I started out with Ancestry, and used them extensively. However my long term experience with Ancestry is not positive. So when Ancestry announced that it would stop supporting FamilyTreeMaker, RootsMagic announced a special deal to allow customers to move to RootsMagic. So I now have all 3: Ancestry Online, FamilyTreeMaker on my PC and RootsMagic on my PC.

In general I like what I see with RootsMagic, but I still consider myself a novice with it.

While its GUI Interface isn't as slick as Ancestry browser based GUI, its functionality as a PC based program far exceeds what I can get our of Ancestry online.

I'm expecting to transition from FamilyTreeMaker to RootsMagic when RootsMagic supports syncing with Ancestry. Yes its coming soon (in fall 2016, I think)

Some details I really like about Roots Magic:
Count trees - Will find "islands" of people in your tree, IE disconnected sections
Problem lists - Allows extensive validation checking, and offers flexibility in what it checks
Colour coding - Like highlighting a hardcopy
Grouping - You can make your own groups of people
Online hints - They support hints from multiple sources

RootsToGo - You can take you database on a USB stick to the Library, FamilyHIstory Centre etc. No extra charge.

Sharing. You can make a copy of your database to distribute to family members and they can view it on their PC. No extra charge. Called Sharable CD, but I burn mine to a USB stick. I recently burned 6 copies to share with my cousins. So now we can all see the same details.

They also have a Publish to Web option where you can make a website that they host. I haven't fully explored this yet, but it looks very promising.

And a manual that details how to do things. (It does cost $$, but I'd recommend it. Perhaps I'm old school, but having something to read helps you understand what it can do).

Compare trees seems powerful if you have multiple versions of your tree, or are comparing your tree to someone elses.

Importing GED files was easy. No hiccups at all. It can also import many other formats, such as FTM directly.

When you start it up on your PC there is a popup with news items and possible software updates to download.

However, I haven't fully explored their printing yet. I'm still hooked on FamilyTreeMaker's ability to print a large chart as a pdf (eg 10 feet on 36" paper) that I can take to my local print shop.

And I need to explore their ability to build a book based on your family tree. This sounds extremely promising/interesting. They also have companion software intended for that purpose.

So in summary, I'd suggest a vastly polar opposite corporate culture for RootsMagic than for Ancestry. My opinion of Ancestry is that they are driven by corporate greed, while RootsMagic appears to be driven by a true interest in genealogical success.