FamilySearch
Free genealogy records from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
FamilySearch lets anyone explore their family history without paying. Users search a vast collection of historical records, including census, birth, marriage, death, immigration, and military records, from many countries, and many are digitized images. A collaborative family tree combines contributions from millions of people, so you can often find relatives and connect with branches others have researched.
Technology plays a large role in making records searchable. Handwriting recognition and machine learning transcribe and index scanned documents at scale, which has opened up collections that would take volunteers years to index by hand. Tools suggest possible record matches for people in your tree, and photo and story features preserve family memories. The service also operates local centers and online help.
FamilySearch is free with an account. Its tree is shared, so information can be edited by others and may contain errors, which means conclusions need to be checked against sources. Some records are restricted by licensing and available only at family history centers. Ancestry and MyHeritage are paid competitors with large databases and DNA testing, Findmypast is strong for UK records, and Geni and WikiTree offer collaborative trees. FamilySearch suits genealogists on any budget.