DNA Testing Comparison: DNA Tribes, DNA Heritage & GeneTree
By livelonger
What does the test involve?
No needles, no blood. You're given a swab which you use to wipe the inside of your cheek vigorously. You then send the swab to their labs for analysis.
Members of my family and I have tried the genetic ancestry tests from all 3 companies below (be sure to check out my comparison review of 23andMe and DecodeMe as well, which provide genetic health analysis alongside genealogical/ancestry information). Here's what I have to share on each. Depending on how much you're willing to spend and what questions you want answered, each could work for you:
- DNA Heritage - Their Y-SNP is only $129 and tells you the exact haplogroup (or specific ancestral group) of your patrilineal heritage (i.e. your father's father's father's father's....), along with an extremely detailed "history" of your haplogroup. Best for "ancestry geeks" and those looking for the most detail.
- DNA Tribes - This $200 kit gives you scores of likelihood of your ancestral group origins (the top 20 closest matches), but if your ethnic group is not in the database, you could get bizarre results.
- GeneTree - Their $240 test tells you simply the percentage (through your matrilineal side, or mother's mother's mother's....etc.) you are each of: African, Asian, Native American and European. So you'll get results saying, for instance, you're 57% European, 11% African, and 32% Asian.
DNA Heritage - Haplogroups
DNA Heritage offers the Y-SNP test (only for males, since it tests the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son) and a matrilineal test that tests the X chromosome you received from your mother.
In both cases, the result they'll give you is your genetic haplogroup, which is basically your branch in the human evolutionary tree.
Example: R1a1 - predominant haplogroup in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, from Poland (56%) to Tajikistan (64%).
My father used DNA Heritage's test to confirm that he is of the general ethnic stock - European - he thought he was (in contrast to DNA Tribe's result - see below!). However, this particular haplogroup predominates in Ireland and Iberia, which suggests my great-umpteenth-grandfather was a Paleolithic hunter foraging for food somewhere in Galicia.
If you plan to take your ancestry hobby to the most precise possible, a haplogroup test (maybe on both your father's and mother's side) would help round out the picture for you.
Costs: Their Y-SNP (paternal; Y-chromosome) test costs $129, and their mtDNA (maternal; mitochondrial DNA) test costs $219.
Turnaround: However, it did take a full 3 months for my father to get his results, due to a supposed backlog at their labs. They normally promise 3 1/2 weeks.
DNA Tribes - Your top 20 closest ethnic group matches
DNA Tribes approaches the results differently, instead looking at your genetic makeup and seeing which specific ethnic group that they've gathered DNA results for provides the closest match for you.
Example:
1. Japanese
2. Korean
3. Northeast China
4. China (Beijing)
etc.
This can give you, sometimes, very specific results. Friends of my parents, a Jewish couple, had this test done, and the results said the husband was Sephardic and that the wife was Ashkenazi (specific geographic Jewish subgroups).
The problem that can arise, which did occur in my father's case, is one of not having a match in their database. My father's ethnic group is traditionally very isolated, so the top 20 results were absolutely not even close to what he expected. DNA Tribes said that because my father's ethnic group is not in their database yet, the top 20 matches are fairly poor. He can pay another $25 to update his results once exact or closer matches show up in their database.
Costs: Their test costs $200.
Turnaround: They claim 2-3 weeks, and 3 weeks is what we observed.
GeneTree - Percentages of 4 broad racial groups
GeneTree offers a far simpler analysis ("Ancestry by DNA") using your mother's DNA. It just gives you your percentages of African, Asian, European and Native American blood.
Example:
73% African
17% Native American
10% European
My partner used this test which confirmed, more or less, what he knew about his mother's ethnic background.
There have been news stories of high school students using GeneTree (and similar companies') results to prove their have Native American (American Indian) blood, for scholarships.
There has also been something called "American Indian Princess Syndrome" among white women who find out they have no Native American blood on it, and call up GeneTree angrily demanding an explanation. (Apparently the Native American part is common family folklore, grounded in wishful thinking more than anything else, for many people).
