Best DNA Testing Services

The sampling process isn’t restricted much. You simply have to not drink, eat, or smoke 30 minutes before you take the sample and the kit includes a funnel to prevent spills. If you’d like to study the DNA of your whole family, including even small kids, you can manage their samples personally to speed things up. You do, however, have to create an account for each adult member of the family in order to activate the sample. That step is required for postal tracking as well as posting results but you don’t have to worry about privacy. The sample is anonymous and you can keep everything private if you so choose.

After you mail in the sample, results usually take about two to three weeks to appear and, once they do, they are presented in a convenient format. You get a pie chart showing your ethnicity and ancestry and a chance to look up those members whose DNA matches yours (no real names are visible, only logins and nicknames). There’s also a map to show where your ancestors used to reside years ago so you can get a sense of how far your family has traveled. Sadly, the service doesn’t let you check for potential hereditary diseases that may be passed down from great grandpas and grandmas, which quite a few of the competitors offer at no additional cost.

Should you decide to cancel your account with the Ancestry service, you can take all of the data with you as the service supports exporting. It doesn’t, however, let you import the info from other services, which might mean additional expenses if you decided to go with another service initially.

If your goal is simply to do some DNA testing for ethnicity and find as many distant relatives as possible, the Ancestry is a good bet. The service lacks a health test feature and does take its time testing your sample but we’d call the end-result completely worth it. It’s reasonably priced, has the advantage of a truly huge member database, and the sampling kit is pretty comprehensive. While it has its flaws, the Ancestry DNA-testing service is definitely one of the better we’ve seen. If you want a detailed analysis of your ancestors and family, it’s a good choice.

Not every family member is going to be someone you want to connect to as there’s a black sheep in every flock. The 23andMe service seems to understand that completely so you can choose to stay completely anonymous and prevent other members of the database from finding you when you submit your sample. We always appreciate it when a service values privacy and commend the 23andMe for doing so. It’s also important to mention that the company ships its kits to all 50 states as well as over 50 other countries in the world and the shipping fees are included in the flat price. This means you can both get a kit for yourself if you’re abroad or even gift one to someone that you know would love to learn more about their roots.

We have to admit that the results take a while to surface, regardless of how far or near you are in relation to the company’s labs. On average, you’d have to wait upwards of three weeks to get your hands on the data. But oh boy is that data worth it. Every piece of information is detailed and the company even splits the genetic results into several sections. For example, you can trace mitochondrial DNA (also known as maternal), which is useful for determining your famous relatives. Who knows, you might be a distant cousin of some movie star!

Lastly, we’d like to mention a fun little addition that might not help out much in searching for long-lost brothers or finding out your genetic predispositions. It is, however, pretty novel and something that we haven’t seen before our experience with the 23andMe DNA testing. The website lets you create a full-blown melody out of your DNA, further proving how unique every human is. It’s not too useful but certainly a fun detour to take on your quest for genetic knowledge.

Although you shouldn’t rely solely on the results provided by the 23andMe DNA background test, it’s still a reputable and FDA-certified way to see what you genetic predispositions are. You can really find out a lot about your genes and how likely you are to end up bald, overweight, or healthy as a Greek god. Well, as long as you’re willing to pay the admittedly steep price. We did feel like the huge database of people that you can be genetically matched with and the excellent in-depth health research make the service more than worth it. So if you want to not just explore your ancestry but also check for potential health concerns, do give the 23andMe a try.

If you’re not psyched about the way other services collect their samples, you might give a point in favor of the National Geographic Geno 2.0. While most other companies require you to, well, spit in a tube, the Geno 2.0 kit just lets you swab the inside of your cheek to collect the required sample.

However, though the sampling process is easier, the wait won’t be. Due to how deep the research goes and how thorough all the checks are, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for your Geno 2.0 results than you would for the more basic personal DNA tests. Overall, it might take up to a month and a half. But it’s not like it’s an urgent task, right? Plus, while you wait you can read up on the data you’re going to be seeing as there’s quite a lot of it. In particular, we recommend reading up on Neanderthals and Denisovans and what it means to have their DNA.

