Family trees for fiction

The best free fictional family tree maker

Of the writing apps here, Plotiar gives you unlimited free family trees in the same project as your manuscript, and each person can link to your characters and chapters. Campfire also keeps trees next to a manuscript, but its free plan stops at two relationship webs. World Anvil's family trees need a paid plan, and Plottr added a family tree view in 2025.

Make a family tree free

At a glance

The options at a glance

  • Plotiar

    Family trees for fiction
    Free on every plan: partners, parents, siblings, divorces and step-parents; six views including tree, fan chart and timeline; portraits; GEDCOM import and export
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free (5 projects); Plus $5/month or $50/year; Pro $12/month or $120/year
    Platforms
    Any web browser on a computer, tablet or phone; desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux

  • Campfire

    Family trees for fiction
    Family trees in the Relationships module (2 webs on the free plan)
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free; all modules $12/month (check the current price)
    Platforms
    Browser; Mac and Windows desktop (works offline); iOS and Android

  • World Anvil

    Family trees for fiction
    Purpose-built family trees from the paid Master plan
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free plan; family trees need Master or higher (check current prices)
    Platforms
    Web browser

  • Plottr

    Family trees for fiction
    A Family Tree view for character relationships, added in August 2025
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    From $60/year or $150 lifetime; 30-day free trial (check current prices)
    Platforms
    Windows and Mac apps; browser app on Plottr Pro

How to choose

What matters when you choose

Four questions decide which tool fits your story:

  • Can it show the relationships your story needs, such as marriages, divorces and many generations?
  • Does the tree link to your character notes and chapters, or stand on its own?
  • Is it free, and where does the free plan stop?
  • Do you need real-genealogy tools such as GEDCOM files, or just a clear picture for your story?

The options

Each option, honestly

Plotiar

Best for: novelists who want the family tree built into the same project as the manuscript and character notes.

In Plotiar a family tree is part of your writing project. You add parents, children, partners and siblings, mark a partnership as married, engaged, divorced or widowed, and show adoptive or step-parents. Six views show the family: Tree, Focus, Ancestors, Fan, Circle and Timeline, laid out top to bottom or left to right, or placed by hand. Each person can carry a portrait, dates in any format your world uses, a color and custom fields, and can link to any page in your project, such as a character sheet or a chapter. You can also add people straight from characters you already created in Lore.

Where it falls short: It is made for stories, not for real genealogy research, and the free plan holds five projects.

See how family trees work

A family tree in Plotiar, with parent, spouse and sibling links across generations.

Campfire

Best for: writers who want family trees linked to many other worldbuilding modules.

Campfire's Relationships module draws both relationship webs and family trees, inside a project that also holds characters, maps, timelines and a manuscript.

Where it falls short: The free plan allows two relationship webs, and the mobile app leaves out the Relationships module.

See current features and prices for Campfire

World Anvil

Best for: worldbuilders whose family trees sit inside a large, linked world encyclopedia.

World Anvil's family trees are part of its world wiki. The Master tier unlocks them together with diplomacy webs, so houses, nations and their alliances live in one place.

Where it falls short: Family trees need a paid plan, and reviewers describe a steep learning curve.

See current features and prices for World Anvil

Plottr

Best for: plotters who outline in Plottr and want each family next to their timeline and series bible.

Plottr is a plotting and outlining app for novelists, with visual timelines, story templates and a series bible. In August 2025 it added a Family Tree view that maps character relationships visually.

Where it falls short: It is built for outlining rather than for writing the manuscript itself, and there is no free plan after the trial.

See current features and prices for Plottr

Beyond writing apps

Other tools people use for this

These are not writing apps, but they come up when people look for a family tree maker:

  • Family Echo

    A free online family tree builder made for real families. It imports GEDCOM files and prints, downloads and shares trees, but it has no link to your story, and you sign in to save.

  • Kanka

    A campaign manager for tabletop role-playing games. Family trees need a premium campaign, from $4.99/month ($4.16/month billed yearly).

  • Obsidian

    A free note app. The community plugin Charted Roots adds family tree charts with GEDCOM import, which you set up and maintain yourself.

When to choose something else

When Plotiar is the wrong choice

Pick something else if:

  • You are researching your own family's real history. Family Echo is free and made for real families.
  • You want your family trees inside a public world wiki that others can browse. World Anvil is built for that.
  • You run tabletop campaigns. Kanka and Obsidian's Charted Roots plugin are designed with game masters in mind.

Questions

Questions about fictional family trees

Short answers, with the facts as of September 2026.

  • Yes. Plotiar includes family trees on every plan, with no limit on how many you make, and its free plan covers five projects. Campfire's free plan includes two relationship webs that can be family trees. Plottr has a family tree view, but no free plan after its 30-day trial, and World Anvil puts family trees on paid plans. Family Echo is free too, though it is built for real families. Facts as of September 2026.

  • In Plotiar, yes: each person can link to any page in your project, such as a character sheet or a chapter, and you can add people straight from characters you already created in Lore. Family Echo keeps its trees separate from any story.

  • In Plotiar, set the first partnership's status to Divorced, which is drawn differently from a current marriage, then add the new partner as a second partnership. You can also give a partnership a label, such as second marriage.

  • Yes. In Plotiar, dates are free text, so an in-world year such as Third Age 2931 works, and the left-to-right layout suits many generations. You can color each house with the Heraldic style, add titles in custom fields, and use the Circle view to show one ruler's relatives around them.

  • Not with Plotiar or Campfire, where the family tree sits in the same project as the manuscript. World Anvil also offers manuscripts from its Master plan. Plottr is built for outlining rather than drafting, and Family Echo and Kanka are not manuscript editors.

Map your characters' families next to your story

Family trees, character notes and your manuscript live in one Plotiar project, free to start.

Start your family tree free