Review of MyHeritage And Ancestry DNA Products

Just how proud are you of your heritage?  If you're like most Americans, probably very proud, especially if you're able to cite with some degree of certainty where in the world your ethnicity is rooted.  The United States is less than 300 years-old, a mere speck in time, and unless you are 100% Native American, you most likely have ethnic roots outside of the two American continents.  Knowing that your ancestors came from somewhere else makes it almost compulsory to find out from where.

If it were up to me, I'd make DNA testing for heritage absolutely free for parents of newborns.  This way parents would have the option of educating their children about their ethnic heritage along with respect for all cultures and people as early as elementary.  Would it end the disease that is racism in the U.S.?  Probably not.  But it would help us all realize our origins aren't tied to any one nation or country, but rather to regions around the world.  For a great example of being responsibly conscious of both country and ethnic origin, let's take my case.  Before I share my ethnic results, I will speak on the experience of taking two "DNA tests" from vendors, MyHeritage and Ancestry.

Since this site is all about money, wealth, and success, let's start with costs.

Ancestry DNA test kit
Total: $78.95.  I bought it while on sale for Father's Day.

MyHeritage DNA test kit
Total: $81.  I bought it also on sale prior to their big Father's Day sale.  I could've saved another ten bucks if I'd known!

If you are interested in taking a DNA test to learn about your ethnic background, tests from the 5 Best DNA Kits are always on sale.  You just have to be patient.  Go back to the websites during Holidays to find better deals.

Now let's talk about the process from the time you get your kit in the mail until you get your results online.

Ancestry DNA Process

Your kit includes very easy to follow instructions, a saliva receptacle, screw on vial with DNA preservation solution, small napkin for wiping, return mail box (postage paid), and your activation information for claiming your results.  Collecting your DNA sample by spitting into a vial may gross some of you out, but I'm used to spitting as an athlete.  Overall, the entire process of collecting your sample and signing up online takes 15 minutes or less.



MyHeritage DNA Process

Similar to Ancestry's kit you get a small box but the contents are more "scientific."  You get two small vials with screw tops and each contains DNA preservation solution.  You also get two swabs for collecting DNA by rubbing the inside of your cheeks for like 30 seconds.  You have to snap break the swabs so they fit inside the vials, then screw on the tops and send the samples back in the return envelope.

As a science teacher, I enjoyed the MyHeritage DNA sample collection process much more, but I can see how some people may prefer Ancestry's more streamlined approach.

The Wait...

While waiting for your results, both Ancestry and MyHeritage DNA do a great job of keeping you in the loop and emotionally vested.  First, they email you once your kit is received, eliminating potential fears and anxiety about your DNA being out there for anyone to intercept and use it to clone you.  Ha!  Seriously though, some people do worry about their DNA being used without their consent.  Relax, these two companies keep your results private.  You have to opt in to share your profile with others and for matching with others (search for relatives).  You get at least one more email from both companies letting you know your results are almost in.  MyHeritage sends you information in their email about how DNA is analyzed so if you're into the science, this will make your wait slightly better.

Time...

I was pleasantly surprised by both companies when they informed me of my results being available in less than 4 weeks.  They both claim results can take between 4-6 weeks depending on how busy they are.   

Online Platforms

Both online platforms are intuitive.  You can set-up your profile as in depth as you like.  You can for example, enter the names and relationships of your relatives to build a family tree on either site.  Both sites offer information on the ethnic groups you get as being part of your genetic and geographic match, but they don't use the same nomenclature obviously.  For example, at MyHeritage, if you are a person of Latin-American descent, you may get a percentage of your DNA coming from "Central America," which to them is the region from Mexico all the way to Colombia and Venezuela, i.e., northern South America.  Meanwhile, at Ancestry, because they test many more geographic regions (350+ versus only 42 for MyHeritage) your Latin-American ethnicity will be more pinpointed to a specific place in Mexico, let's say.  So if you can only afford one test, and if you have ethnic roots in Mexico, go with Ancestry.

Both platforms also provide a world map and circle the regions where your DNA comes from, color coded.  It's a cool feature to see multiple places around the world circled for your profile and probably not as cool if your DNA is only from one or two places on Earth.  Ancestry's platform provides an additional feature, a timeline of the history of your DNA back to the 1700's.  At least this was my case.  Autosomal tests aren't very accurate beyond 5 or six generations so there's really no way anyone can tell you with 100% certainty how your DNA has moved in time.  We all started in Africa, but after that...who knows where your DNA went.

Sample of Results

I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and thanks to the Mormon archiving of Catholic church records, I was able to trace my paternal line (the Gomez's) back to a Spaniard (Joseph Dionicio Gomez Parra) born in 1752 in San Bartolome, Chihuahua.  This is of course a very myopic view of my DNA.  It doesn't account for all of the women and their lines.  Not to mention, the 1700s were just around the corner in terms of time.  So am I 100% Chihuahuan, Mexican?  Of course not!

MyHeritage DNA says I'm...

Ancestry DNA says I'm...(only showing one of two pics)

For a better look at my ethnic DNA results, I created a table:

MyHeritage DNA Results		Vs.	Ancestry DNA Results
By Continent			By Continent
Central American (Mex)	53.40%		Native American (Mex)	33%
European	36.50%		European	54-55%
African	9.30%		African	6-7%
Asian	0.80%		Middle Eastern	5%
			East Asian	<1%
By Ethnicity			By Ethnicity
Mexican	53.40%		N.A. Chihuahua/Dur.	33%
Iberian	12.60%		English/Scottish/Wales	16%
Scandinavian	12.10%		Italian/Greek	16%
Ashkenazi Jewish	8.10%		Iberian	11%
North African	6.70%		Ireland/Scotland/Wales	5%
Italian	3.70%		Middle East	5%
Nigerian	2.60%		European Jewish	3%
Eskimo/Inuit	0.80%		Northern African	3%
Total	100%		Senegalese	2%
			Eastern European	2%
			Nigerian	<1%
			Cameroon/Congolese	<1%
			Scandinavian	<1%
			Western European	<1%
			East Asian	<1%
			Total	100%

 After analyzing both sets of data, it's clear that I'm North-American, European, and African if we look at it from the continental perspective.  Ethnically, I'm Mexican, because Mexicans for the most part are a mixture of Native American, European (including European Jewish in many instances), and African.

We (Mexicans) may differ as a people in our percent of these three roots, but most of us have them.  For most of its history, Mexico has kept the African influence in Mexico under wraps, not recognizing the many Afro-Mexicans in the country (descendants of slaves).  In 2020, Mexico will finally add this ethnic group as an item in its census, acknowledging politically finally our third ethnic root.

I was hoping for more consistency between both tests but there wasn't a one-to-one match as I expected.  MyHeritage gave me a high percentage of Scandinavian descent (12%) while my Ancestry results showed very little Scandinavian descent (<1%) and identified British in me.  Who knew?  Historically, there were Vikings in the British isles so maybe there is a connection there somehow.

Conclusion

This was an interesting experience and I recommend everyone give it a shot.  One test is okay, but two are better so you can compare.  I will be looking to triangulate my results sometime in the near future by taking a third test.  23andMe will be the test I go with.  Sorry I can't tell you which one of the top five tests to choose.  They all have their pros and cons.  Thanks for reading!