MyHeritage built something genuinely impressive: a vast record archive, DNA matching, and slick discovery tools. For many people it's a great place to research. But a growing number of users are moving their actual family tree elsewhere — and the reasons are remarkably consistent.
1. The renewal shock
The pattern is familiar across the big genealogy subscriptions: an attractive introductory price, followed by a renewal that can be two or three times higher. A plan that felt reasonable at sign-up quietly becomes a $149–$399 annual line item. When the renewal email lands, people start asking what they're actually paying for.
2. The "tree ransom"
This is the one that stings most. On several platforms, if you let your subscription lapse, trees over a certain size become read-only — you can look at your grandmother's photos and your years of research, but you can't edit them until you pay again. Your own family history, held behind a paywall. Many people find that genuinely upsetting, and rightly so.
3. Upsell fatigue
DNA-kit banners on every screen, record-match nags, "999+ discoveries" badges engineered to pull you back in. The research tools are real, but the relentless commercial pressure makes the experience feel less like tending a family tree and more like being marketed to inside your own home.
What to look for in an alternative
- Free, complete GEDCOM export — so you're never locked in.
- No tree ransom — your tree stays editable even if you stop paying.
- Flat, honest pricing — the price you join at is the price you keep.
- A calm interface — your family, not a storefront.
- Easy migration — drop your GEDCOM in and everything arrives intact.
A different philosophy
The best record archives and DNA tools may well stay with the big players — and that's fine. But the tree itself, the living record of who your people were, deserves a permanent, honest home. That's the gap Dynasty House was built to fill: import your GEDCOM in minutes, keep everything, pay a flat $4/month (or nothing for up to 100 people), and never get locked out of your own family again.