05 May 2013

Family Tree DNA Drops Prices

It was only a matter of time. Prices for DNA testing for genealogy have fallen over the years and the latest decrease comes from Family Tree DNA.

Their autosomal test, marketed as Family Finder, now has a regular price of $199, down from $289.
While that is still substantially greater than the $99 list price for a similar test at 23andMe or AncestryDNA that advertised price isn't the only consideration.
The Ancestry autosomal test is still not offered in Canada.
23andMe adds on a large shipping fee. You need to consider the significance for you of the access to FTDNA's genealogy-oriented database versus the medical information and comprehensive Ancestry Composition information you get with a 23andMe test. Note that with the new price there is no longer an advantage in testing with 23andMe and transferring the results to FTDNA.

Also FTDNA is now offering a full mtDNA test for $199, only $40 more than the price for the partial (HVR1 and 2) test offered previously.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anne in Ottawa says, "This is terrific news. I hope to inspire/convince some relatives to do the autosomal tests. So far the database has not shown to me any people other than distant 4th cousins,(and already known relatives) but if we can get more people testing perhaps we can make more relevant connections. It is also interesting to see our overall DNA composition. My mother was different from me and we can now tell which matches come from her side of the family and which from my Dad's side. It is so important to have our older relatives tested, and so easy to do."

Unknown said...

I agree 100 percent Anne! I bought my Mom and Mother in law a test for Mother's Day. I sent out an e mail with 30 family members listed to tell them the NEW 49.00 price and no one has responded and its been 6 days!!!! Not sure what other methods to try to get my family involved????

Your Genetic Genealogist said...

There is still one benefit to testing at 23andMe first and then transferring to FTDNA. That is that you will be in two databases for the price of one. :-)
CeCe