Legacy Tree Genealogists Review 2024

There are many different options available for those looking to research their ancestry and delve into their family history, and there are also various forms of genealogy that help you discover your past in different ways.

Which option you choose will depend on the specific type of research you're interested in and which provider can best assist you with this.

In this review, we've taken a close look at Legacy Tree Genealogists to give you information on the company, its methods, the costs, and more. We've also compared it to some of its competitors to see which aspects of its products are superior and where it falls short.

Who Is Legacy Tree Genealogists?

Legacy Tree was established in 2004 and it claims to be the highest-rated genealogy research company in the world.

Legacy Tree comprises a team of professional genealogists that help people to discover their family history and build their family trees.

The company is based near the world's largest family history library, which gives it excellent access to historical records. Legacy Tree also works with genealogy researchers from all over the world to carry out its genealogy research.

The Legacy Tree team are experts in their field, and the company states that its mission is to give outstanding quality and care to each customer, which they say has helped thousands of customers worldwide.

How Does Legacy Tree Genealogists Ancestry Research Work?

Your tailored research project

Each individual genealogy research project is tailored to the person or family that it relates to, and so the research process will be slightly different for everyone.

Exactly how the process works depends on a number of factors related to your own family history, but Legacy Tree does provide a template for how it usually works.

Fill In The Online Form

Firstly, you need to visit the Legacy Tree website and complete the intake form, which will ask you for some basic information about yourself, your contact details, and what type of family research you're interested in.

Free consultation

Once you've submitted the online form, a Legacy Tree Genealogist will contact you to give you a free consultation and explain which services they think will be most beneficial for you.

They will also tell you how much your research project is likely to cost.

DNA tests

Legacy Tree doesn't provide any DNA testing services themselves, but if you have received any DNA testing results from another company such as AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, or 23andMe, you can provide Legacy Tree with the raw data, which they can then use as part of the research process.

Your results

Once Legacy Tree has all the relevant information, it will begin its in-depth research into your family history and will start building a detailed family tree for you.

The exact nature of the information they provide to you will be based on the preferences that you gave in your consultation.

Similarly, how long it takes for Legacy Tree to provide you with a final report will also vary depending on the specifics of your research project, but most projects typically take between 12 to 16 weeks.

As your Legacy Tree genealogist will be carrying out thorough, hands-on research, your Legacy Tree report may take longer than this, but this is because they will be performing a deep dive into your family's history.

How Much Does Legacy Tree Genealogists Ancestry Research Cost?

Preliminary assessments

It costs around $500 for your Legacy Tree genealogist to perform a preliminary assessment of the DNA data you have received from a DNA testing provider and to build a detailed research plan that's specific to you.

Ancestral homeland research

Legacy Tree genealogy research can include certain features, such as researching your ancestral homeland if you're planning to visit. This is an optional extra and costs about $500.

Basic genealogy reports

To receive a basic genealogy report which will span along a single family line, between one and four generations, the average cost is around $2,950.

Standard genealogy reports

A standard genealogy report is the next tier and will give you information about your family tree that spans two family lines and between one and six generations.

Advanced genealogy reports

For an advanced Legacy Tree Genealogy report, the cost is around $5,600 and will cover several generations and will span between two and three family lines.

Premium genealogy reports

The highest tier of family tree research that Legacy Tree offers is the premium genealogy report, and this costs around $10,800. This includes research into multiple family lines, generations, and locations.

Is the price worth it?

Considering the amount of research that Legacy Tree puts into its reports, it is understandable that the costs of its products are so high.

The most basic reports are reasonably affordable, but the highest tiers of research are very expensive and are only suitable for people who are really dedicated to researching their family trees.

What Genealogy Services Does Legacy Tree Genealogists Offer?

Legacy Tree offers a wide variety of services, and users have the opportunity to select a custom plan that suits their needs and their budget.

Legacy Tree tries to tailor each research project to the individual user, and some examples of the services they offer are:

  • A private webpage for the user
  • Research on adoptions
  • Locating a biological father
  • Locating a birth mother
  • Analysis of DNA test results
  • Lineage society research
  • Pedigree charts and documents
  • Deluxe binders
  • Calendars
  • Biographies
  • Community history research
  • Company history research
  • Research into estates
  • Research into litigation
  • Genetic inheritance research
  • In-depth research of historical records
  • Heritage tours

The 5 Best Features Of Legacy Tree Genealogists Ancestry Research

Bespoke research

Due to their expertise in the field, Legacy Tree's genealogists are able to tailor their research to suit you and can find the answers to many questions you might have about your ancestry that would be very difficult to find on your own.

Although companies like Ancestry.com have very large databases, you still have to search for your ancestry information yourself. Legacy Tree removes that burden and does it for you.

Dedicated project manager

While Legacy Tree is researching your family history, you'll be assigned a genealogist as a project manager who will guide you through the process and ensure that you get the information you want from the research.

They will also be the person that carries out the hands-on research and reports back to you.

Flexible options

Although Legacy Tree charges a premium for its services, there are several different research packages to choose from depending on what type of research you're interested in.

This means that you don't end up paying for information that you don't actually want.

Upload DNA test results

Although Legacy Tree doesn't offer DNA testing, if you've had your DNA tested by another company such as 23andMe or AncestryDNA, you can send the raw data to Legacy Tree, who will analyze it and incorporate it into your project.

This is particularly helpful in situations where the historical records are lacking in information and can speed up the research process, which should save you time and money.

Comprehensive final report

Once the research is complete, Legacy Tree will upload all of its findings to a private webpage where you can view them. You will also be sent a copy in print so that you can share it with other people.

Legacy Tree Genealogists Reviews

Legacy Tree has been extensively reviewed online by both customers, and industry insiders and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

The company has positive reviews from the Better Business Bureau, Google+, Facebook, and many other websites. It currently has a rating of 4.3 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot and 78% of the reviews rated its service as 'excellent.'

