Most professional genealogists bill by the hour. On the rate pages we checked, that ran from $50 to about $130 an hour for professionals, and the professional bodies say it can pass $200. A first paid step, an assessment or a first block of research hours, typically ran about $700 to $1,350. Legacy Tree's full-service projects start at $3,200.
Genealogical society research services can cost $15 to $50 an hour. Record copies, postage and travel are usually extra.
These numbers come from each firm's or society's own published rate page, which we read on 6 November 2026, and each is linked below. Rates change, so check the page before you hire. We sell a family-history report ourselves, so we have an interest here; we've put our own price at the end, separately.
| Who | What they publish | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Genealogical society research services | ||
| Hudson County (NJ) Genealogical Society | Research, 2-hour minimum ($30) paid up front, charged whether or not the search succeeds | $15/hr |
| Sonoma County Genealogical Society | Research, 2-hour minimum | $30/hr members, $40 non-members |
| Sons of the American Revolution library | Research in the SAR library, 1-hour minimum | $45/hr members, $50 non-members |
| Independent genealogists | ||
| ManyRoads | U.S. record searches and research (page undated; says the rates apply to orders after December 2017) | $50/hr |
| Laurie Hermance-Moore | Hourly, generally a 15-hour minimum for new projects | $90/hr |
| Research firms and institutions | ||
| Heritage Consulting | 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 hours, written footnoted report | $900 / $1,740 / $2,520 / $3,360 |
| American Ancestors (NEHGS) | Expert Assessment, the first step | from $700 members, $840 non-members |
| Legacy Tree Genealogists | 10-hour research retainer, with an estimate of the hours your goal needs | $1,300 |
| Legacy Tree Genealogists | 25 / 50 / 100-hour projects (one, two or four research goals) | $3,200 / $6,000 / $11,500 |
| DNA and unknown parentage | ||
| Legacy Tree Genealogists | Coached DIY: five 45-minute consultations | $725 |
| Laurie Hermance-Moore | Adoptee and unknown-parent searches, depending on how close your matches are | $2,500–$4,000 |
Legacy Tree defines one research goal as one family line in one place, and says most projects are completed in four to six months. ProGenealogists, Ancestry's research arm, also takes clients, but its pages wouldn't load for us, so it isn't in the table.
What the professional bodies say: the Association of Professional Genealogists puts hourly rates at “$30 to $40 per hour to well over $200 per hour,” depending on experience, location and the kind of project, and says to expect a retainer in most cases. ICAPGen, which accredits genealogists, says many charge $50 to $200 an hour, that basic family-tree research may cost $500 to $5,000, and that a comprehensive family history may cost $5,000 to $25,000.
We're not a genealogy firm and we don't bill by the hour. FamilyHistoryFilm researches one ancestor for a flat $49: Claude, an AI made by Anthropic, searches the online records (censuses, draft cards, Social Security, vital records, immigration, newspapers, burials), reads the original pages and writes a report, every fact cited, with the record images where they're online. Patrick White runs the business. It arrives by email within 7 days, and if we can't find them in the records at all, you get your money back.
What that doesn't cover: a courthouse visit, records that were never put online, DNA, or proof for a lineage society or a court. For those, the professionals in the table above are the right call, and our report will tell you where the remaining records sit.
On the rate pages we checked in November 2026, independent genealogists charged $50 to $90 an hour, and Legacy Tree, the large firm we could price, worked out to about $115 to $130 an hour. Genealogical society research services can be cheaper ($15 to $50 an hour). The Association of Professional Genealogists says rates run from $30 to $40 an hour to well over $200.
Often. The society services we checked ask for one or two hours minimum. Some independents and firms set a minimum (10 to 15 hours at the ones we checked), and others, like ManyRoads, publish none. The APG's hiring guide says that in most cases you should expect to pay a retainer.
Unknown-parentage work is priced separately. One independent we found quotes generally $2,500 to $4,000 for a done-for-you search, depending on how close your DNA matches are. Legacy Tree sells a coached option for $725: five 45-minute consultations while you do the work.
Usually not. Genealogists bill copies, postage and travel as expenses, and certified records carry their own fees: a certified Texas birth certificate is $22, and an archival military personnel file from the National Archives (veterans who left service more than 62 years ago) is $25 for five pages or fewer and $70 for six or more.
It is worth it when the answer sits in records that were never put online: a county courthouse, a church register, a foreign archive, or when the job needs DNA analysis or proof for a lineage society or a court. If the question is who an ancestor was and where they lived, a lot of that is in online records you can search yourself for free, or have searched for much less.