FamilySearch vs Ancestry vs Find A Grave for Grave Records

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I remember the first time I sat down with a family who had lost their grandmother. The daughter, Maria, handed me a crumpled index card with a cemetary name scribbled in pencil. 'We think she's there,' she said. 'But we're not sure.' I spent the next three hours on my laptop, bouncing between tabs. Find A Grave gave me a photo of a stone I couldn't read. Ancestry wanted me to pay for a subscription just to see a burial index. FamilySearch had the record, but the transcription was wrong — the name was misspelled. It took me another two days to confirm it was her. That's when I realized: no single site has it all. Each one is a piece of a puzzle. And if you're trying to track down a grave record — especially for a headstone you want to clean or restore — you need to know how these tools actually work. Not the marketing. The real, day-to-day grunt work.

So let's talk about FamilySearch vs Ancestry vs Find A Grave for grave records. I'll tell you what I've learned from hundreds of hours of hunting. The good, the bad, and the frustrating.

What Each Site Actually Does Well

Let's start with Find A Grave. It's the most straightforward for finding a specific grave location. People upload photos of headstones, plot numbers, cemetery maps. It's crowdsourced, which means it's free but messy. I've seen photos taken in the rain, at night, sideways. Still, it's often the fastest way to get a visual confirmation. Good for a quick check.

Ancestry is a different beast. It's a subscription service — monthly or yearly. It has burial indexes from government records, church registers, and funeral home files. The search filters are powerful: you can narrow by date, location, even by spouse or parents. But the records are often transcriptions, not images. And if you don't pay, you hit a wall. Big wall.

FamilySearch is the underdog. It's completely free. Run by the LDS church. They've digitized millions of records — cemetery transcriptions, death certificates, probate files. Their search is clunky, honestly. Takes some patience. But the depth is incredible. I've found records on FamilySearch that weren't on either of the other two. The catch: their indexing is inconsistent. Misspellings happen. You have to be flexible with names and dates.

Which One Is Best for Headstone Cleaning Research?

If you're planning to clean a headstone — which is what I help families do — you need more than just a name and date. You need the exact location. Plot number. Section letter. Maybe even a photo of the stone's current condition. That's where Find A Grave wins. Hands down. You can often see if the stone is marble, granite, or limestone. That matters because cleaning methods are different. Marble and limestone are soft. They hate acidic cleaners. Granite is tough. But all three hate bleach or wire brushes. Never use those. Use a pH-neutral cleaner like D/2 Biological Solution. I keep a bottle in my car.

But here's the thing: Find A Grave relies on volunteers. Some cemeteries have zero entries. For those, I turn to FamilySearch. They often have old WPA (Works Progress Administration) transcriptions from the 1930s. Those list every single grave in a cemetery, often with plot numbers. It's gold. Ancestry? I use it for cross-checking. If I find a record on FamilySearch but the name is slightly off, I'll check Ancestry's index to confirm. But I won't pay for a subscription just for one grave. I use a library card instead — many libraries offer free Ancestry access on-site.

The Real Differences You'll Notice (Not the Marketing)

Let's get blunt. Ancestry's interface is polished. FamilySearch looks like it was designed in 2005. But FamilySearch doesn't ask for your credit card. That's a big deal for families who are already grieving and paying for memorial work.

Search accuracy? Find A Grave is the most forgiving — you can type a partial name and it'll suggest matches. Ancestry is strict. Type a name wrong by one letter and you get zero resultes. FamilySearch is in between: it shows you what it has, even if the match is weak. That's actually helpful. I've found records where the name was "Johann" but transcribed as "John."

Photos. Find A Grave has them. Ancestry sometimes has images of death certificates or burial cards. FamilySearch has digitized microfilm — which means you might see the original handwritten ledger. That's powerful for verifying details. But it's also slow. You have to scroll through pages. Not great if you're in a hurry.

One more thing: FamilySearch has a feature called "Memories" where users can attach photos, stories, and documents. I've found old newspaper clippings there. Obituaries. Even a handwritten letter once. That kind of context helps when you're trying to understand a family's story before you clean the stone. It makes the work personal.

My Go-To Workflow for Grave Record Hunting

I've done this enough to have a system. Here it is, step by step.

First, I go to Find A Grave. Type in the name. If I'm lucky, I get a photo of the stone and the plot. I save the plot number and cemetery address. Done in five minutes.

If Find A Grave has nothing — which happens more often than you'd think — I go to FamilySearch. I search their catalog for the cemetery name. Then I browse the digital records. This takes longer. Fifteen to thirty minutes. But I often find the original burial register. I write down the plot number by hand. Old school.

If I still need confirmation — say the name is unusual or the dates don't match — I use Ancestry. But only at the library. I don't pay for personal access. The library computers have the full subscription. I search their "U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection." That's a good one.

Last resort: I call the cemetery office directly. Some have their own online databases. Others have a filing cabinet and a nice lady who answers the phone. She'll read you the plot number from a card. That's how I found Maria's grandmother, actually. No website had it. Just a phone call and a kind voice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is FamilySearch really free for grave records, or are there hidden fees?

A: It's genuinely free. No subscription, no paywall, no trial that expires. You create a free account and you're in. The only catch is some records require you to view them at a FamilySearch center or affiliate library — but those are free too, just not from your couch.

Q: Can I use Ancestry's grave records without paying if I only need one lookup?

A: Technically no — you'd need a paid subscription or a free trial. But many public libraries offer free on-site access to Ancestry Library Edition. Call your local library and ask. I've done this dozens of times. Just bring a USB drive to save records.

Q: Why does Find A Grave sometimes have the wrong location for a headstone?

A: Because volunteers make mistakes. I've seen photos of a headstone in one section labeled as another. Or the GPS coordinates are off by a hundred feet. Always double-check the plot number against the cemetery's own map if you can find one. Find A Grave is a starting point, not gospel.

Q: Which site is best for finding records of older graves (pre-1900)?

A: FamilySearch, by far. They've digitized WPA cemetery transcriptions from the 1930s, which often include graves from the 1700s and 1800s. Ancestry has some too, but FamilySearch's collection is deeper and free. Be prepared for handwritten records that are hard to read.

Q: I found a grave on FamilySearch but the name is spelled differently than what I of. Which is correct?

A: Probably both, honestly. Transcriptions from old records are notorious for errors. If the stone itself is readable, that's the authoritative source. If not, compare the death certificate (often on Ancestry) with the burial record. I usually go with the death certificate if it exists. But I've had cases where the stone was carved wrong by the family. No easy answer.