Free online pedigree maker: an honest comparison of free pedigree tools
What "free" means in the pedigree-software space — academic tools, free tiers, trial periods, waitlist access — and which options are genuinely useful for which purposes. This page compares the main free and free-tier options honestly, including when they are enough and when they are not.
Written for students, teachers, researchers, clinicians running low-volume pedigree work, and anyone evaluating whether a paid clinical-grade platform is justified for their use case.
Short version. Several pedigree drawing tools are genuinely free to use for individual, research, or teaching purposes. QuickPed, DrawPed, PediDraw, CeGaT's Chart Designer, and FamGenix's Individual tier each cover different parts of the space. Evagene is currently in Alpha and free to join via a waiting list. What "free" unlocks varies: some tools are free for pedigree drawing but do not include risk models or AI interpretation; others offer a free tier capped at a certain number of pedigrees. For basic teaching, personal use, and simple clinical drawing, free is often enough. For integrated risk modelling, API access, AI interpretation, or cross-institution interoperability, a paid or enterprise-tier product is typically needed — with Evagene's current Alpha being a free exception during the Alpha phase.
What "free" actually means
The word "free" in pedigree software covers several different arrangements:
- Genuinely free (academic or public): the tool is free to use with no feature gating, often developed within an academic or research group and maintained on a non-commercial basis.
- Free tier of a commercial product: the tool is free for individual or low-volume use but paid for clinical, institutional, or API access.
- Free trial period: the tool is paid but offers a time-limited trial.
- Free during Alpha or Beta: the tool will be paid at general availability but is free during the pre-release phase, often via a waiting list.
All four can reasonably be called "free," but they have different implications. A genuinely free academic tool will likely remain free indefinitely but may not be actively maintained. A free tier of a commercial product will be kept alive by the commercial version but may add restrictions over time. A free trial ends. A free Alpha becomes priced later, though Alpha users sometimes receive concessions at launch.
The main free and free-tier options
The landscape evolves, so verify current feature sets directly with each tool before relying on them. The descriptions below are based on information available at the time of writing.
| Tool | Free model | Typical strength | Typical limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickPed | Genuinely free, web-based | Fast drawing, clean notation, useful for teaching and simple clinical use | No integrated risk models or AI interpretation |
| DrawPed | Genuinely free, academic | Educational; straightforward symbol set | Limited analytical functionality |
| PediDraw | Free for research use | Research-friendly; flexible notation | Workflow less clinical-focused |
| CeGaT Chart Designer | Free, web-based | Clean diagrams, standard notation | Without the clinical-risk integrations of paid products |
| FamGenix Individual | Free tier of commercial product | Patient-facing family history capture | Clinical features gated behind paid tiers |
| Evagene (Alpha) | Free during Alpha via waiting list | Integrated BayesMendel risk models, AI interpretation, API, embed, MCP | Early-stage product; feature surface evolving |
When a free tool is enough
A free tool (any of the options above) is usually enough when:
- You need to draw a pedigree for teaching or as a teaching aid.
- You want to record your own family history in standard notation.
- You are doing single-case simple clinical documentation without needing integrated risk models.
- You need a research pedigree that will be analysed in a separate downstream tool.
- You want to produce a PNG or PDF for a report and the pedigree structure itself is the output.
For these use cases, the question is which free tool has the best workflow for you — the answer often comes down to whether you prefer QuickPed's simplicity, DrawPed's minimalism, or something else.
When you need more than a free tool
A paid clinical-grade tool is justified when:
- Integrated cancer risk models are needed — BRCAPRO, MMRpro, PancPRO, Tyrer-Cuzick, BOADICEA. Running these from raw pedigree data without re-entry saves significant clinician time and reduces transcription errors.
- Inheritance pattern analysis and Bayesian carrier probability at scale — particularly for services that process many families per week.
- Batch risk screening across a disease catalogue — surfacing conditions the clinician might not otherwise consider.
- Consanguinity detection with Wright's coefficient — automatic rather than manual.
- AI-assisted interpretation — to draft structured clinical reports from pedigree data.
- Cross-institution data exchange — reliable GEDCOM, JSON, and standard-format import and export.
- API, webhooks, MCP server, embeddable viewer — for integration with EHRs, patient portals, research pipelines, and AI agents.
- Auditable storage and access control — for regulated clinical environments.
The economics are the usual determinant: the value a clinical-grade tool adds over a free tool is substantial when used by a service that processes many pedigrees, and marginal when used by an individual drawing one or two.
How Evagene fits alongside the free tools
Evagene is, at the time of writing, free to use for anyone who signs up via the Alpha waiting list at evagene.com/#waitlist. It is not primarily a "free pedigree maker" in the sense that QuickPed or DrawPed are; it is a full clinical-grade platform whose Alpha phase happens to be free. The positioning differs from the teaching-first tools: Evagene includes integrated BRCAPRO, MMRpro, PancPRO, Mendelian inheritance calculators, AI interpretation with bring-your-own-key LLMs, consanguinity detection, batch risk screening, GEDCOM 5.5.1 import and export, REST API, webhooks, an MCP server, and an embeddable pedigree viewer. A teaching-first user may not need most of these, and QuickPed or DrawPed would be a lighter choice.
For a clinical user who wants access to those capabilities today without an enterprise procurement cycle, Evagene's free Alpha is a reasonable option alongside — rather than instead of — the genuinely free teaching tools. Pricing for Evagene's general-availability release has not been announced.
How Evagene supports free Alpha access
Joining the Evagene Alpha is straightforward: sign up at the waiting list with your email, receive access when your place comes up, and use the full feature set for free during the Alpha period. There is no credit card and no enterprise sales cycle. Clinicians, researchers, and teaching staff are all welcome. Data are stored securely in the hosted service; for users who want to keep their data portable, Evagene's GEDCOM 5.5.1 and JSON export means a pedigree built in Alpha can be moved elsewhere later if needed.
Evagene's AI interpretation uses bring-your-own-key (BYOK) LLM support for Anthropic Claude and OpenAI GPT. You bring your own LLM account and keys (encrypted at rest with Fernet), so interpretation traffic goes directly to the model provider you have contracted with. This keeps the Alpha genuinely free — Evagene is not paying for LLM inference on your behalf — while letting you use AI interpretation if you want to.
Users who start on the free Alpha and later move to a paid tier retain their pedigree data. Users who decide Evagene is not the right fit for their workflow can export to GEDCOM or JSON and use the structured data in a different tool.
Frequently asked questions
Are any pedigree tools truly free?
Yes — QuickPed, DrawPed, PediDraw, and others are free for individual and educational use.
When is a free tool sufficient?
For teaching, personal use, and simple clinical drawing without integrated risk models.
When do you need more?
When integrated risk models, AI interpretation, API access, or auditable clinical storage are needed.
Is Evagene really free?
Yes, during Alpha, via the waiting list. Bring your own LLM key for AI interpretation.
What if the free Alpha ends?
Your pedigree data are portable via GEDCOM or JSON export.
Which free tool is best for teaching?
QuickPed and DrawPed are common choices for teaching.