1 | For a more detailed buying guide, please see http://genealogical-musings.blogspot.com/2017/08/which-dna-test-should-i-buy.html | |||||||
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2 | Also see a list/comparison of additional resources and tools for your DNA | |||||||
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4 | Companies | Notes | ||||||
5 | 23andMe | AncestryDNA | FTDNA | MyHeritage | LivingDNA | |||
6 | Ethnicity estimate, amount of populations | 31 populations (plus over 120 sub-regions) | 61 populations (plus over 1000 Genetic Communities) | 24 populations | 42 populations | 52 worldwide populations, additional 20 European sub groups, and 21 British sub groups | Lists and comparisons | |
7 | Ethnicity accuracy | Best percentage results, but "administrative regions" are not as reliable | Good percentage results, very reliable Genetic Communities | Average percentage results, no genetic communities/groups or "admin regions" included | Poor percentage results, but Genetic Groups are more reliable | Good for British ancestry on broader level (regional breakdown within UK is poor); Average for world | Based on personal experience, reports on social media, and ISOGG. Your mileage may vary. | |
8 | Matching with other testers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Most people haven't opted into LivingDNA's "Family Network" | |
9 | Opt out of matching with other testers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
10 | Health report | Yes (extra cost - non-health test also includes medically related SNPs that can be analyzed at third parties) | No, but includes medically related SNPs that can be analyzed at third parties | Sort of - supplied by VitaGene for extra cost (and includes medically related SNPs that can be analyzed at third parties) | No, but includes medically related SNPs that can be analyzed at third parties | No, but includes medically related SNPs that can be analyzed at third parties | FTDNA partnered with VitaGene to offer a health report from your dashboard for extra cost but it's available for 23andMe and AncestryDNA too, by manual upload instead (no partnership). | |
11 | Number of samples for ethnicity reference panel | 14,393 | 40,016 | 2,943 | ? | 12,000 (as of Jun 2019) | MyHeritage say they can't disclose this info (even though every other company does). | |
12 | Autosomal SNPs included | 630,132 (V5); 577,382 (V4); 930,381 (V3); 561,846 (V2) | 637,639 (V2) | about 690,000 (removed about 3,000 medically related SNPs) | 702,442 | over 650,000 | Data from SNPedia and ISOGG, or company's website | |
13 | Medically related SNPs included | 24,674 (V5); 27,086 (V4); 27,660 (V3); 16,693 (V2); 14,830 (V1) | About 47,000 (V2); About 13,000 (V1) | 13,768 | About 12,000 | About 22,000 | Data from SNpedia which has 107,839 SNPs in their reference database as of Jan 2018 | |
14 | X chromosome SNPs included | 16,530 (V5); 19,487 (V4); 26,007 (V3); 13,876 (V2) | 29,332 (V2) | 18,091 | 17,889 | ? | Data from SNPedia and ISOGG, or company's website | |
15 | Y chromosome SNPs included | 3,733 (V5); 2,329 (V4); 1,766 (V3); 1,880 (V1) | 1,691 (V2) | None (they offer separate Y-DNA tests) | 482 | roughly 20,000 | Data from SNPedia and ISOGG, or company's website | |
16 | mtDNA SNPs included | 4,318 (V5); 3,154 (V4); 2,459 (V3); 2,019 (V2) | 195 (V2) | None (they offer separate mtDNA tests) | None | over 4,000 | Data from SNPedia and ISOGG, or company's website | |
17 | Total SNPs included | 684,713 (V5); 602,352 (V4); 967,000 (V3) | 668,857 (V2) | about 708,000 | 720,813 | 674,000 | Data from SNPedia and ISOGG, or company's website | |
18 | Y and mtDNA haplogroups reported | Yes | No (minimal Y and mtDNA included in raw file though) | No (they offer separate Y and mtDNA tests) | No | Yes | Haplogroups aren't particularly useful for recent genealogy, and not the same as a full Y or mtDNA test | |
19 | Neanderthal | Yes | No | No (but does include ancientOrigins: Metal Age Invader, Farmer, Hunter-Gatherer, non-European) | No | No | ||
20 | X DNA Matches Identified | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | ||
21 | Minimum segment size for matching qualification | 7 cM *see notes | 8 cM | 8 cM | 6 cM if more than one segment is shared, 8cM if only one segment shared | ? | 23andMe cap your match list at 1000-2000 matches (depending on when you tested), so each individual's cut off point usually varies and is normally higher than 7cM | |
22 | Number of testers in database | 12+ million as of Apr 2023 | 23+ million as of Apr 2023 | About 1 million | 6.5 million as of Apr 2023 | ? | FTDNA haven't publicized numbers on this so this is an estimate from ISOGG. | |
23 | Family trees / gedcom upload available | Not hosted on site but has option to add external link to profile | Yes, but non-subscribers can't view full public trees without invite from tree owner | Yes | Yes, but non-subscribers have limit of 250 people per tree | No | ||
24 | Chromosome browser | Yes | No, but include total cMs shared, and amount of segments shared | Yes | Yes | Coming soon | ||
25 | Shared matches / In common with matches | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
26 | Matrix / Triangulation | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
27 | Automatically looks for common ancestors among DNA matches | No (doesn't host shareable trees, so not possible) | Yes, ThruLines uses family tree database to find common ancestors | No | Yes, Theory of Family Relativity uses family tree database and external tree databases like FamilySearch to find common ancestors | No (doesn't host shareable trees, so not possible) | ||
28 | Can you upload raw DNA data from other companies? | No | No | Yes (fee to unlock full results), from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, and MyHeritage | Yes (fee to unlock full results), from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, and FTDNA | Yes (fee to unlock additional results), from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, FTDNA, MyHeritage | ||
29 | Method of collecting DNA | Saliva | Saliva | Cheek Swab | Cheek Swab | Cheek Swab | ||
30 | Availability | 52 countries, health report not available for most | 128 countries | Worldwide, excluding 5 countries which do not allow it (another 14 require special handling) | Worldwide, excluding countries which do not allow it | "Nearly anywhere in the world" | ||
31 | Price (USD) | $99 for Ancestry+ Traits (sales $49-69 are periodic), $199 for Ancestry + Health (sales $99-169 are periodic), plus shipping. | Normally $99 plus shipping, sales $59-89 are periodic | Normally $79 for Family Finder, plus shipping, sales as low as $49 are periodic | Normally $79 plus shipping, sales as low as $49 are periodic | Normally ranging $49-179 plus shipping, sales $69-99 are periodic | Check Amazon for sales too. 23andMe sales are often buy one, get one half off/on sale | |