Written by Michelle Leonard
It's that time of year again - time for my annual Black Friday DNA sales round-up! It has become a tradition for most of the major DNA testing companies to offer their best deal of the year at this time - the Black Friday sales are a great opportunity to pick up DNA testing kits if you've been thinking of testing yourself or other relatives and if you want to give any as Christmas presents it's best to buy now rather than later. The sales will be over very quickly so take advantage while you can.
Here is a comprehensive round-up of the DNA sales on offer over the next few days:
Here is a comprehensive round-up of the DNA sales on offer over the next few days:
AncestryDNA has by far the largest autosomal DNA database at over 10 million testers and it is growing daily. If you are interested in taking a DNA test for genealogy purposes or you have a DNA mystery to solve then it's essential to get into the largest database. You cannot transfer into Ancestry as you can some of the other companies so you have to test with them direct. They are offering their lowest price of the year for Black Friday so now is the time to buy if you've been holding off waiting for a good sale!
The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by £30 from £79 to £49 for Black Friday
(please note that this does not include shipping which is £9.99 for a first kit and £4.99 for each additional kit in the same order - maximum ten kits per order)
*sale ends 26th November
AncestryDNA are also running Black Friday sales in Ireland, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada:
Ireland: Price reduced by €40 from €95 to €55
Shipping €9.99 per kit and €4.99 per additional kit in same order
*sale ends 26th November
USA: Price reduced by $50 from $99 to $49
Shipping $9.95 for a first kit and $4.95 for each addtional kit
*sale ends 26th November
Australia & New Zealand: Price reduced by A$41 from A$129 to A$88
Shipping A$29.99 for first kit and A$10 for each additional kit
*sale ends 26th November
Canada: Price reduced by C$60 from C$129 to C$69 (looks like lowest price ever for Canada!)
Shipping C$19.95 for first kit and C$10 for each additional kit
*sale ends 26th November 11:59pm E.T.
Amazon UK also have Ancestry kits as a "Deal of the Day" on Black Friday so they are selling for the same price as the Ancestry website (£49):
The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by £30 from £79 to £49 for Black Friday
(please note that this does not include shipping which is £9.99 for a first kit and £4.99 for each additional kit in the same order - maximum ten kits per order)
*sale ends 26th November
AncestryDNA are also running Black Friday sales in Ireland, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada:
Ireland: Price reduced by €40 from €95 to €55
Shipping €9.99 per kit and €4.99 per additional kit in same order
*sale ends 26th November
USA: Price reduced by $50 from $99 to $49
Shipping $9.95 for a first kit and $4.95 for each addtional kit
*sale ends 26th November
Australia & New Zealand: Price reduced by A$41 from A$129 to A$88
Shipping A$29.99 for first kit and A$10 for each additional kit
*sale ends 26th November
Canada: Price reduced by C$60 from C$129 to C$69 (looks like lowest price ever for Canada!)
Shipping C$19.95 for first kit and C$10 for each additional kit
*sale ends 26th November 11:59pm E.T.
Amazon UK also have Ancestry kits as a "Deal of the Day" on Black Friday so they are selling for the same price as the Ancestry website (£49):
This means you can get free shipping on top of the sale price so it makes more sense to buy from Amazon in this situation (maximum number of kits that can be purchased is 5). The US and Canadian Amazon sites may also offer this deal (last year it was offered on Cyber Monday in the US) and I will update this article if they do. Always make sure you are buying from AncestryDNA through Amazon and not from a third party seller.
MyHeritage are also having a Black Friday sale - they have reduced the price of their DNA kit from £75 to £49 in the UK and if you buy two or more kits free shipping will be included (if you only wish to order one kit standard shipping costs £9). The sale price in Ireland is €49 with standard shipping of €9 for one kit but the same free shipping if you buy 2 kits or more deal is in force. The sale price in the US is $49 and you can get free shipping by using the code FREE18 (US Only). The sale was originally set to end on the 23rd but has been extended to the 25th now.
UPDATE: Amazon UK is selling MyHeritage kits HERE for £48 with free shipping as a Deal of the Day on Saturday 24th November (ends midnight).
UPDATE 2: MyHeritage have reinstated their £49 per kit and free shipping if you buy two or more for Cyber Monday
It's possible to transfer into the MyHeritage database for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site. I would encourage anyone who has not yet taken advantage of uploading to do so prior to 1st December as MyHeritage are going to institute a small fee for extra features in the same way FTDNA does with their autosomal transfers but anyone who transfers in before the deadline will have the extra features grandfathered into their account for free. It is well worth having access to MyHeritage's excellent tools especially their chromosome browser. For more information on the changes read THIS MyHeritage announcement.
