Best for: Creating simple and clear family tree diagrams quickly with free templates and easy-to-use tools.
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This post explains what a family tree is, how to create one, and the best free family tree makers online for designing and organizing your family history. You can explore 6 recommended tools, including MindOnMap, Canva, Lucidchart, and FamilySearch Family Tree, to easily create a visual family tree and document your ancestry.
Quick Answer: What Are the Best Free Family Tree Makers?
The best free family tree makers are Canva for creating visually appealing family tree templates, Lucidchart for building data-driven family trees with spreadsheet import, and MindOnMap for quickly creating simple family tree diagrams online. Choose a tool based on whether you need beautiful designs, collaborative diagramming, or an easy way to organize family relationships.
A family tree, also known as a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a type of chart or diagram representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. It starts with one individual as the root, and lines represent branches that terminate in boxes representing leaves. Each leaf refers to an individual family member. It can display generations of your families and how they are linked throughout the years. A family tree usually contains names, birth dates, marriage dates, and pictures.
A family tree can be simple and only include your close family members. Also, it can be complex and can go back many generations. With a family tree, you can see clearly where you came from, who your ancestors were, and how you are related to them. You can take a family tree as a simplified genogram.
A family tree gives a whole view of a person's lineage, tracing relationships to common ancestors. It offers a simple way to track the people, places, and events that make up your family history. A family tree is a great way to explore your family history and background.
Besides knowing more about who you are and where you came from, you can also find out many interesting facts about your family. Through a family tree, you may see a famous historical figure or some generations of holders of office who may not be directly related.
A family tree can help you connect to your heritage and pass on some family stories through generations. It is also a good visual representation of how close you are related to a family member. There are many other reasons to make a family tree. For instance, you can use it to trace genetics and family health concerns.
When you want to draw a family tree, you should first gather all the necessary information about your family. Besides the basic information like names, ages, and photos, you may also need to find the related documents, pictures, newspaper clippings, and more to make a more visual family tree.
After you gather all these data, you can start with an outline with all the family members you want to include. You should ask all your family members and also make sure you can always keep adding to this. Then you can create a box or leaf for each family member, including name, date, photo, and other related information. When you create a family tree, you should distribute it to your family and get further supplements.
To make a family tree, you can use many free family tree makers online that provide templates and easy-to-use drawing tools. In today, popular online tools like MindOnMap, Canva, Lucidchart, Creately, Adobe Express, etc., still offer convenient ways to visualize family relationships, organize ancestry information, and create professional-looking family trees. In this part, we review the best family tree makers online based on their templates, ease of use, customization options, and free features.
| Tool | Price | Platform | Free Features | Collaboration | Templates | Best For |
| MindOnMap | Free | Online (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android browsers) | Free family tree templates, themes, export options | Share via link | Family tree templates and diagram themes | Quickly creating simple family tree diagrams |
| Adobe Express | Free / Premium | Web, Mobile | Free templates, editing tools, and design assets | Share designs and invite collaborators | Professional family tree and design templates | Creating creative and visually appealing family trees |
| Canva | Free / Pro | Web, Windows, Mac, Mobile | Free templates, drag-and-drop editor, basic design tools | Real-time collaboration and sharing | Hundreds of family tree templates | Designing beautiful family tree charts and posters |
| Lucidchart | Free / Paid plans | Web, Windows, Mac, Mobile | 3 editable documents, 60 shapes per document, 100 templates | Real-time collaboration and comments | Diagram and family tree templates | Creating structured, data-driven family trees |
| Creately | Free / Paid plans | Web | Family tree templates, diagram tools, basic collaboration features | Real-time collaboration and sharing | Customizable family tree templates | Building collaborative family history diagrams |
| FamilySearch | Free | Web, Mobile | Free genealogy records, shared family tree building, ancestry research tools | Collaborate with relatives on family history | Family tree views (not design templates) | Researching ancestry and building genealogy records |
Best for: Creating simple and clear family tree diagrams quickly with free templates and easy-to-use tools.
Score:4.8/5
MindOnMap is an easy-to-use online diagramming tool that can help you visualize your family history and relationships. This free family tree maker online offers many useful themes, examples, and templates to quickly start your family tree drawing. It provides a free online solution for users who want to create and share family trees without installing desktop software.
When you want to build a family tree, you can open your web browser, navigate to the official MindOnMap website, and then click the Create Your Mind Map button. You can easily log in to it with an email or Google account. After that, you can select the right diagram type or theme to start your family tree drawing.
This recommended family tree maker is designed with many useful tools for you to easily add nodes, sub-nodes, and components. Also, you can freely insert images, links, comments, and other elements based on your need. When you make a family tree, you are also allowed to customize the family tree style, theme, icon, outline, and more. During the family tree drawing, you can undo or redo your operation.
After you make a family tree, you can simply click on the Export button in the upper-right corner to save it as a JPG/PNG/SVG image, Word file, or PDF file, according to your need. Also, you can click on the Share button to generate a link and then send it to other family members.
Best for: Making creative family tree posters with professional templates, images, and design elements.
Score:4.4/5
Adobe Express is an all-featured designing tool that helps you create a customized family tree online. It provides professionally designed templates that allow you to add family photos, names, icons, and other personalized elements. With its easy-to-use editing features, you can quickly design, save, and share your family tree.
