I am sure you must have made a family tree as a part of your home-work when you were in school. Back in the day, planning to make a family tree took a lot of toils, endless wasting of chart paper, color-pens, and whatnot. If you’re still curious and want to make a family tree this new year to keep a track of your lineage, all you need is your mobile or PC. There is an app for that. So without further ado, here are some of the best family tree maker apps.
Table of Contents
1. meWHO? Lite Family Tree Creator
The app is pretty easy to navigate and targets an audience who simply wants to create a family tree on their phones. As I mentioned, it’s basic which means it’s easy to learn, and can even be a great starting point for kids to learn about family relationships. Besides all the basic details such as name, DOB, relation, etc., you can upload pictures too.
The app works offline and the family tree graphic can be shared as an image. You will not be required to sign-in; that means, the only option to back up your data is in the local storage.
Overview
- Plain UI, great for kids
- No sign-in required
- View family members as a list
2. Quick Family Tree
Quick Family Tree is similar to the previous family tree maker app as it lets you add family members, overview, and export them to share with others without an account. This app gives you all those basic features as a package in addition to a very sleek 3D overview of the family tree. Simply click on the empty home page canvas and add spouses, children, parents, etc. As simple as that!
I especially like it when the display layout changes and highlights the person selected in the middle of the screen automatically. Let’s say if you want to make a family tree for your spouse or friend, you can do that too with the free multi-family tree maker option.
Overview
- No sign-in required
- Illustrated Familly tree overview
- Multiple family tree option
- Available for iOS
Get Quick Family Tree for (iOS | Android)
3. MyHeritage
If you want to explore your roots further, this one would require you to sign-up with your e-mail, Google, or your Facebook account. It automatically takes the last name from the account which you have used to sign-in. Next, you spend a few initial minutes setting up the app. You need to feed in at least two generations of information so that the app can generate a family tree.
The family tree can be viewed in the traditional view, pedigree view (timeline), or a list view which is great for an overview.
MyHeritage, one of the best family tree maker app, has a section dedicated to research. Hence, it also features a database which is of great help when you’re looking for last names or trying to find people belonging to your clan. There are several premium features as well, which comes at $127 a year. This gives you a chance to collaborate with other tree owners, access smart matches, etc.
Overview
- Sign-in required
- Availability of historical data, ancestral history, etc
- Available for iOS
Get MyHeritage for (iOS | Android)
4. Creately Family Tree Maker (Website)
If you are someone who likes to work on a bigger laptop screen, there are plenty of websites that let you make a family tree. A very simple and intuitive one I found was Creately Family Tree Maker. Just like the first app, this website is very easy to start with. You can drag and drop elements from the sidebar. The sidebar contains a flowchart, block shapes, import image option, and even a built-in Google image search.
The website also has pre-drawn family tree templates that you can use and customize. You can export this in multiple image formats like SVGs, so you won’t lose out on quality while presenting the slide.
Overview
- No sign-in required to export
- Multiple diagrams and templates
- Not dependant on a specific platform
Visit Creatly Family Tree Maker
5. Lucid Family Tree Maker
First off, you need to create an account to use the service or you can also sign-up with your Google account. The home page is welcoming and gives first-time users an option to choose between a blank canvas or load a template. The tool-set is similar to the previous website with the option to choose between flowcharts, shapes, and more. If you like to make it a detailed family tree and tend to use a lot of texts, you also have a dedicated text tool-set.
If you want to dive deep into knowing more about your lineage, you can also check out their detailed introductory article. Lucid not just allows you to make a family tree, but if you are looking for building any type of flow diagram to explain the chain of commands or relationship, this can do it all. Lucid is a powerful all-in-one family tree maker app for chart lovers.
Overview
- Sign-in required
- Presentation feature
- Easy to Google Docs-like layout
- Generate Google Slides
Visit Lucid Family Tree Maker
6. Family Tree Maker
Family Tree Maker is a great option for beginners and experts alike. It’s an app that is available on both Mac and Windows. Whatever you create can be easily viewed on your smartphone or tablet too. Since it’s a desktop app, you can do pretty much anything you can do in apps made for other platforms. On top of that, you get a photo editing tool, in case you want to brush up an old photo, generate charts and reports, etc.
The app also allows you to store historical records, old photos, audio/video files and punch in your ancestry in a map or street view format to track migration paths as well. The app is not free and starts at $80 depending on the product choice.
Overview
- Common database to make changes
- TreeVault Cloud Service
- Photo restoration tool
- Costs $80
7. Notion/Evernote
I am not talking about Notion specifically but you can actually use any mark-up editor or graphic tool that can deal with shapes, figures, lines, and maybe pictures. You can even make one in Microsoft PowerPoint or paint. If you are an Adobe Photoshop user, even better as you get a handy, customizable tool-set that can be used to create even the most complicated generation-ranging family trees. So, if you don’t want to install additional software, a good alternative is to use the other apps you already have.
Closing Remarks: Family Tree Maker Apps
So here were the best apps to get you started with your own family tree. If you ask me, I like a simple app that lets me make a basic outline of my family. For me, the first app is more than enough. However, you are free to try out other apps listed here like My Heritage and Quick Family tree if you have a mobile. If you are on the PC, Lucid Family Tree maker is a very tool-rich option along with template demos you can choose from.
Also Read: 9 Best Family Locator Apps for Android and iOS (2020)
