Best DNA Testing Kits for Finding Geographic Roots

23andMe can help you discover the origin of your ancestors, and it offers one of the best DNA testing kits on the market. Starting your research begins with registering a kit and creating an account that will be linked to you personally. After following the instructions and submitting your kit, you'll receive the results by email. The information you'll be getting is very detailed, as the site gives you the percentages of geographic areas you come from, information about relatives such as distant cousins for example, and even Neanderthal gene variants if you have any.

When it comes to details, 23andMe takes care of the little ones and makes browsing their website very easy to enjoy and understand more about your genetic makeup. Other than showing you geographic places on an interactive map, where you can track relatives by a geographic roots check, the service also offers a section with trivia about other distant relatives who have also taken a DNA test. You can find how many of your ancestors are less likely to be vegetarian or even their if they are likely to feel that coriander tastes like soap. Their great features are fun and in that regard, 23andMe definitely delivers.

However, 23andMe is a bit expensive, and the fact that your information is stored in a database is rather unsettling. The $99 fee for your kit also includes shipping, and the company ships to every state in the United States as well as more than 50 nations across the world. When compared to other services, this price is considered expensive, however, the kit will allow you to see how your DNA is distributed across 2000+ regions worldwide, discover DNA relatives from around the world, share your reports with family and friends, and learn how your DNA influences your facial features, taste, smell, and other traits.

FamilyTreeDNA reveals your ancestors' ethnic and geographic backgrounds through their innovative visual mapping tool. This map reflects your personal genetic ancestry and may also reveal related population clusters that mated with others in the past. The site's Chromosome Painter feature, which uses colors representing populations to paint segments of your genome, is another way to explore your geographic origins. This fascinating tool goes beyond telling you your percentages by revealing the origins of each DNA segment in your ancestry so that you'll be able to know exactly what your ethnicity is and even get a better understanding of your deeper ancestry.

FamilyTreeDNA is able to test Y-DNA, mtDNA, and autosomal DNA. Taking a Y-DNA test will show you all your matches that share a common ancestor with you on your direct paternal line. That common ancestor can be recent, meaning within a generation or two or more distant, living up to around 1,000 years ago. By comparing your DNA to DNA from archeological dig sites across Europe, you can even discover your deepest origins dating back to ancient times. However, this test is done by men, and the autosomal DNA test, which can be taken by all genders, has a way smaller database. Plus, the ethnicity results can be quite broad, which might be annoying when looking for geographic roots.

Prices vary depending on the kit you order, with the basic Family Finder kit starting at $79 at the low end. The Maternal Ancestry (mtDNA) kit is the most expensive of the four, costing $159. Keep in mind that shipping is not included and will cost you an additional $19, on average. FamilyTreeDNA also has an excellent Learning Center where you can learn all about the services, shipping and handling, account settings, and other important privacy information. Uploading raw DNA data from a previous test with another provider, such as 23andMe or MyHeritage, is also a great way to save money.

For a price that's only slightly higher than other services, with LivingDNA, you'll receive ancestry results from an analysis covering over 150 regions around the world and unique sub-regions to provide you with more information about your family history and locate exactly where they are actually from. But what's most remarkable about LivingDNA is the specificity with which it pinpoints British ancestry. If you know that you have British ancestry in your immediate family, then this provider is ideal for you. Living DNA breaks down your British Isle DNA into 21 regions. So, your results will not only tell you the countries your ancestors come from, but also the counties, such as Cornwall and Devon.

Living DNA appears to be primarily concerned with science, and its outcomes appear to be very precise and detailed. One particularly appealing feature of their DNA tests is the option to purchase a printed book that displays your results and contextualizes them. You can read everything there is to know about the unique subregions that make up your ancestry with historical data, migration paths, and haplogroup information, showing you where each part of your family came from. This information is nicely presented on interactive maps with color-coded migration lines. Unfortunately, you may have to wait 6-12 weeks for your report, and that's quite upsetting.

The basic ancestry DNA testing kit from LivingDNA costs $119, while the most expensive kit costs $199. If you want to learn more about DNA testing, you can sign up for a free 7-day email course to help you decide which test to take. In comparison to other DNA testing companies, these prices are considered low. If you don't want to pay for a new test, you can always upload your raw data for free. This will register you in the matching database and give you a basic continental-level ancestry breakdown.

MyHeritage provides DNA testing as well as free family tree matching. You can see the geographical locations where your ancestors lived, and you can also expand your results by creating a family tree. You can use tools that find matching profiles in other family members' trees, and record matching as well. With MyHeritage, it'll be easy for you to have a general idea of where your biological family comes from. When you open the notification email, you'll see a spinning globe with regional music and a map revealing your results, with highlighted areas indicating your ethnicity based on geography. You can zoom in and out on the online map to see your ethnic roots, but no detailed information will be provided.

MyHeritage is a major competitor in the DNA testing market, particularly in genealogy. Its main advantage is that you can use its massive database to create a detailed family tree. However, unlike other services, MyHeritage doesn't provide detailed information about your ancestors and is limited to the aforementioned percentages. On the other hand, the ability to locate relatives via its app stands out as a great plus. In fact, whether through the mobile application or by email, you'll be notified whenever a person with whom you share DNA in a significant way is discovered, though the percentage is usually very low.

Pricing is where MyHeritage truly differentiates itself. MyHeritage DNA charges $89 for a kit, plus $12 for shipping. If you order two kits, shipping is half-price; if you order three or more, shipping is free. This makes MyHeritage one of the cheapest DNA testing services. Given that MyHeritage has created the world's largest family tree of over 13 million people, this is an excellent value. One of MyHeritage's best features is that their Basic plan, which allows you to create a family tree with up to 250 family members, is completely free.