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Although you can access a wealth of information on free-to-use web sites, it is virtually certain that at some point you will feel compelled to subscribe to a pay-to-use site. Subscription sites hold vast amounts of fully searchable information on your English and Welsh ancestors that is not freely available online. The following is a summary of the types of information provided in nine different subscription packages available on three sites that we can recommend. Which one will suit you will depend on which sources are likely to provide the information you in particular seek and what you are prepared to pay. The different packages range in price from 15p to 43p a day for annual contracts. Shorter contracts are significantly more expensive per month. Our recommendation is to take some care over which package you choose and then go for an annual contract.

• ancestry - good on the two basics (census records and births, marriages and deaths since 1837) plus military records - uniquely holds UK telephone directories from 1880 to 1984 - its Premium and Worldwide packages include a 15 million entry database of parish records - these two packages are also strong on post-1858 wills with their online National Probate Calendar - its Worldwide package is strongly recommended for its wealth of USA and Australian records

• findmypast - contains the best indexed version of the 1911 Census (available in even its cheapest package) along with all the other censuses - uniquely holds a large collection of searchable local UK newspapers (over 200 titles) going back to 1710 from 1950 in its Full Britain and World packages - these two packages are also strong on parish and emigration records - the site is efficiently structured with powerful indexes that operate on multiple data sources - since February 2011 it has provided online access to over 9 million records made available to it by the Society of Genealogists

• the genealogist - cheapest on the basics (census records and births, marriages and deaths since 1837) provided you are not interested in the 1911 Census (only available to users of the top-of-the-range Diamond package) - the Gold and Diamond packages uniquely include the Perogative Court of Canterbury Wills index, well worth having online access to if you are interested in pre-1858 wills

• complete GRO index from 1837 to 2006

• complete GRO index from 1837 to 2006

• complete GRO index from 1837 to 2006

• Pallot's Marriage Index

• Boyd's Marriage Index from 1538 to 1840
• British Nationals Married Overseas from 1818 to 2005

Full Britain & World

• Database of over 15 million transcribed entries from parish registers from the 1500s to the 1800s

• Database of millions of entries from parish registers from 1538 to 2005

• Database of over 1,100 transcribed parish registers
• Non-conformist records of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials

• National Probate Calendar 1861-1941
• various probate records (e.g. Wills of the Archdeaconry of Suffolk, Worcester Calendar of Wills, etc.)

• Perogative Court of Canterbury Wills index (including images of the original pages) from 1384 to 1858
• Indexes to certain Yorkshire and Bristol wills

• Complete set of UK telephone directories between 1880 and 1984

• Large collection of trade directories for England and Wales

• Passenger lists of English migrants to America and Australia

• Register of Passport Applications from 1851 to 1903
• Passenger lists from 1890 to 1960

• US Censuses 1820 to 1940
• Various US military records
• Social Security Death Index
• Birth Indexes for California and Texas

• US Censuses 1790 to 1940
• Various US military records
• Social Security Death Index

• Electorial rolls
• Australia Birth Index 1788 to 1922
• Australia Death Index 1787 to 1985

• Electorial rolls
• Northern Territory censuses 1881 to 1921
• Burial records

• World War 1 army pension related records (1914-20)

• Navy Lists from 1689 to 1944
• Army Lists from 1661 to 1940

• World War 1 army service records

• British Army Service Records from 1760 to 1915

• Medal Rolls Index Cards

• World War 1 Royal Navy deaths (1914-24)

• World War 1 Naval Casualties
• World War 1 National Roll
• World War 2 Army Roll of Honour

• Various newspaper archives including The Times (1788-1833)

• Over 200 local newspapers spanning the period 1710 to 1950

• Illustrated London News

• Apprentices of Great Britain from 1710 to 1774

• Clergy Lists 1907 and 1911

• Merchant Navy Crew Lists from 1861 to 1913
• Merchant Navy Seamen from 1918 to 1941
• Teachers Registers from 1914 to 1948

• Law Lists 1824, 1826 and 1856
• Medical Directory 1895
• Registered Teachers 1917