Choosing a test company can be a challenging decision, as many vendors offer similar unique selling points, such as the ability to create an online tree and access to billions of documentary records. Others highlight the ability to discover where you come from or smart matching to help you with your genealogy. Every test-taker has their own experience with vendors, so it is wise to ask friends who have already tested or do some basic research using online forums.
With certain types of test, in particular autosomal cousin-matching tests, it is important to have your data in more than one database. Often this will mean testing with more than one company, however, as it is a competitive market. Certain of the large vendors, such as Family Tree DNA and MyHeritage, accept data transfers from other companies. Ancestry and 23andMe do not accept data transfers.
No matter the size of the company, we ought to be cautious about assuming our test data and results are going to be available permanently. As with all commercial companies competing in the open market, some DNA test vendors will ultimately succumb to market pressures or be absorbed into larger entities. In recent years the field has lost companies such as BritainsDNA, DNA Heritage (database acquired by FTDNA), Genetree and Relative Genetic (acquired by Ancestry).
Although choosing the best test company for your particular aims is very important, you should also consider the longer-term legacy of your results and raw data if a company goes bust. Once you have tested you also ought to ensure you have a beneficiary’s contact details added to your kit profile and ensure you download and save your raw data file(s) to your computer as well as a backup location. You should also download and save on a regular basis your list of matches from the various tests you have taken. Adding the login details for your kit(s) and those you administer to your will is also worth considering so that access to the data and results is not lost to future generations.
Before choosing a company you ought to be aware which test is right for the question or area of research you are interested in. Bundled DNA tests that analyse all three types of DNA (Y-DNA, mtDNA and atDNA) rarely meet all your requirements, as they tend to compromise between cost and resolution of test. This may mean that at some point you will need to test with more than one company in order to test for a particular type of DNA, for example the Y-chromosome. Such all-in-one tests are, however, a good introduction to testing if you are just curious, with no specific questions, or to give as a gift to somebody.
DNA testing for genealogy can reveal unknown relationships and family secrets. Familial relationships may not be reported as expected and new close relatives can be discovered. The power of genealogy tests to reveal close familial relationships is the primary reason it has been so successfully utilised by the adoption community, particularly in the United States. Genealogy tests cannot, however, be used for legal purposes as there is no ‘chain of custody’: in other words, there is no proof the test came from the stated individuals. In such cases specialist relationship or paternity testing is required at an accredited testing laboratory. These can be used to solve a dispute about child maintenance and apply for contact with a child, to apply for a visa so that a child can settle with a relative, or find out who inherits an estate when someone has died.
Because the field of genetic genealogy is constantly developing, it is difficult to give specific advice on which company to test with, so the following guidance focusses on generic issues.
Here are some general criteria you ought to consider before buying a DNA test:
• Database size: What is the size of the database? Not all companies offer a relational database where you can contact matches. Also, does the company sell their kits predominantly in certain regions of the world, such as North America, and thus lack data from European countries? If it is an autosomal DNA test then you should consider having your data in multiple test company databases to maximise your chance of picking up close matches. You also ought to ensure your data is uploaded to the free GEDmatch site, which accepts data files from all the major vendors.
• Explanation of the actual test: Is it clear how many marker positions are being tested and the coverage of the test? When was the test launched? The field is advancing very fast and products can be limited in their usefulness two or three years after launch. For example, the Geno 2 Genographic test was informative for ancient origins when originally launched, but very soon became obsolete, although it is still available for sale today.
• Explanation of results: None of the companies are particularly good at providing explanation and interpretation of test results, although some do provide useful help pages, forums to ask questions, or a Learning Centre. The company that strives and manages to succeed in this area will be providing real added value for their customers.
• Contacting matches: How easy is it to contact your matches? If the test company are primarily offering biomedical testing, experience suggests that matches are less likely to respond compared to companies where the only focus is genealogy.
• Tools: Does the company provide tools to help you evaluate and analyse your matches? For autosomal testing a chromosome browser is an essential tool and one that Ancestry refuses to provide.
• Hidden costs: Beware of hidden costs. These fall into two types: shipping cost for the test kit and subscription to access all features and services. The latter in particular is due to the way certain vendors are offering parallel online services for access to record sets along with their genetic testing.
• Privacy: All the major vendors take this seriously, but smaller companies might be more of an unknown quantity. Check out the terms of service and whether the company is GDPR compliant (General Data Protection Regulation). GDPR has strengthened the conditions for consent and companies are no longer able to use long, unintelligible terms and conditions full of legalese. This means your private information is safer and you can withdraw consent at any time.
