Kunbaa vs Family Echo: A Tree Chart, or a Family Around It?
Grandma asks who everyone is in the photo from Diwali. A chart tells her how they are related. Kunbaa tells her that, then shows her the photo, the story behind it and the next birthday — in a private, ad-free space the whole family builds together.
Family Echo is a good free, ad-supported tool for drawing a family tree, sharing it by link, printing it and exporting GEDCOM. Kunbaa is better when you want a private, ad-free family space: a tree your invited relatives build together, with photos, stories, chat and events around it. The Kunbaa tree is free; one person pays for Kunbaa Plus.
When is Family Echo the better choice?
When you want a simple tree, fast: add people in a few clicks, share by link, print a PDF, and keep a GEDCOM backup — all free, supported by ads. Kunbaa does not print trees, and exports no GEDCOM yet.
When is Kunbaa the better choice?
When you want the tree to be the start, not the whole thing: a private, ad-free space where relatives build the tree together and keep the photos, stories, chat and birthdays beside it. Everyone joins free.
How do Kunbaa and Family Echo compare?
| Compared | Kunbaa | Family Echo |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | The living family — a private tree, with the photos, stories, birthdays and everyday family life around it | Drawing, sharing and printing a family tree online, quickly and simply |
| Who sees the tree | Only the relatives you invite into the family | Only people who have been given or sent a share link; other Family Echo users cannot read it |
| Building it together | Everyone you invite can add relatives and fix mistakes, and an invitation links each relative to the place you made for them | Invite parents or grandparents to collaborate online and fill in the missing details |
| Ads | None. No ads, and nobody's data sold | Supported by advertising; Family Echo says it does not sell or share your information |
| Around the tree | A family wall and Memory Lane for photos, stories and voice notes, and events with birthday reminders — on the web today, with family chat in the mobile app (coming soon) | Photos, files, contact details and events on each person, a family calendar with birthdays, and links to blogs and websites |
| Printing | Not a printing tool — the tree lives on screen | Print the tree to a PDF across one or more pages |
| Tree files (GEDCOM) | GEDCOM import on kunbaa.com, matched to your existing tree and confirmed first; no GEDCOM export yet, and no FamilyScript | Import GEDCOM or FamilyScript; download as GEDCOM, FamilyScript or a read-only web page for backup |
| Price | The tree is free for everyone. Kunbaa Plus is $15.99/mo or $159.99/yr for the whole family (yearly is about $13 a month for the whole family), and one person pays | Free, supported by advertising. No paid plan |
What is the difference between Kunbaa and Family Echo?
Family Echo is one of the simplest ways to draw a family tree online. Click a person, add parents, children and partners, share a link, print a PDF. It has run since 2007, it imports and downloads GEDCOM files, and it is free, paid for by advertising.
Kunbaa starts from the same tree and builds a private family space around it. The tree holds everyone's place and birthday; beside it the family keeps a wall and Memory Lane for photos, stories and voice notes, and events with birthday reminders — and a family chat in the mobile app, coming soon. No ads anywhere.
Which is better for a simple family tree?
For a quick chart you can print, Family Echo. It is fast, free, and good at exactly that. Kunbaa does not print trees; it imports a GEDCOM file on the web, and export is not switched on yet.
Which is better for keeping the whole family together?
Kunbaa. A tree answers "who is she to us?". A family also needs somewhere to put the photos from Saturday, the story of how Grandpa met Grandma, and a reminder that it is Auntie's birthday on Thursday. On Kunbaa those live next to the people they belong to, and only the family can see them.
Where is Family Echo stronger?
- Printing. Print the tree to a PDF across one or more pages.
- Tree files. GEDCOM and FamilyScript import, plus downloadable backups.
- No paid plan at all. Everything is free, supported by ads.
Where is Kunbaa stronger?
- No ads. Invite-only, ad-free, nobody's data sold.
- A family space, not just a chart. Photos, stories, voice notes, chat and events around the tree.
- Built together. Everyone you invite can add relatives and fix mistakes, and joins free.
- Kids are in it, adults keep it. Children appear on the tree and in the photos, added by adults; accounts are 18+.
Related: The Kunbaa family tree · Free family tree online · How to build your family tree · Kunbaa vs FamilySearch · Best family tree apps in 2026
Kunbaa vs Family Echo: common questions
Is Kunbaa an alternative to Family Echo?
If you want more than a chart — a private family space with the tree at its centre and the photos, stories, chat and birthdays around it, with no ads — yes. If you want a simple free tree you can print, download as GEDCOM and share by link, Family Echo does that well and Kunbaa does not.
Is Family Echo really free?
Yes. Family Echo describes itself as a free service supported by advertising, and it has been running since 2007. It says it does not sell or share your information with third parties.
Can I print my family tree with Kunbaa?
Not as a printable chart. The Kunbaa tree lives on screen, where the whole family can open it, add to it and see everyone's photo and birthday. If a printed poster is the goal, Family Echo's print-to-PDF is the better tool.
Who can see my tree on Kunbaa?
Only the relatives you invite. There are no ads, nobody's data is sold, and the tree is never published anywhere. Kunbaa is private by invitation, not by encryption: data travels encrypted, but it is not end-to-end encrypted.
Can I import my Family Echo tree into Kunbaa?
Yes. Download your Family Echo tree as a GEDCOM file and import it on kunbaa.com in a browser: Kunbaa matches it against the people already in your tree and writes nothing until you confirm. Keep the Family Echo backup too — Kunbaa does not yet export a GEDCOM.
Why would a family pay for Kunbaa when Family Echo is free?
Most families do not need to: the Kunbaa tree is free for everyone, and so are the wall, chat and events. Kunbaa Plus is $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year on kunbaa.com. One person takes it when the family wants room for the whole photo and video archive, and everyone else joins free.
More questions? Read the full FAQ or how to build your family tree.
Start with the people you know. Invite the rest.
The tree is free for the whole family, on the web today. When you want room for the whole archive, one person takes Kunbaa Plus at $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year — about $13 a month for the whole family, paid on kunbaa.com — and everyone else joins free.