The Best DNA Testing Kits

Monday, October 14th

2024 DNA Testing Kit Reviews

23 and Me

• Two packages: Ancestry + Traits or Ancestry + Health
• Extensive information included in the Health reports, including traits, genetic predispositions, and likely reactions/interactions with certain medications
• Over 10 million people in its DNA network
• Easy to create a family tree with both packages
• $29/year membership for ongoing updates, exclusive health reports and more (one year included for free with Ancestry + Health kit)
• "A” rated by the BBB

23andMe should be your first choice if you want detailed information about your health and ancestry in one simple package. Founded in 2006, this was the first company to offer autosomal DNA testing: exactly what all of today's major services now use.

Ancestry + Traits for $99

You've got two DNA testing options with 23andMe. Their more basic kit is the Ancestry + Traits service. For $99, you'll get 80+ reports on various ways your DNA impacts your features, from your senses of taste and smell to your facial structure. On the ancestry side, you'll see your genetic makeup among more than 2,000 regions in the world; some results get as specific as the county in which your ancestors lived. You'll also get an ancestry timeline showing more than eight generations back. If you opt in to sharing your profile with DNA Relatives, you can connect with all of your matches. 23andMe will even build your family tree based on your DNA test.

Health + Ancestry for $199

23andMe's more extensive DNA testing kit - and their most popular - is the Health + Ancestry Service for $199. Not only will you get all the features of the Ancestry + Traits kit, but you'll get a deep dive into your genetic profile and how it might impact your overall wellness. There are more than 150 reports included in this package, from BRCA1/BRCA2 and celiac disease to carrier status and pharmacogenetics. You'll have a hard time finding another DNA test provider that gives you this level of depth in your health profile and such robust ancestry features too.

Affordable yearly membership for ongoing updates

This company regularly updates its clients with new information as it comes in, without making them retest or do anything extra. For example, in a nine-month span, 23andMe added Citalopram and Clopidogrel medication insights, HDL cholesterol, and melanoma to their reports. But, to maintain access to these releases, you'll need to pay for a membership. The first year is included with your Health + Ancestry Service purchase, and subsequent years are just $29.

Costs

• $99 for the Ancestry + Traits service
• $199 for the Health + Ancestry service
• $198 for Health + Ancestry + one-year membership ($29 value)
• Shipping fees of $9.95 for the first kit and $5 for every additional kit

Look for discounts and free shipping offers

At the time of this review, there was a pop-up offering free shipping on DNA testing kits if we signed up for 23andMe's news and special offers email list. We also spotted a promotion at the top of the site: buy one kit, get 10% off on each additional kit. That's not the most impressive discount we've seen, but it's better than nothing.

Excellent reputation overall

How about reputation? Generally speaking, this is a DNA test kit service whose results you can trust. Always keeping in mind that DNA testing is a work in progress, most people find that these tests are accurate - both for health and for ancestry. More than 2,000 customers have given 23andMe a perfect five-star rating, and the Better Business Bureau rates this company with an "A” grade. We found more than a few complaints, but almost every single one of them brought up problems with shipping (missing or delayed packages both to the customer and to the processing facility with the sample) or excessively long timeframes for running the sample and providing results. Very few people have anything negative to say about the results once they receive them.

Best choice for health + heritage DNA tests

Most DNA testing kits make you choose between learning about your ancestry or your genetic health profile, but 23andMe gives you a wealth of information about both with one simple, affordable test. You'll only have to watch one or two of the customer stories on the site to see just how valuable the results of these tests can be, from revealing health conditions of adoptees who don't know anything about their birth families' medical history to taking proactive steps to prevent disease. And, of course, there are all of the fun and amazing stories to discover when connecting with your relatives through your ancestry profile. Once again, 23andMe earns our highest recommendation among providers of DNA tests.

Ancestry

• Best service for tracing your family tree
• Choose ancestry-only or ancestry plus traits testing
• No membership required to build a family tree and connect with your DNA matches
• Over 18 million people in its DNA network
• Database of more than 30 billion historical records and user-created family trees
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB

Is there a bigger name in DNA testing than Ancestry? Not if you're looking to find out more about your heritage and connect with living relatives. People these days are fascinated by the idea of knowing where they come from, and you may have seen Ancestry's commercials with individuals who thought their great-great-grandparents were from one part of the world - only to find out through their DNA that they were from somewhere else. With over 18 million people who have taken DNA tests through Ancestry, this service gives you the highest chance of connecting with a living relative and figuring out your family tree.

