Filae

What Filae does

Filae S.A. operates Filae.com, France's leading online genealogy platform, providing subscribers with searchable access to digitized French historical archives including civil status records from 1792 to the early 20th century, parish registers (1700-1789), national censuses (notably 1872 and 1906), military archives, succession and absence tables, and indexed historical press publications. The platform combines a free family tree builder with GEDCOM import/export functionality and a premium subscription tier unlocking the full archive collection, supported by content partnerships with more than 60 regional genealogical associations and direct collaborations with over 20 French departmental archives. The technology stack centers on a web-based research interface with cross-referenced indexing of individuals across sources, sharing hooks into MyHeritage's global search engine, and freemium conversion mechanics including gift cards and periodic free-access campaigns.

The business model is consumer subscription-driven, monetizing a long-tail of individual genealogists and a smaller professional researcher segment via monthly and annual auto-renewing subscriptions, prepaid gift boxes, and association discounts. Marketing is executed through earned media on major French broadcasters, genealogy salons across France and Belgium, and content marketing via the Filae Académie educational hub. Since August 2021, Filae has operated as a subsidiary of MyHeritage Group, with shared family tree profiles cross-indexed between the two platforms since December 2021. The company is headquartered at 91 rue Réaumur in Paris and employs 11-50 staff.

Name

Filae

Legal name

FILAE S.A.

Website

https://filae.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Filae is a French online genealogy platform offering subscription-based access to digitized French civil records, parish registers, censuses, and military archives covering over 259 million individuals. It serves hobbyist and professional genealogists through a freemium model and operates as a subsidiary of MyHeritage Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Genealogy and Archival Records

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Archives, Libraries & Institutional Access Platforms (MPAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Q&A & Knowledge Communities (BPAMABAI)

Keywords

• Online genealogy platform
• French archival records
• Family tree builder
• Genealogical research services
• Civil records database

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from premium access to digitized archives, advanced search features, and enhanced tree-building tools. Subscriptions auto-renew on monthly or annual basis.
2. Gift Cards and Gift Boxes: Prepaid cards and gift boxes (coffrets) that can be redeemed for premium subscriptions
3. Freemium Core Service: Free tree creation and limited access to encourage conversion to premium subscriptions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Filae operates an online genealogy research platform that gives users access to digitized French archival records including civil status records (1792 to early 20th century), census records, parish registers, military archives, succession tables, and historical press publications. The platform combines a free family tree builder with paid premium subscriptions that unlock full archive access, advanced search tools, and GEDCOM-compatible data import/export. Filae serves both casual family historians and professional genealogists with a database indexing over 259 million individuals.

