RootsMagic Alternatives: The Workbench and the Shelf
RootsMagic is where the research happens. It is not where the family goes to look.
People search for a RootsMagic alternative for one of two reasons, and they need different answers. The first is a researcher who has outgrown a feature, and that person should usually stay: there is very little RootsMagic does not do. The second is someone whose research has slowed, whose tree is essentially done, and whose relatives keep asking to see it on their phones. That person does not need a different research program. They need a shelf.
What RootsMagic is genuinely good at
Credit first, and there is a lot of it. RootsMagic 11 is a one-time purchase, $39.95 for new users and $29.95 as an upgrade as of September 2026, with a free edition that covers the core, and it runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS from Monterey onward. For the money it is the best-value serious genealogy program on the desktop. TreeShare mirrors your file with an Ancestry member tree in both directions, the FamilySearch integration matches and exchanges people with the shared world tree, and MyHeritage hints are wired in. Sources and citations are handled with a rigor that web tools rarely match, the wall charts print beautifully, and the newer DNA and medical tracking tools are real features, not checkboxes. If you are actively researching, this is the workbench.
Where the workbench stops
A RootsMagic database lives on one computer. You can publish reports and charts, and you can push the tree to Ancestry through TreeShare, but neither of those is a link you hand a cousin. Ancestry is a subscription the cousin does not have. A report is a PDF, and a PDF is where a family tree goes to stop growing. The relatives who want to look, add a photo, or correct a great-aunt's birthplace have no door.
There is also the living-person question. Publishing from RootsMagic puts the decision about who is alive and what to hide on you, every time you export. A web archive can make that decision structurally, redacting living people from any shared link without anyone remembering to check.
The honest comparison
| RootsMagic 11 | Family Roots Center | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | $39.95 once ($29.95 upgrade); free edition available | Free to 50 people; $10/mo Starter, $19/mo Family |
| Runs on | Windows 10/11 and macOS Monterey onward; installed | Any browser, no install; phones included |
| Research integration | TreeShare with Ancestry, FamilySearch sync, MyHeritage hints; the strongest on the desktop | None by design; it is the archive, not the search |
| Sources and citations | Rigorous, template-driven, the program’s heart | Notes and sources per person; not a citation engine |
| Sharing with relatives | Reports, charts, or an Ancestry tree they need a subscription to see | A link, with living people redacted automatically; invites on Family and up |
| Getting data out | GEDCOM export, reports, charts, PDF, DOCX, Excel | GEDCOM, CSV, JSON, PDF, and a full ZIP with photos, on every plan including free |
| Built for | Researching, citing, and printing | Keeping the finished tree where the family can reach it |
How the export actually goes
In RootsMagic choose File, then Export, then GEDCOM, and keep the default options. People, relationships, dates, places, sources and notes travel in the file. Media does not: a GEDCOM carries links to media rather than the media itself, so export your media folder separately and plan to re-attach photos on the other side, or use an import that takes the folder alongside the file. Our GEDCOM guide explains what survives the trip. The switch page has the steps on this side, and the import takes minutes.
Keep the workbench, add the shelf
This is not a replacement argument. If you are researching, keep RootsMagic; nothing on the web does TreeShare or citations the way it does. The web archive is where the finished result lives: the place a relative opens on a phone, sees the tree with living people redacted, and adds the photo you have been asking about for a year. Export a GEDCOM when the research reaches a resting point, and again when it moves. The workbench stays yours. The shelf belongs to the family.
Questions people ask
Is RootsMagic a subscription?
No. RootsMagic 11 is a one-time purchase, $39.95 for new users and $29.95 as an upgrade as of September 2026, and a free edition with the core features exists. It runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS from Monterey onward. For the money it is the best-value serious genealogy program on the desktop.
Does RootsMagic sync with Ancestry and FamilySearch?
Yes, and this is its signature strength. TreeShare mirrors your RootsMagic file with an Ancestry member tree in both directions, and the FamilySearch integration lets you match and exchange people with the shared FamilySearch tree. A web-based family archive is not a replacement for that research workflow; it is where the finished result lives.
How do I move a RootsMagic tree to a web-based family tree?
Export a GEDCOM from RootsMagic (File, Export, GEDCOM), then import it. People, relationships, dates, places, sources and notes travel in the file. Media does not, because a GEDCOM carries links to media rather than the media itself, so export your media folder separately and re-attach, or use a tool that imports the folder alongside.
Should I replace RootsMagic with Family Roots Center?
Not while you are researching. Replace it, or add a web archive next to it, when the research has slowed and the tree has become the family record that relatives on phones need to reach without installing anything. RootsMagic stays the workbench; the web archive becomes the shelf.
See a finished tree with living people redacted
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