Whether you’re looking to find out more about your own genetic predispositions or want to adapt to a healthier lifestyle and DNA Kit can help you pin point just where to start. Aside from giving you insights about your health, it can also help users feel more connected to one’s past.
But DNA kits don’t come cheap, with the two top sellers each costing £79. But you can find offers on DNA kits through the year, particularly during seasonal events like Father’s Day.
If you want to learn about the specific services themselves such as Ancestry and 23andMe for instance and the types of tests each kit includes, we’ve broken that down for you as well (just scroll past the deals below).
Best DNA and Ancestry Kit deals on now
Below you’ll find our round up of the best deals available in the UK right now, and beyond that we offer more information about each of the different services. The two leading DNA testing kits are AncestryDNA and 23andMe.
Most DNA kits promise to unveil a person’s ethnic origins via a swab of the cheek or a spit in a tube. They show you what makes you unique and help you learn where you really come from. You can also tie these into historical records services to grow your family tree.
Once you have sent off your saliva sample, you’ll wait a few weeks and then receive a visual report and even the chance to connect with distant relatives you never knew existed.
AncestryDNA deals and offers
AncestryDNA can estimate your origins to more than 350 regions around the world, which the company claims offers twice the geographic detail of other DNA tests (rival 23andme states it can trace your DNA back to 155 different regions worldwide).
It’s from the people behind the market-leading Ancestry genealogy service, stuffed full of digitised historical records and the best way we have found to start your family tree.
AncestryDNA tests just your autosomes (chromosomes you share with relatives on both sides of your family), and so is less detailed about more distant, ancient ancestors – but fine for most family historians.
It also has the benefit of over 10 million DNA results to make finding relatives more likely and improving the accuracy of its estimates.
AncestryDNA kits are normally priced at £79/US$99. Ancestry offers up to £20 off (up to $100 off in the US) its family-tree services when you choose the 6-month plans (which combine nicely with its DNA tests). You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial.
23andme deals and offers
23andme doesn’t have as many test results as Ancestry, although at 10 million and rising it’s the clear number two in the field. Slightly confusingly, its main kit is called the Ancestry Service.
It does, however, test three types of DNA – autosomes, yDNA, and mtDNA – where AncestryDNA tests just autosomes to determine more recent ethnic ancestry. Such tests lose some accuracy as the relationship grows ever more distant. This more in-depth DNA testing makes 23andme more accurate further back in time, and can even look at your Neanderthal heritage.
23andme recently added new populations in underrepresented regions in Asia and Africa – bringing its total number of tested regions to over 1,500.
The 23andme kit (called Ancestry + Traits), like Ancestry, is also typically priced at £79/US$99.
23andMe also has a Health + Ancestry Service, which examines your genetic health risks (including BRCA1 and BRCA2, Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinsons), plus Carrier, Wellness and Traits reports. This usually costs £149/$199 and is available either direct from 23andme or via Amazon (availability varies). There aren’t any offers on now, but if buy more than one kit, you can get 20% off each additional kit.
Living DNA deals
As with 23andme Living DNA (£99/US$99) looks at your autosomes, yDNA from your father, and mtDNA from your mother. By testing more than just autosomes, Living DNA can point out centuries-old migration patterns, much like 23andme.
Its visual representations of your origins are super detailed. For instance, it can illustrate 21 specific sub-regions of the UK your DNA may come from. AncestryDNA has 13 regions.
Kits start at £49/US$49, and you get free shipping if you order three or more kits. It’s also offering 30% off as a part of its Summer Sale, which reduces the Ancestry kit to £69/US$69 from £99/$99 and the Ancestry and Wellbeing kit to £99/$99 from £169/$179. US Shoppers can find the discounts over at Living DNA US.
Living DNA also powers its DNA tests for Find My Past (£79/US$89), a family-tree-making service much like Ancestry.
MyHeritage DNA deals
Like Ancestry, MyHeritage DNA tests only your autosomes and lags behind the market leaders with a relatively light 1.5 million tests on record.
Usually priced at £79, but you can get it for £49 from Amazon.
Best family tree services and deals
The market-leading Ancestry is the world’s most popular genealogical service with millions of digitized historical records to help you grow your family tree. You can also sign up for a gift membership for its UK Premium and Worldwide records accounts (from £69.99/US$99 for 6 months).
Find My Past is another popular service with many records and a family-tree creator. It has Starter, Plus and Pro accounts, starting at £79.99 for 12 months, which saves you 34% from the 1-month Starter option. You can also get a 14-day free trial.
The Genealogist is another family-tree service that has a wide range of possible accounts, starting with the Starter Personal Premium (3 months at £14.95, 6 months at £28.95, and a year at £54.95).
It also has Gold Personal Premium (from £38.95) and Diamond Personal Premium for £139.45 (12 months). You can compare the prices of the accounts on the Genealogist site.
You can also pick up £20 off a 4-month subscription to its Diamond Personal Premium subscription.
There’s also a promotion on the annual subscription bundle that can save you £92. It costs £99.45 (£20 off usual price) and includes a free 12-month subscription to the Discover Your Ancestors Online Magazine (worth £24.99), a charting pack, a Discover Your Ancestors Bookazine, and a Find Your Ancestor Guide (all worth £47).
Also get £10 off its TreeView (Standard Edition) software for logging ancestry information and tracking your research.
