Making the most of your DNA testing dollars
Here it is, DNA Sunday again at The Legal Genealogist. And the big news in genetic genealogy this week is the launch of autosomal DNA testing by Ancestry.com. That brings to three the number of major players in the DNA testing world that offer this sort of test: Family Tree DNA and 23andMe are the others.
There’s a lot that isn’t known yet about the Ancestry testing. For more information on the test generally, both Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist (see here and here) and CeCe Moore of Your Genetic Genealogist (see here, here and here) have written about it.
It’s only being offered at the moment to Ancestry.com subscribers — even subscribers have to sign up and wait in line to be offered the test — and all we know about pricing is the introductory price of $99 for the test. (Update: It’s now $129 for Ancestry subscribers; prices vary for non-subscribers. See AncestryDNA now open to all, posted 4 Nov 2012.)
Now I’m a total DNA junkie. I’ve never met a DNA test I wouldn’t take. So, yeah, my name is on the list, waiting to get my chance at the Ancestry test to go along with the tests I’ve already taken at Family Tree DNA and 23andMe. There are real advantages to testing as widely as possible: you’re looking to find people who match you, and the key person who can help you break down your brick wall may have only tested with one company.
The issue here is one of cost. Nobody is giving away DNA tests. So… how do you get the most bang for the DNA buck?
I’ve said it before: if you’re serious about using DNA as a tool in your genealogy toolkit and you can only afford to test with one company, then the company to test with is Family Tree DNA. It has more to offer the genealogist than anybody else in terms of the number of serious genealogists who use it and the features and ease of use it offers.
But that leaves you out in the cold for matches at 23andMe and Ancestry. So what do you do? Walk away from those potential matches?
Nope. Here’s what I would do:
Step 1. If you’re an Ancestry.com subscriber, get in on the $99 introductory offer. You can bet your bottom dollar it won’t ever get any cheaper. That gets you a shot at all your future matches with folks who test with Ancestry.
Step 2. Test with 23andMe using the monthly or prepaid subscription plan, then convert the subscription plan to lifetime at the end of the year. The thing I like least about 23andMe is its goofy pricing and the changes in its pricing. (I paid much more for 23andMe testing because I tested when it was changing its prices and it didn’t offer those of us who’d tested at the high end a refund.)
Right now, a 23andMe test costs $99, but you have to buy at least a one year subscription to what it calls its Personal Genome Service. That costs $9 a month, or $207 for the first year including the test, or you can buy a lifetime subscription for $399. But at the end of the first one-year subscription, you can convert your subscription into a lifetime subscription for $99, for a total of $306 for 23andMe. (Update: 23andMe has converted to a new flat one-time $99 price as of mid-December 2012. See December DNA doings, posted 16 Dec 2012.)
Step 3. The minute you get your 23andMe results, transfer them to Family Tree DNA for $89. When I say “transfer,” that doesn’t end your 23andMe matches, it just gets you into the Family Tree DNA system with all of its benefits.
What that gives you is all your matches with all three companies for just under $500. (Update: Under $300 now.) Not cheap, for sure, but the best bang for your DNA buck on the market right now.
You take every test!? Wow. You must have LOTS of money. Your advice is to pay them all? Sorry, I’m not as rich as you. I can not afford that.
You say it won’t get any cheaper. I think you are wrong. I agree with Tamura Jones that tests ARE going to get cheaper
http://www.tamurajones.net/Ancestry.comIntroducesAncestryDNA.xhtml
By the way, she points out that Ancestry does NOT give your test results
So maybe their new test is not such a good deal?
I said only that I don’t think Ancestry’s autosomal test won’t get cheaper and I think that’s a safe bet.
Hi Judy,
I can’t speak any more highly about DNA and what it has provided genealogists for research. It will be interesting to see where it takes us in the next few years. Have been able to use it for good use in regards to 1) confirming traditional research and 2) debunking “traditions”. Thank you for the step by step process for all three labs/sites.
Ancestry started a beta version of their autosomal DNA test last year and gave tests for free to certain members. I was lucky enough to be one of them and have had my results since March. My results were 49% British Isles (no shocker) and 49% Scandinavian with 2% unknown within the last 10 generations (give or take a few). Not quite sure where the Scandinavian comes in, certianly not within the last 7 generations for any of my lines at least. There are many many matches that I have, but it is difficult to narrow down which of my family tree the match is on given the structure. No defining/terminal SNPs are given. The results can be synced with one family tree to view in the DNA section of the website. But if you divide your family trees by surname, this means that not all lineages will be displayed in the DNA section for matches. Since this is a new service, I am hoping that Ancestry will tweak this feature in the future to be more user friendly.
