Since July 2009, Archives has been helping people discover their family roots. They aim to make research quick, easy, and affordable for everyone. Archives has forged partnerships with FamilySearch and the National Archives Administration. In August of 2012, Archives officially became part of Ancestry, one of the world's top genealogy websites. Through them they've been able to continually add to their photos, records, and newspapers for users to discover.

Non-transparent pricing

To get instant access to all of Archives' 11.8 billion photos, vital records, and newspapers, you can make an account on their website. The first 7 days of your membership are free, but then the cost after that is ambiguous. We aren't impressed with how non-transparent Archives is with their pricing. Nowhere on their site does it directly tell you how much you'll be charged after the free trial until you've actually signed up. We found that after we signed up, Archives charges $9.99/month and can be canceled at any time. While this is pretty affordable compared to some other genealogy sites, we wish they were more upfront with it.

Would like to see more

We wish Archives would show more of their platform and what it looks like for people to build a family tree before signing up. Unless you provide your credit card information and start your free trial, you can't get a good grasp of what their platform looks like to see if it seems up-to-date, easy to use, or appeals to you.

Free resources

To find vital records on someone, you can easily search the first and last name and state of a deceased individual. From there you can add people you find to your own personal family tree. You can also build upon family trees that are created by other family members to make them more robust. At the bottom of Archives' website they have a "Free Genealogy Resources" link that leads to a variety of topics to help you with tutorials, finding other genealogists, and online search tips. While creating your family tree, this is a good place to turn if you find yourself in a rut.

DNA kits through Ancestry

Archives offers DNA test kits, but we quickly realized that these are the same as the ones from Ancestry DNA since it links you straight to those. These are popular, insightful ways to get an overview of your ethnic origins, genetic communities, and get connected with living relatives. These test kits start at $99 and will provide you results in just 6-8 weeks.

Poor reviews

Archives is not rated by the Better Business Bureau. However, their customer reviews reflect poorly on them and we aren't impressed. People say that it's difficult to cancel your membership and you often have to make phone calls and wait quite a bit of time. Some people also felt like they fabricate records to get you to sign up. For example, users would make up crazy names in the search box and get birth, death, and census results that could be viewed after signup. We can't imagine that this company was doing well when it was purchased by Ancestry and we doubt Ancestry is pouring a lot of effort into keeping it alive.

Turn to Ancestry

Since Archives is run by Ancestry, it makes most sense to us to just go directly to them instead. Ancestry clearly has a one-up on the resources and information you can find at Archives, so for the most extensive experience, we recommend signing up at Ancestry. Archives is a genealogy service to avoid.

On the Archives website