Searching and understanding the family tree is free, and the file is always yours.
Tell us about a grandparent who has passed away, or bring in the family from FamilySearch or a family file. We're grateful for every family that uses AncestralFire and for your feedback, because that is how we make it better.
AncestralFire is not offered to people in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway for now. We'll open there once our EU representative is in place.
AncestralFire currently doesn't support sign-up from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. We'll open there once our EU representative is in place.
What you can do
- Exploring the family: everyone in it and how each of them is related to you, your fan chart of ancestors, and the maps of where they lived.
- The family's stories. Ask about anyone in your own words, and get their life told with the source behind every fact.
- The world they lived in: what was happening where they lived, at the time.
- Charts, maps and stories you save and share with the family by a link.
- Changes to FamilySearch, made only when you approve them.
Free, always
- Bring the family in, by signing in to FamilySearch or uploading the file the family-tree program makes.
- Your own file, in GEDCOM 7, the newest standard, to download any time and open in any family-tree program.
- A summary of the tree: how many people and families it holds, and how far back it goes, kept private in a database that is yours alone.
Tell us what you think
What works, what doesn't and what you wish it did: that is what we are here to learn. In Claude or ChatGPT, ask your assistant to draft your feedback for the team. It sends nothing until you press Submit. Or write to support@ancestral-fire.com. We read every message and answer within the hour.
Share it with someone
Know someone who would love to see their family this way? Searching and understanding a family tree is free, so share it. Ask your assistant to make a story, a map or a chart of the family and keep it, then send the link. Whoever opens it sees it without signing in, and can start with one name of their own.
No ads, ever.
Questions people ask
What is AncestralFire?
A partner for the family history. Ask about anyone in the family in your own words, and it reads the family's tree and tells you who they were, with the source behind every fact.
Will it always be free?
Searching and understanding the family tree is free, always. Bringing the family in, your own GEDCOM 7 file and a summary of the tree are free too.
Do I need to know anything about genealogy?
No. If you can ask a question, you can use it. Start with one name, and AncestralFire does the searching and explains what it finds. If you've been at it for years, it does the drudgery so you can spend your time on the people.
Do I need a family tree already?
No. Start with one person in the family who has passed away, and the tree grows as you go. It's a real family tree file, yours to keep and open in any family-tree program. If you already keep one in RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest or another program, bring its GEDCOM file and start from there.
How does FamilySearch fit in?
Connect your free FamilySearch account and the family there comes into the tree. You sign in on the FamilySearch website, so we never see your password, and nothing changes there unless you approve it.
Can I trust what it tells me?
Every fact comes with where it came from, and when the record is silent, it says so. What was happening around the ancestors is told as history, never as something they did.
What if I want to leave?
Take the tree with you as a file every family-tree program opens, or delete your account and the tree. If you subscribed earlier, cancel any time under Settings.