Choose to test for ancestry or ancestry-and-traits

There are two DNA testing kit options here: DNA and DNA + Traits. Both kits will allow you to see your ethnicity breakdown, make a family tree, and connect with relatives (assuming you make your results viewable by DNA matches, and your relatives do as well). Ancestry used to offer a health component that assessed one's risk for some hereditary disorders and diseases, but that service was discontinued in January 2021. Now, for an extra $10, you can get the Traits feature that looks at 35+ of your personal traits at the gene level, from the likelihood that you're lactose intolerant to how well your heart rate recovers after exercise.

Wait for a promotion to save 40% or more

If you're buying more than one AncestryDNA kit, you'll pay $99 for the first one and $89 for any additional kits. You don't get that same discount if you're ordering the DNA + Traits service, however (which is regularly priced at $109). Your easiest way to save money on an Ancestry DNA test is by waiting for a seasonal promotion: during the December gift-giving season, Mother's Day, and Father's Day, you may see prices go as low as $59 per kit (and sometimes even lower than that). Those discounts usually do apply to the Ancestry + Traits test too.

Your profile will update over time - at no extra charge

There's lots to love about Ancestry's DNA testing. One terrific perk is that your ethnicity percentages (and traits if you purchased that add-on) will automatically update as more research is completed. For example, we did our DNA test several years ago but in the week we did this most recent review of Ancestry, we got an email with a new trait: likelihood to remember dreams. It gave us a solid explanation of other factors that might influence that, like being awakened frequently by children or pets, but we found our genetic "prediction” to be spot on. And, with respect to ethnicity, Ancestry is constantly refining their algorithms; over the years, we've seen our percentages shift and get much more granular - and more accurate, when we compare our DNA-matched locations with our documents and other research.

Use source documents to confirm your data

Speaking of documents and research, Ancestry has over 30 billion records (and counting) ranging from census documents to draft registration forms and much, much more. As you put information in your family tree, you'll start to see hints (indicated by a little green leaf) of records and other family trees that Ancestry thinks are a match for the people you've entered. When you pay for a subscription - monthly and annual plans are available - you'll be able to see those records, compare them with the info you have, and add them to the person's profile. You won't lose the documentation of those sources if you cancel your subscription, but you won't be able to view the documents themselves.

Costs

• $99 for AncestryDNA
• $119 for AncestryDNA + Traits
• Shipping fees of $9.95 for the first kit and $4.95 for every additional kit

ThruLines can help you figure out your tree

Another feature of Ancestry's DNA tests and family trees that's a game-changer is called ThruLines. Assuming you've created your tree and made it shareable, ThruLines can show you how you're related to your DNA matches who have also built a family tree. If there are gaps - in your tree or theirs - it'll even show you what it calculates is the relationship and show you which ancestors might be the missing ones.

Extremely accurate DNA test

In our personal experience, Ancestry's DNA tests are very accurate. Without providing any information they could use to identify her as such, they matched us with our mother (whew!). You'll see a suggested relationship connection for every DNA match, like "Close Family” or "2nd-3rd cousin”. When you recognize a match, you can go in and tell Ancestry which label applies. For example, we have matches that initially came through as "2nd-3rd cousin” that did indeed turn out to be related at that level, but some are more complicated relationships like "half first cousin once removed”. You'll find those "extra” relationships in a dropdown list, and Ancestry will even tell you the percentage of likelihood that someone who shares that amount of DNA with you will be related to you in that way. (It sounds confusing, but it makes sense as you get into it.)

#1 choice for ancestry-focused DNA testing

It's easy to see why Ancestry continues to be our #1 recommended DNA testing provider for people who want to look at, well, their ancestry. Results are robust and updated frequently, the family tree feature is really intuitive, and with frequent sales this is often one of the best values for the money. Even the Better Business Bureau gives Ancestry an "A+” rating and accreditation. If your focus is on heritage and not so much on health, Ancestry will be your best bet among DNA testing kits.

