23andMe Ancestry Service

23andme is one of the major DNA heritage companies. Their price is somewhat higher than other smaller companies and similar to their major competitor, but they provide the most value for money as your results will not tell you which population groups you're most related to but also your haplogroups. This is unique compared to other companies. Additionally, they are efficient and their presentation is pretty good though it does not include a nice video presentation like another competitor. Most importantly, the accuracy seems to be high as they managed to find my origins and trace it to specific regions which matches with my family tree. Please note however, that 23andme is an origins heritage company and NOT an ethnicity-heritage company. They will not tell you whether your DNA is similar to the DNA found specifically in certain ethnicities. Instead the results will tell you the proximity of your mix of genes to the mix of genes found in other reference populations! Therefore, the test might be unhelpful to people who live in areas where populations have historically mixed and who want to see their ethnic make-up. However, the good thing is that you can upload your 23andme raw DNA data to other DNA companies which specialize on telling you your ethnicity. You can do this for free too at the most major one (MyHeritage). As a result, 23andme provides the best value of money out there since you can get your origin, haplogroup and ethnicity. Finally, in terms of matching with other people, the website has a vast database and I found many relatives I had no idea about. Though you can expand this pool of people by uploading your raw dna data to other companies as the market is rather fragmented. So all in all, I am very happy with the results and helped be settle on my ethnicity. Highly recommended!

I got this while it was on sale (my son bought it for me as a Mothers Day gift) and it was at a great price. It was easy to use and to post. It was good quality and following the instructions my sample was very secure. The results were very surprising and accurate. I recieved more information than I expected. It was a great experience although the wait for the results took some time. Two months after sending off my sample I received the results.

Results took awhile but they do warn you about that. I'm very happy with my results and the service for the most part has been good. However the app does like to randomly stop working before starting up again a few minutes later. And if you want more info into your results you need to pay a monthly subscription. I wouldn't mind but it's a lil pricey on top of the fact we paid a fair bit for the test itself. And the info they do give you with the test (without monthly subscription) is a little on broad side.

Very impressed!!! I was not sure at first what results would come up but I was very pleased to find my long lost half sister. We have searched for her for many years and as soon as I saw her name come up I connected with her online and we are getting to know each other. I am very impressed to find and learn all about the other people that are linked to my family. The reports and all the information are easy to read and understand and I am looking at upgrading. Also, I was tracking the kit all the way and during the time when there were any delays due to Covid or weather in the USA, I contacted the 23andMe team and they responded back to me within one day with the information. The only sad part of this journey is that my Dad passed away 2 weeks before I got the results and he would have loved to have met his daughter, however, we are honouring his wishes and will ensure my sister is made to feel part of our family x

I have initially received a test kit as a gift for my birthday. I was really impressed that the results could actually pinpoint the regions where my grandparents were born. I didn’t even know about one of them, until I askedmy mother about it, and she confirmed that my grandfather was indeed born there. Same with relatives. Not many in my family has done the test, but it did show me a first cousin, asked my mother again about that, turns out it her cousin (my first cousin once removed). I was so happy with the test, I bought one for my boyfriend for his birthday as he was so jealous about all the cool information I found out about myself. I must add that the trait analysis wasn’t very accurate, but that wasn’t the information I wanted to find out(I already know what colour my hair is, or if I’m right handed), but my ancestry in which I trust 100%.

I purchased two kits in early October 2025, one for me and one for my elderly father. Both kits were registered with 23andMe. After two months hanging around through their drawn-out process, I was informed by 23andMe that they had been unsuccessful in getting the lab results for both kits. 23andMe offered replacement kits, which were set out for us, and we had to re-register. Two months later, on 12th Feb, I was informed that my father's test was unsuccessful and was offered a refund. However, when 23andMe found that I had purchased the kit through Amazon, they declined to issue a refund for the failed kit and advised me to contact the seller (Amazon). When I went back to Amazon, it was clear I would not get a refund, as I had gone beyond their 30-day refund time limit, and I was referred back to 23andMe through the Amazon portal. Moreover, 23andMe appeared unable to communicate through the portal, and when I went directly to them, I was again brushed off by their stock AI customer service response; namely, go back to Amazon for a refund or to my bank. I purchased via a debit card, so that route is closed. In the meantime, my second kit, which I re-registered in early December, is still awaiting processing by 23andMe!! Therefore, if you are thinking of purchasing a 23andMe kit on Amazon, I would recommend you reconsider, as you may not receive any results or a refund. Go directly to their site and use a credit card. Also, prepare for a very long wait and the possibility of failure. Personally, I would not recommend them. I love Amazon, but I also feel let down by the organisation, as a lot of money has been lost. It just feels like Amazon and 23andMe have a convenient, profitable little arrangement going, which puts the consumer at a certain disadvantage. It feels like a scam. I can't put it in any other way.

Couldn’t recommend more

I made a mess of spitting into the tube the first time, leading to an inconclusive set of DNA results - the company sent me a second pack free of charge, which was greatly appreciated. The results came through quicker than expected (about 4 weeks) - but the results weren't very exciting; they were able to tell me about the last 4 generations in terms of origins - which were 100% European, and mostly Anglo-Irish (the results were 'British and Irish' 69.2%, 'French and German' 19%, 'Broadly NW European' 11.6%, and 'Broadly European' 0.2%) - see picture. I didn't have many relatives matched, and those that were, were 4th or 5th cousins. DNA matches numbers just over 1000 - this is because 23 and Me get most of their customers from the USA - there are not many at all from the UK. There wasn't really much for me to read - about 30 minutes' worth really. One plus point is that they let you download your raw DNA data file so that you can use it on various other sites for free. It's a 3.5 star experience really - just above 'meh', but below 'gosh' by quite a distance. Edit 25/03/19: Having uploaded the raw DNA data file onto the My Heritage site (for free), I got an email with 4400 DNA matches (roughly four times as many as 23andMe) from their database - these are, like 23andMe, also distant relatives (3rd to 5th cousins), and some of them have researched large family trees; I have the option to contact them, and I would imagine that they have the option to contact me, too. The catch? I have to pay to contact them. Nevertheless, this is an interesting development. I should add that 23andMe lets me contact the matches it highlights via the website and app without further payment. However, these relatives are so distant that I won't be doing so. I paid another £34 to see the DNA analysis from MyHeritage - they estimate my 'English' content as 91.9%, and 'Irish' at 4.2%. Unlike the 23andMe results, they include no 'French and German' but have 'Scandinavian' instead, although at a much smaller 3.9%. This might be explained by ancient Northern Germanic migration. They use different algorithms, which explains some of the differences. After all this, I'm more confused than ever; if you're trying to trace your lineage, perhaps MyHeritage is better for UK users, although they do seem to require you to subscribe to their website and database to get full access to their services. Edit 26/03/19: you can find where to upload your DNA files by searching 'free DNA upload' on your Internet search engine.

Sample needed to be sent to the UK, while it was bought in the UAE