Head to Head
This comparison has a straightforward answer in 2026 and it is not about ethnicity percentages. 23andMe has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and stated an intention to seek a buyer, and its privacy policy permits customer data to be accessed, sold or transferred in exactly that situation.
Ancestry
Around $99, frequently discounted
A saliva DNA test connected to the largest genealogical records database in the category.
4 rounds won · our pick
Varies
A saliva DNA test with health-trait reporting, from a company in Chapter 11 proceedings.
1 round won
The verdict
AncestryDNA wins, and it would win even without the bankruptcy — the records database is where family history actually lives, and matches to documents are far more useful than an ethnicity percentage that shifts every time reference panels are updated. The 23andMe situation makes it not close: we would not put a kit from a company in Chapter 11 into a gift bag.
How we compared these
This is built on public bankruptcy filings, the companies’ published privacy terms and regulatory guidance, read in September 2026. Circumstances in a bankruptcy change; check the current position before buying.
5 rounds
Each round is one thing that actually decides the choice. The overall winner is not always the one that wins the most rounds — some rounds matter more, and we say which.
AncestryDNA
RoundHeld indefinitely by a commercial company, which is worth thinking about, but with no live insolvency event attached.
23andMe
The privacy policy permits personal data to be accessed, sold or transferred in a bankruptcy, acquisition or sale. Regulators and privacy advocates have advised customers to consider deleting their genetic data.
AncestryDNA
RoundConnected to the largest records database in the category. The documents and relative matches are the genuinely useful output.
23andMe
Fewer genealogical records to connect results to.
AncestryDNA
Less developed on health traits.
23andMe
RoundThe more developed health-trait reporting of the two, and the main reason people chose it.
AncestryDNA
RoundShift as reference panels are updated. Expect the numbers to change, which surprises people.
23andMe
Same caveat applies. Neither should be treated as a fixed fact.
AncestryDNA
RoundDiscounted often — never pay list price. Still a gift that can surface unexpected parentage, so ask before wrapping.
23andMe
A gift that may require the recipient to manage a data-deletion request is not really a gift.
In fairness to the runner-up
There is no case for giving 23andMe as a present this year. If you already have an account, the relevant question is not which kit to buy but whether to exercise a deletion request — and that decision belongs to the account holder, not to whoever is buying them a birthday gift.
Questions