My Heritage

• Over 5 million people in its DNA network
• 18.2 billion historical records
• 102 million users worldwide
• Ancestry results only, compared with 2,114 geographic regions worldwide
• Can upload data from other services
• Create family trees that can help you connect with your DNA matches
• "A” rated and accredited by the BBB
• In operation for 20+ years

Over the last 20+ years, MyHeritage has helped over 102 million users worldwide to discover their ethnic origins and connect with family members. Strictly focused on genealogical research, the company offers DNA testing in conjunction with a family tree-building platform and billions of historical records (like census lists and newspaper articles).

Solid choice for ancestry-focused DNA testing

MyHeritage lands among the top three DNA testing kits in our review. Although it's got a smaller DNA database (5.9 million individuals and counting) than our first two picks, it's still a fantastic resource for learning more about your heritage and possibly connecting with relatives around the world. You'll pay just $89 for the test, which will compare your sample to 42 ethnicities and 2114 geographic regions around the globe.

Memberships are extra - and not always necessary

Watch which button you click, though: one is just for the DNA kit, and the other is both the kit and a 30-day free trial of their Complete membership. The site doesn't come out and tell you in quite so many words that you'll need a subscription to get full access to all of their tools and features. These subscriptions include the following:

• The PremiumPlus plan for your family tree
• The Data plan for access to all historical records
• The Complete plan, which combines the features of both plans

We're not going to lie, those get spendy: $149 in the first year and $299/yearly thereafter for the Complete, $129/$189 for Data, and $149/$209 for the Premium Plus. If you don't cancel before your 30 days are up, you'll automatically be charged $149 for a year of Complete. We recommend getting started just with the free basic MyHeritage account first, and then decide if it's worth it to add a subscription - especially since you have to pay on an annual basis.

Innovative photo tools

We do want to highlight the fact that MyHeritage has some incredible photo tools that are available when you have a paid membership. Take an old black-and-white photo and use the Enhance, Colorize, and/or Animate tools to get an idea of what your ancestors might have looked like in living color. You can go a step further and use the DeepStory tool: named after the concept of "deepfakes”, you enter a story for the person in your photo to narrate about their life, their history, and anything else you choose (in our opinion, it's a little uncanny valley but you might love it.)

Costs

• $89 per kit
• $5 shipping
• Extra fees for annual subscriptions, ranging from $129 to $299 per year

Good reputation, smaller-than-average database of DNA-tested individuals

Do most people think their MyHeritage DNA testing kit is worth the money? The Better Business Bureau gives the company an "A” rating and accreditation, so no big worries about their overall reputation. Most of the complaints we spotted were directly related to those "surprise” membership charges, even though they're pretty clearly spelled out on the site. As far as the actual ancestry results and DNA matches go, MyHeritage is good but not the absolute best (especially when you compare a database of 5 million individuals with Ancestry's 18 million-plus).

Solid option for ancestry DNA testing and family tree tools

At the end of the day, MyHeritage is affordable and well-respected in the genealogy industry, and you should have no problem setting up a family tree and connecting with your DNA matches. You'll need a different DNA testing kit if you want health and wellness insights, but overall MyHeritage is a good place to start if you prefer not to use one of our top two companies for some reason.

myDNA

• Health and wellness-focused DNA testing
• Get personalized nutrition, exercise, and habit recommendations based on your genetic profile
• Monthly membership required to get ongoing insights and new content: $12.95/month or $23.85/quarterly
• All results delivered to the myDNA Unlocked app

myDNA is an Australian company that prioritizes health and wellness through DNA testing. As its cofounder put it, "We seek knowledge which people can act on now, which will make a difference now, not at some arbitrary time in the future.” With one simple test, you can get a wealth of information about how you should eat, exercise, rest and more - all based on your unique genetic profile. myDNA is your fitness app and DNA test all in one.

Genetic insights for health and wellness

It's pretty impressive what you'll get with your $99 DNA testing kit from myDNA. Your insights will give you an action plan in these categories:

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Caffeine
• Skin
• B Vitamins
• Heart Health
• Bone Health
• Iron
• Sleep Routine

Get your results plus meal/workout plans via app

All results are delivered via the myDNA Unlocked app, so you'll need to have a smartphone to use this service (there's no PDF, online dashboard, or other format for getting your DNA test results). Within that app, you can access meal and workout plans customized to your genetic profile. It's like having a nutritionist and personal trainer on hand whenever you wish.

