Sunday, July 4, 2021

Ancestry.com vs 23andme - pros, cons, differences - by Mary Cummins, genealogist, Los Angeles, California

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ancestry.com, ancestrydna, 23andme, dna, test, subscription, mary cummins, genealogy, traits, ethnicity, family tree, los angeles, california, 

Which is the best DNA testing, genealogy company for you, Ancestry.com DNA or 23andMe? It depends on your goals and interests. First, a little about both companies. 

23andMe was founded in 2006 and was one of the pioneers of DNA testing for consumers. "In 2017 it became the first such service to win the FDA's approval as a risk screener for diseases. It has become one of the most well-known DNA testing companies -- and well-funded, since taking in a $300 million stake from GlaxoSmithKline, which uses the company's customer data to research and design new drugs. Still, the company recently announced a round of layoffs, citing a slowdown in the DNA testing market likely caused by increasing concerns about privacy." Currently it's been stated that Richard Branson via SPAC will be buying, taking over 23andme because of financial issues. I'll comment more on this below.

23andMe offers basic DNA testing and health DNA testing. The basic DNA testing includes an analysis of your genetic makeup including your regions of origin, maternal and paternal lineage and Neanderthal ancestry. The health DNA testing gives you information about your "genetic predisposition for late-onset Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases. The service also includes analysis of your carrier status as a potential genetic carrier for disorders like Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Anemia as well as indicators for lactose intolerance and other "wellness" issues." 

Per 23andme they also have a database of 10,000,000 people who have submitted their DNA to share. You can use this data to find relatives and work on your family tree. You don't have to share your DNA, name or anything if you don't want to share.

Ancestry.com was founded in Utah in the 1990s. Ancestry.com is the parent company of AncestryDNA which started out as a publishing and genealogy company. They provide the best genealogy research site for lay people with billions of birth, death, marriage, immigration and Newspapers.com records from around the world. A basic membership used to be free. Now there are subscription fees depending upon whether you want to only search the US database or worldwide records. You don't have to pay a subscription fee to just host your DNA there. 

AncestryDNA offers basic DNA testing and health DNA testing. The basic DNA testing offers an ethnicity estimate and traits. Ancestry health DNA testing offers a personalized health report with "actionable insights" and access to genetic counseling resources. They list if you are low, medium or high risk for different cancers, diseases such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, tay-sachs disease and more. They don't offer as much DNA health insights as 23andme. 

They have a database of 18,000,000 people who have submitted their DNA to share. Most users have family trees attached to their profiles which you can use to find relatives and research your tree. Ancestry searches all of the trees to find relatives in common for you in the other person's tree which you can view.  DNA is just one of their income sources. While they don't charge to host your DNA kit and see relatives they do charge to use the genealogical research services. Most of their income is generated from genealogical research subscriptions. For that reason they are more financially stable. 

Costs

Basic DNA test: Ancestry $59 23andMe $79. These prices vary and there are always coupon codes.

DNA health testing: Ancestry $129 23andMe $129

Genealogical research services. Only Ancestry offers this. Here are their fees. If you research a lot, it's well worth it. It's much easier to do all your research on Ancestry instead of using many different free and pay services. 

If you for some reason aren't interested in 23andme or Ancestry which are the two largest DNA testing websites there are other sites. Some of those are FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, Geni and GedMatch. You can post your DNA kit for free at FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and GedMatch to find relatives. They also offer other paid services as does Geni. 

One important thing to mention today is the financial prospects of 23andme and Ancestry. 23andme is not the best business model as they only make money from new DNA tests. They don't charge a subscription fee to host your DNA kit or show you matches. People only really need one DNA test so there is no reason to buy new tests. For this reason they are having financial issues and may not be around in the future in the same form. 

Ancestry on the other hand is a better business model who have been around for many years. They also make money on subscriptions for genealogical research if you choose to use them. For that reason they will most likely be around in the future. 

If you are looking for relatives, Ancestry is the hands down winner. Currently on 23andme they show that I have 1,501 DNA matches. I downloaded the full relative file and there aren't any more. Correction. There could be 3,500 more. You have to pay $199 for the DNA test and an extra $29 a year to see the extra matches. I assume they are distant cousins. I'll pass. 

Ancestry shows that I have 58,262 total DNA matches, 3,499 are 4th cousin or closer 20-3,490 cm and 54,763 are distance relatives 6-20 cm. You will find more DNA relatives on Ancestry. If you are interested in finding relatives, Ancestry will show you more than 23andme, GedMatch, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and Geni. Just for a frame of reference I have 10,176 matches on MyHeritage, 5,818 on FamilyTreeDNA, GedMatch only shows 3,000 at  7cm+ for free. They used to show more but as of late June they now have tiers which cost more money. Glad I downloaded the xml files while I could for free.

I personally feel that Ancestry will probably eventually take, buy 23andme users and add them to their database. It would be wise if Ancestry offers to host the DNA kits of 23andme users for free when 23andme starts to have major financial issues. I think they should offer that now to 23andme and other DNA testing users. They could become potential Ancestry subscribers. They would also then have access to an additional 18,000,000 possible DNA matches on Ancestry. 

One thing I've noticed lately (July 4, 2021) is I have very few new DNA relatives on 23andme and the same larger amount on Ancestry. Here's one example. I just got an email from 23andme stating "You have16 people who share DNA with you have joined DNA Relatives over the past 30 days." During the last seven days I had 96 DNA matches or 411 in 30 days. Ancestry had over 13x as many new relatives for me. 23andme always had fewer matches but it's really slowed recently. Are DNA testing orders down or are they just processing fewer orders to reduce their costs? I personally would not want to do my first DNA test with 23andme for this reason alone. 

One good thing is you own your DNA testing kit. You can take that to another free or paid service. Obviously you should download and save your kit. I wouldn't leave it on 23andme in case their financial situation worsens and the site goes down. 
_______________________________
Genealogist at Geneanet and Geneastar
https://en.geneanet.org/profil/marycummins
 Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter
https://marycumminsrealestatemarycummins.blogspot.com
 Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser
http://www.marycummins.com
 Mary Cummins
http://www.mary.cc
 Mary Cummins Biography, History in Wikipedia format
http://wikipedia.marycummins.com/
 Mary Cummins on LinkedIn 
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