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Our verdict: Ancestry is the best DNA testing company for ancestry reports, finding relatives, and exploring your family history.
But when it comes to health testing and learning more about your unique genetic makeup, you should go for 23andMe.
Choosing between the two isnโt as simple as it sounds. While AncestryDNA is generally better for ancestry readings, 23andMe has some interesting features worth buying.
To help you decide, hereโs an in-depth review comparing them based on the tests they offer, the results you get, their accuracy, and added cost.
We scanned through hundreds of customer reviews. Hereโs a summary of what people keep saying about these DNA testing kits:
Pros | Cons |
Easy to use and understand | DNA results can take up to 6 to 8 weeks |
Breaks down your ethnic origins for the last five generations | Ethnicity estimates may not be accurate for everyone who takes it |
A large database helps you find more relatives and build family trees | People you match with may not be interested in connecting with you |
Can accurately determine your relationship with DNA matches | A subscription is needed to access features for in-depth research |
Provides valuable tools for discovering your family history | English test instructions and reports can be a barrier for global users who speak other languages |
Pros | Cons |
Quick and simple testing process | The kitโs delivery may be delayed depending on where you live |
Detailed ethnic background that may align with family records and stories | DNA samples can get lost in transit |
Accurate for finding close relatives | Results may take long to arrive |
Transparent about the turnaround time for your DNA test results | Ancestry results and traits may not match up with what you know |
Customer support quickly resolves issues and provides refunds | Some users complain of unresponsive or unhelpful customer service |
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Like its namesake, AncestryDNA specializes in ancestry kits and historical records. It can help you learn more about your ethnicity and family history.
Meanwhile, 23andMe focuses more on DNA health testing. It can uncover genetic health risks that may affect you or your child while tracing your familyโs health history.
Hereโs a closer look at their testing kits and services:
23andMe offers two kits and a subscription that includes a more comprehensive ancestry and DNA health test.
These include:
Ancestry has two kits and packages them with other services, including DNA Matches, which helps you find possible relatives. This includes:
Now that weโve covered the tests each DNA testing service offers, letโs see how their reports stack up against one another.
AncestryDNAโs Ethnicity Estimate can show you where your ancestors might have come from. It can even show you the genetic communities or places where you and other users might share a common ancestor.
23andMe offers an ancestry composition report that tells you where your ancestors from the last five to ten generations might have lived. It will also reveal the migration patterns of your ancestors from both sides of the family.
However, 23andMe offers two unique reports that set it apart from Ancestry: the Neanderthal Ancestry Report and the Ancestry Timeline.
Ancestry and 23andMe offer DNA matching to help you find potential relatives within their respective genetic databases. Your report will include the degree of relationship you might have with possible DNA matches.
You can even contact your genetic relationships. However, when it comes to choosing between the two, Ancestry provides more detailed results.
Ancestry tells you if you share ancestors and DNA with a genetic match and if they have a private or public family tree you can explore. Although 23andMeโs matches are not as comprehensive, they may help you find more relatives.
Their Relatives in Common feature identifies other potential relatives based on your genetic matches. It can predict your relationship with a common relative and show you if you have any shared DNA.
The report will also tell you if you, your DNA relative, and a relative in common might have descended from the same ancestors.
Both DNA testing services allow you to create and edit your own family tree or build one using DNA matches. However, Ancestry can search family trees of your genetic matches for common surnames.
It also lets you access historical records, newspapers, and historical documents to learn more about your family history. However, 23andMe also has some unique features of its own.
For instance, you can add your medical history and that of close relatives to your family tree. Once youโve set this up, it will be easier to see which diseases run in the family, including your parents, grandparents, siblings, children, aunts, and uncles.
Ancestry used to perform health screening with the AncestryHealth test, but the company discontinued it in 2021 to focus more on ancestry results.
Nowadays, it tests for genetic traits that influence health, such as dairy tolerance, caffeine consumption, and the risk of certain nutrient deficiencies.
On the other hand, 23andMe is the only at-home genetic testing company that offers comprehensive health screenings with approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Youโll get health reports on over 10+ health risks and eight genetic traits that may affect your health, plus over 45+ genetic diseases that may affect your child. If you sign up for a 23andMe+ membership, youโll get extra reports on 20+ genetic risks, four wellness traits, and a pharmacogenetics report.
