Honest answers for people searching for their past.
Family history is personal. The tools you choose shape what you find, and what it costs you. We exist to make that choice clearer.
Why we started
Anyone who has tried to choose a DNA kit or a records subscription knows the problem. Every company claims to be the biggest, the most accurate or the best value. Comparison sites rank whoever pays the most. And the details that actually matter, such as who owns your genetic data, what happens when a free trial ends, or whether a database covers your ancestors' country, are buried in fine print.
TreeVeritas was built to fix that. Veritas is Latin for truth, and that's the standard we hold ourselves to: clear, evidence-based reviews written for real family historians, from curious beginners to researchers who've been chasing the same brick wall for twenty years.
How we review
Every product is scored out of five against the same weighted criteria, so you can compare like with like. Where we can, we use the products ourselves, compare published database sizes and coverage, read the full terms and privacy policies, and check what real users report.
Weightings reflect what matters most to genealogists: a beautiful app is no use if your ancestors aren't in the database.
What we stand for
Independence
Partners can't buy a placement, a higher score or a better review. If a product isn't good, we say so.
Privacy first
Your DNA is the most personal data you own. We always explain who holds it, how it's shared and how to delete it.
Plain English
No jargon without an explanation. Centimorgans and haplogroups are fascinating, but they shouldn't be a barrier.
Kept current
Prices, features and ownership change. We revisit reviews regularly and show when each article was last updated.
How we make money
TreeVeritas is free to read. We're funded through affiliate commissions: if you buy a product through one of our links, the company may pay us a small fee at no extra cost to you. This lets us keep the site free and ad-light.
Commissions never influence our ratings. We recommend free resources such as FamilySearch and national archives just as readily as paid ones, even though they earn us nothing. Read the full affiliate disclosure.
Corrections
We work hard to get things right, but the genealogy industry moves quickly. If you spot something that's out of date or inaccurate, please let us know and we'll review it promptly.