National Geographic Ancestry Test VS MyHeritage

UPDATED Mar. 2024
Table Of Contents+
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Ancestry DNA testing companies brought genetic genealogy to the general public. Although commercially available ancestry tests are all similar, the differences between them can make or break the entire experience for you. Our comparison between National Geographic Ancestry Test and MyHeritage will show you the right way to approach your ancestry examination, as well as crucial aspects to keep in mind. The best way to go about things here is defining, in layman's terms, what you're most interested about; what you want to discover about your genetic ancestry and potential historic relatives. With that information, the choice between National Geographic Ancestry Test and MyHeritage will be pretty evident.

National Geographic Ancestry Test
Next Gen Of Genographic DNA Testing
VS
MyHeritage
Interdisciplinary ancestry exploration

Highlights

National Geographic Ancestry Test
Genographic has introduced the next generation of its DNA test. The National Geographic Ancestry Test is vastly superior to its predecessor, offering a much more detailed insight into your DNA ancestry.
  • More than 800,000 participants in over 140 countries
  • 60 reference populations for a complete ancestral layout
  • Neanderthal DNA check and full autosomal, Y, and mt testing
  • Price: $149.95
  • Shipping:Worldwide
MyHeritage
MyHeritage offers ancestry DNA testing complemented by billions of genealogical records, allowing its users to get a complete picture of their genetic heritage and get in touch with unknown relatives.
  • Top-of-the-line sample processing facility/accurate results
  • Numerous features and subscription plans available to users
  • 45 million family trees, 3.9 billion profiles, 12.4 billion records
  • Price: $79.00
  • Shipping:Worldwide

Compare Features

National Geographic Ancestry Test
Tests
National Geographic offers one ancestry DNA test - Geno 2.0 Next Generation. The results will provide you with a comprehensive overview of your genetic ancestry, including maternal and paternal haplogroups, Neanderthal DNA percentages, and the migration routes of your ancient genetic relatives.
Sample Collection Type
Cheek Swab
Genetic Markers Checked
750,000
Geographic Regions Covered
60 Worldwide Regions
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
More Than 900,000
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
6-12 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Illumina Exome
Privacy and Security
National Geographic is a world-famous brand with a reputation to uphold. It features a rather strict privacy & security policy, which means your personal data is perfectly safe 100% of the time. National Geographic will never share, sell or lease your information to third parties.
MyHeritage
Tests
MyHeritage offers one ancestry DNA test - MyHeritage DNA Test; The test explores your autosomal and gender genes for a full overview of your ethnic percentages. If you subscribe to the company's services, you can complement your final results with billions of genealogical records in its database.
Sample Collection Type
Cheek Swab
Genetic Markers Checked
690,000
Geographic Regions Covered
Unknown
Ancestral Makeup Report
Paternal Lineage
Maternal Lineage
Neanderthal Percentage
Native American DNA Coverage
Jewish DNA Coverage
Cousin matching
Database Size
New, Still Growing
Family Tree Integration
Chromosome Browser
Health Report
Average Result Time
3-4 Weeks
Research Participation
Raw Data Upload
Raw Data Download
Technology
Illumina
Privacy and Security
MyHeritage collects only the information necessary to provide its services, process payments, and give you the optimal ancestry DNA testing experience. You can delete or modify your personal info as many times as you choose and MyHeritage will never share, sell or lease it unless required to do so by law.

Compare Ratings

National Geographic Ancestry Test
FINAL RATING
7.0/10
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience
MyHeritage
FINAL RATING
9.9/10
Scope Of DNA Test(s)
Test Processing Times
Privacy & Security
Value For Money
Overall Experience

