, polygamist relationships and complicated mixed families. Each of these GEDCOM files included media files, notes, memories, web links and more.

The amount of information in these GEDCOM files was staggering, making it all the more impressive when two programs emerged with perfect results. The biggest problem programs had was excluding huge swaths of information from a family line based on one problematic entry. Another issue was errors in the media files and missing notes. Often, the data was still available, but the connections had to be re-stitched.

I also evaluated how easy each program is to use by looking closely at its interface design and data entry process. The easiest programs are modeless – you don’t have to open a new window for every tool or feature you want to use. Instead, you enter data in an interface that uses floating tabs and adjustable modules in a single window. This process requires fewer mouse-clicks, so it saves time. Overall, modeless interfaces have shallower learning curves and help novices become experts quicker.

In addition, I evaluated the programs’ charting capabilities and scrapbooking tools. Genealogy is about much more than collecting dates and names – it’s also about telling your family story; displaying family connections on a visual chart; and tracking down pictures, videos, audio, family memories, life events, health records, facts and other notes. The best genealogy programs put their chart options and scrapbooking tools front and center so you don’t have to dig to find them.

How Much Does Genealogy Software Cost?

We tested genealogy software that cost an average of $46, making it more cost-effective than paying a monthly fee to use a genealogy website. If you opt for genealogy software the only ongoing costs are for software updates or upgrades, which costs roughly $20 depending on the service.

Why Buy Genealogy Software?

As I began researching genealogy software for this review, my family had a big party to celebrate six birthdays – siblings, nieces, nephews, grandmother. Everyone was there. At the party, I talked about reviewing genealogy software, knowing it's a topic my family is interested in. The reaction I got from everyone was 'So, you're reviewing services like Ancestry and MyHertitage? Are you going to get your DNA tested?'

Indeed, Top Ten Reviews covers genealogy services and DNA testing kits, but when I explained it was desktop genealogy software, the response was 'Why? Aren't the services better? FamilySearch.org is free!'

And they make a good point – why buy genealogy software? The software doesn't come with a database of names and records. If you have to access a database to do research anyway, why not use a service to build your family tree?

Ownership
I asked Simon Orde, director at Family Historian, the same question: Why is genealogy software still relevant? While he praises online genealogy services as a vital part of the genealogy industry that connects people with vast databases of names and records, he draws a stark line between the value of genealogy software and that of genealogy services. Desktop software, he explains, 'allows customers to store their own data on their own PC, under their own control.'

It may seem like a small detail, but there are big implications. Namely, when you use a cloud-based database, the information isn't yours to control or maintain. When you put your family history together in a desktop genealogy program, you not only own the data, but you own the process. It makes you more invested in your family’s story.

Cross-database Hints
Doing genealogy is like being a detective. This is part of the appeal for many people – building an ancestor's life story through small clues and fractured information. To do this, you can't limit yourself to one database. However, genealogy services lock you into a subscription with complicated user agreements and intellectual property issues, making it difficult to do cross-database research.

If you're like a detective, online services limit the scope of your detecting. Orde illustrates this by pointing out that services only provide hints within their own database – you don't get hints about records on other databases. For example, Ancesty.com doesn’t direct you to MyHeritage.com or other sites, even if the information may further your research. But with software, you get hints and matches for individuals on multiple databases.

User Changes
The cloud-based nature of online genealogy services means other users can change information. While citing information is good practice, an online user doesn't necessarily need to cite the reason for changing data. For example, a few years ago, someone changed my grandfather's death date on a popular ancestry service's database. My father had to go through the process of fixing the altered date, showing he had firsthand experience and citing the death certificate before the date was corrected. As it turned out, the person who altered the date had mistaken my grandfather for someone with a similar name. Not an uncommon issue with databases.

A Living Record
Another reason to buy genealogy software is to build a record of living relatives. Marcia Helzer, a retired school teacher and volunteer indexer for FamilySearch.org for the last eight years, emphasizes how genealogy is a living record. It should focus as much your living relatives as it does your ancestors. But this is difficult to do with online services because it may violate living individuals’ privacy. Online databases, she argues, are great for building backward but not for building forward. In an era where identity theft is a real concern, a privately managed database on your computer is the safer option.

Pairing Genealogy Software With DNA Test Kits

While genealogy software can do a lot to help you reveal your family’s history, it is still fallible since you may be missing information or have some incorrect details. For example, there are many stories about people taking DNA tests for fun only to find out that the person they thought was their father isn’t. Without this accurate paternity information, it is impossible to fill in correct genealogical data.

On the flip side, a DNA test kit is also worth it if you don’t know anything about one or more of your parents and want to learn about where you come from. Similarly, a consumer DNA test is also beneficial if you are multiracial – it can reveal a detailed breakdown of your heritage, including information about which continents and countries your DNA originates from. Also, depending on which test you purchase, you may find out what percentage of your biological makeup comes from each region. This can help you focus your genealogy research.