Will Legacy Tree Genealogists Keep My Information Private?

In order to carry out its research, Legacy Tree collects private information about its users, including contact information. Legacy Tree states in its privacy notice that this information is not shared with anyone outside the company and can be deleted upon request.

If you choose to share DNA results that you have received from another company with Legacy Tree, this information will be kept private and will not be shared with any third parties without the consent of the user.

How Does Legacy Tree Genealogists Compare To The Competition?

Legacy Tree Genealogists vs. AncestryDNA

Ancestry.com has the largest online database of any genealogical research company and gives users access to this for a monthly fee so that they can do their own research into their ancestry.

Users can also have their DNA tested using an AncestryDNA testing kit which is easy to use and only costs $100.

The cheapest services offered by Legacy Tree start from around $500, and so AncestryDNA is clearly much less expensive, but it does mean that you will have to carry out most of the research yourself. Legacy Tree carries out all of the research for you, which is why the prices are much higher.

Legacy Tree doesn't offer DNA testing and so is reliant on the user having raw DNA data from another company such as AncestryDNA.

Legacy Tree Genealogists vs. MyHeritage

MyHeritage has an online database of 1.4 million users, which gives you a huge pool of information to use for your ancestry research. This can be very time-consuming, and it can be hard to find specific answers to questions about your family history.

Legacy Tree assigns you a dedicated genealogist to carry out the research for you, which means you're much more likely to discover the information you're interested in.

However, MyHeritage has its own DNA tests that give you detailed reports about your ethnic origins and also allow you to use its chromosome browser to discover living relatives.

Like Legacy Tree, MyHeritage also allows you to upload DNA data that you've received from other companies. It can then offer to give you wellness and health reports for an additional cost.

Legacy Tree Genealogists vs. Find My Past

Find My Past offers access to its online database of users for $179 a year, but this subscription starts with a 14-day free trial. The database is specifically focused on helping American citizens trace their British & Irish ancestry.

This is clearly much more limited than the research that Legacy Tree can offer, as it is able to research ancestry from all over the world. However, Find My Past does do DNA testing to help users locate living relatives and trace their ancestry more specifically.

It also allows users to upload raw DNA data from other companies such as AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and FamilyTreeDNA.

Find My Past's DNA test kits are also one of the most affordable options available, with a starting price of just $89.

Legacy Tree Genealogists vs. 23andMe

23andMe is best suited for users who are looking for very specific information about their genealogical ancestry and gives users access to information from more than 1,000 regions of ethnicity.

The company has a much smaller database than Ancestry.com at around 1 million users and doesn't offer a dedicated genealogist to conduct the research as Legacy Tree does.

However, 23andMe does provide haplogroup DNA testing that is used to trace your father and mother lines, and for an extra fee, it will also give you health reports.

Its DNA test kits cost $99 and include more than 80 personalized ancestry reports. However, the relatively small size of its user database when compared to other providers does mean it can be difficult to find living relatives.

Legacy Tree Genealogists vs. FamilyTreeDNA

FamilyTreeDNA offers one of the most comprehensive DNA testing services available for tracing your ancestry and has several options with different price points. The first tier of testing only costs $80 and analyzes your autosomal DNA to give you reports on your ancestry and relative matches,

Once again, the main downside of FamilyTreeDNA, when compared to Legacy Tree, is that most of the research must be carried out by the user once they have received their DNA results, as the company does not offer the tailored packages that Legacy Tree does.

However, as with the other competitors, FamilyTreeDNA is a much more affordable option than Legacy Tree, and its most expensive testing option costs $360.

Legacy Tree Genealogists: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Legacy Tree's research accurate?

Legacy Tree states that it is the highest-rated genealogical research company currently in operation and its genealogists have many credentials and lots of experience.

The reports that they create are also peer-reviewed for accuracy, and detailed citations are included so that users can verify the sources and check their accuracy.

How much research will Legacy Tree ask me to do?

You don't need to do any of your own research, as Legacy Tree will assign a dedicated genealogist to your project who will find the information for you.

However, if you have done any of your own research prior to consulting with Legacy Tree, you should share this with them because this will save you time and money as your genealogist won't be starting from scratch.

Does Legacy Tree have access to non-public records?

Legacy Tree sources most of its information about your ancestry from publicly available records in repositories and online. It also has agents around the world that have access to public archives and libraries as well as subscriptions to all of the largest genealogical databases.

The company will also go in-depth and research private family records, newspapers, and local histories to locate pictures and information that is not otherwise publicly available.

The Bottom Line

Legacy Tree Genealogists is a great choice for those who are looking for a tailored, custom research project that is focused on building their family tree and exploring their ancestry in great detail.

However, the cost of its services is very high and would be prohibitive to many people, so it's mainly suited to those who are very serious about investing in discovering their past.

For the majority of users, AncestryDNA would be a better option as it is much more affordable and has the largest database of users of any genealogical research company. It also has its own DNA testing service, which Legacy Tree does not.

Neil Edwards

Neil Edwards

Genealogist and family-tree research specialist

Neil was born in Shropshire, England surrounded by centuries of living history. His interest in the past has been a lifelong passion leading to undergraduate degrees in both Economic History & Geography and History & Politics.

This interest in history quickly translated to family history when he moved to the U.S. in 2010. It was here that he began working on his own family tree as well as that of his American wife. That research allowed him to gain a wealth of experience working with both U.S. and European genealogical documents and studying their best uses in researching family history.

Following 9 years of honing his genealogical research skills, Neil was proud to have earned a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University in late 2019. Neil also took part in the research process for a Duke University study into the families of 19th Century UK Members of Parliament.

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