Family Tree DNA Reviews

(based on 41 reviews)

64 of 126 people found this review helpful

I have been with Family Tree DNA since 2009 and was initially put off by it. However at the time I tested, they only offered mtDNA and YDNA tests. My lack of knowledge caused my frustration and the lack of participants in the YDNA surname group that my father belongs to was another source of frustration. However, when they offered autosomal testing, Family Finder, then I was much happier as I began to connect to distant family members. My complaint is not with FTDNA but with people who choose these tests and treat them like a parlor game. I am interested in genealogy and hope to meet others who submit their DNA kits with the same interest. The ethnic breakdown is interesting but was not my main goal. I also have submitted a spit sample to Ancestry and 23andMe and they do have a larger group of participants but it is just a much larger group who have no interest in genealogy and think they are going to learn all about their ethnic background. I recommend Family Tree DNA to all my friends unless they are adopted and looking for their biological... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

251 of 512 people found this review helpful

As another person commented, the FTDNA user interface is, to be kind, poor, but their customer support is stellar, they have the largest database of DNA tests (very important when looking for matches), they are affiliated with the top scientists in the field, they have made more (genealogically-relevant) discoveries than all their competition combined and they are focused on genealogy and helping other genealogists find their missing family ties.

There is only one other DNA testing company that even comes close to FTDNA and that is 23andme, but their focus is on medical health traits. Their user interface is great, but they do not encourage genealogical endeavors. For example, they do not offer ancestry projects (e.g. surnames or geographical or haplogroup, etc.) and do not have project administrators or facilitators to help people with common goals analyze their data and understand the meaning of the matches they have. They are a company founded to investigate genetics in health and human traits and genealogy is way down the list of their priorities. The founders of 23andme are not genealogists whereas the founder of Family Tree DNA is a genealogist who founded the first company to use DNA as... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.