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Consumer DNA tests are fun and educational. Though the process has inherent risks, the information the tests provide can help you fill out your genealogy correctly. They can also bring your family closer together and even inspire future travel plans.

More Guides for Family Historians:

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The Rundown

• Best Overall:Adobe Premiere Pro at Amazon, 'The cross-platform, uber-popular timeline-based video editor that’s long set the standard for video editing software.'
• Runner-Up, Best Overall:Nero Platinum 2019 at Amazon, 'An essential multitasking tool that's perfect for beginners or aspiring filmmakers.'
• Best Value:Pinnacle Studio 21 Ultimate at Best Buy, “Offers a host of post effects that put this thing way out of its price class.”
• Best for Macs:Apple Final Cut Pro at Apple, 'Treads the line between a consumer product and one for professionals who need powerful editing tools.'
• Best for Windows:Movavi Video Editor 15 at Amazon, 'Built specifically with beginners in mind, offering special features that make it a breeze to create.'
• Best for YouTube:Corel VideoStudio Pro X10 at Amazon, 'With over 1,500 customizable effects, transitions, and titles, there’s something for everyone.'
• Best for Vloggers:Sony Movie Studio 13 at Amazon, 'Can directly upload to Facebook or other social media for fast sharing.'
• Best for Smartphones:Adobe Premiere Clip at iTunes, 'Perfect for creatives whose videos are bound for social media channels like YouTube and Instagram.'
• Best for Beginners:Corel VideoStudio at Amazon, 'Includes storyboard mode, which helps users draft the exact vision they have in mind.'

Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Adobe Premiere Pro

The granddaddy of video editing, Adobe Premiere Pro is the cross-platform, uber-popular timeline based video editor that’s long set the standard for video editing software. Capable of tackling nearly any type of video format, Adobe’s software is ready to produce video for any type of professional production, including film, television and the Web. Premiere Pro offers enough horsepower to handle 360-degree virtual reality video to 8K footage all in native format. It can even import and export footage from competitive software such as Final Cut Pro.

While most professional-grade software can handle multi-cam editing, Premiere Pro goes one step beyond, handling as many sources as necessary with as many angles as required. The inclusion of the bundled Lumetri Color Panel allows advanced color adjustments to be handled with ease. Additionally, Adobe’s integration with After Effects and Photoshop adds even more reason for professional grade editors to choose Premiere Pro.

Runner-Up, Best Overall: Nero Platinum 2019

Nero is a trusted name when it comes to diverse and easy-to-use multimedia suites, and Nero Platinum 2019 is no different. The latest version of its flagship product allows you to burn media, create your own, edit creations, organize your collection, stream the media you've already got, and much more. It's an essential multitasking tool that's perfect for beginners or aspiring filmmakers, with everything you need to author, burn, and store the best possible content you can make.

The latest version includes several new choices for movie design, disc menu, and vertical smartphone video designs in addition to the new Nero Start application, 1-Click Video Story, and DriveSpan app for making stored creations even simpler. Whether you need to edit that great new film you shot with friends or want to organize your files, Nero Platinum 2019 is an excellent choice.

Best Value: Pinnacle Studio 21 Ultimate

Corel’s Pinnacle Studio 21 Ultimate gives you everything you’ll get with the standard copy of Pinnacle Studio 21, plus a host of upgraded features. It does everything the lower version will do: giving you a seamless editing interface, the ability to work in full HD, as well as a great set of features for laying out a perfect story with video. But, it will also offer you a host of post effects that put this thing way out of its price class.

For starters, they’ve added in some crazy seamless morph transitions to help you blend together all the parts of your visual story. They’ve thrown in a pretty unique paintbrush filter effect that will work in tandem with already-shot video, letting you transform raw, live footage into living animations. Not only does Studio 21 Ultimate offer support for uploading 360-degree video but they’ve included a surprisingly intuitive set of trim, edit and control features for 360 video that will let you ensure your viewer gets the exact immersive experience you want.

Finally, rounding out their set of flagship additions, they give you the ability to include a motion-tracked image-blurring filter over the top of any element on the screen, meaning you can protect the identity of someone’s face, their license plate or anything else you’d prefer not to be in your final product.

Best for Macs: Apple Final Cut Pro

Apple’s Final Cut Pro X software falls into what we call the “prosumer” category because it treads the line between a product for consumers who want to up their video-editing game and one for professionals who need powerful editing tools. It lacks a traditional timeline-track interface, which is enough to scare some users off, but the software is intuitive and powerful nonetheless.

It has great organizational tools like libraries, ratings, tagging, auto analysis for faces and scenes, and automatic color coding for track-specific clips, useful keyboard short-cuts, and drag-and-drop media importing give Adobe’s Premiere Elements a run for its money. Unfortunately, you can't directly open projects from Final Cut Pro 7 or earlier, but there are many third-party plug-ins that will help you out there.​

Best for Windows: Movavi Video Editor 15

The latest version of Movavi Video Editor is built specifically with beginners in mind, offering special features that make it a breeze to create. Its drag-and-drop interface is especially useful, as it allows you to trim, cut, and otherwise tinker with your clips to piece them together in a way that makes it easy to debut your very own masterpiece. It also includes a wide variety of transitions, titles, and special effects to jazz up your final version, with picture-in-picture support, callouts to annotate certain sections, stickers to place on your clips, and more.

