Mac Family Tree Reviews

Mac Family Tree from Synium is the only Mac specific genealogy software in this category. Although since Synium released their first version of Mac Family Tree, most of the best genealogy programmes have become Mac compatible, all Mac users will tell you that software fine tuned specifically for the Mac is almost always superior.

As such, Mac Family Tree 7 is specifically designed for the latest OS X Yosemite operating system, and this really shows. It is one of the fastest programmes we have reviewed, with no loading times or freezing whatsoever. Also, it boasts one of the slickest, intuitive user interfaces, something for which Mac users have very high standards.

However, as is the case regarding most Mac programmes, Mac Family Tree is on the expensive side. At $49.00 it costs almost double that of many of its competitors. Luckily, they do offer a free demo which allows you to check out Mac Family Tree before committing to a purchase. On the one hand, the demo does allow users to try out all the available features, which is great seeing as most free genealogy software is restricted in this sense.

On the other hand, however, users are not able to save nor print their work. This means that, while most free versions of other software in this category allow you to conduct limited research into your family history, this is not the case regarding Mac Family Tree.

We were also slightly disappointed to find that research produced during the demo trial cannot be exported to the full paid version of the software. This seems pretty unfair to us and appears to only serve to discourage purchases as potential customers will have to restart their research from scratch. We do hope Synium change this in the future. 

If you do decide that Mac Family Tree is the software for you, all you have to do is download it from the App store. Again, it’s not surprising that purchase and software installation on a Mac could not be simpler. We were happy to see that this usability doesn’t let up, as Mac Family Tree Builder is consistently a pleasure to use from the word go.

We especially appreciated the synchronization and sharing tools on offer. Users can share their findings and collaborate via iCloud, Dropbox or by creating their own family tree websites. Collaboration is essential to all good genealogy research as almost all seasoned researchers will tell you that relying on nothing more than documentation will more often than not simply take you round in circles. 

We have also noticed many important updates and additions since we reviewed version 5 of Mac Family Tree. Notably, the sourcing tools have been upgraded bringing Mac Family Tree in line with genealogy industry standards. Moreover, we were particularly impressed by the Virtual Globe 2.0 upgrade which allows you to track the migratory routes of your ancestors easily and with incredible accuracy. 

In conclusion, even though it’s more expensive than most other products in this category, due to it being custom made we recommend all Mac users consider Mac Family Tree. Although not as feature packed as some of its competitors, its speed and user interface cannot be beat. This is even more important for iPad and iPhone users to take into account. 

Check out our #1 rated site instead! Why not check out Family Tree Builder (by My Heritage), our top rated Genealogy Software and winner of our prestigious Gold Award! You can also check out our Top 10 Genealogy Software here!

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