Product overview

Filae is a French genealogy platform offering a comprehensive suite of genealogical research tools and archive access. The core product is Filae.com, a genealogy research platform that provides access to digitized French archives including civil records, censuses, parish registers, military archives, and historical press publications. The platform is built around three main pillars: a free family tree builder (Filae Arbres), advanced search tools for finding ancestors, and premium archive access (Filae Premium). Users can create and host family trees online, import/export GEDCOM files, and access billions of indexed genealogical records. Filae also offers educational resources through Filae Académie, gift subscription products, and maintains partnerships with over 60 regional genealogy associations. The platform is part of the MyHeritage group since August 2021, enabling cross-platform tree indexing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Filae.com Online genealogy platform providing access to digitized French civil records, censuses, parish registers, military archives, and other historical documents; enables users to search for ancestors and build family trees.
• Filae Premium Paid subscription tier offering unlimited access to all archived collections, advanced search features, and premium genealogical tools for dedicated hobbyist and professional researchers.
• Filae Académie Educational platform offering tutorials, case studies, practical guides, and tips for genealogy research including how to use Filae tools effectively and solve genealogical puzzles.
• Filae Gift Boxes (Coffrets Cadeaux) Prepaid gift cards and subscription boxes allowing recipients to activate Filae Premium memberships for various durations, marketed as gifts.
• Civil Records Collection (État Civil) Digitized French civil records from 1792 to early 20th century, including births, marriages, and deaths indexed by department with links to original archive documents.
• Census Records Collection Digitized French census records including 1872 and 1906 national population censuses, with additional years (1876, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931) available for select departments.
• Parish Registers Collection Digitized parish registers (registres paroissiaux) from 1700 to the French Revolution, covering baptism, marriage, and burial records before civil registration began.
• Military Archives Collection Military records including WWI and WWII prisoners, distinguished soldiers, decorations, Legion of Honor records, and military pensions across multiple centuries.
• Succession Tables (Tables de Successions et Absences) Indexed succession and absence tables enabling research on deceased individuals and their heirs, available for multiple French departments and time periods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 259+ million individuals available to discover
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MyHeritagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021Since August 2021, Filae is part of the MyHeritage Group. MyHeritage develops similar genealogical services worldwide with a strict privacy policy prohibiting the sale or licensing of personal data to third parties. Profiles from shared family trees are indexed in MyHeritage's search engine under the same conditions as on Filae, enabling cross-platform discoveries while maintaining privacy.
• Regional Genealogical Associations (60+ partners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with over 60 regional genealogical associations across France that contribute their research and indexed records to the Filae platform, enriching the database with specialized regional data.
• French Departmental ArchivescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with French departmental archives to digitize and provide access to civil status records, census data, parish registers, and other historical documents. Featured partners include archives from Côte d'Or, Dordogne, Eure, Seine-et-Marne, Haute-Saône, Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Rhône, Savoie, Yvelines, Ille-et-Vilaine, Seine-Maritime, Territoire de Belfort, Val-d'Oise, Charente, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Haute-Alpes, Calvados, Lyon, Cantal, and others.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ancestry: Global leader in family history and genealogy with the world's largest record collection, family tree tools, and DNA testing. A broad incumbent whose worldwide scale and brand compete indirectly with Filae for French genealogy users, especially French diaspora customers abroad.
• MyHeritage: Global genealogy platform and parent company of Filae since August 2021. Both offer family tree building, record search, and subscription-based archive access, with cross-platform tree indexing between them. MyHeritage is a broader incumbent operating worldwide, while Filae specializes in French records.

Regional players

• FindMyPast: UK-focused genealogy platform offering British and Irish records, family trees, and subscription access. Comparable to Filae in business model (subscription archive access for a specific national market) but serves a different European geography.

Emerging players

• WikiTree: Collaborative worldwide family tree platform with GEDCOM support and a community-driven model. Comparable to Filae on collaborative family tree building, though operating globally and free rather than as a subscription archive platform.
• Archives & Culture: French genealogy publisher and partner of departmental archives producing printed and digital genealogical research tools. Adjacent to Filae's archive access business, with partial overlap on French genealogy resources and partnerships with the same French archival institutions.
• Geneastar: European celebrity and notable family genealogy database with European historical record coverage. Adjacent to Filae on European genealogy use cases, particularly French and continental European lineages, but with a focus on notable/celebrity lineages rather than consumer mass-market archive access.

Direct peers

• Geneanet: Long-standing French genealogy platform offering family trees, civil records, and collaborative genealogy with a freemium model. Directly competes with Filae in the French genealogy market and is integrated via GEDCOM export/import, making it the closest direct competitor.
• Généatique: French genealogy software with a long history in the French market, supporting family tree construction with GEDCOM compatibility. Comparable to Filae on the genealogy use case but distributed as desktop software rather than an archive subscription platform.
• FamilySearch: Free global genealogy service operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offering family tree building and digitized records including growing French coverage. A direct peer that competes on the same genealogy use cases at a zero price point, pressuring Filae's premium model.
• Heredis: Leading French genealogy desktop software for building and managing family trees, with GEDCOM export/import compatibility with Filae. A direct peer serving the same French genealogy enthusiast segment via a desktop software model rather than subscription archive access.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/filaecom
• YouTubeyoutube.com/filae
• Facebookfacebook.com/genealogiecom
• Instagraminstagram.com/filae_genealogie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Filae