23andMe VS The Genealogist
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After making the initial decision to explore your ancestry and genetic origins, you are faced with a multitude of nuances, separating one ancestry DNA testing company from the next. The Genealogist and 23andMe are both excellent choices for the task at hand, but one will certainly come out on top once you identify your specific needs and expectations. Their services, although high-quality and professional, differ in small but important aspects, even though they seemingly do the same thing. Our comparison will help you spot those differences between The Genealogist and 23andMe, allowing you to make an optimal and fully personalized choice.
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Highlights
The Genealogist is a genealogy-centered website operated by Genealogy Supplies (Jersey) Limited and partnered with Family Tree DNA in order to complement its service with ancestry DNA testing.
- Offers an extensive list of genealogical sources and data sets
- Family Tree DNA testing portfolio, staff, and processing lab
- Solid privacy & security policy and worldwide shipping
- Price: $142.43
- Shipping:
23andMe is one of the most popular direct-to-customer DNA testing services that provides users with extremely accurate health and ancestry screening options performed in top-of-the-line labs.
- 50+ ancestry estimates down to the 0.1% with 1,500+ regions
- 80+ health reports, FDA-cleared testing kit, raw data download
- CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited processing laboratories
- Price: $99.00
- Shipping:Worldwide (Not Available In All Countries)
Compare Features
Tests
Sample Collection Type
Genetic Markers Checked
Geographic Regions Covered
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Privacy and Security
Tests
23andMe offers the following ancestry DNA testing solutions:
- Ancestry Service
- Health + Ancestry Service
With Ancestry Service, you receive an overview of your ethnic percentages, ancestry timeline, haplogroups, and Neanderthal DNA percentage in your final report. If you opt for the second option, your final report will also include health-related results.
Sample Collection Type
Saliva
Genetic Markers Checked
570,000+
Geographic Regions Covered
150 Worldwide Regions
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
2,000,000
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
6-8 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Illumina OmniExpress
Privacy and Security
23andMe stores your personal info separately from your genetic material for complete anonymity. The company will never share or sell your personal or genetic info without your explicit consent. It will use your data for research purposes, however, as aggregated data cannot be used to positively identify you as an individual. To keep your connection with its website safe, 23andMe uses SSL technology and follows the latest security standards in the industry.
Compare Ratings
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience
Compare User Reviews
- Submitted By RLF on 09/21/2018I'm an American. I subscribed to the The Genealogist UK based on glowing online reviews like those found here. I'm truly baffled by the praise this website receives. The only resource that was of even marginal pertinence to me was the PCC wills. I was able to glean a few useful bits from those. But, other than that, I was disappointed by their other paltry offerings. For example, they will link to articles in books and journals, but those are already available for free through: Google Books, HathiTrust, and Archive.Org. Even their births, marriages and deaths are free at Familysearch. I was really hoping they would have wills and other local county records that simply can't be found outside of the UK. Another example: I learned through my research that the Hertfordshire Archives have wills that aren't covered by the PCC records or available in printed form or online. This is also true of most other English counties. There is a wealth of county probate information locked away in these records. These are the sort of records I need to see to do adequate research. This is what I was hoping to find at the Genealogist. If they do not offer these there's no point is spending my money here. One final point -- I think that there may be many researchers who, when they see what is offered here, go away with the impression that that is all there is. Nothing could be further from the truth.
- Submitted By Alex Miller on 12/28/2017Tell me if I'm missing something here but isn't family tree dna cheaper like a lot??
- Submitted By Indiana George on 11/18/2017I ordered from the Genealogist website, I get notification my fam. tree dna account is ready, my credit card says something else... What's going on here guys?!
- Submitted By Jean Patrick on 10/12/2017Great service! Took a while to get the final results but that didn't diminish the overall experience for me.
- Submitted By Annette Glendenning on 10/12/2019I first found this through the one and only Dr. Ben Lynch who specializes and is the pioneer in the study of our Methylation system. I got a wealth of information regarding my MTRR mutation and explains why my B12 was always so incredibly low. Also, I found a mutation in which 60% of Vitamin A can not be absorbed which answers the question of "why my eyes are deteriorating" and my skin doesn't heal very well. Lastly, I received an email letting me know that they added a new gene test called the APOE mutation which detects and rates Alzheimer's disease and its alleles. My mother passed from Alzheimer's and it's still alarming to me that I have APOE 4 and APOE3 alleles. YIKES! Time to be super Proactive in my diet and lifestyle. 23andme also couples with Ben Lynch with Stratagene, an amazingly easy to read break down of all your problematic SNPs. Thank you so very much for everything, I got everything I needed to know and more.
- Submitted By Sir Francis Baron Von Ross. on 03/19/2019After my stepfather passed away as he was the only father who I knew growing up I did the 23andme DNA to see if I had family or cousins on my real fathers side. I was shocked to learn I had so many people related to me. Everyone was so excited at first but then that faded very fast. Then I found 1st cousins and was great but then they did not bother to talk with me and realized I was not welcomed on my real fathers side. I am all by myself now since no one cares about me. It's a shame that people just don't care if they hurt a person. All I can say is you may be hurt by others but doing the 23andme DNA sure was great.
- Submitted By Walt Jenner on 01/16/2019I did the 23andme test and I found it simple to perform and easy to read the results. After submitting my saliva, it took about 4 weeks to process. I did this around the Christmas holiday, so they were perhaps running a little slower than they would during the summer. I didn't expect to see any "family secrets" revealed, so that wasn't a reason for me to take the test. However, my results DID reveal a family secret: my Aunt is my half-aunt. Whoops! So even if you don't expect to see family secrets, remember that you might reveal one. I wish the 23andme web site would pool "matching relatives" into groups so I can more easily determine which side of the family all the relative matches are from. Sure, it'd be easy if I had my entire family take the test, but many are deceased. And with a surprise half-aunt in the picture, I don't want to ask anyone.
- Submitted By Anna Bennett on 09/02/2018My daughter bought me this test and I was amazed (to say the least) to learn of my origins! It looks like I'm mostly from Europe. Fascinating!
Winner
The Genealogist is a website under the corporate umbrella of Genealogy Supplies (Jersey) Limited dedicated to genealogical research and complemented with ancestry DNA testing. The genetic piece of the puzzle is provided by none other than Family Tree DNA. Read more about this promising partnership in our in-depth review of The Genealogist and its services.