What Geneanet does

Geneanet is a Paris-headquartered collaborative genealogy platform founded in 1996 that enables individuals to build, search, and share family trees against a database of 9 billion indexed individuals aggregated from 100+ European and North American genealogical societies and national archives. The platform serves 5 million registered members across 10 languages and operates as the leading genealogy website in France, offering a comprehensive ecosystem that includes free unlimited family tree creation, GEDCOM import/export interoperability with Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and other major tools, collaborative cemetery preservation (Save our Graves / GeneaGraves mobile app with 8.1M+ photographed graves), an Old Photos database of 5.6M+ images, 132M+ archival register pictures, a Genealogy Library of 3.3B+ individuals, and supporting tools for surname/first-name origin research.

The technology stack is a web-based platform with database infrastructure handling billions of genealogical records, supplemented by mobile applications (GeneaGraves for cemetery photography, Now and Then for historical photo superimposition) and a multi-language community forum system. The platform's differentiated features include an automated 'Hints' matching engine available to Premium subscribers that compares user family trees against the full database, a surname origin and geographic mapping tool with historical timeline data, and a collaborative indexing platform that has processed 51M+ individuals through volunteer contributions. Sub-brands including Geneastar (celebrity genealogies of 20,000+ famous people), Geneawiki (collaborative French genealogy encyclopedia), and Memory of Places extend the platform into adjacent heritage and local history domains.

Geneanet operates an ad-free freemium business model where the core platform, family tree creation, basic search, and community participation are free, while Premium subscriptions starting at €3.75/month unlock the Hints matching engine, advanced search capabilities (wildcards, multi-place queries), extended privacy controls, and backup/restore functionality. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, operates with 11–50 employees, and generates revenue almost exclusively from Premium subscriptions plus ancillary revenue from a genealogy book and magazine store. Its primary customer segments are individual family historians ranging from beginners to professional genealogists, heritage preservationists contributing cemetery and memorial documentation, and name-curious visitors exploring surname origins.

Name

Geneanet

Legal name

Geneanet

Website

https://en.geneanet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Geneanet is a Paris-based collaborative genealogy platform serving 5 million members globally with a database of 9 billion indexed individuals, offering free family tree building, GEDCOM interoperability, and a €3.75/month Premium tier with automated ancestor matching and access to 100+ partnered archival societies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription: Tiered subscription model providing premium features including Hints (automated ancestor matching), advanced search capabilities, wildcard search, multi-place searches, extended privacy controls, and backup/restore functionality. Priced from €3.75 per month.
2. Freemium Core Platform: Free tier allows unlimited family tree creation, basic search, GEDCOM import, and community features. Revenue derived from conversion to Premium subscriptions rather than advertising.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Geneanet is a collaborative genealogy website that enables users to create and manage family trees for free, search billions of indexed historical records across European and North American archives, import/export data via GEDCOM, and collaborate with a community of genealogists. The platform monetizes through an optional Premium subscription (from €3.75/month) that unlocks automated matching (Hints), advanced search capabilities, wildcard search, multi-place searches, extended privacy controls, and backup/restore functionality.

Product overview

Geneanet is a free genealogy platform offering a comprehensive ecosystem centered around family tree creation and historical record discovery. The core platform provides free family tree building with unlimited individuals, search across over 9 billion indexed individuals, and collaboration tools. The main products include the Genealogy Library (3.3+ billion individuals), Cemeteries and Memorials/Save our Graves project (8+ million graves via GeneaGraves app), Old Photos (5.6+ million), Archival Registers (132+ million pictures), Postcards (1+ million), and War Memorials (100,000+). Supporting features include Origin of Last Names (1M+ names) and First Names (201K+ names), Collaborative Indexing platform, Forums (multi-language), and the Geneastar sub-brand for celebrity genealogy. Premium tier (from €3.75/month) adds Hints/Matches automation, advanced search, and email alerts. The platform connects to other genealogy software through GEDCOM file import/export.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Geneastar: Website dedicated to the genealogy of famous people, featuring family trees of celebrities and notable figures
• GeneaGraves
• Now and Then
• Geneawiki
• Memory of Places

Products and services

• Geneanet Core Platform Free web-based genealogy platform where users create unlimited family trees, search across 9+ billion indexed individuals, and collaborate with a community of genealogists in 10 languages. Targets amateur and professional family historians worldwide.
• Geneanet Premium Subscription tier offering advanced search features, automatic Hints/matches against 9+ billion individuals, email alerts for new records, wildcard search, multi-place searches, extended privacy controls, and backup/restore functionality. Priced from €3.75 per month.
• Genealogy Library Collection of hundreds of thousands of indexed documents including old books, newspapers, civil records, and historical archives spanning 3.3+ billion individuals. Provides deep historical record search for genealogists.
• Cemeteries and Memorials (Save our Graves) Collaborative database with 8+ million photographed graves and commemorative monuments accessible via the GeneaGraves mobile app. Targets family historians seeking ancestor burial locations.
• GeneaGraves Mobile App Mobile app for iOS and Android that enables users to photograph cemetery graves and upload them to the Save our Graves database. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
• Old Photos Database of 5.6+ million vintage photos and family portraits shared by the community, allowing users to discover ancestors' faces and complete family history.
• Archival Registers

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 million registered members
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Genealogical Societies (100+ European and North American organizations)coreTechnology or IntegrationGeneanet partners with over 100 genealogical societies, archives, and cultural institutions including French Archives départementales, FamilySearch, Ancestry, national archives of France, Germany, Switzerland, and more. These partners contribute indexed records, archival documents, and data that forms the backbone of Geneanet's 9+ billion individual database.
• FamilySearchcoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor genealogical data provider enabling integration of FamilySearch records into Geneanet's search platform, expanding access to international genealogical resources.
• AncestrycoreTechnology or IntegrationFacilitates GEDCOM export from Ancestry for importing family trees into Geneanet, supporting data portability within the genealogy ecosystem.
• Archives Nationales de FrancecoreTechnology or IntegrationFrench national archives partnership providing access to civil records, census data, and historical documents essential for French genealogy research.
• French Archives départementalescoreTechnology or IntegrationNetwork of 95 French departmental archives contributing digitized civil records, parish registers, and census documents for genealogical research.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/geneanetdotorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Geneanet.en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geneanet