Costs: The AncestrybyDNA test costs $240.
Turnaround: It took a while to get the results back in - about 2 months.
Other personal genome tests
For deeper (including health analysis) of your genome, albeit at a higher price, I've tested and written Hubs on the following:
- 23andMe review
- deCODEme review
- comparison review of 23andMe and deCODEme
Comments
Hi Livelonger, your posts always have good and complete information for anyone interested in the subject. I enjoy reading them because I can learn new things, even if the post isn't about something I'm interested in at that time. I've always been more interested in where I'm going than where I came from. Congratulations on your 100th.
Congrats Livelonger for the 100th blog, 100s more soon. Nice hub, with this DNA test it will be good to know the backgrounds.
Congratulations on your 100th hub. A very good informative hub. Thanks cgull8m.
Wow this is so cool, I have to look into this!
Wonderful information that you have chosen to share! Have you heard anything about a New Zealand tribe whose DNA is different enough from all other tribes so as to not be directly related to humans - their DNA is 2% or more different? A National Geographic global DNA tracking project put forth this information in mid-2005 and I can no longer find it anywhere. Perhaps it weas an error, since the research is continually updated.
I love this hub. I have always wanted to do such a thing but thought that the prices were too expensive. I think they have gone down now a bit because they used to be $200+. There was talk in my father's side of the family that we had Cherokee Indian and this would be the perfect way to prove such a thing. I would like to know.
Very interesting, Patty - I had not heard of the NZ tribe. I had heard that the Basque people are unrelated to all other peoples.
Maricarbo - they still run around $200, except for that Y-SNP from DNA Heritage, and that would only tell you if your father's father's father's father's...etc was American Indian. If the American Indian blood was from a female ancestor on your father's side, it wouldn't register it.
looks like this testing could provide clues to this genetic characteristic: nordic caucasian blond-blue-eyed babyhood-toddler epicanthal fold (over inner eye, with oriental appearance) that later goes away, appparently as the nose bridge developed more. Ethnic background somewhere (Tatars or Attila, whoever went to north Europe, and mixing with Viking types moving south, southeast and southwest?) or just random?
WOW! Excellent review. :-)
Livelonger - thanks for the information about the Basque. I will read more about them as well. Thanks for the Hub.
Thank you for your precious information. I'll be better informed about DNA & all the outcomes that gene could beget. Of course, tests're always useful to detect as soon as possible every genetic disorder & hereditary sickness easing diagnosis & treatment in time providing they are reliable & cheap. Getting better informed ab out genes means better knowledge about everyone's gene tree for our sake first
great info. i have been looking at the nat geo project. anyone have any info on this service? obviously i am looking for the best deal for my dollar.
they offer: Advanced Combo Package (Y-DNA 44 Marker + mtDNA HVR1 Test), $318.00 USHigh resolution test for tracing your own ancestry on your paternal and maternal lines
and mention providing haplogroup.
thanks in advance for any info.
No, I haven't heard about the National Geographic test. My guess is that they have partnered with one of the other laboratories that I've profiled above.
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pa
Yes, it looks like they offer a basic test that is $100 for either your male lineage or female lineage.
I wonder why no one has mentioned the largest data base to compare the DNA test result: www.familytreeDNA.com
I appreciate its pricing and deepness of the test results available. Only the name is misleading, because the surname projects should not any more be the main advertised issue. The geographical projects and haplogroup projects are far more important for the huge amount of tested persons.
Wanted to be emailed info on how I can have DNA testing? riettalea@hotmail.com
I had my DNA tested through the National Geo. Genome project several years ago. ..For the first year or two thereafter, I could not find any information regarding the so-called "out of sequence" sub groups. They were meaningless numbers to me. Finally details began to appear online. For your information, if you do have a DNA test and want more info...go to Wikipedia with your Haplogroup, then gradually seek out each sub group. They are building up an incredible data base of new information all the time...
