See what webtrees offers: free self-hosted genealogy software with GEDCOM support, family tree charts, privacy controls, and 40+ languages. Features, pricing,…
webtrees is a free, open-source genealogy application that runs on your own web server, letting you build, edit, and publish family trees online. It grew out of the earlier PhpGedView project and has been maintained by an international community of volunteer developers since around 2010.
Because webtrees is self-hosted rather than a paid cloud service, there are no subscription fees and no third party controls your family data. All that is required is a web host running PHP with a supported database such as MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite.
The software is built around the GEDCOM standard, the common file format used by nearly all genealogy programs, which makes it straightforward to import an existing tree from desktop software or another online service and continue building it in webtrees.
webtrees supports multi-user collaboration, so several relatives can log in and contribute research to the same shared tree, each with configurable permission levels.
Privacy is handled through granular, per-record controls that can automatically hide sensitive details about living individuals, which matters for trees that will be viewed publicly online.
The platform produces a wide variety of charts and reports, including pedigree, descendancy, relationship, and fan charts, plus interactive maps that plot ancestral birth, marriage, and death locations, and media galleries for photos and scanned documents.
webtrees itself is completely free to download, install, and use under the GPL version 3 license. There is no paid tier, subscription, or per-user fee for the software.
The only cost involved is standard web hosting for the PHP application and its database, which can range from a few dollars a month on shared hosting to more for dedicated or managed genealogy-specific hosting providers.
Some third-party companies offer managed webtrees hosting or paid support contracts for users who prefer not to self-manage the server, but these are optional add-ons rather than requirements from the webtrees project itself.
Yes, webtrees is released under the GPL version 3 license and is free to download, install, and modify. You only pay for your own web hosting.
You need a web host that supports PHP and a database such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. Some genealogy-focused hosts offer simplified or one-click installs.
Yes, webtrees imports standard GEDCOM files exported from desktop genealogy software or other online tree services.
Yes, it includes granular privacy settings that can hide or mask details of living individuals by default.
Yes, webtrees supports multi-user accounts with configurable permission levels for collaborative editing.
The interface is available in more than 40 languages and supports various cultural naming and surname conventions.
No, webtrees is a tree-building and publishing platform, not a historical records database.
Community support is available through forums, and some third-party hosting providers offer paid managed support.