Which DNA company should I use?

[doordie]

It's a big ask.  I need to choose a DNA company.  I've read through posts, here and elsewhere, personal experiences, comparisons, recommended articles, and now I'm confused.  Ironically, I'll be looking more for a lack of particular matches, as I'm tracing a family feeling that we are not descended from an assumed ancestor, from whom we have a paper trail.

My husband used MyHeritage but I wasn't overly impressed with what he had back from them.  So far, AncestryDNA seems to be be the preferred.  Any suggestions?

[davidft]

My only observation is that I do not see how Ancestry will be helpful to you. It is the least helpful of the DNA companies in my opinion (- and yes I know some will disagree with this).

That said what you are trying to do will not be easy with any of the companies.

[brigidmac]

where are you based , where do you think your family is from originally and have you got any other family members on fathers and mothers side who will test .

i use ancestry and find it useful and have uploaded my mums results to gedmatch from there .
when my male cousin took the test we got good triangulation and some stronger matches .

if you.re a woman it might be better to pay for a brother parent or cousins dna before your own

[Pheno]

My only observation is that I do not see how Ancestry will be helpful to you. It is the least helpful of the DNA companies in my opinion (- and yes I know some will disagree with this).

That said what you are trying to do will not be easy with any of the companies.

The way in which it will be helpful however, is to allow you to download your dna results and upload to other sites.  Ancestry will not acceppt uploads from other sites so doing an Ancestry test will enable the broadest range.

I suspect David is saying it is not helpful as it doesn't hve a chromozone browser, but from an Ancestry test you can upload to other sites that do.  I suspect it is the cheaper option really as only the one test ever needed.

If you wait till November an Ancestry test is usually cheaper on Black Friday.

Pheno

[doordie]

Terrific instant response, thanks everyone.  Let me absorb it all.

[RossGillbanks]

I prefer Ancestry. They have the largest database so in theory its the best bet, I downloaded my DNA from Ancestry and uploaded it to many other sites free of charge (Myheritage being one of them). I will also add GEDmatch can be good to upload to also however it can also cause confusion as the majority of users don't add a tree on there.

[melba_schmelba]

Ancestry has by far the biggest database, useful common ancestor feature, and the most complete set of linked family trees, which really are a must, otherwise you are just looking at a list of random names. I am not sure why David thinks it would not be very useful to you.

[doordie]

Thank you so much, melba_schmelba.  Ancestry seems to be considered the most useful.
(I like the idea of holding out for a possible offer on Black Friday!  There's lots to keep me busy until then.)

[melba_schmelba]

Thank you so much, melba_schmelba.  Ancestry seems to be considered the most useful.
(I like the idea of holding out for a possible offer on Black Friday!  There's lots to keep me busy until then.)

Actually there is a sale right now doordie
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=853905.0