UPDATE: Amazon UK is selling MyHeritage kits HERE for £48 with free shipping as a Deal of the Day on Saturday 24th November (ends midnight).
UPDATE 2: MyHeritage have reinstated their £49 per kit and free shipping if you buy two or more for Cyber Monday
It's possible to transfer into the MyHeritage database for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site. I would encourage anyone who has not yet taken advantage of uploading to do so prior to 1st December as MyHeritage are going to institute a small fee for extra features in the same way FTDNA does with their autosomal transfers but anyone who transfers in before the deadline will have the extra features grandfathered into their account for free. It is well worth having access to MyHeritage's excellent tools especially their chromosome browser. For more information on the changes read THIS MyHeritage announcement.
On the back of a brilliant Thanksgiving sale which ended yesterday FTDNA are offering a Black Friday sale on all of their test kits. Their autosomal offering (Family Finder) has $40 off bringing it down to just $39 plus shipping until 26th November and shipping has also been reduced to $9.95.
Don't forget that FTDNA also have an autosomal transfer option so if you have tested at Ancestry, 23andMe (V3 and V4 only) or MyHeritage you can transfer into FTDNA and get all of your highest confidence matches for free. If you would like access to all tools and FTDNA's ethnicity estimate you can get those by paying a small $19 fee.
Y-DNA tests are also on sale until 26th November as follows:
Don't forget that FTDNA also have an autosomal transfer option so if you have tested at Ancestry, 23andMe (V3 and V4 only) or MyHeritage you can transfer into FTDNA and get all of your highest confidence matches for free. If you would like access to all tools and FTDNA's ethnicity estimate you can get those by paying a small $19 fee.
Y-DNA tests are also on sale until 26th November as follows:
And finally the discount on their MtDNA Full Seqeunce test is $60 bringing the price down from $199 to $139 and this again runs until 26th November:
Living DNA are also having a DNA Day sale as follows:
UK: Price reduced from £99 to £69 plus shipping (£9.95 standard)
EU: Price reduced from €109 to €79 plus shipping (€12.95 standard)
US: Price reduced from $99 to $69 plus shipping ($9.95 standard)
Canada: Price reduced from C$149 to C$99 plus shipping (C$14.95 standard)
Australia: Price reduced from A$169 to A$119 plus shipping (A$14.95 standard)
New Zealand: Price reduced from NZ$169 to NZ$119 plus shipping (NZ$14.95 standard)
The Living DNA test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information. LivingDNA's new Family Networks matching system is now in beta testing and all customers should have access to the matching database in the near future. It is also possible to upload results from other major testing companies to LivingDNA and you will be able to take advantage of their new Family Networks matching database if you do that but you will not receive the detailed regional breakdown or Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup designations. You can upload your raw data HERE.
LivingDNA also recently partnered with FindMyPast to be the provider of their new DNA test kit - the FindMyPast version of the test is also on sale for Black Friday as follows:
UK: Price reduced from £99 to £69 plus shipping (£9.95 standard)
EU: Price reduced from €109 to €79 plus shipping (€12.95 standard)
US: Price reduced from $99 to $69 plus shipping ($9.95 standard)
Canada: Price reduced from C$149 to C$99 plus shipping (C$14.95 standard)
Australia: Price reduced from A$169 to A$119 plus shipping (A$14.95 standard)
New Zealand: Price reduced from NZ$169 to NZ$119 plus shipping (NZ$14.95 standard)
The Living DNA test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information. LivingDNA's new Family Networks matching system is now in beta testing and all customers should have access to the matching database in the near future. It is also possible to upload results from other major testing companies to LivingDNA and you will be able to take advantage of their new Family Networks matching database if you do that but you will not receive the detailed regional breakdown or Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup designations. You can upload your raw data HERE.
LivingDNA also recently partnered with FindMyPast to be the provider of their new DNA test kit - the FindMyPast version of the test is also on sale for Black Friday as follows:
FindMyPast are selling their LivingDNA powered test for £59 plus £9.95 shipping per order (not per kit). In Ireland the sale price is €69 plus €12.95 shipping per order.
This is the same test as the LivingDNA test and you will go into the LivingDNA database but be aware that the FindMyPast version does not include the Y-DNA and MtDNA information that the LivingDNA test does. You can add this on for £19.90 in the UK or €24.95 but if you want the 3-in-1 test then it's cheaper to go with LivingDNA's direct deal at £69 (UK) or €79 (Ireland). If however you don't want or need the Y and Mt information then the FindMyPast deal is better and, once again, you can upload to the LivingDNA database via FindMyPast HERE for free.