Affordable monthly and quarterly memberships

To have ongoing access to your meal and workout plans, as well as any new content, you'll need to pay for a monthly membership. The first 30 days are included with your kit fee, but then it's $7.95 per month or $23.85 per quarter. Considering that most meal/fitness apps cost at least that much and aren't customized to your genetic information, that's a pretty decent price. You can cancel your membership at any time and still have access to your DNA results and insights, too.

Costs

• $99 for myDNA Personalized Wellness Test Kit
• Membership required to receive ongoing guidance ($12.95/month or $23.85/quarter)

No ancestry testing available

The biggest gap here is DNA testing for ancestry. You'll get no information about where your relatives came from, no connections with long-lost cousins, or other family information. But, if that's not where your interests lie and you're looking for genetic testing specific to health, that's not something that will keep you from using myDNA's services.

Most users recommend this service

We weren't able to find a Better Business Bureau listing for myDNA, probably because the company is based in Australia (though they also own a large DNA processing lab in the US). Looking elsewhere, we didn't find a ton of client feedback - just over 100 reviews - but about 85% of them give this service a 4- or 5-star rating. While some people would like to see myDNA add greater flexibility to the meal plan capabilities (like being able to select specific meals or get recommendations based on ingredients in the pantry), most users are very pleased with the changes in their health when following myDNA's gene-based recommendations.

Terrific choice for health-only DNA testing

myDNA gets high marks for affordability and convenience, packaging many different insights into a single test - where many of their rivals make you pay for several kits to get the same information. You'll need to shop somewhere else if you're looking for ancestry connections, but this is an excellent choice if your main goal is to improve your health and wellness based on your genetics.

Family Tree DNA

• Tests available for family, paternal and maternal ancestry, along with DNA wellness insights
• 2 million people in the DNA network
• Upload your raw DNA data from three other services to get matches here
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB

Family Tree DNA is owned by parent company Gene by Gene and is based in Texas. Created in 2000, this service was one of the first to offer direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits.

New partnership with myDNA

There was a huge sale going on when we visited the Family Tree DNA site most recently. The biggest "score” was the Family Ancestry + myDNA Wellness kit for just $59. You may already have seen that myDNA is one of our favorite picks for getting gene-customized diet and fitness recommendations, and their service alone is regularly priced at $99. Why not get everything they have to offer PLUS your ancestry results - for $40 less? You can read more in our myDNA review to see how that part of the service works (and pay close attention to the monthly membership component).

Several tests focused on ancestry alone

Not looking for health and wellness info? No problem. Family Tree DNA also has several ancestry-only options:

• Family Ancestry: normally priced at $79, this kit was on sale for $49 at the time of this review. You can connect with up to five generations of relatives (up through fourth cousins) among the 2+ million people in the Family Tree DNA database. Their newest enhancement is ancientOrigins, which will compare your DNA with samples found on archeological dig sites throughout Europe.
• Paternal Ancestry: on sale for $99 and typically priced at $119, this test is available for biological males who want to explore their paternal line, connect with relatives in their Y-DNA database, trace their surname to its roots, and follow the migration paths of male ancestors.
• Maternal Ancestry: for $159 (not on sale at the time of this evaluation), you can see your maternal-line relatives and explore your female ancestors' migration paths.

You can also transfer your data from AncestryDNA, 23andMe or MyHeritage to Family Tree DNA and get your matches at no cost.

Smaller DNA database, no family tree tool

How many matches might you find here? This is one of the smaller testing databases among the ancestry-based DNA services we evaluated, with just two million people included so far. Also, despite the name, Family Tree DNA doesn't have a tree-building function and you'd need to use a different platform if you're trying to create and research your family tree.

Costs

• $79 for Family Ancestry kit
• $119 for Family Ancestry + myDNA Wellness kit
• $119 for Paternal Ancestry kit
• $159 for Maternal Ancestry kit
• $9.95 shipping fee on the first kit, $4.95 for every additional kit

Customer reviews aren't always positive

The Better Business Bureau gives Family Tree DNA their highest rating and accreditation, so we're not overly concerned about how the company handles problems or operates in general. Customer reviews are a little less consistent: in some places, they average less than 2 out of 5 stars, while in others the average skyrockets to 4.2 out of 5. In all of those places, though, the recent feedback is almost entirely negative. Clients report that tests take months to return results, that information is vague or inaccurate, and that customer service is hard to work with.

