Is Ancestry.com free?
Some parts of Ancestry.com are free, but for the most part, it is not free. There is an option for a free trial or a guest account (see our Ancestry Free Trial tutorial for instructions on how to get either of these), but if you want access to certain records (or) after your free trial expires, you will have to pay either a monthly rate or a 6-month subscription fee. The amount of money that you have to pay is dependent on which subscription package you select.
DISCLAIMER
Just a heads-up that some of the services we’re reviewing here have affiliate partnerships with us, so we may earn a commission if you visit one of them and buy something. You can read more about how this works at https://techboomers.com/how-to-support-techboomers.
It’s important to remember that your subscription will automatically renew itself after it expires, which means that you will be charged for it again unless you cancel it. On the bright side, if you purchase a subscription that is longer than one month, you can receive a full refund if you cancel an initial subscription within 30 days of purchasing it (plus the free trial period, if you use it) or a renewal subscription if you cancel within 7 days (a week) of the renewal date.
See our How to Delete an Ancestry.com Account tutorial for instructions on how to cancel a paid subscription to Ancestry.
Ancestry.com Price Plans
(NOTE: all prices are in U.S. dollars.)
U.S. Discovery
MONTHLY COST: $20
6-MONTH COST: $99 ($16.50 per month)
FEATURES: All U.S. databases, including all U.S. Census records between 1790 and 1930
World Explorer
MONTHLY COST: $35
6-MONTH COST: $149 (about $25 per month)
FEATURES: All U.S. databases, and databases from countries such as Mexico, the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and France
World Explorer Plus
MONTHLY COST: $45
6-MONTH COST: $199 (about $33 per month)
FEATURES: All U.S. and international databases, plus all newspaper records from Newspapers.com and all military records from Fold3.com
Other Ancestry.com products
Ancestry also sells:
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D.N.A. testing kits ($99 each)
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A desktop version of the Family Tree Maker software ($40 for either Windows or Apple)
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Gift Subscriptions (at the same rates as in the section above)
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Various custom family history books, posters, and calendars
That’s a bit of information about the costs associated with using Ancestry.com!
