What is Ancestry?
Ancestry LLC is a consumer DNA testing company established in 1996 by Paul Allen and Dan Taggart in Lehi, Utah. The company originally focused on providing online historical records, and later added AncestryDNA,* which offers a direct-to-consumer autosomal DNA test. The Ancestry family of companies now includes other platforms that provide access to historical records, including Find A Grave, Fold3, and Newspapers.com, which when combined with your DNA results can help solve family history mysteries.
You can sign up for a free two-week trial to Ancestry to utilize their records and gain additional access to AncestryDNA tools available with a subscription.
How much is AncestryDNA?
An AncestryDNA test kit costs $99 USD (retail price, which sometimes goes on sale). It includes an ethnicity estimate and a list of DNA matches, which updates as more people test. If you upgrade your test kit to AncestryDNA Traits ($119 USD), your results will also include a list of personal traits that may be influenced by your genes.
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How Accurate is AncestryDNA?
You get two different kinds of results with your AncestryDNA test: ethnicity estimate and your DNA match list. Ethnicity results are still a young science, but AncestryDNA has upped their accuracy with its Genetic Communities feature, which connects your DNA to more than a thousand specific historical communities.
Should I take an AncestryDNA test?