Some room for improvement

We give Family Tree DNA a slight bump in our ratings over their last evaluation here, almost entirely because it may give you a way to access the health and wellness features of a higher-rated service for less money. But, if you're primarily interested in DNA test kits for exploring your ancestry, you'll almost certainly get more accurate and detailed reports from a different provider.

Living DNA

• Two DNA testing kits: Ancestry and Ancestry & Wellbeing
• Upload your DNA from 23andMe, Ancestry, or MyHeritage for free
• More details than most tests for people with heritage in the British Isles and Africa

Originally launched in 2004 as DNA Worldwide, Living DNA now provides some of the most detailed ancestry breakdowns on the market: up to five times the detail on African ancestry and eight times more detail within the British Isles.

Save with a promotional sale

At the time of our most recent visit to the Living DNA site, there was a seasonal sale offering up to 20% off on all test kits. That brought the DNA Ancestry Kit down from $99 to $79 and the DNA Ancestry & Wellbeing Kit down from $179 to $149.

Not many people test their DNA here

What will you get with each kit? The ancestry part of the service may give you sub-regional insights that aren't available with other popular DNA testing kits, especially if you have ancestors from Africa or the British Isles. We wish that Living DNA showed more examples of their interface, sample reports, or some other way to get a clearer idea of the results that come from their tests. In theory, you can also connect with genetic matches from around the world; this company doesn't come out and say how many people are in their database, but we saw numbers that indicate it may be as low as 50,000. That's a really small number compared with the millions of DNA-tested database members of rival DNA testing providers.

Health-focused DNA testing and recommendations also available

What will you get with each kit? The ancestry part of the service may give you sub-regional insights that aren't available with other popular DNA testing kits, especially if you have ancestors from Africa or the British Isles. We wish that Living DNA showed more examples of their interface, sample reports, or some other way to get a clearer idea of the results that come from their tests. In theory, you can also connect with genetic matches from around the world; this company doesn't come out and say how many people are in their database, but we saw numbers that indicate it may be as low as 50,000. That's a really small number compared with the millions of DNA-tested database members of rival DNA testing providers.

Costs

• $99 for DNA Ancestry kit
• $179 for DNA Ancestry + Wellbeing kit
• $9.95 shipping fee

Generally positive reputation

We weren't surprised that Living DNA was listed as "Not Rated” by the Better Business Bureau - after all, the company is based in the UK. Fortunately, customer feedback elsewhere is easy to find and is generally positive and enthusiastic, especially in more recent months. (In the past, some users were disappointed with the service, mostly in comparison with other big-name DNA testing companies, but many clients now say that Living DNA stacks up quite nicely against even the most well-known services.)

Not the worst, but not the best

Unfortunately, that's still not enough to boost this DNA testing kit higher in our rankings. Prices here are higher than average: you can very likely get the same level of detail (or greater) from a competitor for less. There's nothing so over-the-top amazing about what Living DNA offers to justify a higher price tag, and if you're hoping to make big connections with distant cousins, their database isn't broad enough for you to find many meaningful connections. This isn't necessarily a DNA test to avoid, but we recommend using it only if you don't find what you need with one of our higher-rated services.

Home DNA

• Six different types of DNA testing kits
• Some tests may pinpoint the exact town of your ancestors
• Free shipping on all orders
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB

Home DNA makes at-home genetic testing easy, accessible and affordable. The company has been around for the better part of a decade and processes all samples at their own laboratory.

