{"id":4237,"date":"2022-12-23T13:28:26","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T13:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogyexplained.com\/?page_id=4237"},"modified":"2024-04-02T19:30:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T19:30:22","slug":"myheritage-dna-vs-23andme","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogyexplained.com\/myheritage-dna-vs-23andme\/","title":{"rendered":"MyHeritage vs 23andMe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
MyHeritage and 23andMe are among the larger group of DNA databases utilized by throngs of genealogists professionally and otherwise. If you are in the market and deciding what DNA company to test through, there are many options out there, and I hope this article might be able to guide you in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First and foremost, before deciding which company to go with, it is important to figure out what exactly you are looking for. 23andMe is very user-friendly and has a large database, the second largest in North America, after AncestryDNA’s 15 million users. If you are interested in what you inherited from your parents, 23andMe is a great source. If you are interested in location European cousins who may have tested, MyHeritage might be the better option. Both of these companies have great tools and research, so you can’t go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n
If you’re looking for biological family members utilizing your autosomal data, then AncestryDNA is, by far, the better option. So, if that is the case, why do we even consider these other companies? Because they all do things differently and from each company, we can deduce different things from the same data being run through different tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
23andMe offers a large database full of consumers (aka your cousin matches). They also offer maternal and paternal haplogroups and determine what percent of your DNA is derived from the long-extinct Neanderthals. 23andMe has the leg up on being the largest consumer company that is largely based on health traits. If you are an adoptee<\/a> interested in knowing what kinds of health traits you inherited from unknown parents and grandparents, 23andMe is fine-tuned specifically for that purpose. They pride themselves on their intense, in-depth research from data they pull from their consumers both genetically and through surveys and polls that their consumers are asked (not required) to participate in. MyHeritage does not offer anything like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By utilizing health traits, users can pinpoint specific reports that are genetically tailored to them. These reports range from your likeness to bald to your more likely or less likely at risk of certain diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the mail-order DNA world, this is truly something specific to 23andMe. With the data they collect from their consumers, 23andMe can continuously build on their research to provide more reports to their users. Though AncestryDNA has come out with a health kit, I do not expect them to come close to competing with 23andMe in the health space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another note is that the publicity 23andMe has gotten itself (TV commercials, CEO being a recurring Shark on SharkTank<\/em>, etc.) the user numbers outshine MyHeritage quite greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my complete review of 23andMe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MyHeritage is a company with a semi-large database though they do not come near to the users of 23andMe. MyHeritage has been available to European consumers longer than 23andMe and Ancestry, so if you’re searching for family across the pond, this is the better option. MyHeritage also offers incredible research tools that allow you to visualize our genetic data about your matches. The clustering tool allows you to group your matches into genetic networks, which allow you to research those groups and determine who your common ancestors are. 23andMe does not have this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, Suppose you are a family genealogist looking to confirm your family tree through biological relationships. In that case, MyHeritage offers the genetic data alongside the paper-trail data, and that content is very hard to compete with. You can utilize their records database with a subscription, and this is content that 23andMe cannot come close to competing with. When viewing matches on MyHeritage, you can view it and hopefully pinpoint your relation if your matches have a family tree. On 23andMe, you are only given lists of surnames by your matches (if they input the data). However, remember that 23andMe is generally publicized as a health company rather than a genealogy company, so their consumers are not always interested in their genealogical history. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMyHeritage <\/h2>\n\n\n\n