The three services above are our top choices for the best DNA test. They weren’t the only ones we tested. What follows are some additional options, none of which eclipsed the 23andMe, Ancestry or FamilyTreeDNA in any significant fashion.
MyHeritage
MyHeritage/Screenshot by CNET
MyHeritage offers a free tier of service that includes some basic family tree-building and access to excerpts of historical documents. It also includes a report of your genetic makeup across the company’s 42 supported ethnicities, the identification of relatives and connections to them where possible.
We found MyHeritage’s user interface far less intuitive and more difficult to navigate than others. It’s one of the few companies to offer a comprehensive research database of historical documents, DNA analysis and health screening, but we found the integration among them to be a bit clumsy. In 2018, MyHeritage committed a security breach, exposing the email addresses and hashed passwords of more than 92 million users.
Living DNA
Living DNA/Screenshot by CNET
LivingDNA divides its offerings in a different way than others. Your Ancestry DNA kit provides an overview of your ancestry in 150 geographical regions and information about maternal and paternal haplogroups and access to the company’s genetic matching tool. The $109 “well-being package” includes reports about your physiological compatibility with vitamins, foods and exercise. The $169 Wellbeing and Ancestry gives you all of it.
Despite not selling or sharing data, the company has a very limited family match database; a company representative declined to give me a specific number but said that it contained less than 1 million profiles. If you’re looking to identify and make connections with relatives, there are better choices in the market.
Whole genome sequencing
There are multiple companies, including Full Genomes, Veritas Genetics, Nebula Genomics and Dante Labs, that can sequence all of your DNA — otherwise known as your genome. This level of analysis is appropriate for advanced users only. Not only is it expensive — these tests can run into the thousands of dollars, in some cases — it requires a sophisticated understanding of both genetics and a range of technical tools required to explore and interpret your results. The least expensive whole genome tests cost about $250.
For most people, the main rationale for sequencing the whole genome is to dive deep into your genetic health outlook. You can glean your personal risk factors for diseases, drug sensitivities and your status as a carrier; that is, what you might pass on to your kids. All of these efforts can also be undertaken (to a less intense degree) with some of the more affordable options outlined above. We suggest starting with Nebula Genomics. You can also upload an existing DNA sequence from Ancestry or 23andMe’s DNA database and get Nebula’s reports at a reduced price.
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