Hiring a DNA Testing Company
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Hiring a DNA Testing Company
DNA testing has become an accepted tool for identifying ancestors and for verifying genealogical leads. It is also used frequently to learn about our deep ancestry. Testing your family DNA sometimes results in finding cousins who may have more genealogical information than you.
Disclaimer
Neither The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nor FamilySearch International is associated in any way with any DNA study. As a non-profit organization, FamilySearch cannot recommend a specific DNA-testing company to you.
DNA Testing Companies
The main five main companies for genetic genealogy are 23andme, Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, LivingDNA, and MyHeritage. All five of these companies sell DNA kits, predict your ethnicity results, generate a list of your genetic relatives who are also in the database, tell you the amount of centimorgans you share with each match, and predict the relationship between the two of you, let you see lists of people who match you and someone else on your match list, let you add your family tree, and allow you to download your raw data. All of them use a microarray to test between 620,000-665,000 SNPs and all have a base price on their basic autosomal DNA test between $79 and $99. All five companies are highly reputable and will do a great job if you choose to buy a DNA test from them.
In addition to these five companies, GedMatch is also a key genetic database. GedMatch, however, does not sell DNA kits, you must buy a kit from another company and then upload your DNA raw data file into GedMatch.
If you are looking for someone you gave up for adoption, it is important to get your DNA in all the databases. That way you have the best possible chance of finding the one person you are looking for.
Comparison Table of the Five Main DNA Testing Companies
The following is a table comparing the main features of the five main DNA testing companies. To see the full table please refer to the ISOGG wiki page Autosomal DNA testing comparison chart.
| 23andme | FamilyTreeDNA | Ancestry | MyHeritage | LivingDNA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | www.23andme.com | wwww.familytreedna.com | www.dna.ancestry.com | www.myheritagedna.com | www.livingdna.com |
| People in Database (13 August 2023) |
14,000,000 | 1,574,253 | 23,000,000 | 7,200,000 | 300,000 |
| Comments on Database | Mainly Americans | Mixture of Americans and Europeans | Mainly Americans | Bestselling DNA test in Europe | Mainly British People |
| Base Price | $99 | $79 | $99 | $89 (frequently on sale for $49) |
$79 |
| Shipping | $9.95 | $9.95 | $9.95 | $5 | $9.95 |
| Free Return Shipping | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Uploads Allowed from Other Companies | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cost to Get all Features from Uploaded DNA | NA | $19 (Sale price $9-10) | NA | $20 | $20 |
| Method | Spit tube | Cheek Swab | Spit Tube | Cheek Swab | Cheek Swab |
| Chromosome Browser | Yes (Disabled as of October 20th, 2023) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Matching X DNA Reported | Yes (Disabled as of October 20th, 2023) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Means of Contacting Matches | Internal messaging system | Emails provided | Internal messaging system | Internal messaging system | Internal messaging system |
| Response Rate | Low | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
| Autosomal SNPs Tested | 630,312 | 612,272 | 637,639 | 576,157 | 683,503 |
| Y chromosome SNPs Tested | 3733 | 0 | 1691 | 3495 | 34,216 |
| X chromosome SNPs Tested | 16,530 | 16,271 | 28,892 + 440 from the PAR region | 26,694 | 15,028 |
| Mitochondrial SNPs Tested | 4318 | 179 | 263 | 0 | 3982 |
| Special features | Neanderthal Ancestry, Y and mtDNA haplogroups | Y-DNA and mtDNA specialized tests | Thrulines | Theories of Relativity DNA clusters |
High resolution ethnicity estimates for the UK |
Public DNA Databases
Public DNA Databases do not sell DNA kits, but do allow uploads from the other companies. Here is a list of some of them.
- DNAGedcom.com
- Gedmatch - Autosomal raw data only
- GeneBase
- mitoYDNA.org - Crowdsourced Y and mitochondrial databases
- YHRD - Y-Chromosome STR haplotype reference database
Defunct Public DNA Databases
- Mitosearch - Site closed in May 2018 over concerns their data was not compliant with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- mtDNACommunity - As of August 2020 the site is down, but you may be able to contact them at info@mtDNACommuity.org
- Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SNGF) - Formerly sponsored by Brigham Young University, SMGF was acquired by Ancestry. The data is not publicly available.
Result Analysis
Organizations, such as The Genetic Genealogist, The Genetic Genealogy Consultant, and Your Genetic Genealogist provide services to help you interpret your DNA results and get the most out of what they can tell you about your roots.
DNA Projects
Thousands of DNA Projects, usually focused on a particular surname, location, or ethnicity, are active around the world. A listing of geographical projects can be found in the ISOGG Wiki.
A list of the over 11,000 FamilyTree DNA projects can be found on their FamilyTreeDNA Group Projects page.
Adoption-Specific Projects
These projects have created with the specific purpose of helping adoptees find their biological families.
- DNAAdoption
- Mixed Roots Foundation Global Adoptee Genealogy Project (GAGP)
Websites
- International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). Site includes newsletters, a DNA Wiki, Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree, list of DNA consultants for hire, list of DNA speakers, DNA signatures of famous people, project listings and much more. To ask questions and read news, visit their Facebook page.
- Genealogy DNA Mailing List (RootsWeb). Active conversations about genetic genealogy.
- Chris Pomery: DNA & Family History. Online resources include DNA talks, books, papers, articles, blogs, presentations, podcasts, and websites by an expert in the field.
- Journal of Genetic Genealogy. Free articles from leading scholars in the field.
- Genetic Genealogy Consultant. Free tutorials and resources for understanding DNA results within a genealogical and ancestral context.
- Your Genetic Genealogist. This Blog strives to make the subject of genetic genealogy accessible and understandable for the non-scientist. Written by CeCe Moore, a professional genetic genealogist and experienced personal genomics consumer.
- Autosomal DNA Facebook group. Great place to learn more about your autosomal DNA results.