The listings featured on this site are from companies from which this site receives compensation. This influences where, how and in what order such listings appear on this site.
Advertising Disclosure

Legacy Tree Genealogy Review (2023)

Genealogy research service that can help you uncover your family’s past

8.4
good
Michael Graw

In a Nutshell

Legacy Tree Genealogists employs some of the most well-educated genealogists in the field to do your deep heritage research and find the answers you’ve been looking for. From discovering your birth parents to learning about your ancient lineage, Legacy Tree has the research capabilities, tools, and industry leaders to get you the information you want.

pros

  • Professional team of genealogists, hands-on research
  • Choose your own research goal
  • Shareable, easy to read report

cons

  • Costly research packages
  • No DIY tree-building tools

Legacy Tree Genealogist Legacy Tree Genealogist Visit Site

Types of Tests and Kits You can Get from Legacy Tree

Legacy Tree does not offer DNA testing kits. However, genealogy researchers at Legacy Tree can use raw DNA data from any testing company to help piece together your ancestry.

Other Features at Legacy Tree

Legacy Tree is a research service that puts professional genealogists to work uncovering your family’s history. All of the research efforts are undertaken by Legacy Tree, so there is very little work required on your part.

In-depth Genealogy Research

The research team at Legacy Tree is composed of certified genealogists and individuals with decades of experience researching family trees. Researchers have access to databases from all the major genealogy services as well as physical records in libraries around the world.

Legacy Tree researchers can work with a wide variety of data to start researching your family. You can supply family members’ names, DNA test results or raw DNA data, and stories about your family’s history.

Customized Research Projects

At Legacy Tree, you get to define the ancestry research project you want to be completed. Example goals include discovering relatives as far back in time as possible along one branch of your family tree or confirming an ancestor’s role in a war or migration in preparation to join a lineage society.

International Research

Legacy Tree has on-the-ground researchers in more than 100 countries, including in countries throughout Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. These researchers enable Legacy Tree to find physical records that haven’t yet been digitized and added to online ancestry databases.

Legacy Tree DNA Testing Review - Features

How Much Does Legacy Tree Cost?

Legacy Tree offers 4 pricing packages: Mini10, Basic25, Standard50, and Premium100.


Mini10

Basic25

Standard50

Premium100

Price

$1,200

$2,950

$5,600

$10,800

Goals

1

1

2

4

Research Hours

10

25

50

100

The Mini10 and Basic25 packages each include 1 research goal (10 or 25 hours of research). A goal typically involves researching 1 branch of your family tree in 1 geographic location. The Mini10 plan is limited to researching ancestry post-1870 in the US, Canada, UK, France, Sweden, Denmark, or Norway.

The Standard50 package includes 2 goals (50 hours of research), and the Premium100 plan includes 4 goals (100 hours of research). 

Legacy Tree’s prices include a detailed report and shareable webpage, and they cover most record acquisition fees. Mini10 projects only take 8-10 weeks, but other projects typically take 4-6 months. You can break up payments for any Legacy Tree package into 3 monthly installments.

While Legacy Tree’s prices are significantly higher than genealogy services like MyHeritage or FindMyPast, it’s hard to compare these services directly. MyHeritage and FindMyPast are DIY genealogy services, while Legacy Tree does the work of researching your family history for you. If you’re not a genealogist, using Legacy Tree could save you a significant amount of time.

How to Get Started with Legacy Tree?

The Sign-up Process

You can get started with Legacy Tree either by filling out a contact form on the company’s website or by calling to set up a free consultation. At the consultation, you’ll have a chance to talk to a genealogy researcher about what you hope to find out about your family. The Legacy Tree researcher can help you refine your project goals and point you towards the package that’s most suitable for you.

During the consultation, you can also provide any information you’ve already collected about your family. This can be names, birth and death dates, marriage details, family stories, or any other information you think might be helpful. Legacy Tree can also accept raw DNA data through a secure online portal.

Getting The Results

Legacy Tree typically takes 4-6 months to complete research projects (or 8-10 weeks for Mini10 projects).

