If you’ve been waiting to take a DNA test for ancestry until a great deal comes along, now may be the time. Whether you plan to test only yourself, or want to grab a few kits for family members, you’ll find low prices at every major testing company for the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. We’ve listed all of the current offers below so that you can easily compare. Most of these offers expire by Monday.
If you need more help choosing the best DNA test for you please read our detailed guide. And if you’re trying to make sense of your current results you might want to read Why You May Be Reading Your DNA Results All Wrong.
The discounts shown here have now expired but current deals can be found by following the links below.
Please know that we work with all of the following companies to bring you updates, help and special offers about their tests and will receive a commission if you buy a test through links on our site. This helps us support our work but does not influence our opinions or the information we share.
Prices below are in US dollars and the deals reflect those for US residents only. All deals end on 3/19/18 or the date stated below. After that time current deals can be found by following the links below since you will be brought to the main DNA sales page. Similar deals may be available for those in other countries so check out the sites for yourself.
Family Tree DNA has the lowest price right now at just $59 and their sale ends on 3/18. Their normal price is $79 so this is a nice savings. FTDNA is the oldest DNA testing company and well trusted. They offer a good ethnicity report, the most robust DNA analysis tools available for researchers (outside of GEDmatch) and an engaged database of users who are interested in genealogy.
MyHeritage is currently offering their DNA tests for $69. This company has fast become one of our favorite options for those wanting to combine DNA and family history research due to their genealogy-focused platform. They also recently launched a chromosome browser, an important tool for researchers. You can read about that here.
Ancestry has dropped the price of their DNA tests to $69 for now. With the largest database of people to match your DNA to, as well as a user-friendly ethnicity report and tools for integrating DNA and genealogy research, Ancestry is a good choice for many.
Second only to Ancestry in the size of their database, 23andMe offers a popular test. They have also made some recent improvements to the number of regions you are tested against as part of your ethnicity report. Despite this, matches may not be as engaged in exchanging genealogical information due to the large number of people who test for health (a product they also offer) and they do not offer many of advanced the tools family historians are looking for. Still, if you’re planning to test with all well-known companies, 23andMe should be on the list.
It’s important to remember that while we do recommend testing with as many companies as you can afford (because they each provide unique results and analysis tools that can help you make sense of your results) you can upload your DNA for free (or at a low cost) to both MyHeritage and FTDNA after you have already tested with another source.
Find out how to upload to MyHeritage for free here.
Find out how to upload to FTDNA for free (ethnicity report is $19) here.
And don’t forget to check out our detailed guide to DNA tests here if you need help deciding which to choose.