Compare User Reviews

National Geographic Ancestry Test
  • Submitted By Arthur Starr on 04/27/2019
    This company needs major improvement. I have been waiting since February 2019 after I paid and send a saliva sample. I have not received results nor have i been able to access the site. I have spoken to numerous individuals who supposedly represent Helix and each time was promised that the problems would be taken care of. None of this has helped. I am not recognized on the site after resending my information many times. I would avoid this program and warn others to do the same. At this point I am wondering if this is a scam. I subscribe toNational Geographic and trusted that they were involved with this company. I would give them a zero for a rating if it were allowed.
  • Submitted By SZ on 09/03/2018
    I read some negative reviews online, and almost decided against buying the test. Fortunately, I changed my mind and did the test. I waited 10 weeks for my report to be ready and I learned a lot of things about my maternal and paternal ancestry. I was not disappointed and I recommend going with National Geographic if you want to find out more about your ancestors. The test is worth every penny, if you understand what you are getting out of it.
  • Submitted By Tanya on 08/13/2018
    I waited a long time to receive my results. While I was not disappointed with my report, I did expect a bit more from National Geographic.
  • Submitted By Cynthia on 07/30/2018
    I am utterly flabbergasted by this product. It has been a year since I submitted by samples and until now I have yet to receive my results. I wrote several emails and in the beginning the first reason was ‘some delays due to change of labs’ then when I asked again ‘delays due to IT issues of uploading results’ and then when I asked again recently it was met with silence and just simply no reply. I have now asked them for a refund but again no reply. I really recommend that you do not purchase this at all. It is really a very annoying situation and I regret getting this - they basically took the money and gave me nothing. Reading some of the reviews here make it sound like some people actually received results - how? Why did I not receive mine? It makes me so disappointed. Is there a board I can complain to formally? It really is a scam with the Nat Geo name ! If I could give zero I would but this system’s minimum is 1 star
MyHeritage
  • Submitted By Peter on 11/09/2019
    Unable to stop a subscription Be very careful with this company. The website is not that bad but once you want to stop your subscription it is very hard. They respond with an email but next year they just take money from your credit-card and keep your subscription. I have a bunch of emails where I confirmed that I really want to stop my subscription but again they took 189.01 euro. Be warned, do NEVER take a subscription at MyHeritage, they are scammers.
  • Submitted By E on 11/05/2019
    The worst! Our family took DNA tests as a group. After spending $$$, matches appeared on some of the family accounts and not on others. In other words, the match display were incomplete. (Obviously if you have a cousin who appears as a match on this site and every other DNA site, then you should appear as a match for them as well). MyHeritage support was a complete joke. Totally unhelpful, slow to respond, and moronic. Save your money and take literally any other DNA test!
  • Submitted By Antonina Starsinszky on 06/07/2019
    MyHeritage is great for family matches and such, but overly simplified in ethnicity. Mine showed I was 100% Eastern European only. That is very unlikely as I have never seen anyone else get 100%. Kinda cool, but not true. If you have more unique ancestry like tatar, udmurt, ossettian, or something like that it will brush over it and place it in a broad region. Good thing is you can upload your raw data to many other sites for free. !!!!! I uploaded to 5 others(get the most out of your money people) and they all showed diffirent variations of North Eastern slavic, Albanian, North European (disagreed if Im Scandinavian or British(from 12 to 24% so weird MyHeritage didnt catch it). GenePlaza were more spesific to put me as Norwegian, Scottish Argyll and Orkney for Northern Europe) and 4/5 of the others showed small percentage of Indian & South Asia! GenePlaza again traced it back to Gurjati indian which makes total sense knowing I have a great grand-parent of Romani(gypsy) decent. That site also placed me as Mordovian which is highly likely due to my geographical location. Generally yes its not wrong Im 100% ish eastern european. Since I am west Russian that could be similar to North Europe because of Viking influences in the past, and if Romani got lost in translation, but its such a boring result compared to what others give you. So I recommend MyHeritage only as a means to upload to other sites or for finding DNA matches only. They have great feutures for filtering relevant matches as well. + acsess to family tree if you pay.
  • Submitted By Marie Utley on 07/06/2019
    This is Marie, I love the time frame on our DNA test. To me they did a wonderful job, I was totally shocked by the results of where we was from. My daughter and I could not believe it. We really looked at each other and laughed, and it shocked us completely. But I believe it, and my son, we was "Totally" shocked about his DNA. They did a great job, and the price was justified as well. I will recommend them to the rest of my family members. Thank You! MyHeritage.com for doing a great job.

Winner

MyHeritage is a DNA testing provider founded in 2003 in Israel. It combines genetic research with genealogy, allowing its users to create family profiles, print family trees, share photos, perform DNA testing, perform MyHeritage DNA Health test, stay in touch with relatives, research family history, and much more. Read all about its services in our MyHeritage review.

* All the prices on this website are subject to change without notice. While we put a great deal of effort into making sure that all the prices are accurate, one or more products may have outdated prices. Please visit the specific product’s official website for exact prices.
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