• Research and third party access: Does the company ask you to opt-in so they can use your data for ‘research’ and give access to third parties? Be aware that you do not need to give such permissions to access your results for genealogy. Remember that your test raw data belongs to you and you have the right to access it anytime, limit who sees or uses it and if you so desire have it destroyed (right to be forgotten).
• Storage of your DNA sample: How long will the company store the DNA sample? This can be important when testing elderly relatives if the sample is the one and only opportunity to preserve their DNA.
• Does the company have strategic partnerships?: Companies are partnering to offer more diversity and breadth of content. For example, LivingDNA partners with FindMyPast and Family Tree DNA partners with MyHeritage, so that test-takers can access large genealogy collections and resources.
• Projects: This is an extremely important aspect, particularly for surname, lineage and haplogroup research. Projects need relational databases and the best company for these is Family Tree DNA. They are the primary test company for both Y-chromosome and mitochondrial testing and provide the opportunity for individuals to participate, collaborate, and volunteer to administer research projects. Projects are provided with free online webpages, resources and management tools.
• How easy is it to upgrade or take a completely different type of test?: Be aware that although several of the major vendors may have massive databases counting into the millions of test-takers for autosomal DNA, they do not offer either Y-chromosome or mitochondrial testing. Companies that do all-in-one tests are only testing a limited number of Y-DNA SNPs. They might be very useful for understanding your ancient Y-line origins, but will be insufficient for almost all genealogical questions. If you are testing for admixture and biogeographical origins (ethnicity) do not assume that the large companies necessarily have the best data set for the region of the world where your ancestors originated. For example, LivingDNA have the best regional breakdown for individuals whose ancestors came from Great Britain and Ireland.
• Y-chromosome testing: Although Family Tree DNA is the primary test company for Y-DNA projects, there are several other companies that offer top-quality products but have no comparative database. These include YSEQ and Full Genomes Corporation.
• Adoption: All the major test companies are useful for adoption research. We would recommend having your results in all the main databases: AncestryDNA; Family Tree DNA; LivingDNA; MyHeritage and 23andMe. This will mean testing independently with several of the companies as they do not accept data transfers.
• Customer support: Experience by test-takers can be very subjective and the response from companies is very varied. As with many companies it is becoming much harder to talk to a member of staff directly even when a telephone number is provided. At the very least companies ought to provide a visible email and contact form.
• Turnaround time: This question is again rather subjective, as companies are constantly reinvesting in technology and are subject to the fluctuating volume of kits affecting processing capacity and the implementation of their own quality-control procedures. As a rule of thumb, results ought to be returned for all types of test in around eight weeks after being entered into processing. Some NGS or WGS tests may take significantly longer. However, the test companies are generally quite good at posting the expected delivery date, even if the reason for any delays might seem problematic.
• Cost: Autosomal testing is very competitive and generally low cost for a single test from all the main vendors. However, to make the most of your test result and your matching to other test-takers you really need to test other family members to identify DNA segments from your recent ancestors that you have not inherited. This will result in an overall financial commitment more in line with testing an individual for their Y-DNA or a full sequence mtDNA test. All-in-one tests again test reasonably cheaply for markers that have already been discovered, so limit the amount of information for genealogy purposes. Next generation sequencing (NGS) tests will in the future provide the raw data for multiple products. This is already the case with NGS testing for the Y-chromosome, which can test for both STR and SNP markers. Although a more expensive initial outlay, such tests can discover new markers useful for primary research.
Biomedical tests often have genealogy testing bundled with them. Such tests report on: health risks, for example for breast cancer or dementia; carrier status, for example for beta-thalassemia or sickle cell anaemia; wellbeing, for example for lactose intolerance or muscle composition; and finally traits, for example for hair colour or skin pigmentation. The main issue to be aware of with such testing is giving away permission for your data to be used in ‘research’ and passed onto third parties. Also test-takers at these companies tend to be testing for the biomedical report and not genealogy, so response to matching enquiries can be quite low.
ISOGG provides a number of useful links to the current range of products offered by the main test companies for genealogy. As these comparison sites are maintained by volunteers they may not remain up to date.
General list of all test companies –
https://isogg.org/wiki/List_of_DNA_testing_companies
Autosomal testing –
https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_testing_comparison_chart
mtDNA testing –
https://isogg.org/wiki/MtDNA_testing_comparison_chart
Y-DNA STR testing –
https://isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_STR_testing_comparison_chart
Y-DNA SNP testing –