An Honest Side-by-Side Comparison
Both put dates on old family photos, but they do very different jobs. PhotoDater shows a free year estimate on-screen inside MyHeritage. Timeline Scan dates your whole collection and writes the dates into the files you keep. Here's the full comparison, with every claim sourced.
Last updated: July 5, 2026 · facts checked against MyHeritage's published materialsMyHeritage PhotoDater is a free AI feature inside the MyHeritage genealogy platform. It estimates the year for undated photos taken between 1860 and 1990 that include people[1], and in MyHeritage's own testing about 60% of estimates landed within 5 years of the true date[1]. Estimates appear on-screen in MyHeritage and are not saved into the photo file's metadata[2].
Timeline Scan is a paid, done-for-you dating and organizing service. It works on photos from any era and reads more than the picture itself: handwriting on the backs of prints, lab-printed dates, dates already inside digital files, and neighboring photos. It writes the corrected date into each file's standard EXIF/XMP metadata where possible, and returns your collection in folders by year (or delivers it to Google Photos or Immich).
Feature by feature
Numbered citations point to MyHeritage's own blog and help center. See the sources below the table.
| Feature | MyHeritage PhotoDater | Timeline Scan |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A free AI feature inside the MyHeritage genealogy website and mobile apps[1] | A done-for-you photo dating & organizing service that runs in your web browser |
| Supported date range | LimitedPhotos taken between 1860 and 1990 only[1] | Any eraOld scans and recent digital photos alike; recent files keep the date already inside them |
| Reported accuracy | ≈60% of estimates within 5 years of the actual date, in MyHeritage's own testing[1] | Draws on more clue types than the image alone (backs, lab prints, neighboring photos), and every date is shown on a timeline you can review and adjust before delivery |
| Writes the date into the photo file (EXIF/XMP)? | No“Date estimates are not automatically saved to the photo's metadata” and must be confirmed manually; confirmed dates live in your MyHeritage family site's data[2] | YesCorrected dates are written into standard EXIF/XMP capture-date fields where possible, so Google Photos, Apple Photos, Immich, and Lightroom sort them correctly |
| What it analyzes | The image itself: clothing, hairstyles, facial hair, furniture, and other period objects[1] | The image, handwriting on the backs of prints, dates printed by the photo lab or camera, dates already inside digital files, photos from the same album page or film roll, and family details you share |
| Photos it will date | Only undated photos that include people (not documents or gravestones), and only when its confidence is high enough[2] | Built to place every photo in your batch on the timeline; photos without clues of their own are estimated from the photos around them, and you can adjust anything |
| Date precision | An estimated year, with a confidence level and error range shown on request[2] | A full calendar date where clues allow: a lab-printed “JUL 87”, a handwritten “Easter 1972”, or the date already inside a digital file |
| Where your photos end up | Uploaded to and stored in your MyHeritage online family site[1] | Back on your own computer in folders by year, month, or person; or delivered straight to Google Photos or Immich |
| Batch handling | Estimates appear photo-by-photo as you view each photo page; each estimate is confirmed or rejected individually[2] | Upload the whole collection at once; the finished timeline comes back as one reviewable batch |
| Price | Free with a MyHeritage account[1] | Free trial with no credit card, then per-photo pricing (see pricing) |
Concrete numbers, not vibes
Every figure below comes from MyHeritage's own blog and help center.
The honest recommendation
PhotoDater is genuinely good at what it does, and it's free.
Try it free, no credit card.
Not either/or
The two tools stack nicely, in one specific order. MyHeritage reads dates that are already present in a photo's metadata; PhotoDater itself only estimates photos that don't have one[2].
So if you date your scans with Timeline Scan first, every file you upload to MyHeritage arrives carrying its corrected date: no photo-by-photo confirming, and the same files sort correctly in Google Photos, Apple Photos, or wherever else your family keeps its memories.
Common questions
In MyHeritage's own published testing, approximately 60% of PhotoDater's date estimates were within 5 years of the actual date the photo was taken[1]. PhotoDater only produces an estimate for photos taken between 1860 and 1990 that include people, and only when its confidence is high enough; otherwise no estimate is shown[2].
No. MyHeritage's help center states that date estimates “are not automatically saved to the photo's metadata” and must be confirmed manually, and confirmed dates are stored in your MyHeritage family site's data rather than inside the photo file[2]. Timeline Scan takes the opposite approach: it writes the corrected date into each file's standard EXIF/XMP capture-date fields where possible, so the photos sort correctly in Google Photos, Apple Photos, Immich, and other metadata-aware apps.
No. MyHeritage states that PhotoDater provides date estimates only for undated photos taken between 1860 and 1990[1]. Timeline Scan has no era restriction: it reads the dates already inside recent digital photos and estimates dates for older scans using handwriting on the backs, printed lab dates, visual clues, and neighboring photos.
Yes. MyHeritage describes PhotoDater as completely free[1]; you need a MyHeritage account and your photos must be uploaded to MyHeritage. Timeline Scan offers a free trial with no credit card, then charges per photo; see the pricing page.
They do different jobs. PhotoDater is best if your photos already live in a MyHeritage family tree and you want free, on-screen year estimates for genealogy research. Timeline Scan is best if you want your whole collection dated and organized as files you keep: it writes dates into each photo's metadata and returns the collection in folders by year, or delivers it to Google Photos or Immich.
Yes, and order matters. Run your scans through Timeline Scan first so each file carries its corrected date in standard metadata, then upload to MyHeritage. MyHeritage reads dates already present in a photo's metadata (PhotoDater itself notes it only estimates photos that do not already have a date in the metadata[2]), so your family-site photos arrive dated instead of needing photo-by-photo confirmation.
Show your work
MyHeritage® and PhotoDater™ are trademarks of MyHeritage Ltd. Timeline Scan is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by MyHeritage. PhotoDater details on this page were checked against MyHeritage's public materials on July 5, 2026; if something here has gone out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
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