Best Self-Hosted Genealogy Tools in 2026

Quick Picks

Use Case	Best Choice	Why
Best overall	Webtrees	Lighter, more mature, handles large trees well
Best for Gramps Desktop users	Gramps Web	Bidirectional sync with desktop app
Best for DNA research	Gramps Web	Built-in chromosome browser and DNA matching
Best for limited hardware	Webtrees	250 MB total RAM vs 1.5 GB
Best privacy controls	Webtrees	Relationship-based access restrictions

The Full Ranking

1. Webtrees — Best Overall

Webtrees is the most widely-deployed open-source genealogy application on the web. It runs on PHP with a MySQL/MariaDB backend — the same stack that powers WordPress, so hosting is straightforward. The feature set covers everything most family historians need: interactive charts, maps, GEDCOM import/export, multi-tree support, and relationship-based privacy controls that let you hide living individuals from public visitors.

The module ecosystem seals it. Over 100 community modules add custom charts, reports, research tools, and integrations. Need a DNA module? A cemetery research tool? A custom pedigree layout? Someone’s probably built it.

Pros:

• 250 MB RAM footprint (app + database)
• Handles trees with 100,000+ people without issues
• Advanced privacy controls (restrict by relationship distance)
• 100+ community modules
• 50+ languages supported

Cons:

• No desktop application or sync
• No built-in DNA tools (module-dependent)
• Community Docker image (no official image from the project)

Best for: Most family historians. Especially those sharing trees publicly who need fine-grained privacy controls.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Webtrees

2. Gramps Web — Best for Desktop Sync & DNA Research

Gramps Web brings the full power of the Gramps genealogy engine to the browser. What sets it apart: bidirectional sync with Gramps Desktop, built-in DNA analysis tools (chromosome browser, Y-DNA tracking, DNA matching), and an AI-powered research assistant.

The trade-off is resource cost. Gramps Web requires three containers (app, Celery worker, Redis) and uses ~1.5 GB RAM at idle with default settings. You can tune this down to ~800 MB by reducing worker counts, but it’s still 3–6x heavier than webtrees.

Pros:

• Bidirectional sync with Gramps Desktop (unique feature)
• Built-in DNA analysis tools
• AI research assistant
• Interactive maps with historical overlays
• Full REST API
• OIDC/SSO authentication support
• S3 media storage support

Cons:

• 1.5 GB RAM at idle (default configuration)
• Struggles with GEDCOM imports of 10K+ people
• Smaller community and module ecosystem
• AGPL-3.0 license (more restrictive than webtrees’ GPL-3.0)

Best for: Users of Gramps Desktop who want web access, and serious genealogists who need DNA tools.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Gramps Web

Full Comparison Table

Feature	Webtrees	Gramps Web
License	GPL-3.0	AGPL-3.0
Docker image	Community (~80 MB)	Official (~2 GB)
RAM usage (idle)	~250 MB	~1.5 GB
Containers required	2	3
Database	MySQL/MariaDB	BSDDB + Redis
Desktop sync	No	Yes (Gramps Desktop)
DNA tools	Module-dependent	Built-in
AI assistant	No	Yes
Privacy controls	Relationship-based	Basic (role-based)
Modules/plugins	100+	Growing
GEDCOM support	Full 5.5.1	Full
Multi-tree	Native	Requires PostgreSQL
Maps	Interactive	Interactive + historical overlays
Languages	50+	40+
REST API	Limited	Full
OIDC/SSO	No	Yes
S3 storage	No	Yes
Large tree support	Excellent	Can struggle at 10K+

How We Evaluated

We evaluated both platforms on deployment complexity, resource requirements, feature completeness for genealogical research, and ecosystem maturity. Docker Compose setups were tested end-to-end. GEDCOM imports were tested with trees of varying sizes. Resource measurements were taken after idle stabilization.

Related

• How to Self-Host Webtrees
• How to Self-Host Gramps Web
• Webtrees vs Gramps Web
• Docker Compose Basics
• Best Hardware for Self-Hosting
• Backup Strategy
• Reverse Proxy Setup
• Getting Started with Self-Hosting
• Linux Basics for Self-Hosting
• Docker Volumes Explained