Have older, subpar quality videos you wish you could clean up a bit? Use Magic Enhance. Need some extra footage? You can use Movavi Video Editor to record new clips from within the application as well. With all these tools in mind, Movavi offers powerful ways to package and share your footage, whether you're an old auteur or fledgling director.

Best for YouTube: Corel VideoStudio Pro X10

When it comes to video editing for YouTube, almost every app does it well, but Corel VideoStudio Pro X10 does it better. With nearly every feature and tool that you need at your disposal (including transitions, effects, titles, templates and more), Pro X10 brings with it an outstanding fleet of tools.

Support for 360-degree VR, 4K, Ultra HD and 3D media help round out the export opportunities available with Pro X10 and, while they may not all be supported by YouTube now, it’s good to know you have the capability for when they are. The user interface isn’t for beginners, but within a short amount of time, you’ll be a master at capturing, editing and sharing.

Added features such as time remapping for including slow motion, high-speed effects or freeze action are complemented by easily grouping or ungrouping clips on a timeline to edit in bulk or one at a time. With over 1,500 customizable effects, transitions and titles, there’s something for everyone. Even as the video itself is the focus, custom fitting your project with a soundtrack is handled well with custom-fit audio allowing your movies to both look and sound good.

Best for Vloggers: Sony Movie Studio 13

Sony Movie Studio 13 was made with the digital filmmaker in mind – once you’ve edited your video to your satisfaction, you can directly upload it to Facebook or other social media for fast sharing. Create video in beautiful 4K (ultra HD) XAVCS, or AVCHD to give your vlogs a high-production, professional feel.

Movie Studio 13 Platinum is touch-enabled, too, so you can create and edit movies even faster using your PC’s touchscreen. With large, easy-to-use buttons, fewer menus and the popular Simple Edit Mode, Sony Movie Studio 13 makes video editing fast and easy, so you can keep up with the Internet’s viral pace. The software also comes with ACID Music Studio 10 and Sound Forge Audio Studio 10 to take your online media up a notch.

Best for Smartphones: Adobe Premiere Clip

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Premiere Clip is your iOS/Android connection to Adobe’s most powerful editing programs: Premiere Pro and Premiere Elements. It’s part of the Creative Cloud ecosystem, which means you’ll need an Adobe ID to access it, but both the app and an account are free for all.

Project dynamics can be altered and performance monitored with earned value analysis throughout the complete project life cycle. The ability to build the project budget as tasks are identified assists with the requirements for business case project proposals, valuation analysis and securing required project funding. Free program management templates. The Excel Project Management template provides the ability to define the project budget as tasks are defined. Project phases, task titles, holidays and other key project parameters can be predefined to accelerate work flow.

Premiere Clip is perfect for creatives whose videos are bound for social media channels like YouTube and Instagram. You can easily import video clips from places like your phone, Lightroom, Creative Cloud, and Dropbox, and then use the app’s Freeform editor to trim or split clips, adjust exposure and highlights, add audio and more. And, of course, you can add filters, which is a given in today’s social media sphere.

Best for Beginners: Corel VideoStudio

Corel’s Windows-only VideoStudio offers an equally robust set of features comparative to Adobe or CyberLink’s product line. Right off the bat, it’s easy to see why VideoStudio is a great option: It offers support for 4K, 360-degree VR, multi-cam editing, as well as a large library of royalty-free music. Beginners will quickly learn to appreciate features such as 'checkmarks,' which can either let you know which clips you’ve already used or can apply effects to all the clips currently in your timeline at once. Additionally, voice detection helps you match subtitles to speech in your video clips.

Purchasing the full version of VideoStudio Ultimate X10 adds a whole extra set of options that beginners will quickly love, including multi-monitor support, easier title creation, and even stop-motion animation. Corel supports almost every output format imaginable, so it's ideal for sharing socially or for hosting online for the world to see. Another highlight for beginners is the inclusion of storyboard mode, which will help draft the exact vision they have in mind for a finished product without wasting hours and days on edits that may never see the light of day.

What to Look for in Video Editing Software

Platform - If you’re looking for a new video editing software package, you’ll want to look into whether if it is available for your platform before continuing to dig into it any further. If you have a Windows PC or a Mac, check the software manufacturer's website to see if a version is available for your device.

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Experience - Are you brand new to video editing or a seasoned professional? Some video editing software packages can feel extremely intimidating with an endless number of settings and dials. If you are new to the game, consider picking out a started solution from companies like Corel and Nero.

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Price - Professional video editing software packages and cause hundreds if not thousands of dollars. If you are looking to edit videos of your family events, you most likely won’t need the features in the professional suites. If you’re keeping it simple, don’t spend over $100 on your software of choice.