Also, Ancestry provides background info about the percentages given. Mine read “looks like you may have some Viking”. With such a general statement, I hope that they provide SNPs in the future or at least scholarly DNA articles of research that would support such a statement.
Usually, I test with Family Tree DNA and wait for their sale in April and during the holidays to either upgrade or do something. They announce it on their Facebook page. The articles and tools they provide are just better. Also, I joined my mtDNA haplogroup V page on Facebook. I talk more with my haplogroup cousins than my surname cousins.
Thanks again!
Heather
Glad to see I’m not the only DNA junkie out there. Like everyone else I hope the Ancestry test system gets more refined and more useful. But even if it doesn’t, at $99 it’s hard to say no — and I for one am not passing up the chance for more matches.
No raw data availability? No thanks. Throw in some of Ancestry’s past practices and I’ll take a pass on this one. Sometimes getting the most out of your DNA testing dollars means not spending them in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong; I am a generally satisfied Ancestry subscriber. But I’m not entirely comfortable with seeing this particular company move from records to spit. It’s one thing to pay for access to the records the company has assembled, but it’s quite another to provide such records (in the form of DNA) and not be able to see your own results.
Even if that changes, my own experience with autosomal testing indicates that it’s not for everyone, particularly those of us with less common ancestral backgrounds within the American genealogical world. I will nonetheless be watching to see what happens with this new offering.
I understand your concerns, Ruy, and can only hope we get more and better explanations (and data) as it develops. But I have some major brick walls where DNA can be of enormous help and am willing to take the $99 flier on a chance to find a match I won’t find with the other companies.
I don’t believe the introductory price will get much cheaper. I think 5 years down the road a Full genome sequence will be cheaper than it is now but the Ancestry test like FTDNA’s family Finder and 23andme test are not likely to dip under the $99 price. I like Judy, am a bit of a DNA junkie. I had called when Ancestry was handing out Beta kits (didn’t get a free one) but I signed up and got my invite last week and jumped on it. Yeah I agree there are all sorts of problems—not being able to download etc—but I didn’t order one for that. I already have downloads from 23andme and FTDNA and they are on HIRSEARCH and GEDMATCH. The SNPs tested overlap better than 95% so I don’t need the download and I suspect Ancestry will offer it in the future.
The reason I tested at Ancestry is I think having it connected to a vibrant Genealogy database is a slam dunk and I liked the refinement in some of the ancestry features—-the data from Sorenson and the likelihood that this database will grow exponentially make it a good fit for me. I was actually surprised at the introductory price and thought why not. I’ve been a member of Ancestry for years.
Now I can see if you have already tested elsewhere why you wouldn’t want to do this but for me it still provides a great value.
For about $400 you could test with Ancestry’s beta. Test at 23andme get your Haplogroups and Medical info, then upload to FTDNA. You’ve covered most of the bases unless your a male then I would do at least a 37 Marker Y-DNA kit with FTDNA. This all for less than the original tests just a few years back.
We can gripe about what we don’t like—I do—but I have found out lots about myself I would never have known otherwise.
Kelly
Kelly, I suspect we’re going to get to that much-cheaper-full-genomic-sequence much much faster than five years. But in addition to being a DNA junkie, I’m also someone for whom immediate gratification takes too long. I want as much as I can get, and I want it yesterday! So I’ll do this test too… and the FGS as soon as the price gets to a point where I can do it!
I jumped at the chance to do Ancestry’s test for $99. I’ve tested with Family Finder and 23andme as well, and uploaded my data to GEDmatch. One of my biggest frustrations with what I’ve done so far is finding a close match that isn’t interested in genealogy. I knew to expect that on 23andme, but even on Family Finder my closest match got around putting an email address in. And he put a list of surnames on his profile that includes a not too common one that we share and I have quite a bit of information on. I’d love to know how he connects but probably never will.
I’m hoping I won’t encounter that as often with those who have tested on Ancestry. Of course in an ideal world we’d have access to the raw data and a way to find out what chromosome we matched on. But I think in the long run what I learn from my Ancestry matches will help me figure out some of the other matches as well.
