Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

FamilySearch Memories vs Ancestry

FamilySearch Memories 4.8★ · Free to download · ⚠ stale 75
Winner Tie
Ancestry 4.8★ · Free to download 70

FamilySearch Memories is better for users focused solely on preserving and organizing family photos and stories, while Ancestry is better for comprehensive genealogical research and DNA analysis, despite its higher cost and navigation challenges.

Full reviews: FamilySearch Memories · Ancestry

FamilySearch Memories excels at digital preservation of family stories and photos, offering a free and user-friendly platform for this specific purpose. Ancestry provides a more extensive genealogical research experience, including DNA services and historical records, but users often face high subscription costs and navigation difficulties.

Head to head

Features for Memory Preservation edge: FamilySearch MemoriesR2R5R8R11
FamilySearch Memories Users appreciate FamilySearch Memories for its ability to store and organize precious family photos, certificates, and letters, providing peace of mind for preserving family history R2R5. The app is seen as a great way to record life experiences for posterity R8R11. It also allows users to easily upload photos and documents, even taking pictures of physical items with a phone .
Ancestry Ancestry's reviews primarily focus on genealogical research and DNA results, with less emphasis on dedicated memory preservation features like photo and story organization. While users build family trees, the specific functionality for storing and managing personal memories as a core feature is not highlighted in the reviews.
Ease of Use and Navigation tieR1R7R9R10
FamilySearch Memories Some users find FamilySearch Memories easy to use for uploading and writing histories R11. However, many others report significant difficulties, including problems with signing in, password resets, and general navigation R1R7R10. There are also complaints about photos not linking back to individuals or being unlabeled R1R9.
Ancestry Ancestry receives mixed reviews regarding ease of use. Many users find it hard to navigate and understand . Some report issues with adding family members not saving or hints not working . However, others find the research process fascinating and engaging R65.
Reliability and Performance tieR1R3R4R6
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories users report significant reliability issues, including memories disappearing or not syncing R1R4R6R20, slow performance with large numbers of images R3, and bugs preventing photo editing or exiting images .
Ancestry Ancestry also faces reliability concerns, with users experiencing network errors , the app not working or crashing R78, and issues with trees or DNA results being lost or deleted R61R91. Some updates are reported to introduce new glitches .
Price and Value edge: FamilySearch MemoriesR2R5R8R42
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories is free, which is a significant advantage for users looking to preserve memories without cost R2R5R8. There is one review mentioning paying for a PDF, but the app itself is free to download and use for its core memory features R42.
Ancestry Ancestry is criticized for its high cost and perceived lack of value. Users complain about expensive subscriptions, additional charges for features, and cancellation fees R67R74. Many feel forced into subscriptions to access their DNA results or family tree information.
Support and Account Management tieR1R10R16R26
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories users report difficulty with account issues, such as being unable to reset passwords or receive verification emails R10R16R26. There are also complaints about IT ignoring issues like lost memories R1.
Ancestry Ancestry users also experience problems with account access and customer support, including difficulty accessing DNA tests they paid for , issues with password resets , and challenges with canceling subscriptions . Some users report being charged without permission .
Genealogical Research and DNA Features edge: AncestryR49R59R65R71
FamilySearch Memories FamilySearch Memories is primarily focused on storing and sharing personal memories and stories, with some integration into the FamilySearch Tree R49R59. It is not designed for extensive genealogical research or DNA analysis.
Ancestry Ancestry is highly praised for its ability to help users discover their family history, find relatives, and confirm parentage through DNA R65R71. It offers hints and tools for building family trees, though some users desire more advanced features or better organization .
Pick FamilySearch Memories if

You want a free app primarily for storing and organizing family photos, documents, and stories, especially if you are already using FamilySearch Tree R2R5R49. You are looking for a simple way to preserve memories for future generations without extensive genealogical research tools R8R11.

Pick Ancestry if

You are serious about comprehensive genealogical research, including building extensive family trees, exploring historical records, and utilizing DNA analysis to discover relatives and heritage R65R71. You are willing to pay for a subscription to access these advanced features, despite the reported high costs and potential navigation challenges R74R78R87.

Evidence note: Reviews for FamilySearch Memories are less numerous than Ancestry, and many of its negative reviews focus on specific bugs or login issues rather than core functionality. Ancestry's reviews frequently highlight pricing as a major point of contention, which is less relevant for the free FamilySearch Memories app.

