Opinions. Ancestry Vs Find My Past, FamilySearch, MyHeritage etc.

[Rds]

Which is "the best"?

Which would you recommend?

Do they hold all the same records? or do they different from Country and county?

Does anyone hold more Church records than the other?

Which one would you say is better for Military records? or stick with Fold3 or Forces War Records?

My main country of research is England so far, have a few hits in the States as a great-aunt marries an American G.I. after WW2 but I cannot see them without paying even more!

I have been with Ancestry while now, and just wondered if I am missing out on anything, or if I should do alternative months with each... just don't want Ancestry to delete anything on my "off" months.

I know Find My Past now has the 1921 Census, but it is ridiculous priced (for my budget at least), so have brought the single pages I wanted/needed.

Are any of them more geared up for UK Records ?

[antiquesam]

Having tried both I came to the conclusion that Ancestry was more user friendly. In the main the records are similar with the exception that FindMyPast has newspapers. For the few times I've wanted a 1921 census it's been cheaper to pay as you go. The main benefit of Ancestry is that I've managed to get a 50 percent for the last five or so years.

[ggrocott]

FindMyPast appear to be offering 40% off atm.  I find Ancestry easier to use but FindMyPast marginally better for UK parish records and of course the newspapers.

[Gadget]

I became a member of FindMyPast when it started up, many years ago, as 1837 online, I much prefer it to Ancestry which I wouldn't use if it were not for looking for USA and Canadian relatives and doing a DNA test.  I also have a sub to My Heritage, in particular for their DNA analytical tools. I've been using Family Search since the early days of the IGI and the 1881 census. I also use Scotlands People and other specialist sites.

It really depends on where your main body of interest is. For me it's Wales, some English counties (North and Midlands) , Scotland and USA/Canada.

Gadget 

[KGarrad]

I have been with Ancestry while now, and just wondered if I am missing out on anything, or if I should do alternative months with each... just don't want Ancestry to delete anything on my "off" months.

Ancestry won't delete anything - but you won't be able to see the images from Ancestry.
I haven't paid a sub for years - and have about a dozen trees on there

[coombs]

I find Ancestry and FindMyPast both have their pros and cons. All part of the DNA of the websites, no pun intended.

Ancestry can be a bit slow and sluggish and the site can throw up wild results at times but has more records for a certain county than FindMyPast and vice versa. Sussex and Oxfordshire are well covered on Ancestry as they have links to original images, but on FindMyPast Oxfordshire has mainly indexes except wills which are original scans.

FindMyPast is good for searching name variants. Bracegirdle, Beargudle etc.

[AllanUK]

I became a member of FindMyPast when it started up, many years ago, as 1837 online, I much prefer it to Ancestry.
Gadget

Seconded, I too started with 1837 online (seems like centuries ago!) -- and like Gadget I have certain areas that I concentrate on, Northumberland; Durham and Lincolnshire and I find that FindMyPast has a greater coverage for these counties. Anything that I can't find I look at Family Search and then Ancestry but I get a little fed up with Ancestry bombarding my search results with USA so called links to me / my search. At the end of the day, it is down to personal choice and affordability.

[arthurk]

I agree with all the above, but bear in mind that it's not all set in stone. North Yorkshire parish registers have been at FindMyPast for some years, but they've recently appeared at Ancestry, with new colour images. That might have implications for what's at FindMyPast, but we're not likely to know about that unless/until it happens.

Remember too that in most public libraries you're able to access Ancestry or FindMyPast (or sometimes both), free of charge. So even if you opt for one, you might still be able to use the other from time to time. FamilySearch is always worth checking out too: some items can only be viewed in LDS Family History Centres, but many can be seen at home, totally free.

[Tickettyboo]

Like most things it depends on what you are looking for. They all have their plus points.

Most commercial sites do a 'free trial' for, I think, a couple of weeks. Try that one at a time and see which is best suited to the time frame/ geographical area/ type of record etc that is relevant to what you are researching.
Caveat is that you need to review prior to renewal of either site as their offerings change, as do your requirements.

Boo