MyHeritage VS 23andMe
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Uncovering your ancient origins and connecting with unknown genetic relatives is an experience you are not likely to forget. That is why it is important to choose the best company for the job. MyHeritage and 23andMe both offer cutting-edge ancestry DNA testing options, but they are very different companies.
MyHeritage is dedicated to complementing your final report with billions of genealogical records that can help you learn more about your history and ancestors by actually reading about them, viewing their old photos, reading their personal stories, and more. 23andMe, on the other hand, also offers health reports, which can indicate your genetic predispositions for certain diseases and conditions.
Ultimately, the right choice depends solely on your personal needs and expectations - and our exhaustive MyHeritage vs. 23andMe comparison can help you define them by outlining all the benefits and shortcomings of both companies.
Highlights
MyHeritage offers ancestry DNA testing complemented by billions of genealogical records, allowing its users to get a complete picture of their genetic heritage and get in touch with unknown relatives.
- Top-of-the-line sample processing facility/accurate results
- Numerous features and subscription plans available to users
- 45 million family trees, 3.9 billion profiles, 12.4 billion records
- Price: $79.00
- Shipping:Worldwide
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)
Compare Features
Tests
MyHeritage offers one ancestry DNA test - MyHeritage DNA Test;
The test explores your autosomal and gender genes for a full overview of your ethnic percentages. If you subscribe to the company's services, you can complement your final results with billions of genealogical records in its database.
Sample Collection Type
Cheek Swab
Genetic Markers Checked
690,000
Geographic Regions Covered
Unknown
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
3-4 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Illumina
Privacy and Security
MyHeritage collects only the information necessary to provide its services, process payments, and give you the optimal ancestry DNA testing experience. You can delete or modify your personal info as many times as you choose and MyHeritage will never share, sell or lease it unless required to do so by law.
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.
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 Peter on 11/09/2019Unable to stop a subscription Be very careful with this company. The website is not that bad but once you want to stop your subscription it is very hard. They respond with an email but next year they just take money from your credit-card and keep your subscription. I have a bunch of emails where I confirmed that I really want to stop my subscription but again they took 189.01 euro. Be warned, do NEVER take a subscription at MyHeritage, they are scammers.
- Submitted By E on 11/05/2019The worst! Our family took DNA tests as a group. After spending $$$, matches appeared on some of the family accounts and not on others. In other words, the match display were incomplete. (Obviously if you have a cousin who appears as a match on this site and every other DNA site, then you should appear as a match for them as well). MyHeritage support was a complete joke. Totally unhelpful, slow to respond, and moronic. Save your money and take literally any other DNA test!
- Submitted By Antonina Starsinszky on 06/07/2019MyHeritage is great for family matches and such, but overly simplified in ethnicity. Mine showed I was 100% Eastern European only. That is very unlikely as I have never seen anyone else get 100%. Kinda cool, but not true. If you have more unique ancestry like tatar, udmurt, ossettian, or something like that it will brush over it and place it in a broad region. Good thing is you can upload your raw data to many other sites for free. !!!!! I uploaded to 5 others(get the most out of your money people) and they all showed diffirent variations of North Eastern slavic, Albanian, North European (disagreed if Im Scandinavian or British(from 12 to 24% so weird MyHeritage didnt catch it). GenePlaza were more spesific to put me as Norwegian, Scottish Argyll and Orkney for Northern Europe) and 4/5 of the others showed small percentage of Indian & South Asia! GenePlaza again traced it back to Gurjati indian which makes total sense knowing I have a great grand-parent of Romani(gypsy) decent. That site also placed me as Mordovian which is highly likely due to my geographical location. Generally yes its not wrong Im 100% ish eastern european. Since I am west Russian that could be similar to North Europe because of Viking influences in the past, and if Romani got lost in translation, but its such a boring result compared to what others give you. So I recommend MyHeritage only as a means to upload to other sites or for finding DNA matches only. They have great feutures for filtering relevant matches as well. + acsess to family tree if you pay.
- Submitted By Marie Utley on 07/06/2019This is Marie, I love the time frame on our DNA test. To me they did a wonderful job, I was totally shocked by the results of where we was from. My daughter and I could not believe it. We really looked at each other and laughed, and it shocked us completely. But I believe it, and my son, we was "Totally" shocked about his DNA. They did a great job, and the price was justified as well. I will recommend them to the rest of my family members. Thank You! MyHeritage.com for doing a great job.
- 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!
Winner
MyHeritage is a DNA testing provider founded in 2003 in Israel. It combines genetic research with genealogy, allowing its users to create family profiles, print family trees, share photos, perform DNA testing, perform MyHeritage DNA Health test, stay in touch with relatives, research family history, and much more. Read all about its services in our MyHeritage review.