DNA Kits: Which is the right one?

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 01:02 pm

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I think we’ve all see the ads be them online or on TV about the variety of DNA kits they have on the market today. Some may help you predict if you may have a certain disorder. Others claim they can help you find your ancestry or country of origin.

I think we all have a sense of wonder regarding our heritage. We may be closely connected to our culture. While some of us may want to learn more about our roots. No matter what your reason is there are kits you can buy to give you the answers you’re looking for.

I’ve tried two of the popular DNA kits that are widely advertised. I can’t say one is better than the other because they both have their pros and cons. Also, it may also vary from user to user at how much information you are looking. This also goes along with any additional time and effort you are willing to spend doing some digging of your own to learn about your family tree.

With this out of the way, I’ll share my experience with you and what I liked about each of the kits.

23 and me

We tried 23 and me first. My mom was the one who had wanted to try out one of these kits. Overall the ordering process is easy. You do have some info to fill out. You will be asked if you’d like to help with genetic studies and other topics. You can also add the health study for $100 more. We just opted for the basic DNA test.

The test kit will need to be registered prior to being mailed out. I liked the easy to use interface for the website. The one thing I liked the best is that you can have multiple DNA kits under one email address. We ended up buying 3 kits in total they were for my parents and me.

You are sent updates when your kit arrives at the processing facility. Processing time may vary during the year. I think for us it was about 6 to 8 weeks. You are sent an email once your results are in.

my results weren’t a big surprise to me but I did like that they offered a map that showed you where your ancestry was from. I wish it would have gotten a bit more in-depth in terms of Native American tribes but I guess I can’t complain.

I can say i did like the layout of the results. The thing I liked best about these results was that 23 and me also gave me a break down of my parent’s results as well. So I can compare my percentages against theirs.

23 and me also has an option of finding out if you have Neanderthal DNA as well. I think that’s pretty cool.

Currently, 23 and me retails for $99 USD just for the DNA kit. You can add a full ancestry and health kit for $199. Prices may vary throughout the year. You can click on the link provided for a 10 percent off.

Ancestry

Ancestry is similar to 23 and me. Yet they offer a bit more features. The ordering process is fairly easy. I will say this much make sure you read the info fully. What I mean by this is that when I placed my order I thought it would be like any other order. I filled out the form only to find out later that my account was created with my info instead of my mom’s. She was going to be the primary user. No big deal right? Yeah, it was a blunder on my behalf.

Another thing I’d like to add before I move on about this info. Ancestry doesn’t let you set up a family account (I may be wrong but I sure couldn’t do it) You will have to register each kit under a separate email address. Again this may have been an oversight on my part but I couldn’t figure out how to add two kits to one account.

Again the kits is a similar process as 23 and me. You have to register it prior to mailing it off. You are alerted when your kit arrives at the processing facility. You are also emailed an update when your results are in.

Ancestry has an interactive map that you can scroll across. it will give you brief histories of the countries. This is neat but I found it to be a bit repetitive.

Overall the point of Ancestry they hope your results spark your urge to learn more about your past. They have extra tools such as a tool to create a family tree. You can also set up a subscription to their site. This varies by the subscription plan. There is also a mobile app. Like 23 and me you can also include your DNA in studies or share other information with the brand.

Here’s a screenshot from Ancestry regarding the subscription plans.

I’m not certain if the discount is because I have purchased a DNA kit or if it is a sale that is happening right now. like 23 and me the price of the Ancestry kit is $99 USD but there are sales throughout the year. You can save 15 percent off by clicking the link provided above.

What are the pros and cons?

Overall the kits are similar. For me, I liked 23 and me better. You may ask why? I found that they didn’t round off to the nearest percentage. Ancestry did. For instance, according to 23 and me I have 0.07% Irish while Ancestry didn’t even count that. Also, there was a percentage of African that Ancestry just rounded to the percentage.

Granted these aren’t big deals but I still felt that 23 and me was a bit more informative because they at least broke down the DNA even if it was under one percent.

I also have to side with 23 and me because it allowed me to create one account for multiple kits.

23 and me vs Ancestry

Which one is right for you?

I can’t say you will have to check out each site and see which would benefit you more. Again Ancestry gives you more in terms of creating a family tree and finding relatives. Then again that may entail additional costs.

As I said before I liked 23 and me because it was simple and gave me a pretty thorough result list. But it may depend on what you’re hoping to learn from your results as well.

You can hear more of my thoughts by checking out my video post

Have you tried any DNA kits? What were your pros and cons?