Both DNA testing companies offer up to 37 reports on various traits that influence your appearance, preferences, and behavior.
Some of the traits they test for, like aversion to cilantro and risk for alcohol flushing, are also the same, so you can expect similar reports.
However, 23andMe offers some fun-to-know facts about yourself that you probably didnโt know were genetic, such as:
23andMe and AncestryDNA are the two most accurate DNA tests. Ancestry can identify genetic markers with 99% accuracy.
Meanwhile, 23andMe follows โrigorous standardsโ to ensure high-quality results. However, the accuracy of DNA test results can vary based on factors like:
Below is a detailed breakdown of their accuracy for each report.
Ancestry has more accurate ancestry reports than 23andMe. Although its references may not be as genetically diverse as 23andMeโs, Ancestryโs reference panel is about five times bigger.
But if you want to trace your ancestry through maternal and paternal lines, we recommend 23andMe instead.
It performs Y-DNA and mt-DNA tests, checking for genes passed from father to son and mother to child.
23andMeโs Relative Finder can predict genetic relationships with close family members all the way to third cousins with 90 percent accuracy or more.
Meanwhile, AncestryDNAโs DNA Matches can accurately determine your genetic relationship with close relatives up until your fourth cousins.
However, if you want to improve your chances of finding relatives, you should choose Ancestry. Its DNA database is almost twice the size of 23andMe's.
AncestryDNA and 23andMe both have a 99% accuracy for identifying the specific genetic variants they test for. This genes that affect your appearance, health, and other traits.
However, 23andMe is the only company with FDA approval to provide reports on genetic conditions that may affect you or your child. You can read more about 23andMeโs accuracy here.
Their at-home genetic tests cost about the same, but 23andMe offers more reports and access to most of its features at no additional cost. Most of Ancestryโs services are hidden behind a paywall.
Below, we compare the cost of the two DNA testing companies and what kind of tests and services youโll get for the indicated prices:
The price of AncestryDNA starts at $99 for the kit and $21.99 per month for a subscription.
Ancestry DNA Test | AncestryDNA + Family Tree Package | AncestryDNA Traits + All Access Package | |
Cost | $99 | $100 | $199 |
Ethnicity Reports | โ | โ | โ |
Ancestral Origins | โ | โ | โ |
DNA Matching | โ | โ | โ |
Traits Report | โ | ||
World Explorer Membership | โ | โ | |
Fold3 Records | โ | ||
Newspapers.com Publisher Extra | โ |
Ancestryโs packages include a three-month subscription to services that will help with your research, namely:
When your initial membership expires, you can continue with your subscriptions by choosing from one of three packages:
Subscription | U.S. Discovery | World Explorer | All Access |
Cost Per Month | $21.99 to $24.99 | $32.99 to $39.99 | $49.99 to $59.99 |
U.S. Records | โ | โ | โ |
International Records | โ | โ | |
Newspapers.com Subscription | โ | ||
Fold3 Records | โ |
The cost of 23andMe starts at $99 for the kit and $29 for a one-year paid membership.
23andMe Ancestry | 23andMe Health + Ancestry | 23andMe+ Membership | |
Cost | $99 | $199 | $199 |
Total Reports | 80+ | 150+ | 180+ |
Ancestry Report | โ | โ | โ |
Traits Report | โ | โ | โ |
Health Report | โ | โ | |
Carrier Status Report | โ | โ | |
Wellness Report | โ | โ | |
Family Health History Report | โ | โ | |
Pharmacogenetics Report | โ |
23andMe Plus includes a one-year membership to the DNA service. When your membership expires, you can renew it for $29 per year.
Each DNA testing kit has its share of good and bad qualities. Ultimately, you should pick the test that gives you the information youโre looking for.
23andMe is best for health testing because itโs an FDA-approved DNA test that tests for carrier status, genetic health risks, etc.
Ancestry is best for family history because it offers the largest DNA database and gives you access to extensive resources to help with your research.
Weโve been testing DNA kits for the last seven years and have taken every DNA test on the market. Weโve compared results and have been committed to testing and tracking any changes over time.
As an organization, we at KnowYourDNA are committed to helping you get the most accurate information about your ancestry, health risks, and other genetic traits.
We only choose at-home DNA tests that meet the standards of the DNA testing industry and provide reliable testing methods.
Our in-house medical experts help ensure the accuracy of our articles by reviewing them before publication.
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