Many different DNA tests on offer

There are several different DNA testing kits to consider with Home DNA, all of which come with free shipping:

• $39 for the GPS Origins Algorithm: you'll upload your raw data from another DNA testing service and get Home DNA's analysis. But, we're not sure how useful this feature is; there was a disclaimer saying that they couldn't take 23andMe Version 5 (or later) or Family Tree DNA versions after November 2018. Plus, other platforms offer this service at no charge.
• $69 for the Starter Ancestry Test: this kit only gives you a rough estimate of your percentages from four world regions (Europe, Indigenous American, East Asian, Sub-Saharan Africa) in your ancestral past, plus which population groups in the present have the same DNA as you. That's a little more info than this test used to give, but still offers much less than rival DNA testing companies provide for the same price (or less). You should view the sample report before choosing this kit, so you'll see just how little you'll learn from your results.
• $124 for the Advanced Ancestry Test: this kit is only available for sale through retail locations and not on the Home DNA website.
• $69 for the DNA Origins Maternal or Paternal Lineage: if you want to look specifically at either your mom's or dad's side, Home DNA has two tests for that. For the average person just looking into their ancestry, this could be a little too complex (do you know what a haplogroup is?), but check out the sample reports to get an idea of the kind of information these tests provide.
• $199 for the GPS Origins Ancestry Test (standard, Asian, or African editions): Home DNA's most in-depth DNA testing kit tests more than 80,000 unique genetic markers to compare against more than 1,000 reference populations and 41 gene pools. It may even be able to pinpoint the town or village where your ancestors met. Again, take a look at the report examples to learn more about this test's results.

Tests available to pinpoint African or Asian heritage

We appreciate that Home DNA offers Origins tests specifically for people of African and Asian descent, making it possible to see even the town or city one's ancestors lived in. But, unless you have 100% "pure” lineage in Africa or Asia, it's hard to know which test to choose here. What if your mom is from Senegal and your dad is from South Korea?

Unclear which test to choose

Overall, it's confusing to figure out which DNA Origins test you'll need if you've got mixed ethnicity in your background. Even reading through Home DNA's explanation in the FAQ didn't clear it up: "the test works best for people with DNA from no more than two different places; that is to say, people whose parents are from different places but are not themselves mixed.” Does Spain and Portugal count as "two different places”? How about Germany and Austria? They continue to not-so-helpfully explain that "for people with more mixing, say, four grandparents from various places across the globe, the test will report the midpoint between the four places.” Okay, then!

Costs

• $69 for the Starter Ancestry Test
• $69 for DNA Origins Maternal or Paternal Lineage Test
• $124 for Advanced Ancestry Test (retail purchase only)
• $199 for GPS Origins Ancestry Test
• $39 for GPS Origins Algorithm (with raw data from another DNA test service)

No ancestry + health combo tests available

Missing from all of Home DNA's ancestry tests are the ability to connect with relatives and genetic insights into your health and wellness. The former isn't provided at all, while the latter can be accessed through a separate category on the site, Health & Beauty. But, even there, you'll only be able to choose among four tests: Food & Pet Sensitivity, Healthy Weight, Skin Care, and Paternity (?!).

Mixed feedback

The Better Business Bureau thinks highly of this company, giving it an "A+” rating and accreditation. Good to see, because customer feedback in other places is lukewarm at best. This is definitely not one of the bigger players in the DNA testing kit industry, and many people who have used rival services say that the results here are very generic, vague, and sometimes inaccurate (when compared with other tests and documented ancestry).

Not terrible, but many better options exist

Home DNA is spared a lower ranking because of their reputation with the BBB. We also think it's a plus to be able to focus on Asian and African ancestry. However, you'd have to pay for several different kits here (at no small cost) to maybe get the same results offered by more all-inclusive competitor DNA tests. Most people should start with a higher-ranked company instead of investing in a Home DNA testing kit.

Dynamic DNA Labs

• 6 different DNA tests to choose from: one for ancestry and five for health
• All samples processed in-house and not sent to a third party

Dynamic DNA Labs is based in Springfield, Missouri. The company offers six different DNA testing kits, with one focused on ancestry and the rest on health and wellness. All testing is done in-house by a team with over 35 years of experience in research, testing, pathology, and crime laboratories (!).