At the completion of your project, you’ll receive a detailed report that explains everything the researchers found. The report is 10-20 pages per goal. It includes a step-by-step account of the historical records the research team found and records the team searched for but was unable to locate. The reports also include digitized copies of key records.

Legacy Tree DNA Testing Review - Getting Results

The research reports are very easy to read and include place and time-based details that help you understand more about your ancestors’ lives. In addition, each report includes recommendations for areas of additional research that could extend your family tree back further in time or fill in missing details about your ancestors.

Legacy Tree research reports are delivered in print. You also receive a private webpage where you can download a copy of your family tree, view digitized records, and read a PDF version of your research report. The webpage can be easily shared with family and friends.

How Legacy Tree Protects your Privacy

Legacy Tree does not share users’ personal details, contact information, or DNA data outside of its team of researchers. If you choose to share DNA data with Legacy Tree, you can do so through a secure online portal. Legacy Tree will delete users’ information at any time upon request.

Help and Support

How to Contact Legacy Tree

You can reach Legacy Tree by phone and email from 8am-6pm MT Monday-Friday. The company has dedicated phone numbers for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. We filled out the company’s online contact form and received an email back within a few hours.

Legacy Tree DNA Testing Review - Privacy

Are FAQ Pages Available on Legacy Tree?

Legacy Tree does not offer FAQ pages. However, you can find example research reports and a blog that highlights some of Legacy Tree’s recent projects.

How Legacy Tree Compares to Other Genealogy Services


Legacy Tree

FindMyPast

MyHeritage Genealogy Services

JustAnswer

Price Range

$1,200-$10,800

$10.75-$19.95/month

Free-$299/year

$74/month plus $5-$90/question

Type of Service

Professional genealogy research on your behalf

DIY genealogy research

DIY genealogy research

DIY genealogy research

Best For

Outsourcing genealogy research to professionals

Exploring British and Irish ancestry

In-depth DIY genealogy research

Getting help with DIY genealogy research

Legacy Tree Vs. FindMyPast

FindMyPast is a DIY genealogy service that leaves it up to you to explore your family’s past. The service focuses on British and Irish historical records and offers access to census data, birth and death records, newspaper articles, and much more.

FindMyPast is much cheaper than Legacy Tree, but you have to do the hard work of piecing together your family tree on your own. FindMyPast does not offer professional help or even a forum where you can ask questions about genealogy research.

Legacy Tree Vs. MyHeritage Genealogy Services

MyHeritage offers one of the most comprehensive self-serve databases of historical records currently available. The platform gives you access to nearly 17 billion records from 48 countries to help you build your family tree. 

Accessing all of MyHeritage’s records costs $189 per year, so the service is somewhat pricey. If you plan to keep a subscription for several years, MyHeritage could end up costing about as much as a one-off research project at Legacy Tree.

Legacy Tree Vs. JustAnswer

JustAnswer is a unique question-and-answer service that gives you access to experts across a wide variety of topics, including genealogy. JustAnswer genealogy experts won’t conduct in-depth research into your family history like the team at Legacy Tree will. However, you can use JustAnswer to ask specific questions about how to find records or how to get past a roadblock in your genealogy research. 

If you’re interested in doing your own genealogy research, JustAnswer can be a valuable resource when you get stuck. However, the cost of JustAnswer can add up quickly since you’ll pay a monthly subscription fee as well as an additional fee that ranges from $5-$90 every time you ask a question. In addition, you’ll still need a separate genealogy platform to conduct research and build your family tree.

Is Legacy Tree Worth It?

Legacy Tree is a professional genealogy research service. Whereas many genealogy services create databases and tools for you to build your own family tree, Legacy Tree does all the hard work of researching your family history for you. All you have to do is set up a consultation, define your research goal, and provide any research you’ve already done.

Legacy Tree can find details about most families thanks to its network of on-the-ground researchers in more than 100 countries. Most research projects take 4-6 months to complete, and you receive a detailed and easily readable report at the end of the process.