This is the same test as the LivingDNA test and you will go into the LivingDNA database but be aware that the FindMyPast version does not include the Y-DNA and MtDNA information that the LivingDNA test does. You can add this on for £19.90 in the UK or €24.95 but if you want the 3-in-1 test then it's cheaper to go with LivingDNA's direct deal at £69 (UK) or €79 (Ireland). If however you don't want or need the Y and Mt information then the FindMyPast deal is better and, once again, you can upload to the LivingDNA database via FindMyPast HERE for free.
23ANDME
23andMe's Black Friday sale in the UK is offering £25 off their Ancestry only service bringing the price down to £54 per kit or £55 off their Health + Ancestry service bringing the price down to £94 per kit. Shipping costs £9.99 (Standard). The sale ends on 26th November at 5am GMT.
UPDATE: 23andMe Ancestry only kits are also being sold on Amazon HERE with free shipping - they are not a deal of the day so it's possible the price will remain until the end of the sale. The price for the Ancestry+Health kit is £103.99.
In the US they are offering a Black Friday deal which ends on 25th November at 9pm PST: $30 off the Ancestry only service bringing it down to $69 and $70 off the Ancestry + Health service bringing to down to $129. Shipping costs $9.95 per kit (Standard). If you are in the US and want to get the Health + Ancestry test, however, there's an even better deal for Black Friday on Amazon - they're selling it for $99! This is just a 24 hour flash sale for Black Friday; you can see the deal HERE.
The Black Friday sale in Canada also runs until 25th November at 9pm PST; C$40 off per kit for the Ancestry only service bringing it down from C$129 to C$89 and C$90 off the Health + Ancestry service bringing it down from C$249 to C$159. Shipping costs C$19.95 (Standard).
There is currently no deal available for Ireland, other EU countries or on their International site.
MAJOR UPDATE: The 23andMe Black Friday sale ended on the 25th but for Cyber Monday they are having an even better flash sale! Until Tuesday 27th Nov at 8pm GMT Ancestry Only kits are being sold with £35 off bringing them down to £44 plus shipping (£9.99 whether you buy one kit or more). Ancestry + health kits are being sold with £75 off if you buy two or more kits bringing to total down to £74 per kit. Ancestry + Health kits are also a "Deal of the Day" on Amazon though were you can pick one up HERE for £72.79 with free shipping until midnight GMT on Monday and there's no need to but 2 or more kits at Amazon.
UPDATE: 23andMe Ancestry only kits are also being sold on Amazon HERE with free shipping - they are not a deal of the day so it's possible the price will remain until the end of the sale. The price for the Ancestry+Health kit is £103.99.
In the US they are offering a Black Friday deal which ends on 25th November at 9pm PST: $30 off the Ancestry only service bringing it down to $69 and $70 off the Ancestry + Health service bringing to down to $129. Shipping costs $9.95 per kit (Standard). If you are in the US and want to get the Health + Ancestry test, however, there's an even better deal for Black Friday on Amazon - they're selling it for $99! This is just a 24 hour flash sale for Black Friday; you can see the deal HERE.
The Black Friday sale in Canada also runs until 25th November at 9pm PST; C$40 off per kit for the Ancestry only service bringing it down from C$129 to C$89 and C$90 off the Health + Ancestry service bringing it down from C$249 to C$159. Shipping costs C$19.95 (Standard).
There is currently no deal available for Ireland, other EU countries or on their International site.
MAJOR UPDATE: The 23andMe Black Friday sale ended on the 25th but for Cyber Monday they are having an even better flash sale! Until Tuesday 27th Nov at 8pm GMT Ancestry Only kits are being sold with £35 off bringing them down to £44 plus shipping (£9.99 whether you buy one kit or more). Ancestry + health kits are being sold with £75 off if you buy two or more kits bringing to total down to £74 per kit. Ancestry + Health kits are also a "Deal of the Day" on Amazon though were you can pick one up HERE for £72.79 with free shipping until midnight GMT on Monday and there's no need to but 2 or more kits at Amazon.
Michelle Leonard is Ancestry Hour's resident DNA #genesgenius! You can catch her on Twitter as @GenealogyLass and you can follow her business page Genes & Genealogy on Facebook. She is usually on hand to answer #DNA queries during #AncestryHour each Tuesday evening 7-8pm GMT.
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