Self-hosted genealogy software, honestly reviewed. No marketing fluff, just what you get when you run your own family tree.

TL;DR

What it is: Free, open-source (MIT) web-based family tree application built on Laravel 12 for recording family members, relationships, and multi-generation trees [README].
Who it’s for: Privacy-minded individuals and families who want to own their genealogy data instead of feeding it to Ancestry.com, plus developers comfortable with PHP/Laravel who want a modern self-hosted alternative.
Cost savings: Ancestry.com charges $25–$50/month for a subscription. MyHeritage runs $13–$25/month. Genealogy self-hosted runs on a $5–10/month VPS at $0 software cost — with full data ownership and no subscription ever [README][homepage].
Key strength: Modern TALL stack (Tailwind, Alpine.js, Livewire, Laravel 12), multi-team support with role-based access, solid relationship model covering same-sex couples, step-parents, and remarriages [README].
Key weakness: Small project — 319 GitHub stars, a single primary maintainer, no enterprise features, and setup requires a real PHP environment (not just Docker Compose). Limited community compared to Webtrees or Gramps.

What is Genealogy

Genealogy (hosted at genealogy.kreaweb.be, built by MGeurts) is a PHP web application for building and exploring family trees. You enter people, define their relationships — biological parents, partners, children — and the application tracks the graph across generations. The live demo ships with two pre-loaded trees: British Royals and Kennedy, which gives you a realistic sense of how it handles large, politically complicated families [homepage].

The project describes itself plainly in the GitHub README: “a free and open-source family tree PHP application to record family members and their relationships, built with Laravel 12” [README]. There’s no marketing hype, no VC-funded growth story. It’s a solo developer’s serious attempt at a modern self-hosted alternative to Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.

What makes it technically interesting is the stack. Rather than the tired LAMP applications that dominated the genealogy software space for two decades, this one is built on the modern TALL stack: Tailwind CSS 4, Alpine.js 3, Livewire 4, and Laravel 12. That means reactive UI without writing a separate React or Vue frontend, proper component-based architecture, and a codebase that a PHP developer in 2026 can actually maintain. Filament 5 handles the admin table builder. Laravel Jetstream 5 handles authentication, including Teams — which is the foundation for the multi-family-tree feature [README].

The relationship model is more thoughtful than you’d expect from a side project:

A person can have one biological father and one biological mother
A person can have one set of parents (biological or not) — covering adoption
A person can have multiple partners across time — covering divorce, remarriage, and reuniting
Couples can be opposite or same biological sex
Children can be linked to a couple as a unit or to individual parents — handling blended families

That last point matters. Most casual genealogy tools treat “parents” as “one man, one woman.” If your family tree includes adoption, same-sex parents, or multiple marriages with children from each, you need a system that models reality rather than a 1950s assumption about family structure [README].

Why people choose it

There’s no body of third-party software reviews for this tool — at 319 stars it’s a niche project, not a platform that’s attracted the blogger and YouTuber coverage that Nextcloud or Gitea have. What exists is the demo, the README, and the broader context of why people self-host genealogy software at all.

The core argument is data ownership and privacy. Every major genealogy SaaS platform (Ancestry, MyHeritage, 23andMe) has made it standard practice to aggregate user-submitted family data, use it for DNA matching features, and in some cases share it with third parties. Ancestry’s 2023 privacy policy update caused significant community backlash when it clarified how family tree data could be used in aggregate. When you self-host your family tree, none of that applies — your data sits on your server and no one else touches it.

The second argument is perpetuity without a subscription. Family trees are multi-generational projects. You might spend decades building one. The idea of that data living in a SaaS platform that can raise prices, get acquired, or shut down is genuinely uncomfortable for serious genealogists. Self-hosting, especially under an MIT license, means the application is yours to run indefinitely [README][homepage].

The third argument, specific to this project, is modernity. The alternatives in the self-hosted space — Webtrees in particular — work, but they’re showing their age architecturally. Genealogy’s TALL stack is substantially more maintainable code than a 2004 PHP application that’s been patched for 20 years. For a developer who might want to extend or maintain the application, that matters.

Features

Based on the README, demo, and website scrape:

Core relationship engine:

Biological father/mother tracking per person [README]
Parent couples (biological or adoptive) as a unit [README]
Multiple partners per person across time — remarriage and reuniting supported [README]
Same-sex couples supported [README]
Sibling detection via shared parents [README]
Children linked to couples or individual parents [README]

Team and access management:

Multiple family trees as separate Teams (via Laravel Jetstream Teams) [README][homepage]
Role-based access: owner, manager, editor, member, developer [homepage demo]
Developer role with access to all teams and user management [homepage]

User experience:

Birthday tracking and notifications [homepage links]
Built-in search across persons [homepage links]
Password generator included (unusual, but practical) [homepage links]
Multi-language UI: English, German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese Simplified [homepage links]