Many different DNA testing options

Here's what you can expect from the DNA testing kits sold by Dynamic DNA Labs:

• Ancestry ($99): analyzes your maternal, autosomal, and paternal (if you're male) lineage. There's not much disclosed about what your report might look like, and there's no way to connect with relatives here.
• Skin ($99): includes 25 genetic traits that affect your skin. Your results will come with personalized treatment recommendations for a healthier skincare routine.
• Personality ($99): analyzes 30 genetic traits related to mood, behavior, character and personality. You can learn more about how your DNA affects how you think and act.
• Cannabis ($129): learn about your body's ability to metabolize CBD and THC, any potential side effects that your genetics might influence, and get guidelines for dosing and product selection.
• Fitness ($129): 31 genetic traits are identified with this test to determine how your body responds to exercise. Based on your results, you'll get a personalized fitness routine for weight loss, competition, or any other fitness goals you have.
• Nutrition ($129): this is Dynamic DNA Labs' most popular test. It analyzes 43 genetic traits related to eating behaviors, nutritional needs, diet and more. You'll get a report with actionable results and custom meal plans based on your DNA.

You might get a discount

The last time we visited the Dynamic DNA Labs website, we got a pop-up discount offering us $25 off any test. Usually these kinds of discounts require you to sign up for an email newsletter, but this one just applied the savings directly to our cart at checkout. Yay!

Not much customer feedback

We couldn't find a Better Business Bureau listing for Dynamic DNA Labs. That's not a big deal, but it would have helped us get a better idea of this company's reputation. From what we found in client reviews elsewhere, people aren't overly thrilled with the information they get from their Dynamic DNA Labs' tests, averaging just 3.5 stars out of 5 over a handful of customer reviews.

Costs

• Prices range from $99 to $129, depending on the test selected

Results tend to be disappointing

This is particularly true of the ancestry DNA testing: clients say that their results are much more generic than what they get from rival DNA testing kits. Another frequent complaint is that the health-specific tests seem like a fancy way to sell vitamins - that the results are more geared towards being another money-maker for Dynamic DNA Labs and not as much on gene-based recommendations for actions you can take on your own.

Can't compete with rival DNA testing services

At the end of the day, we have a hard time seeing why anyone would choose these DNA tests over the all-in-one, ancestry + health kits offered by rival brands. While we like the idea of getting customized meal plans and workouts based on our genetics, it's not quite enough to earn Dynamic DNA Labs a higher rating from us. You'll get more detailed results with another provider - and you can always ask your personal trainer and/or physician for help with your nutrition and fitness goals.

American Screening Corporation

• DNA testing available for Paternity, Grandparent, Twin (Identical or Fraternal), Siblingship
• Prices range from $28.49 to $213.75
• In business for over 15 years

American Screening Corporation, or ASC, got its start in 2004 with a mission to provide quality drug and alcohol testing products. Their services expanded to include DNA testing, though you'll quickly see that those kits aren't really the focus of this business.

No ancestry or health DNA testing here

This is definitely not a service you'll use for any kind of deep dive into your ancestral background. The DNA testing kits here only go as far back as grandparents, and you'll need to purchase separate tests for each relationship you want to verify (such as sibling, father, twin). There's also no option for DNA screening for health purposes: no traits, genetic markers, predispositions, and so forth.

Plenty of ways to document paternity

But, if you're trying to obtain legal proof of paternity, ASC could be an option. Alleged father not willing to get tested? No problem: that's where grandparent and avuncular (aunt/uncle) tests come in. Just read the description of each test to find out how it works, and keep in mind that tests on anyone other than the father are going to offer a relationship likelihood percentage and not a direct confirmation of relatedness.

Limited in-stock availability

Prices here are all over the place. You can get a Reveal DNA Paternity Test for just $28.49, but a Grandparent Test is a whopping $213.75. That is, of course, if the test you want is actually in stock. At the time of our most recent visit to the ASC site, there were 16 tests listed - and only five that were in stock. Some of those could be ordered online, while others were designated as "call to order” items.

Costs

• Prices range from $28.49 to $213.75 depending on the test selected
• Shipping fees start at $9

Some complaints filed with the BBB

When we looked up American Screening Corporation's listing with the Better Business Bureau most recently, the company had been given a "Not Rated” status: the BBB was investigating a pattern of complaints before issuing a new grade for ASC. There weren't a ton of them filed there - just seven in the year leading up to this review - but they all seemed to center around late orders and issues with billing/refunds.

