Changes in Genealogical DNA Testing

Back in 2005, Francis Collins in his book The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine predicted that DNA testing for health was on the horizon within 10 years and that your doctor would routinely order DNA tests for you. That hasn’t happened as quickly as he thought, but companies like 23andme built their databases by offering medically relevant Direct to Consumer (DTC) DNA testing. 23andMe has a database of about 13 million and overall the top 4 companies: Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, My Heritage, and Family TreeDNA have over 53 million test kits. Some of those may overlap so roughly 40-50 million people have done DTC DNA testing.

My Heritage and Family Tree DNA and Gene by Gene

Several things have piqued my curiosity of late. As announced in 2024 “Family Tree DNA has been a valued partner and friend of My Heritage for well over a decade. Notably, since the launch of My Heritage DNA in 2016, Family Tree DNA’s in-house lab, Gene by Gene, based in Houston, Texas, has provided My Heritage with our DNA processing services.” And furthermore “Family Tree DNA customers can transfer their family trees to My Heritage, and to continue building them on My Heritage. Family Tree DNA users can now easily transfer their family trees to My Heritage for free, after providing consent on both Family Tree DNA and My Heritage.” More recently My Heritage announced in October that is was Upgrading Its DNA Tests to 2X Whole Genome Sequencing to be carried out by Gene by Gene. And then just days ago Family Tree DNA announced 30X Full Genome Sequencing. “The All-in-one bundle includes your genome data, health analyses, and reports” for $379 on sale. Not quite the $99 WGS testing that was anticipated a few years ago but getting closer.

The above collaboration and new offerings may be a sign of the health of these two companies under Gene by Gene. And their pivot to Health offerings is intriguing. I wonder whether at a future date their may be options to combine them. Who knows?

23andMe

Meanwhile in March 2025, 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced that the company was planning on selling substantially all of its assets. So its long term status is in question. Who will acquire the assets and will the data still be available to testers? Your guess is as good as mine. One of my favorite features at 23andMe was their Chromosome browser. No word on if it may come back. If sold would the genealogy component just be a casualty? So for now I can’t recommend 23andMe due to a high level of uncertainty. Sad because it has about 13 Million testers.

Ancestry

In 2019 Ancestry offered AncestryHealth® their vision “was to empower people to take action to address potential health risks identified in their genes and family health history.” Then in 2020 they suspended that offering and returned “to deepen our focus on family history, including AncestryDNA®, which remains an important part of our commitment to family history.” Ancestry has over 25 million tested and although the lack a chromosome browser are among the easiest to use especially for those already with a paid Ancestry subscription. It is also among the most expensive.

It looks like Ancestry’s focus will stay toward genealogy which is good news. It has the largest database of historical records with over 30 Billion. My Heritage has a bit more focus on International Records and has about 20 billion records.

Family Tree DNA

For now FTDNA remains the best place for YDNA and mtDNA testing if you plan on looking for matches. The shifting landscape of DNA test is hard to predict. Ancestry offered YDNA tests years ago and then abruptly stopped in 2014, as they pivoted to atDNA tests only. The earliest YDNA tests at FTDNA were 12 marker test whereas today a 37 Marker test is generally considered a minimum.

Recommendations

People always want to know the best company to test at. That depends on your reason for testing.

• If you already subscribe to Ancestry or MyHeritage, testing atDNA is a no brainer especially at sale prices starting at $29
• Chromosome Browsers are included at FTDNA, MyHeritage and Living DNA
• A nice feature of 23andMe and Living DNA is they give your broad mtDNA , and if male: your YDNA Haplogroup
• FTDNA is the project based place to test YDNA, both YSNPS and YSTRS
• MyHeritage may bring more European matches for those with recent ancestry from Europe or Israel
• Living DNA has a strong emphasis on UK testers that may appeal to those with recent UK ancestry
• Full sequence mtDNA, with matching, is at FTDNA
• FTDNA & Living DNA allow uploads from other companies

Given sales this month especially around Black Friday, you could test at Ancestry and MyHeritage for less than $70 and upload to FTDNA and swim in all 3 ponds. If you return your MyHeritage in 2026 you will get 2X WGS!

Where it all ends up in a few years—who know? In the meantime databases grow and prices come down. The Ancestral origins continue to be refined. Whether they are improved each iteration is widely debated.

Kelly Wheaton ©2025 All Rights Reserved