Security:

Two-factor authentication [README features]
HTTPS required — the application explicitly refuses to run without it [README requirements]
Laravel Jetstream’s standard auth stack

Infrastructure:

Docker deployment [README features]
MySQL 8.0.1+, MariaDB 10.2.2+, or equivalent [README requirements]
PHP 8.4 required [README]
REST API available [README features]
npm for frontend assets [README features]

Interesting inclusions:

Terms of service and privacy policy pages built in [homepage links]
Live demo at genealogy.kreaweb.be with real British Royals and Kennedy trees to explore before committing [homepage]

Pricing: SaaS vs self-hosted math

Genealogy software (self-hosted):

Software license: $0 (MIT) [README][homepage]
VPS: $5–10/month (Hetzner, Contabo, or DigitalOcean)
Your time to set up PHP 8.4, MySQL, HTTPS, and the application

Ancestry.com for comparison:

Basic (US records): $25/month or $200/year
Standard (US + international): $40/month or $300/year
Premium (all + DNA): $50/month or $400/year
No export of your data in any useful open format

MyHeritage for comparison:

Free: 250 individuals, limited features
Premium: ~$13/month or $129/year
Premium Plus: ~$25/month or $229/year
Data lock-in comparable to Ancestry

Savings math for a typical user:

A family historian paying Ancestry Standard at $300/year over 10 years spends $3,000 on a service that owns your tree and can raise prices. Self-hosting Genealogy on a $6/month Hetzner VPS costs $720 over the same period — a $2,280 savings — with full data ownership and no renewal anxiety. The math gets even better if you’re already running other self-hosted services on the same VPS.

One honest caveat: Ancestry and MyHeritage have enormous record databases (census records, immigration documents, DNA matching). Self-hosting your family tree application doesn’t give you access to those databases — you’d need to research records separately and import the data. That’s the real trade-off, not the software cost.

Deployment reality check

The README is honest about requirements, which is a good sign. What you actually need:

PHP 8.4 — not 8.1, not 8.3. The latest stable version, which means some shared hosting environments won’t qualify.
MySQL 8.0.1+ or MariaDB 10.2.2+ — specifically for JSON column support [README requirements]
HTTPS — not optional, not “recommended.” The application requires it [README requirements]
Docker — listed as a supported deployment method, though the README doesn’t include a full docker-compose walkthrough
npm — for compiling frontend assets

What can go sideways:

PHP 8.4 is the current-as-of-2026 latest version. If you’re on a managed VPS or shared host that hasn’t updated yet, you’ll need to compile PHP from source or use a container.
The HTTPS requirement is the right call for a privacy-focused application (you’re storing personal family data), but it means you need a domain name and a reverse proxy — not just a raw IP address.
No pre-built docker-compose in the visible documentation. Docker is listed as a feature [README], but deploying it isn’t as simple as docker compose up if the compose file isn’t included — verify this against the actual repository before committing to this deployment path.
The demo site uses test credentials in plain text on the homepage — that’s fine for a public demo, but it signals this is not an enterprise-hardened application.
At 319 stars and single-maintainer development, you’re betting on one person’s continued motivation. The project has received recent commits (Laravel 12 and Filament 5 are both very current), which is a positive signal — but it’s a real risk compared to larger communities like Webtrees.

Realistic time estimate for a developer: 2–4 hours for a fresh setup including domain, HTTPS, and database. For someone without PHP experience: a full day or budget for a one-time setup service.

Pros and Cons

Pros

MIT licensed, genuinely free. No “community edition” with enterprise features gated behind a paid tier. The full application is MIT [README][homepage].
Modern codebase. Laravel 12, Livewire 4, Tailwind 4 — this is current PHP development practice, not legacy spaghetti. A developer can extend it without archaeologist skills.
Thoughtful relationship model. Handles adoption, same-sex couples, remarriage, blended families — more real-world-accurate than most genealogy tools [README].
Multi-team architecture. Multiple family trees in one installation with role-based access — useful if you’re hosting for extended family or a genealogical society [README][homepage].
10+ language support. Multilingual out of the box, which matters for non-English-speaking families and for tracing ancestors from other countries [homepage].
Live demo you can actually explore. British Royals and Kennedy trees give you a sense of the UI with real data before you commit [homepage].
Active maintenance. Laravel 12 and Filament 5 are 2025–2026 releases — someone is keeping this current.
2FA and HTTPS required — privacy-conscious defaults, not security bolted on as an afterthought [README].