Frequently asked

Is FamilySearch Memories truly free?
Yes, FamilySearch Memories is free to download and use for its core features of storing and organizing family photos, documents, and stories R2R5R8. One review mentioned paying for a PDF, but this appears to be an outlier or a specific add-on, not part of the main app functionality R42.
What are the main complaints about Ancestry's pricing?
Ancestry users frequently complain about high subscription fees, additional charges for various features like connecting with family members or accessing DNA data, and unexpected cancellation fees R67R74R78R87. Many feel that the service is too expensive for the value provided and that they are constantly being charged for more .
Do either of these apps have issues with lost data or content?
Both apps have users reporting issues with lost or disappearing content. FamilySearch Memories users mention memories disappearing for months or years R1R20. Ancestry users report their family trees and DNA kits being deleted or lost R61R91.

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. [R2] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US Peace of mind!: With all of the terrible wild fires in the West this year… I have peace of mind … knowing that most of my precious family photos, certificates, letters, are safely copied and stored in Memories at the FamilySearch website!
  2. [R5] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US EXACTLY what I was looking for!: For many, many years, I fretted over the idea that all of the fun things we had done as children would not be told to future generations. Sure, they would know our names and would know us as adults, but they would never know who we were during those form of the years. Our family used to sit around and talk about these stories as a means of entertainment when the li
  3. [R8] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US Blessings from: Family Search Memories is a great way to record experiences of my life for the benefit of my posterity
  4. [R11] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US I delayed writing my history until I turned 83.: So far, this is quite easy and I would recommend it to anybody to begin to write their history before they kicked the bucket.
  5. [R1] 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.
  6. [R7] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US It needs to be easier to use with the iPhone format: I have to do way too much work to get a photo on onto my individual ancestors account on the iPhone. Seriously the only reason I got it was because the website is not formatted to use iPhone. So it’s frustrating that I can’t upload and tag and it goes automatically onto those ancestors memories I have to go in individually and hope the website w
  7. [R9] FamilySearch Memories 3/5 · US Pictures: Love the pictures, but they’re not labeled so don’t know who they are???
  8. [R10] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US Can’t reset my password: I can’t reset my password and I can’t find any help resetting it.
  9. [R3] FamilySearch Memories 3/5 · US Slow: I have more than 20,000 images. Organizing them into albums or folders in Memories takes ages. At the rate I’m progressing, I’ll die long before I finish. As the only member in my family , I’m alone in my love for family history work. The hard copies will be tossed into a dumpster. I wish I could find the help I need. Some of these things are important historical materials that should
  10. [R4] FamilySearch Memories 2/5 · US Content Sync Issues: There are major sync issues with this app and it’s very inconsistent from the website functionality. There’s also a file upload limitation that I didn’t know existed until I was on the website troubleshooting the syncing issues.
  11. [R6] FamilySearch Memories 3/5 · US Most of the time it doesn't work: Once in a while it actually shows up on my memories of Family Search. But mostly it doesn't work
  12. [R42] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US Where is my PDF?: Downloaded the App. Paid my money. Generated the PDF. TWICE. App reports it is sending a link to my email. Doesn’t show up. Help!
  13. [R16] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US E mail: Have requested verification e mail 3 x’s now. Nothing yet
  14. [R26] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US Would put zero stars: I created an account and it wouldn’t let me sign in because it was locked just because I forgot the password
  15. [R49] FamilySearch Memories 5/5 · US Wonderful: So many tricks you do with this app that will sequence with Family Tree.
  16. [R59] FamilySearch Memories 4/5 · US Hard to deal with: Can’t easily tag. Gets lost if pdf. When put into a “story” hard to work with adding photos, tagging, finding only as a story in amongst all the memories. The photos and pdf documents used for the story get lost in the rest of the memories. If wanting to work with documents or photos attached to a story, the story is not what is being used, just separate items in another part of
  17. [R65] 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
  18. [R71] Ancestry 5/5 · US My Ancestors: I’m amazed at what I have discovered about my family.
  19. [R67] 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.
  20. [R74] 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
  21. [R78] 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.
  22. [R87] 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
  23. [R20] FamilySearch Memories 1/5 · US Gone: Terrible, years of work is now missing
  24. [R61] 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!
  25. [R91] 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

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