Legacy Tree can be very expensive, especially if you compare it against DIY genealogy services like FindMyPast or MyHeritage. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this service can save you hundreds of hours of research and can deliver better results than you may be able to achieve on your own.

If you’re determined to know more about your family history and aren’t a trained genealogist, Legacy Tree offers excellent value. If you want to actively research your family and learn about the process of genealogy research, a DIY service may be more suitable for you.

Frequently Asked Questions
How and when will I receive my research results?+-

Legacy Tree completes most research projects in 4-6 months or 8-10 weeks for Mini10 projects. You will receive a printed research report as well as a private webpage where you can download and share your report.

How does DNA analysis work in genealogy?+-

Genetic genealogy matches DNA samples to find common ancestors between 2 people. Finding common ancestors can help genealogists identify missing links in your family tree. Legacy Tree can use raw DNA data as part of a genealogy research project.

Do I have to do a lot of work before you can start researching?+-

If you’re new to genealogy research, it’s a good idea to understand the basics of how it works before you get started. That said, many genealogy research platforms offer simple name matching and DNA matching tools to help you find ancestors right away. Legacy Tree doesn’t require any work, and professional genealogists will do all the research for you.

Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His work has been published on a wide selection of popular websites, and he has built a solid reputation for his writing in the technology and finance sectors. Michael has a particular interest in new technology and runs a small business where he constantly puts the latest web, business, and consumer tech through its paces.

Legacy Tree Genealogist customer reviews

Based on 19 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

2 years ago

It is easy to use and well worth the money. Gives you detailed information about your ancestors and offers insight into your family history.

2 years ago

Legacy is very easy, to navigate a newbie could create a professional looking family tree, I thought I lost all my info that I had spent what seemed like forever because my pc crashed during a storm and I didn't get to save it but when I got my pc back up after storm logged back on to my surprise everything was there.

2 years ago

I found Legacy Tree Geneogists to be a very professional group very dedicated to a positive outcome

2 years ago

A good service for genealogy, very helpful in tracing ancestors with updated features of the services.

2 years ago

It is less than easy to verify things and without proof I dont believe it is them, as names are quite repetitive in Poland.

2 years ago

I couldn't find out much at all about my family when I did research there. I was a little disappointed.

2 years ago

There was some of the information that I know was not accurate and they were kind of expensive

2 years ago

A pretty good platform for information. Has good information for the price.

2 years ago

It took me a little longer than expected to learn how to navigate their website but it consistently provided me relevant, interesting, and noteworthy information about my family tree.

2 years ago

There isn't anything I really disliked from Legacy geneolgy they seem to be very helpful

2 years ago

I think that it could be made a little easier to use or directions more clear on how to use.

2 years ago

I liked that it was easy to use and was able to provide the information I needed

2 years ago

I've been with and have a subscription service with them since 2000 and I have found a lot of my family members and ancestors. The places where they were born and several other interesting facts of family history.

2 years ago

One if the best for family history and family tree. Any questions. Good customer service. Great price

2 years ago

The only thing I didn't like was the difficulty of finding the information I needed to enter

2 years ago

It was a bit difficult to navigate around the website. I had a very hard time finding relatives that were 4th 5th generation etc

2 years ago

It was a good website and it was easy to navigate to figure out what to do. I was satisfied with results but wouldn't use again or necessarily recommend to someone else

2 years ago

I'm neutral regarding the brand. It apppears to be somewhat generic in nature.

2 years ago

It wasnt a very easy site to use I didnt find out anything I wanted to find out

19 reviews
Download The App
Apple App StoreGoogle Play Store
Copyright © 2009-2023 Natural Intelligence Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Don't Sell My Personal Information
Designed to help users make confident decisions online, this website contains information about a wide range of products and services. Certain details, including but not limited to prices and special offers, are provided to us directly from our partners and are dynamic and subject to change at any time without prior notice. Though based on meticulous research, the information we share does not constitute legal or professional advice or forecast, and should not be treated as such.
Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.