Cons

Single maintainer, small community. 319 GitHub stars and one primary developer means any bus-factor event stalls the project. No commercial entity behind it [README].
PHP 8.4 hard requirement eliminates some common hosting environments without additional work.
No cloud SaaS option. Unlike most tools reviewed here, there’s no managed tier — it’s self-host or nothing. For non-technical users this is a hard blocker.
No record database integration. It’s a family tree manager, not a research tool. No connection to Ancestry’s 40+ billion records or FamilySearch’s free database. You have to bring your own data.
Setup complexity above average. PHP, MySQL, HTTPS, and npm in combination isn’t a single-command install. The Docker support exists but isn’t as polished as projects built Docker-first.
No GEDCOM import/export visible in the feature list. GEDCOM is the standard interchange format for genealogy data — if this doesn’t support it, migrating from or to other tools is painful. The README and website scrape don’t mention it, which is a significant gap if accurate.
No mobile app. Web-only, responsive or not. Genealogists often work in archives and cemeteries with mobile devices.
REST API is listed but undocumented publicly. Listed as a feature [README] but there’s no linked API documentation in the scraped content — breadth and stability unknown.

Who should use this / who shouldn’t

Use Genealogy if:

You’re a developer or technical user who wants a modern self-hosted family tree application and is comfortable with PHP/Laravel deployment.
Privacy is a primary concern — you don’t want Ancestry.com or MyHeritage holding your family’s personal data.
You’re already running a PHP/MySQL server and want to add genealogy as one more service.
You have multiple family groups (extended family, genealogy club) who each need their own tree with separate permissions.
You want a codebase you can actually modify — MIT license, modern Laravel, real documentation.

Skip it if:

You’re non-technical and have no developer available. There’s no hosted SaaS version, and the setup is legitimately complex.
You need GEDCOM import to bring in data from existing genealogy software — verify this feature exists before committing.
You want access to digitized historical records alongside the tree management. Self-hosting solves the software problem, not the records-access problem.
You need a mobile app for fieldwork in archives or cemeteries.
You need long-term project stability guarantees — a single-maintainer MIT project is the opposite of enterprise reliability.

Stay on Ancestry.com if:

You depend on their record database for active research — the 40+ billion records and DNA matching are genuinely unique and can’t be replicated by self-hosting.
You don’t have a technical person to set this up, and you’re not interested in learning.
Your family tree has fewer than 250 people — MyHeritage’s free tier covers you.

Alternatives worth considering

Webtrees — the most-deployed self-hosted genealogy web application. More mature, larger community, full GEDCOM support, PHP-based. Less modern codebase but significantly more proven. If you want the most stable self-hosted option, Webtrees is the safer bet.
Gramps — open-source desktop application. Runs locally rather than as a web server. Excellent for personal use, harder to share with family. Full GEDCOM support.
Ancestry.com — the commercial incumbent. $25–$50/month, but the record database is unmatched for US/UK research. Data lock-in is real.
MyHeritage — cheaper SaaS alternative to Ancestry. Free tier for small trees. Similar data ownership concerns.
FamilySearch — free, operated by the LDS Church. Massive free record database. Shared collaborative tree model (everyone edits one tree) is a feature or a bug depending on your perspective.
TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding) — paid self-hosted PHP option with decades of development and a large plugin ecosystem. Better feature coverage than this project but not free.

For a non-technical founder or family member, the realistic choice is: pay for Ancestry/MyHeritage, use FamilySearch for free, or hire someone to set up Webtrees (more mature) or Genealogy (more modern code). If you’re a developer evaluating self-hosted options, Genealogy’s modern stack makes it more compelling to extend, but Webtrees’ community and GEDCOM support make it more reliable for production use.

Bottom line

Genealogy is a technically solid, privacy-first alternative to Ancestry.com for people who want to own their family tree data. The MIT license, Laravel 12 foundation, thoughtful relationship model, and multi-team architecture put it ahead of many older self-hosted alternatives architecturally. The trade-offs are real: single-maintainer project, no hosted tier, no record database access, and deployment complexity that rules out non-technical users entirely.

For a developer who already runs a Linux server and wants to stop feeding family data to a subscription service that can raise prices or get acquired, the math is simple — $0 software license plus a $6/month VPS versus $300–$600/year to Ancestry, indefinitely. The missing piece is someone who can set it up for you if you’re not technical — which is exactly the gap a deployment service like upready.dev fills.

Sources

Genealogy Application — Official Website and Demo (genealogy.kreaweb.be). https://genealogy.kreaweb.be/
MGeurts/genealogy — GitHub README (Laravel 12 family tree application). https://github.com/mgeurts/genealogy
Genealogy Demo — Role and Credentials Reference (homepage, team structure). https://genealogy.kreaweb.be/
MIT License — Genealogy About Page (confirmed MIT license, copyright 2026 kreaweb.be). https://genealogy.kreaweb.be/about

Note: No independent third-party software reviews of this specific application were available at time of writing. The application has 319 GitHub stars as of 2026-04 — a niche project that hasn’t yet attracted the blogger and review-site coverage that larger open-source tools receive. The above review is based on the README, live demo, and website, supplemented by general knowledge of the genealogy software landscape.