Compared on 1 November 2026, using Heritable's own website and help pages.
What's the main difference between Kumbaa and Heritable?
They agree on a lot: private by default, no ads, not used to train AI, one subscription for the whole family. The difference is the centre of each.
Heritable's centre is the archive. It holds 1 TB of photos, videos, audio and documents, transcribes recordings, reads handwriting and searches across it all, with the family tree linking files to people. Kumbaa's centre is the tree. Every photo's faces are named and linked to people, "How are we related?" answers any two, and each member looks after their own branch.
Kumbaa and Heritable side by side
| Kumbaa | Heritable | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A private website for one family's tree, photos and stories. | A private family archive for photos, videos, documents and stories, around a family tree. |
| Price | 14 days free, then US$6.99 a month or US$69 a year, for the whole family. Everyone invited joins free. | US$20 a month or US$200 a year for the family. 14-day free trial, no card needed. |
| Storage | 10 GB of photos. | 1 TB, then US$10 a month per extra TB. |
| Files | Photos. | Photos (including RAW and HEIC), videos, audio and documents. |
| Family members | Unlimited, free. Curators and viewers; members edit their own branch. | Unlimited collaborators. Editors and viewers. |
| Faces | Found in your browser as you add photos; name once. | Opt-in facial recognition. |
| Family tree | Walkable tree, a page per person, "How are we related?" in words. | Interactive family tree linked to photos and events. |
| Comments | No. | Yes. |
| GEDCOM | Not yet. Import from a PDF, a document or a photo of a chart. | Import and export. |
| Privacy | Behind sign-in, closed to crawlers, never used to train AI. | Private by default, no ads, never used for AI training. |
What does Heritable do better?
Volume and variety. 1 TB is a hundred times Kumbaa's 10 GB, and Heritable handles home videos, voice recordings and scanned letters, with transcription and search across them. It imports and exports GEDCOM, and family members can comment. If your family's history is mostly video, or you have tens of thousands of full-size scans, Heritable fits better.
What does Kumbaa do differently?
It puts people first. The tree opens on one person, with parents above and children below, and tapping anyone shows their dates, story and every photo they're in. Faces are found as you add photos, in your own browser, and you name each person once. Pick any two people and Kumbaa says how they're related, with the path: "Callum's mother's brother's daughter".
And the family does the work. A member who's in the tree can add and correct their own side, so the archive fills in branch by branch. Someone who married in can start their side of the family as an archive of its own, and members of both step between the trees at that person. You can also ask about the family, or add people, from ChatGPT or Claude.
Which should you choose?
Choose Heritable if…
- You have lots of home video, audio or documents to keep.
- You need more than 10 GB, or full-size RAW files.
- You want GEDCOM import and export, or comments.
Choose Kumbaa if…
- The tree and who's who in the photos matter most.
- You want relatives to fill in their own branch.
- You want "How are we related?" and both sides of the family linked.
- You want to pay US$69 a year rather than US$200.
Where these facts come from
Heritable's facts are from its own website and help pages, checked on 1 November 2026. Prices are in US dollars, and they change and vary by country, so check Heritable's site before you decide. Kumbaa's are from our pricing page and the app itself. Spotted something out of date? Write to support@kumbaa.app.
- Heritable pricing (checked 1 November 2026)
- Heritable home page (checked 1 November 2026)
- About Heritable (key facts) (checked 1 November 2026)
- Heritable FAQ (checked 1 November 2026)
- Start your family archive (sign-up) (checked 1 November 2026)
Heritable is a trademark of its owner. Kumbaa isn't affiliated with Heritable.