Now, back to my DNA...I have blue eyes and blonde hair. To our recollection all family members came from France, Germany, and Hungary. However, my DNA test said somethngs quite different. It indicates I have mostly Basque (French) North India (Tibet-Nepal-Kashmir) and Japanese. Japanese! Yikes. I wonder where my family ancestors were fooling around!! The results have been a total shock to all of us. We never had a clue that this would be our true ancestry.
The tests have been fascinating. I highly recommend them for no other reason than the joy of knowing the unexpected.
Sue
Sue,
Those results are so interesting that I would almost be willing to invest in a second test (from a different lab) just to check the interpretations of the results, if it were me. Of course, I don't know what kind of test this was. I assume, as you're female, that this is a mitochondrial test and you did not submit any Y data from a brother, father, etc. So this is only your mother's line, if that is the case, and therefore only half your picture.
A male can have a test that is Y-DNA (male line), or X (maternal), or even both because the male carries both the X and Y chromosome.
I have had my son's Y tested but would love to go deeper to see if there is Native American blood there as his dad has said many times. I am a bit confused as to which company was good for that. WouldDNA Tribes or Gen Tree? I used Family Tree DNA for the Y testing. I have not as of yet done the MtDNA.
hi i took the paterty test with my father.the results where negative as i was told, but i do not believe the result because he have refuse to send me a copy.can someone please advice me on what i can do next. mengalleebenezer@yahoo.com
If I am not sure who my dad is, Can I just have done a Y-SNP test to verify my father's background? Thank you
Y-SNP does not determine paternity. It will just tell you what the ethnic origins of your patrilineal line are (i.e. your father's father's father's father's father's....father). It won't tell you anything about your father's mother, for instance.
This is the thing, my mom doesn't want to get in touch with them in order to get a DNA test, but one of them is south american and the other one is from the middle east if I get the Y-SNP done would I'll be able to know which of them (Hispanic, Middle EAstern) has more heritage relation to my genes?????
I understand. Maybe the Y-SNP would tell you something, but I'd imagine it won't be conclusive, least of all because it only gives you a glimpse into one ancestor. Also, remember that Hispanics who trace their ancestry to Spain might have considerable Middle Eastern blood, since the Moors conquered Spain and left their mark on the gene pool.
I understand, is there any other test that you might recommend without their DNA sample? I just want to know where I come from (father side), but I really don't want to get in touch with them, if there is anything I can do on my own in order to resolve all my dudes. Thank you.
Sure. I think you can try any of the Y-SNP tests (the ones listed above, or others). Don't take the Mitochondrial DNA test - that determines your maternal line. The Y-SNP test will at least tell you where your father's paternal line comes from, and will give you some insight into your background (I assume your mother can fill in some answers with your maternal line).
Thank's a lot, I will do that.
what exactly R1b3 means?
Thank you for a very informative hub about DNA/genetics/tribes. I wonder how many folks have a record of their lineage in a family tree somewhere and how far back they can trace their lineage?
I am a bit confused, I was contacted in thought that our native american background needs to be established for educational fund purposes. I was told that my grandmother (Fathers mother)was over half native american. I am confused at which company would provide adequate information as far as DNA. Any guidance of which company or which test to do?
I had recently been told that you could do these types of tests and become very interested. My father passed away 4 years ago and I have always had my questions about if I am at all Native American. I just graduated college so Im not looking for money, I just want to find out if it is true or not and like this post says- for most people its just wishful thinking. Which one of these tests would be the best to find this out specifically from my fathers side?
I am looking for the money. What percentage Indian do you need to be to receive benefits?
I'm 24 and have always wanted to know for myself if I'm indian or not. My dad and his family would be the indian side but he and the rest of the family have passed on . My mom is definetly white so how can i go about trying to find out the truth? please help I'm also a female if that helps
Im apache
i'm a really neat "whatever"
This is a fascinating subject.
I am currently awaiting Y-DNA (male surname) results from DNA Heritage. It's really exciting.