I’ll be watching what happens with the Sorenson data as well. My sample as well as my brother’s and my son’s are in that database.
Nan
Nan, it’s so frustrating when folks don’t follow up (sez someone who knows she owes you an email… the original is on my home computer and I’m in Kentucky tonight…).
DNA testing can be life altering experience, now I dont think you need to go out and get DNA tested from EVERY place out there. That seems a little extreme for most people, like some of the other comments have indicated. However, I do feel that DNA testing can yield information that can be imperative in some situations.
Being in the industry myself I’ve seen both good and bad outcomes from these tests. Make sure you’re prepared for any and all results, and make sure that you’re not spending money just to be told what you’ve already been told from other DNA testing facilities.
Good general advice about not testing if you’re not prepared for the results. As for the advisability of testing widely, that’s only for autosomal where it’s the matches and what they can add to the paper trail that’s so important.
I think Ancestry will have great success with their new offering as they are in touch with so many people in the genealogy community that they will continue to expand their database.
I too have tested at Family Tree DNA and 23andme. I have also recruited various family members to take the test.
I have had success with it as well. I had two McMahon families with the same surname living in the same small town. The story was that the families were related – brother’s actually but I could not for the life of me find proof. They didn’t witness births, nothing in wills, no newspaper notices that mentioned connections. I had my mom do the Family Finder and a few months later I found a descendant of the other McMahon family. Thankfully he agreed to take the test if I sponsored it. Low and behold the results came back showing my mom and him as 3rd cousins. Which was the right match if the McMahon men were brothers like we were told.
The money was worth knowing that the families do connect. To me it was priceless to have this puzzle solved!
I have also located cousins of my husband – my mom. The Family Finder test is second to none for me and I will be getting the test at Ancestry. I only hope it is available to testers outside of the US as I would certainly like it for that price!
I hope all the DNA testing companies do very very well. It can only help us all to have lots of options — and lots of competition.
Youve done all the autosomal tests,23andme,Familytreedna’s Family Finder and Dna Diagnostics Center’s Ancestrybydna? Can you say how your results were different?
Steve, I’ve just barely sent off my AncestryDNA test kit so I can’t report on those results yet. For the other two, the key differences are in the way the information is presented and the ability to connect with matches. Remember that 23andMe is primarily a health-testing company with many fewer people testing for genealogy, so the default for 23andMe is confidentiality: you can’t contact matches directly, you don’t even get their names unless they accept a blind contact. FamilyTree is exclusively for genealogy, so the default is sharing: you get names, email addresses and the ability to quickly and easily compare, at the chromosome level, your results against five others at a time (and loads of opportunity to download data and work on it on your own computer). I don’t see anything fundamentally different about the results themselves — both companies say I’m haplogroup H3, my 23andMe matches also show up as FTDNA matches using the third-party site Gedmatch.com. It’s really a matter of how genealogy-friendly (or unfriendly) the presentation is.
When I visited 23andme, there was no subscription. They only have $299 kit.
Thank you
You’re right, CeSe — there’s been a change in the 23andMe pricing structure and it’s now a one-time-only fee. It works out to less money overall for the same result.
Is there a benefit to doing the autosomal test with both Family Tree DNA and with 23andme over just testing with 23andme and transfering their ‘Relative Finder’ feature to be compatible with FTDNA’s ‘Family Finder’? Let’s say price isn’t an issue, what benefit will I get if I test with both over transferring Relative Finder? Or will it be the exact same thing? Is it possible that I will miss a match or two if I go about transferring instead of testing both from scratch?
Yes, it’s possible to miss a match or two. The areas of autosomal DNA sampled for Relative Finder (23andMe) are not exactly the same as those sampled for Family Finder (FTDNA). They largely overlap but not entirely. So if price is literally no object, then absolutely test with both.
I like your article. I have traced my ancestor to 1530 England, 1600 Norway on my fathers side. My mother being adopted only knows her mothers maiden name of Whitman, Irish for sure.
So, for my first test with all my unknowns, who/which test do you actually recommend?
To have any real chance to find your mother’s family, you want to do autosomal testing, Josh, and on your mother if she’s still alive. If not, then on you yourself. That will give you the best chance to try to find genetic cousins who may be able to help.