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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Ancestry vs FamilySearch Memories

Ancestry 4.8★ · Free to download 65
Winner Tie
FamilySearch Memories 4.8★ · Free to download · ⚠ stale 70

Ancestry offers a more comprehensive genealogy research experience with DNA integration, but its high cost and frequent technical issues are significant drawbacks, while FamilySearch Memories excels as a free, user-friendly tool for digital preservation of family stories and photos, despite some syncing and navigation problems.

Full reviews: Ancestry · FamilySearch Memories

Ancestry provides extensive tools for building family trees and DNA analysis, though users frequently complain about its high subscription fees and app glitches. FamilySearch Memories is a free app focused on preserving family photos and stories, praised for its ease of use but criticized for syncing issues and occasional navigation difficulties.

Head to head

Features & Scope edge: AncestryR5R11R19R20
Ancestry Ancestry is praised for its ability to help users discover ancestors, expand family trees, and confirm relationships, especially for adoptees R5R11R20. Users appreciate the hints feature for finding family origins . However, some users feel there isn't enough information about themselves R19, and others note a lack of updates for African American journeys . There are also complaints about the removal of features like anniversaries on the homepage and limited functionality compared to the website, such as sorting shared matches .
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories is highly valued for its core function of preserving family photos, certificates, letters, and stories . Users love the ability to record voice stories with photos R118 and easily upload images from their phone . However, users desire video submission capabilities R103 and better organization with filters and consistent tagging across platforms . Some also note that memories can disappear or are not linked back to the person R61.
Ease of Use & Navigation tieR4R10R13R18
Ancestry Many Ancestry users find the app difficult to navigate and user-unfriendly R4R13. Specific complaints include difficulty changing trees R4, searching R13, and understanding how to view DNA results without a subscription R10. Some users also report that hints don't load or are incorrect R18.
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories receives mixed reviews on ease of use. Many users find it easy to use and user-friendly, especially for uploading photos and recording stories . However, a significant number of users find it difficult to navigate, particularly with issues like photos not linking to people, disappearing memories, and problems with tagging and editing R61. Recent updates have introduced glitches where users can't exit edited photos .
Reliability & Performance tieR1R12R18R25
Ancestry Ancestry users report numerous reliability issues, including the app losing tree ownership and DNA data R1R31, unsaved family members R25, and hints not working or being incorrect R18. Updates are frequently cited as introducing new glitches, such as losing chronological order in hints or requiring trees to be re-downloaded R12. The app is also reported to crash, lag, and fail to load .
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories also struggles with reliability. Users report memories disappearing for months R61R80, content sync issues between the app and website , and the app freezing up . Uploading and organizing large numbers of images can be very slow . Some users experience issues with the app not functioning at all, such as being unable to upload pictures or sign in .
Price & Value edge: FamilySearch MemoriesR6R7R10R14
Ancestry Ancestry is consistently criticized for its high cost and perceived poor value. Users feel it's too expensive, with subscription fees reaching over $500 a year R14R18R27. Many complain about being charged for basic information after purchasing a DNA kit R10R32. There are also significant complaints about cancellation fees R7R28R49 and unauthorized charges . Users feel that much of the previously free content has been moved behind a paywall R6.
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories is free to download and use, and users do not mention any costs or subscription fees. The app is seen as a valuable resource for preserving family history without financial barriers .
Support & Account Management tieR9R28R29R49
Ancestry Ancestry users report difficulties with account access and customer support. Issues include being unable to access paid DNA tests R9, problems with password resets R29, and a long, drawn-out process for resolving unauthorized charges . The cancellation process is described as purposefully confusing and difficult R28R49.
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories users frequently report issues with signing in and resetting passwords, with some stating they cannot access their accounts at all despite multiple attempts . There are also complaints about the IT department ignoring issues like disappearing memories R61.
Pick Ancestry if

you are serious about in-depth genealogical research, including DNA analysis, and are willing to pay a premium price for extensive records and hints, despite potential app glitches and high costs R5R11R20.

Pick FamilySearch Memories if

you are looking for a completely free, user-friendly app primarily for digitizing, organizing, and preserving family photos, stories, and documents for future generations .

Evidence note: Ancestry has a much larger volume of reviews, which contributes to a more detailed understanding of its user experience, particularly regarding pricing and technical issues. FamilySearch Memories, while having fewer reviews, provides a clear picture of its strengths in memory preservation and its weaknesses in technical reliability and account access.