MY GRANDMOTHER **MILLIE ANNA JOHNSON* WHO MARRIED MY GRANDFATHER, THOMAS CLEVELAND SANFORD WAS HALF CHEROKEE. MY GRANDMOTHERS PARENTS WERE **FRANCES AND ISABELLE JOHNSON** HOW DO I FIND PROVE SHE IS CHEROKEE WHEN I HAVE NO RECORDS OF HER PAST? I AM TRYING TO FORM A HISTORY TO BE LEFT TO MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDDAUGHTER
I have traced my father's line back to Pres. James Monroe. We have the name passed on through our family. I know we could not be related to him as his son passed away at an early age. I am thinking he had children through his slaves. The best way I can think to prove this is to find out if we have African American in our blood line. As a female I am thinking now I must use my brother's DNA to find this out since you need the Y for testing. If anyone has a suggestion - I am open to it.
This has been a useful worth post
We have had our results back, but can now find no-one to compare them with :(
This is excellent! I have to get this done!
A lot of good info, since tracing my family's genealogy, I have strongly considered doing this. I didn't know where to start, thanks for the information.
I've have thought about taking these tests many times, but I've never read a comparative review like this one before to help me make an educated choice.
Thank you kindly for the article.
...quite interesting, it tickles my curiosity to explore some info about my ancestors.. thank you for sharing!^.^
hmmm...that was nice...i just made a hub also about DNA but its about DNA recombinant technology...you might want to see this
thanks for the info. I was searching cause my dad's family saids "we're just french and that's it" but I try to trace his family back and of course comes up french, but go back far enough and one of the great great x 5 grandfathers was adopted into the family.. and it doesn't help that all I've known most of my life is "you're french" and I go to cultural festivals to learn about it and random people walk up to me while I'm looking for info and go "what's your last name?" I tell them and they go "you have indian blood in you" uhh..I do? one of these days I'd like to find out for sure. Now I know where to go to find out for sure!
I always thought i was Mexican/Mestizo. I found out that I'm Polynesian & Russian.
I tried dna tribes along with my parents. Everyone had different results. This company is a scam, save your money. they lie.
DNA Tribes is a scam! I carried out the test - on my mothers side I can go back about 400 years in England to small villages and on my fathers side it is the same other than one ancestor who came from Finland to England in the 1920s and who I know little about.
My top results for native population indicated that I am was either from Karamuja Uganda (I don't even know what that is), Southern Tunisia (I wonder why not North?) and Maghrebi. My global population match results were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (before doing the test I stupidly thought Rio would not have one population seeing as it is one of the most multi-ethnic cities in the world), Toscana, Italy and Costa Rica.
While I would like to believe that my Ugandan ancestors migrated to Toscana 1000 years ago and then moved to Brazil before settling in Belton, Norfolk 400 years ago as rural farmers it is probably not the case.
I am adopted woman and am deeply interested in what I am. My birth mother died when I was 3 and she never knew who my father was. My Anthropology Professor said to do a nuclear test, not mitochondrial. What test should I take?
I wouldn't be so harsh to say DNATribes is a scam. There results can be off the planet many a time but I sincerely believe that is what their statistics tell them about your origins. My DNATribes results were certainly queer to say the least though the first result, the Native Population, region was reasonable. The other two were the weird ones.
I am probably more open minded as I know my ancestry on paper going back to the 1400s and a little beyond that, and I come from a group of people who live on a small island in Europe's south, and those people lived and died on that small island for hundreds of years. However, knowing this genealogical facts still means that there are a lot of unknowns especially before the advent of surnames and probably literacy in that part of Europe. So yes, the information within genealogical bounds is inaccurate, and those ancestors are the ones who contributed most to you, whereas the ancestors from 1000 years or more ago probably contributed nothing more than a fraction of dna in your genome and can be ignored.
Just be open minded. Sometimes what we believe isn't true, the factoids that come down to us are made up, and even what is written on paper from 500 years ago may be incorrect.
what do you know of dnaancestryproject.com? i am considering using them the website looks pretty legit but id rather have more information before i use them. (FYI I want to find out what Native American Tribe my family comes from if any- I am African American)
This sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing this information.
Late comment, but was wondering, what test would you recommend for someone very ethnically diverse? I believe I'm a mix of Hawaiian, Filipino, English, Spanish, Irish, Italian, and Slovakian. What test would give me meaningful results?
