When starting your journey into family history research, two popular names often come up — Ancestry and Family Tree Maker. While they are closely connected and often used together, they serve different purposes and offer different experiences. Understanding the difference between Ancestry and Family Tree Maker can help you decide which one best fits your needs as a family historian.
Comparing Ancestry Vs Family Tree Maker (FTM)
Website vs. Software
The biggest difference is that Ancestry is a website, while Family Tree Maker (FTM) is a software program.
- Ancestry operates online. You require an internet connection and a browser such as Chrome or Firefox to use it.
- Family Tree Maker is installed directly on your computer. Similar to Microsoft Word or Photoshop, once loaded, it can be accessed offline, although some features such as syncing or hints need an internet connection.
Subscription vs. One-Time Buy
Another significant distinction is in how you use them:
- Ancestry is a subscription. You pay monthly or yearly to use billions of historical records, family trees, and DNA connections.
- Family Tree Maker is a one-time buy. When you purchase and install it, it’s yours to use without ongoing payments. That said, if you sync it with an Ancestry subscription, you get improved syncing and searching capabilities.
Online vs. Offline Access
- Ancestry requires an internet connection. Your trees, photos, and documents are all saved online on Ancestry’s servers.
- Family Tree Maker lets you work offline. Your records and family trees are saved on your computer. This is ideal for people who work better without having the internet always on.
Publishing Options
Both sites enable you to create stunning family trees, but there is a variation in what you can publish them as:
- Ancestry has few print choices. You can print four generations, family group sheets, and profile pages. You can order personalized books or posters through MyCanvas (a companion service).
- Family Tree Maker provides more comprehensive publishing capabilities. It includes 37 chart and report types that you can personalize, merge into books, and professionally print or print at home.
Key Features of Family Tree Maker
Family Tree Maker contains a number of robust features found nowhere else in Ancestry:
- Automatic Backups: Conveniently backup and restore tree information.
- Map Creation: Create elaborate migration maps and place reports.
- Advanced Source Management: Associate one citation with multiple individuals and work on all sources within a single workspace.
- Cleanup Tools: Merge duplicate facts, sources, and citations easily.
- More Note Types: Build person, research, fact, media, and source notes.
- Export and Merge Capabilities: Export whole trees or individual branches, and merge various trees without difficulty.
- Improved Printing: Ability to use Family Chart Masters, Charting Companion, and Family Book Creator for professional charts and reports.
- Convenient Tools: Date calculators, name converters, and task planners to more efficiently organize your research.
Conclusion
In brief, Ancestry is ideal for consumers wishing to dig deep into large databases and interact with other researchers over the internet, but Family Tree Maker is best suited for people who like constructing, structuring, and saving their family tree offline using strong customization options. Both collectively provide an end-to-end family history experience.
Need Assistance?
If you need assistance in deciding between Ancestry and Family Tree Maker, installing your software, or solving problems, feel free to contact us. Our experienced support staff is always happy to help you!
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