Ancestral Quest 12
Price: Free demo; Full program, $29.95
Manufacturer: Incline Software
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: Compatible with Personal Ancestral File (PAF) and expands on PAF’s capabilities; fields to record DNA test results; many reporting options, including pedigree charts with sources and notes; PDF output; research logs
Drawbacks: Poor family view, add-on needed for a wide selection of graphical charts
Read our review | Free demo version
Branches Family Tree
Price: 30-day free trial; Standard, $14.95
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: Google Earth-style interface, ease of use
Drawbacks: no wall chars, imprecise GEDCOM file creation
Read our review | Free demo version
Brother’s Keeper 6.2
Price: Free demo; $45 with manual, $20 upgrade
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: charts and reports, to-do lists
Drawbacks: navigation, no HTML descendant report
Read our review | Free demo version
Family Historian 3.1
Price: Free demo; Standard, $69.99
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: navigation by graphical family tree, automated source citations, customizable charts
Drawbacks: price, no letter-size pedigree charts, awkward steps for documenting sources and creating Web reports
Family Tree Builder 7.0
Price: Basic, free; Premium (up to 2,500 names, 1-year subscription to a Premium Family Site, all-in-one charts, smart matches merging, unlimited maps), $75 per year
Manufacturer: MyHeritage
Biggest draws: Currently under review
Drawbacks: Currently under review
Family Tree Builder 6.0
Price: Basic (unlimited offline family file plus up to 250-person, 250MB online tree), free; Premium (up to 2,500-person, 500MB online tree), $75 per year; Premium Plus (unlimited tree size and storage), $119.40 per year
Manufacturer: MyHeritage
Biggest draws: ease of use, photo management, charts, online tree publishing, support for 36 languages
Drawbacks: reports, source documentation
Read our review | Try it online
Genbox Family History 3
Price: 30-day free trial; Standard, $29.95
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: Wide selection of printed reports, including excellent narrative reports for creating a book with a place-name index; many options for publishing your family history online; ease of use
Drawbacks: Overwhelming array of graphical chart options could benefit from some streamlining
Read our review | Free 30-day trial
Heredis Mac X.2
Price: Free trial; $69 download
Platform: Mac
Biggest draws: Nifty graphics, 3-D family tree
Drawbacks: Slow GEDCOM importing
Legacy Family Tree Deluxe 7.0
Price: Free standard version, $29.95 download, $39.95 on CD with printed manual, $21.95 upgrade from version 6
Manufacturer: Millennia Corp.
Biggest draws: Ease of use, research guidance, charts and reports
Drawbacks: Pedigree view doesn’t show exact dates and places
Read our review | Free Standard Version
MacFamilyTree 5.1
Price: Free trial; Standard, $49
Platform: Mac
Biggest draws: Easy setup, attractive interface, fast GEDCOM imports
Drawbacks: No family group sheet
Reunion 10
Price: Free demo; Standard, $99 or $54.95 upgrade
Platform: Mac
Biggest draws: improved interface; intuitive ease of use, navigation and data entry; extensive and contextual help files; drop-and-drag multimedia, places and sources; souped-up web publishing; full iOS integration
Drawbacks: new web searching isn’t integrated into program itself, relying on your browser; some features are hard to find; no PDF output
RootsMagic 6
Price: Free trial, $29.95, $19.95 upgrade
Manufacturer: RootsMagic, Inc., (800) 766-8762
Biggest draws: Ease of use, data entry, documenting sources, reports
Drawbacks: Nothing major
RootsMagic 4
Price: Free trial, $29.95, $19.95 upgrade
Manufacturer: RootsMagic, Inc.
Biggest draws: Ease of use, documenting sources, charts and reports
Drawbacks: Nothing major
The Master Genealogist Gold 7
Price: 30-day free trial; $59 download, $69.95 on CD
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: Unlimited flexibility and customization; unique power-user features
Drawbacks: Steep learning curve
Personal Ancestral File 5.2
Price: free download, $8.25 on CD with PAF Companion
Platform: Windows
Biggest draws: Ease of use, excellent help files, price, foreign language versions, well-designed print and Web reports, good graphical charts with PAF Companion
Drawbacks: Reports don’t include alternate personal names; FamilySearch is no longer upgrading PAF