Frequently asked

Is Ancestry free to use?
Ancestry is free to download, but users report that most significant features, including viewing DNA results and accessing detailed family tree information, require a paid subscription, with costs often exceeding $40 per month or $500 per year R10R14R27R32.
Can I upload videos to FamilySearch Memories?
While FamilySearch Memories is excellent for photos and audio recordings, users express a strong desire for the ability to submit videos, indicating this feature is currently missing R103R118.
Do Ancestry and FamilySearch Memories have issues with data loss?
Both apps have user reports of data loss or access issues; Ancestry users mention losing their DNA data and entire family trees R1R31, while FamilySearch Memories users report memories disappearing for months or never returning R61R80.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] Ancestry 5/5 · US The Good😊The Bad😠& The Ugly🥴= Me: Love History and Real Life. Can’t get enough of Ancestry. I have been working on my family history since the 1980’s and that was all done in Court Houses, Public Libraries and knocking on on doors. Meeting strangers for anything they could confirm/ deny/ embellish/ or add to! It was fun but Ancestry has confirmed for me all of that ground work decades ago. In my
  2. [R11] Ancestry 5/5 · US My Ancestors: I’m amazed at what I have discovered about my family.
  3. [R19] Ancestry 1/5 · US Not what I was expecting: Not enough information about me .
  4. [R20] Ancestry 5/5 · US Research: I have loved researching my family. I would rate a 10 out of 10
  5. [R4] Ancestry 1/5 · US Family trees: Very user unfriendly, not able to change trees at will…
  6. [R10] Ancestry 2/5 · US Confused: It seems that you have to subscribe to find out anything. My DNA results are in and I have no idea how to view them
  7. [R13] Ancestry 1/5 · US AJ: You make it too hard to search!
  8. [R18] Ancestry 3/5 · US Easy, expensive, yet unreliable performance: I’ve used Ancestry for years. It keeps getting more and more expensive. It’s frustrating when trying to add hints to a record and have the program not work or give incorrect messages, like I need to contact the owner of the tree for access, then give me my contact information.
  9. [R1] Ancestry 1/5 · US Ancestry Lost me as my Tree Owner and my DNA: How can Ancestry mess up so badly? I am the tree owner, but now, after 1500+ people on my tree, they lose my DNA AND ME. I AM NO LONGER ON MY TREE that I created??? Wow!
  10. [R12] Ancestry 3/5 · US Ancestry organization: A recent update in Ancestry has lost the chronological order in proposing children in the review of families in hints. Why? The order is helpful in comparing, for example, marriage date of parents with birth dates of children. Using birthday of first child should be sufficient rather than having to look at the complete list of kids
  11. [R25] Ancestry 1/5 · US Terrible app: I keep adding my family members to my tree, and it won’t save it. It’ll look alright, but wipe it all after I close out the app. Such a waste.
  12. [R6] Ancestry 3/5 · US They’re changing: Took a lot of the free stuff that I did my DNA for ! SHAME ! I had you fro 16 yrs
  13. [R7] Ancestry 1/5 · US Cancellation Payment: Yesterday I had a charge on my bank account for almost $40 which is the subscription fee. I decided I wasn’t ready to get into the ancestry of my family, moneys tight, can’t afford it right now, I’ll do it when things are more stable, and then I was charged a $25 cancellation fee. Now, I will never come back to this. Good riddance.
  14. [R14] Ancestry 4/5 · US Disappointed: I have been paying for years, times are harder, I see almost nothing of my trees, why can’t prices go down so people can start working on their ancestry, why can’t you give back to your customers who are having a rough time in this economy
  15. [R9] Ancestry 3/5 · US Access to tests: Why can I not get access for the two DNA test that I have paid for ..??..
  16. [R28] Ancestry 1/5 · US Charge to cancel: Read the fine print carefully. Ancestry memberships are purposefully set up to be confusing, and then you’ll also get to pay $26.60 for the right to cancel your membership. What a joke
  17. [R29] Ancestry 5/5 · US Trouble accessing: I have been trying to access my account for a little while now and when I couldn’t remember my passcode and asked for either contacting someone or going to the Help area, all I got was a screen with two parentheses. I went on. I went on my search engine to see if there was another way I could contact ancestry to let it be known that I cannot access my account. My account is abou
  18. [R49] Ancestry 1/5 · US Cancel: Too difficult to cancel, easy to sign up.
  19. [R27] Ancestry 3/5 · US Updates: I don’t care for the last couple of updates. I also, want to express my concerns for the high cost for Ancestry. There are so many other companies with apps that do not have the outrageous price for a $500 year. I think it’s time to drop your prices. Just saying
  20. [R32] Ancestry 5/5 · US Too expensive: I already paid for the Ancestry kit and now you guys try to make us pay for every single thing to find out information on our family tree. I think it’s very unfair and definitely a scam.
  21. [R103] FamilySearch Memories 4/5 · US Videos: I love memories, but I really, really, REALLY wish I could submit videos
  22. [R118] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US Interviewed my aunt in California.: I used this to interview my aunt in California. She sat with me with her photo album and told me lots of stories about our family. I got the photos and her voice story of each one into Family search. She died about six months after that. I met with her son’s family, and help them get a family service account. I brought up each of the voice recordings of the memo
  23. [R31] Ancestry 1/5 · US Information deleted: My tree was deleted my dna kit was deleted and now I have no way of tracking my DNA kit
  24. [R61] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US No way to move from the memory to the person. loses attached memories for months with no resolution: Some people’s memories disappear and never come back. The IT department is ignoring the issue. The memory does not link back to the person, and the ID number associated with the memory is not tagged in anyway. So it’s just memories floating around randomly.
  25. [R80] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US Gone: Terrible, years of work is now missing

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store