23andMe VS Living DNA
Advertiser Disclosure
This website features affiliate links. For purchases made via these links, we earn commissions that allow us to keep producing helpful content. To find out more click here. Close
After making the initial decision to explore your ancestry and genetic origins, you are faced with a multitude of nuances, separating one ancestry DNA testing company from the next. 23andMe and Living DNA are both excellent choices for the task at hand, but one will certainly come out on top once you identify your specific needs and expectations. Their services, although high-quality and professional, differ in small but important aspects, even though they seemingly do the same thing. Our comparison will help you spot those differences between 23andMe and Living DNA, allowing you to make an optimal and fully personalized choice.
Highlights
23andMe is one of the most popular direct-to-customer DNA testing services that provides users with extremely accurate health and ancestry screening options performed in top-of-the-line labs.
- 50+ ancestry estimates down to the 0.1% with 1,500+ regions
- 80+ health reports, FDA-cleared testing kit, raw data download
- CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited processing laboratories
- Price: $99.00
- Shipping:Worldwide (Not Available In All Countries)
Living DNA provides the most precise ethnic estimates on the market. Its ancestry test covers the biggest number of genetic populations, which translates to the most accurate genetic percentages.
- 80 world regions covered, including 21 in the British Isles
- 15-fold analysis of 650,000 genetic markers in your genome
- Free shipping and result updates; raw DNA data download
- Price: $156.00
- Shipping:Worldwide
Compare Features
Tests
23andMe offers the following ancestry DNA testing solutions:
- Ancestry Service
- Health + Ancestry Service
With Ancestry Service, you receive an overview of your ethnic percentages, ancestry timeline, haplogroups, and Neanderthal DNA percentage in your final report. If you opt for the second option, your final report will also include health-related results.
Sample Collection Type
Saliva
Genetic Markers Checked
570,000+
Geographic Regions Covered
150 Worldwide Regions
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
2,000,000
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
6-8 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Illumina OmniExpress
Privacy and Security
23andMe stores your personal info separately from your genetic material for complete anonymity. The company will never share or sell your personal or genetic info without your explicit consent. It will use your data for research purposes, however, as aggregated data cannot be used to positively identify you as an individual. To keep your connection with its website safe, 23andMe uses SSL technology and follows the latest security standards in the industry.
Tests
Living DNA offers one ancestry DNA test - Ancestry.
The final report provides you with a thorough breakdown of your maternal and paternal ancestry, your haplogroup/subclade, and the migration map of your ancestors.
Sample Collection Type
Mouth Swab
Genetic Markers Checked
650,000
Geographic Regions Covered
80 Worldwide Regions
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
New, Still Growing
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
10-12 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Custom Illumina OmniExpress
Privacy and Security
Living DNA is a holder of ISO:27001 certification, which signalizes optimal protection and security for your personal and genetic data. As your DNA sample is only connected to your unique ID number, not even its staff members will know your identity. Living DNA doesn't allow individuals under the age of 18 to get tested without the explicit consent of their parents or guardians.
Compare Ratings
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience
Compare User Reviews
- Submitted By Annette Glendenning on 10/12/2019I first found this through the one and only Dr. Ben Lynch who specializes and is the pioneer in the study of our Methylation system. I got a wealth of information regarding my MTRR mutation and explains why my B12 was always so incredibly low. Also, I found a mutation in which 60% of Vitamin A can not be absorbed which answers the question of "why my eyes are deteriorating" and my skin doesn't heal very well. Lastly, I received an email letting me know that they added a new gene test called the APOE mutation which detects and rates Alzheimer's disease and its alleles. My mother passed from Alzheimer's and it's still alarming to me that I have APOE 4 and APOE3 alleles. YIKES! Time to be super Proactive in my diet and lifestyle. 23andme also couples with Ben Lynch with Stratagene, an amazingly easy to read break down of all your problematic SNPs. Thank you so very much for everything, I got everything I needed to know and more.
- Submitted By Sir Francis Baron Von Ross. on 03/19/2019After my stepfather passed away as he was the only father who I knew growing up I did the 23andme DNA to see if I had family or cousins on my real fathers side. I was shocked to learn I had so many people related to me. Everyone was so excited at first but then that faded very fast. Then I found 1st cousins and was great but then they did not bother to talk with me and realized I was not welcomed on my real fathers side. I am all by myself now since no one cares about me. It's a shame that people just don't care if they hurt a person. All I can say is you may be hurt by others but doing the 23andme DNA sure was great.
- Submitted By Walt Jenner on 01/16/2019I did the 23andme test and I found it simple to perform and easy to read the results. After submitting my saliva, it took about 4 weeks to process. I did this around the Christmas holiday, so they were perhaps running a little slower than they would during the summer. I didn't expect to see any "family secrets" revealed, so that wasn't a reason for me to take the test. However, my results DID reveal a family secret: my Aunt is my half-aunt. Whoops! So even if you don't expect to see family secrets, remember that you might reveal one. I wish the 23andme web site would pool "matching relatives" into groups so I can more easily determine which side of the family all the relative matches are from. Sure, it'd be easy if I had my entire family take the test, but many are deceased. And with a surprise half-aunt in the picture, I don't want to ask anyone.
- Submitted By Anna Bennett on 09/02/2018My daughter bought me this test and I was amazed (to say the least) to learn of my origins! It looks like I'm mostly from Europe. Fascinating!
- Submitted By Sandra on 08/15/2019I ordered two tests in December 2017. I did get results for the mitochondrial and Y DNA. To date only one match to my father which is me. My husband's test has no matches. He has a ton of matches on other sites. I have not had any other communications from this company. I uploaded a test from Ancestry in January 2018. It was my test and I did match my father. It is the only match out of three tests. I guess if I want more matches I will need to upload more tests from Ancestry? Does anyone have matches from this site? Am I doing something wrong or is this site a dead-end?
- Submitted By Joseph Flores on 07/08/2019The best DNA company ever...accurate...on everything...my haplogroups ..im glad i tested with living DNA....23andme lousy always waiting for updates on what my ethnicity might turn out to be!same with all the other sites....not living DNA it gives me every thing on what i am ethnicity wise...thankyou living DNA
- Submitted By Paul Dove on 05/24/2019I uploaded my DNA file, from Ancestry, and my wife's, from 23andme, and then waited and waited. A month later, after progressing through various stages of "testing", the status for both went back to Uploaded and hasn't changed since. No idea why but might be related to me deciding not to continue my membership of their partnering company Find my Past; without the DNA analysis I didn't see any point in continuing with Find my Past but I did expect to get DNA results eventually from Living DNA.
- Submitted By RCCCCcweraer on 05/11/2019You do not want to use LivingDNA. They have operational and lab issues. They are disorganized, unable to respond even within a week to a question. They apparently outsource to two different labs in different countries and yet their business is in England. We started the process in January as as of today, no results. It doesn't matter if their testing is good, we can't get our results and how much confidence can we have when they are not operationally sound?
Winner
Living DNA provides the broadest geographical coverage of matching ancestry and ethnicity, with the English Isles represented with 21 regions. Raw DNA results are also offered for potential matching with different databases and genealogy research websites. Read all about the company's testing options in our detailed Living DNA review.