We’re a bit disappointed that such thorough research ends up simply telling you which regions your ancestors inhabited, though. Sure, it’s great to have a DNA test kit help in finding your roots but other services even offer health checking to see if you’re predisposed to some illnesses. It’s up to you to make the final choice but if you're really interested in tracing back the history of your clan, there is no service offering a description as detailed as the one you get from the National Geographic Geno 2.0.

We have to admit that the National Geographic Geno 2.0 DNA genetic testing kit has limited appeal and isn’t as universally applicable as some of its competitors. However, if its capabilities of looking deep into the past match your needs, it’s more than worth it. No other genetic testing service delves as far into your ancestry and the history of your clan. It’s an easy way to learn more about your ancestors while you simply sit at home in front of your computer. It does take a while and, as we’ve said, won’t be to everyone’s liking. But we found the National Geographic Geno 2.0 DNA kit a fascinating look into history and we’d argue that it’s worth a try.

Much to our joy, the sample-taking process was hygienic and didn't involve any spitting. You simply use the swabs from the kit to scrape your cheek and get a sample. Seal that in a container, send it off to the lab, and wait for the results to come back. Hopefully with some good news!

We did, however, have to wait for more than two months to finally get the results back. It’s unclear whether that long timeline is due to the company being based in the UK or the rigorous research that they do. Either way, don’t expect results right away or, really, even in a month. This may be an issue if you’re rushing to get your DNA tested for some reason but we feel like that problem isn’t too substantial for most potential clients.

A big plus lies in the service’s price, which is far below what most competitors ask. Despite the lower cost, the company does its due diligence and if we were to compare it directly to some of the biggest names on the market the Living DNA tests would not be far behind the leaders. It is a shame, of course, that the company doesn’t offer a health testing service as well but maybe that’s how they keep the cost affordable enough.

Even though we were annoyed by the long wait, it’s tough to deny that the Living DNA test kit delivered more than we expected. For a price far below most services, the company dug deep and uncovered the tiniest heritage details. You can recreate not just a family tree but a whole family forest using the data provided by the company. Plus, it’s compatible with other services as it exports your information readily, should you wish to switch over later. As long as you’re willing to wait for a month or two, the Living DNA is definitely worth it. It’s informative, affordable, and the sample-taking is hygienic. Despite a few gaps in the data here and there, we’re genuinely impressed and expect the Living DNA to end up a leader in the genetic analysis industry.

Once you’ve done your part, allow about a month for the results to arrive. You’ll be notified via email and get access to the data by inputting a special code. The test is, of course, anonymous and your sample is discerned from others via a barcode so you can rest assured that the info is yours and nobody but you knows about it.

Unlike most other services, the Home DNA test doesn’t display data by country or geographical region. Instead, you can see how much genes you share with one of several gene pool regions. While the research doesn’t go all the way back to the first migration movements, the data is still traced for centuries so you will find out if you have, for example, German blood in you even if it was a single relative 2000 years ago.

If you’ve already used a different service and got some data but didn’t feel like it was up to par, you can still turn to the Home DNA GPS Origins. The service can import information from other companies and process it via their own methods so you end up with a more in-depth look. You do still have to pay a fee but it’s actually cheaper than using the service outright and some may find it a more useful choice since you combine data on ancestry with results that you might get on genetic predisposition to illnesses and such.

While the higher-than-average price might initially put some people off, there’s no denying that the Home DNA GPS Origins is worth it. The service offers a deep look at your ancestry and family tree, can synergize with other companies of this kind by importing their data, and actually has several flexible pricing tiers that might fit the needs of people working on a budget. Though there is some wait for the results, it’s not nearly as long as from some other companies and, once you see the information in front of you, it’s easy to understand why the research took that long. In the end, if you don’t mind paying a bit more, the Home DNA GPS Origins is indisputably great and is sure to offer up some surprising insight into your roots.