You need to sign in to an account to use Adobe Express. When you access this free family tree maker, you can click on the left Template to easily find a suitable family tree template. Adobe Express also offers a convenient way to create, save, and share your family tree. You can handily add collaborators, get approval, and publish your family tree. After you make a family tree, you can also share it on social platforms, save it, or directly print it out as a poster or postcard.
Best for: Designing visually appealing family trees with a large collection of customizable templates.
Score:4.7/5
Canva is a popular online graphic design tool that can help you make a logo, flyer, banner, poster, invitation, business card, video intro, meme, and more. It has an individual family tree maker tool for you to easily make a family free. It gathers hundreds of fresh and unique templates to choose from. It also gives over 20 professional types of graphs. With its drag-and-drop tools, you can make a unique design that perfectly represents your family history. Canva continues to provide a large collection of family tree templates, making it a suitable choice for beginners who want to create visually appealing family trees quickly.
When you get to the Canva family tree maker page, you can click on the Start Designing a Family Tree button to move on. Many ready-made family tree templates are offered there for you to choose from. You can select a suitable one and then edit the details on the right. Here you are allowed to click on each element and edit it. You can also click on Elements on the left panel and add other lines, arrows, circles, and more based on your need.
If you want to insert a picture, you should go to Uploads, add your photos, and then drag it to the related family member. This family tree maker carries all the basic features you need to make your family tree. You can download your created family tree, generate a link for sharing, or directly print your design.
Best for: Creating structured family tree charts with data import, advanced diagrams, and team collaboration features.
Score:4.5/5
Lucidchart is a cloud-based diagramming platform that combines diagramming, data visualization, and collaboration. It has a Family tree maker to help you visualize your ancestry easily. You can build thorough and ordered family trees that shed light on the people, places, and events that are related to your family. It offers customizable family tree templates to ensure you can quickly make family charting. You can also simply drag and drop shapes onto the canvas.
Lucidchart Family tree maker enables you to link a spreadsheet with your family data to make a family tree automatically. With this feature, you can ensure various information in your data set for all family members is updated, such as dates, locations, photos, and more. Its free plan allows users to create up to three editable documents, use up to 60 shapes per document, and access 100 templates.
Best for: Building collaborative family tree diagrams with customizable layouts and visual mapping tools.
Score:4.3/5
Creately Family Tree Maker gives a simple way to make a family tree online and visualize your family history. It collects many customizable family tree templates for you to quickly start your family tree building. Also, it is designed with a real-time visual collaboration feature to brainstorm family relationships and build your family tree effectively. You can freely add notes, dates, photos, and attachments. It carries many professional diagramming tools and controls to trace your family tree and organize genealogical information. Creately remains a useful online diagramming tool for creating collaborative family trees, allowing users to organize complex family relationships visually.
Creately Family Tree Maker allows you to easily visualize a complex family tree and update it instantly through its Plus Create and color themes. It also scales up to thousands of items in a single view to organize your family tree and related information. You can click on the Create Your Family Tree button to start building your family tree. Here you need to sign in with your email.
Extended Reading:
Best for: Researching ancestors, exploring family history, and building detailed genealogy records.
Score:4.6/5
FamilySearch Family Tree is a free online genealogy tool that helps you discover and organize your family history. Unlike Canva or MindOnMap, which focus on creating visual family tree charts, FamilySearch is designed for researching ancestors and building detailed family records.
With FamilySearch, you can create a family tree, add information about relatives, upload photos and stories, and explore historical records to learn more about your ancestry. It also allows family members and researchers to work together to update and improve family information.
The platform provides access to billions of historical records, including birth records, marriage records, and census records. You can also receive record hints that may help you find more details about your ancestors.
Which family tree template should I use?
You can access multiple types of family trees on the internet. When you select a family tree template, you should first gather all the necessary information about your family members and then choose a suitable one depending on the number of generations required.
How do you discover your family ancestry?
As mentioned above, you can ask other family members, especially your grandparents, to get more useful information. In addition, you can discover your family ancestry through some associated newspaper clippings, documents, pictures, and more. Also, some online genealogy services can help trace your surname origins, explore your heritage, and connect with relatives. However, results may vary by service, so it is recommended to cross-check important family information with official records and reliable sources.
Where to find useful family tree templates?
You can quickly locate many useful family tree templates on some online family tree makers like Creately, Lucidchart, or Canva. Also, you can directly search for family tree templates on the internet and then find some valuable ones from the search results.
Are there free family tree makers?
Yes. Many free family tree makers are available online, including MindOnMap, Canva, and FamilySearch Family Tree. These tools provide free templates, diagram features, or genealogy resources to help you create and organize your family history. Some platforms may offer additional premium features for advanced designs or collaboration.
Can I make a family tree on my phone?
Yes. Many family tree makers support mobile devices through apps or mobile-friendly websites. Tools like Canva, Adobe Express, and FamilySearch allow you to create, edit, or manage your family tree on iOS and Android devices. You can add family members, upload photos, and update information whenever needed.
What formats can I export a family tree in?
The available export formats depend on the family tree maker you use. Most visual design tools allow you to save your family tree as image files such as JPG and PNG, while some also support PDF or other document formats. For example, MindOnMap supports exporting family trees to image, PDF, and document formats for easier sharing and printing.
Conclusion
In this post, we have explained what a family tree is, how to create one, and reviewed the best free family tree makers online to help you easily organize your family history. Whether you want to design a beautiful family tree, research your ancestry, or collaborate with family members, you can find a suitable tool from our recommendations.
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