Okay for paternity tests and not much else

American Screening Corporation isn't a bad DNA testing kit provider. There aren't many complaints filed with the BBB, and the company offers a decent range of testing types for those who are trying to determine parentage. However, the site could use a lot of updating, their inventory was pretty lacking, and this service just isn't going to offer the kind of information most people are thinking of when shopping for a DNA test. ASC earns a low ranking among companies selling DNA testing kits.

Nebula Genomics

• Decodes 100% of your DNA
• Full mtDNA and Y-DNA sequencing
• High priority on maintaining your privacy
• Three tests to choose from

Did you know that most DNA testing kits only analyze less than 1% of your DNA? If you want to have 100% of your DNA decoded, your only option may be Nebula Genomics. Featured in the MIT Technology Review, on CNBC, in WIRED Magazine and more, this company can tell you about your ancestry, genetic mutations, oral microbiome, and much, much more.

Most expensive DNA tests in our review

As you might expect with such an in-depth DNA testing kit, your costs here will be much higher than with Nebula Genomics' rivals:

• Standard: Regularly-priced at $299 but on sale for $99 at the time of our most recent visit, this test gives you a basic ancestry report and detects common predispositions. It does not decode all 20,000 genes, identify genetic mutations, or go beyond a DNA sequencing depth of 0.4x.
• Deep: Regularly-priced at $999 but sale priced at $299, this kit gives you a DNA sequencing depth of 30x (generating over 100 GB of DNA data), deep ancestry reports based on both Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA, decodes all 20,000 genes, identifies genetic mutations, and comes with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ultra Deep: Regularly-priced at $2999 and sale priced at $999, this is the most in-depth DNA testing kit here. This test is recommended if you need to search for very rare genetic variants, because it goes to a sequencing depth of 100x and generates over 300 GB of DNA data.

Big privacy promises

No matter which test you choose, you'll be in total control of your data. Unlike some DNA testing services, Nebula Genomics gives you irrevocable ownership of your Whole Genome Sequencing data: you decide who can access it and the purposes for which it's used, and the company keeps your genetic info in a secure computing environment.

Subscriptions required for continuing updates

But, if you want ongoing updates and new reports, unlimited use of the site's genome exploration tools, and access to deep ancestry analysis, you'll have to choose a Nebula Explore subscription plan (and there's no way to purchase a kit without selecting a quarterly plan at $24.99/month, a yearly plan that works out to $12.49/month, or a lifetime plan for $274.99). You can cancel your subscription after the first month, though, and you will always be able to download your genomic data.

Upload your DNA data from other sites

Another option is to upload your raw genetic data from Ancestry or 23andMe. There's no charge for the service, and you'll get a free report that expands on what you've already received from those two companies.

Costs

• Regularly priced from $299 to $2,999
• Sale priced from $99 to $999
• Subscription fees ranging from $24.99/month to $274.99/lifetime

Recent feedback is terrible

Given how comprehensive it all sounds, you might be wondering why this DNA testing kit ranks so low compared with other services. We were really excited about Nebula Genomics... until we started reading client comments. Despite having nearly 500 five-star reviews, almost all of the more recent ones gave the service the lowest possible rating of just one star. Customers say that it's almost impossible to use your Nebula data on any other platform, despite many articles on the company's blog to the contrary. Others describe tests that never arrive, DNA samples that are marked as "failed” more than five months after sending them in, and results that didn't show a known genetic condition (bringing into question the validity of these tests). Do you really want to spend close to $1,000 to get, as more than one client described it, "the worst customer support ever”? We wouldn't.

Where does your data actually go?

We're also not so sure how trustworthy this company is, when you start to dig deeper down. There's no way to contact them via phone: your only option both pre- and post-purchase is via email or online form on the website. The street address provided is just a high-rise apartment building in Miami, not a corporate headquarters by any means. And, as one review pointed out, some services offered by Nebula Genomics are outsourced to other companies - like YFull, which is headquartered in Moscow. Do you want your DNA data analyzed (and likely retained) by a Russian company? Again, we wouldn't.

Last place among DNA testing companies

While we really like the concept of what Nebula Genomics offers, the reality of this DNA testing kit comes up extremely short. You could spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for results that take months, if they come at all. And, despite numerous privacy pledges, it didn't take too much research to see that your data really could be going awfully far afield. We give this company our lowest ranking and recommend that you choose a different provider for your DNA testing.