How much would YOU spend to finance the search for your ancestors?

The fascination with family trees is increasing enormously: it is expected that as many as 1.5 million people will conduct research into their ancestors this month, claims publication GenealogyInTime.

Revelations about black sheep in the family revealed at Christmas, Christmas gifts of DNA kits and the desire to find a new hobby in 2025 are major reasons why we are tempted to invest time and money in such research.

But experts point out that you can explore your roots without having to sign up for an expensive subscription, and that a lot of family detective work can be done for free.

Helen Tovey, editor of publication Family Tree, says: ‘The dark winter months are the perfect time to study your family tree.

‘The golden rule is to start with yourself and work back in time – names, dates, places and anecdotes from your family – to form a picture.’

Rather than immediately signing up for a subscription, she believes you should first arm yourself with a notepad and recorder and visit family to question them about the past. Then create a map of the immediate family, going back two or three generations. You can then confirm further details and drill down and fill in the gaps in your family, using a range of services.

The next step, according to Ariel Bruce, a social worker who tracks missing people and works on ITV’s Long Lost Family, is to visit a library for free help.

She says: ‘A central library is an excellent first point of contact. It may offer free access to genealogy website services that you might otherwise have to pay for, where you can start verifying family information using names, dates of birth, marriages and deaths – putting pieces of the puzzle together by looking through the data to browse. All you have to do is type any known data into a ‘search box’ on the website and it will search all the data stored online.”

Bruce points out that the General Register Office’s archives of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have been free to access since 1837 – gov.uk/general-register-office – and can be viewed in person at various libraries.

She adds, “The Internet has made life easier when doing research. But if you live in London, for the price of a tube ticket you can also visit The National Archives in Kew, Surrey, where archive documents are kept.

‘Much of the information is available for free, but please call in advance.’

Also here is census data from 1841 to 1921 which should contain details of everyone in England and Wales and where they lived when the census was taken. This data should provide insight into, among other things, age, marital status, profession and where they were born. Kew also has information on immigration, emigration, armed forces service and medals awarded. It even has criminal records, name changes and divorces.

Separately, copies of parish registers, local newspaper clippings, military, travel and migration records can help you in your search. These are often kept in parish churches and provincial records offices, but can usually also be accessed online at your local library.

You can also try the FamilySearch website, a free service offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that provides access to census data, newspapers, and migration data.

You can explore the ‘big four’ website services – Ancestry, FindMyPast, MyHeritage and The Genealogist – without spending a cent, and you can also try the free FamilySearch service. You simply sign up for a trial period.

Tovey adds: ‘It’s easy to try out the family history websites and start building a family tree in just a weekend – so taking advantage of a 14-day free trial is a good way to decide which is the most suitable option is . They all provide access to family data, plus a range of census data, occupational data, emigration data and parish registers. If you like the service offered, it can also be an excellent resource and help ensure the research is accurate.”

Sarah Williams, editor of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, says: ‘The big four have huge databases, but you really have to try them out to see which feels the most user-friendly. ‘Ancestry is one of the largest and has a huge global network that allows you to link family trees to others who also use the genealogy website, while FindMyPast has a deal with The British Newspaper Archive which is particularly useful if you’re looking for color published articles.

“MyHeritage is best for Americans looking for European connections, while The Geneologist is a smaller outfit but can provide great value for exploring British families through data like the census.”

Ancestry charges an annual global membership fee of £179.99, although it comes with a 14-day free trial.

It provides access to census data for England and Wales from 1841 to 1921. Typing in family data provides ‘sheet’ suggestions about possible ancestors, and has access to 60 billion records. Visit: ancestry.co.uk. FindMyPast charges £199.99 per year but offers a 14-day free trial. It can trace ancestry back to the 18th century and has ten billion records. Visit: findmypast.co.uk.

MyHeritage offers a range of packages – from a ‘premium’ search for €89 per year with basic search facilities to €309 per year for unlimited family tree services, including access to some 32 billion historical records. It also comes with a 14-day free trial. Visit: myheritage.com.

The Genealogist also has a 14-day free trial and an annual subscription to ‘Diamond’ for £119.95. It was published in 2024 by the magazine Who Do You Think You Are? named ‘winner of the year’. for ‘map capabilities, search options and the way results are presented’. Visit: thegenealogist.co.uk.

If you’re still unsure about the cost-saving benefits of signing up for one of these services after the trial period for a year, you may want to consider a shorter-term monthly option.

For example, Ancestry charges £19.99 per month for its global membership or £99.99 for six months. So while you’ll save £59.89 by getting an annual membership instead of a monthly deal, it wouldn’t cost more if you only used the service for nine months out of the year. You can cancel at any time without penalty, but services will renew every month unless you cancel.

Williams says, “Think of signing up for a genealogy website as a bit like going to the gym. If you are going to use it all year round, an annual subscription may make sense. But if you want to treat it as an occasional hobby, you can save money by signing up monthly.”

Bruce from Long Lost Family also believes that the motivation behind why you are researching a family tree can help you know which service you might sign up for. She says, “Websites save you time on detective work and provide tools that let you delve into the past without it being a chore.”

Local newspapers have archived issues dating back more than 200 years. The British Newspaper Archive offers access to 40 pages of wanted articles for a fee of £21.99.

DNA testing kits are also often sold as part of a promotion, but consumer champion Martyn James says: ‘Many people see them as a joke rather than genealogy, allowing you to tell people at dinner parties that you are a Viking.’

AncestryDNA offers a £79 ethnicity and genealogy test where you provide a saliva sample to discover where some of your ancestors may have come from. Others include the £79 My Heritage DNA test and the £179 23andMe DNA test.