The Best Genealogy DNA Websites

Happy June! We are quickly approaching the half-way mark of 2025, can you believe it? Let's take a look at which places are the Best Genealogy DNA Websites to invest your time and or money in this year, shall we?

The biggest 4 are Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch and FindMyPast. Of all of these, FamilySearch is the only one that is FREE to use. I use it every day to find other family trees for hints of who missing ancestors might be, but the trees are often not sourced, meaning no records attached, so you can't immediately adopt the info as your own. You will need to do your own research to back up those findings. They do have a vast collection of records here from around the world, it is definitely worth a visit.

Ancestry has the largest DNA database in the world - I read 19 Billion entries. If you're looking for DNA matches, this is the best place to start. DNA test kits are on sale now for Father's Day through June 16th. Building your family tree here is pretty easy too. They will automatically divide your DNA results into "maternal," "paternal," "both sides," or (sadly) "unassigned."

If you're looking for good matches outside of the US, you should check this one out. I find more European matches here than anywhere else. It would seem that Europeans are more concerned about their privacy than Americans are, because the matches post as little info as possible about their families, and the few names there are "Private." However, they have a great AutoCluster tool to help you sort out grandparents (for example) out of all your DNA matches, and you can sort by matching DNA segment sizes. They also have a Father's Day Sale right now, and for a limited time "Free Shipping."

Also you can set up a "Super Search" so that they will email you with new matches or records that might fit your puzzles. They have a free data checker to alert you to possible errors in your trees (mother not old enough or too old, for example).

MyHeritage also has photo enhancing or repairing tools that are easy to use, and an animation tool you can use to make your photo subjects turn, smile, etc. So far, I have found this to be creepy, but you might like it.

Incidentally, they are discontinuing allowing of uploading of DNA tests from other sites, as the FBI has been pretending to be individuals and uploading perpetrator DNA to find criminals (against policy). You can upload your Ancestry DNA test for free, and get a 2 week free trial while this still lasts.

For British and Irish research, FindMyPast is great! Two week free trial, lots of great records.

If it's deep down DNA research to find missing birth parents, siblings, or children for example, you might want to take a look at FamilyTreeDNA. You can upload your autosomal DNA data for free.

They also offer their own autosomal testing (like you get at any other site), but they also offer different levels of Y-DNA testing if you're looking for your Paternal ancestors, and have recently added mtDNA testing for the matrilineal (Maternal) cells you are carrying forward. Father's Day also going on here through the 16th.

They have a lot of sorting and matching tools, as well as upgrades (for a further fee) to Haplogroups, etc. You can opt out of sharing your material with everyone including law enforcement. You can join groups or forums about your surname to try to learn even more. As the test facility for MyHeritage, you can link there for tree building with the click of a button.

GEDMatch does not do their own DNA testing, but accepts uploads from everywhere. It is a not-for-profit site, so you can upload for free, but it is not as private as the other sites. It is a little harder to use till you figure out the tools, but it is very informative! You can also upload your family tree map (GEDCOM). If you opt in at $10 per month for their Tier One package, you can sort by amount of centiMorgans, size of cM's, number of potential generations away from you, map out the chromosomes to see which ones you share, and split maternal and paternal sides. This is an especially great tool for people battling with endogamy (see last week's blog).

These are the big players in the industry, but there are some newcomers with specialties making their appearances such as, LivingDNA.com that adds focus on diet and exercise for you, SelfCode.com for specific help with medical conditions and lab work, EverlyWell.com where you can test for everything from food sensitivities to STDs! Beware, these health tests look very expensive!!

These are the most often recommended Genealogy DNA testing sites I have found to date. For a very comprehensive lists of FREE Genealogy Researching sites you may not have used, the National Genealogical Society has published an extensive list with links here: https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/free-resources/websites/

For those of you with the Summer "off," I hope this helps you with some new and different ways to research your family tree. If I can help, we offer a FREE no obligation review of your existing tree. Send me an email at the address below, and let's talk!

Thanks for stopping by again this week,

Leslie Ryan

WhoIComeFromInfo@gmail.com

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