So if I wanted to figure out my exact percentages from BOTH sides of my family, I would have to do the maternal and paternal tests?
OK My mom's grandfather was half Scottish so how should I consider my self.
1/16th Scottish
I just happened on this hub and its great! very interesting details and very informational
thanks
If I'm a girl what test would I take to see if I am Native American?
I have been thinking about my indain trait for a quite some time now and what I'm saing is this is it possible for me to have at lease 65% indian blood in me if bolth of my grandparents were full blooded undaunted and were can I go to find out.
If both sets of your grandparents were full-blooded Indian, then, pretty much by definition, you'd be 100% Indian yourself. I would take one of the tests that I mention above, like GeneTree.
Would not recommend Genetree. I paid about $50- to have my SMGF results "unlocked" by them but it took several years to discover the results were corrupted and inconclusive. When I asked what could be done about this they said basically it wasn't their fault that they only could give me the data that Sorenson had provided.
Really scammy organization if you ask me. Better off to go with a more honest organization.
Could anyone comment on the Self Discovery Kit that "Connect My Dna" offers? Is there any legitimacy to this Gene Ring?
Thanks!
Whoops, Here is their website: http://www.connectmydna.com/
ehhh I like the native american princess comment... its stupid because these test can only show your mother's mother's line or your father's father's line so if your dad's mother is native american or your mom's dad is half then it wouldn't show up right? my ancestery on both sides of my family crisscrosses through both males and females from different countries so wouldn't this only give me a partial history? even if I took both tests? I know you can get a discount if you do them both.
Delia, I just received my results from Connect My DNA and I am angry and disappointed. Though my ancestry is probably 98% European, they had my second, third, and fourth possible origin countries as Bangladesh, Qatar, and Kuwait. Outrageous. When I contacted them to get a refund or another sample kit, they gave me a boilerplate reply disavowing any possible mistake. A total rip-off. Don't give them your money.
I'm a new hubber and just came across your hub. This topic is very exciting. I've thought of getting this done in the past. I've traced parts of my family tree back to 1400's, but I'd love to fill in the dead-ends. Thanks for the info.
My mother would like to find out about her fathers side.her dad died 64yrs ago,never knew his father,know other males alive.how can she find out who her grandfather?
A group of friends (ten peplum males and females) want to have our DNA tested to find out our basic ancestry. We plan to have a "who's your daddy" party, at which we will pass out the test results and guess whose genome is described. I was thinking of using DNA Tribes but the negative comments on this site have me worried. Can you recommend a company that would work best for our purposes. Cost is not a major factor.
Sandy: You might consider 23andMe nowadays. It's $207 including a year's subscription to updates, and might include some interesting health insights, too. You can check out my review here:
Thank you for the info. Although I recently got 2 different mtDNA haplogroup results from 2 companies. GeneTree gave one answer & Family Tree DNA gave another totally different answer. I'm now questioning GeneTree as to how they came up with their result for the same genetic markers.
This is a great hub. When I read the DNA testing websites it seems the DNA strands and haplogroups do nothing but whirl around in my head. My husband I plan to have ours tested. We will probably go with one of the tests recommended on comanchenation.com because he is purported to be more than half Cherokee and I have a lot of Native American blood.
@ Danita: Try posting on Genforum under the surname of her father. Include as much information as you can in addition to the full name, such as birth and death dates, marriage, places, etc. Someone might recognize his name and know enough to give you a start. Then sit back and wait. It took me six months for a reply to my first post, but we found my great-grandfather's family living in another state, and they supplied me with family history going back to 1700s Ireland. As we say "good hunting!"
- Gene Tree
- DNA Heritage
- DNA Tribes
- Haplogroup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General discussion plus links to learn about each subclade.
jimmythejock 4 years ago
Very interesting reading Livelonger, you got me wondering about my DNA now lol although my parents always said I wasn't born I was invented.....jimmy
P.S 80) CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BIG 100TH HUB, WELL DONE