An "ancient DNA test" is not a kit. Nobody sequences ancient DNA from your saliva; every service in this guide takes the raw file you already have from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, Living DNA or a whole-genome provider and compares it with published ancient genomes. The best one for you depends on which question you are asking, so this guide sorts the market by question first and by service second. I run one of the services listed, Ancestrify, so every competitor entry is kept to what is readable on that competitor's own site, with "not stated on their site" where it is not. Genoplot, DNAGENICS and ExploreYourDNA were read on 2026-09-06; Illustrative DNA and MyTrueAncestry on 2026-08-28.
The direct answer#
For a formal ancestry model that can be wrong, with the p-value, standard errors, z-scores and the complete right set published and a person checking the model: Ancestrify's qpAdm analysis, from 29.99 EUR one-time. For a coordinate-based report on your official Global25 row, with every source panel published: Ancestrify's Global25 analysis, 29.99 EUR one-time. For matches with individual ancient people showing the segment evidence: Ancient Matches, 29.99 EUR one-time. For a do-it-yourself qpAdm sandbox with unlimited sweeping: Illustrative DNA's AdmixLab or Genoplot's paid tiers. For the widest calculator library: Genoplot or DNAGENICS. The rest of this page is the evidence for those sentences.
The criteria that decide the answer#
A test or a ranking. qpAdm returns a p-value; a model can be rejected. Calculators, coordinate fits and similarity rankings always return an answer, however poor the fit. If you want to know whether the model is wrong, only the first family can tell you. Is qpAdm worth it versus a calculator covers the difference in full.
Official or simulated Global25 coordinates. Official rows come only from Davidski's independent G25 Requests portal. A service that computes its own row is selling a simulation, and every number downstream inherits it. Where to buy G25 coordinates sorts that market.
Published panels. A percentage without the list of populations the model was offered, including the ones it rejected, is half a result.
Whole-genome input. A sequencing VCF covers far more of the reference panel than an array chip; some services accept it directly, some require conversion first, some do not say.
The price model. One-time reports, subscriptions, credit budgets and lifetime packs are all on this list. None is wrong; each suits a different way of using the tools.
Ancestrify#
| Method | qpAdm from ADMIXTOOLS 2 against AADR v66.p1 plus a documented supplement; Global25 distances, admixture and PCA on the official row; Ancient Matches segment scan against every individual in the panel |
| Who builds the model | A person composes, runs and checks every qpAdm model; automated rotation was built, measured and removed |
| Published statistics | p-value, chi-square, degrees of freedom, every source's weight, SE, z-score and 95% confidence interval, the full right set, the nested-model table and the rank test, downloadable as plain text at every tier |
| Coordinates | Official Global25 row only, pasted or obtained for you (Coordinate Concierge, 15 EUR pass-through); never computed or simulated |
| Whole-genome VCF | Accepted directly up to 1 GB (10 EUR add-on, converted at upload, original not stored) |
| Price model | One-time: qpAdm 29.99 to 59.99 EUR by search depth, Global25 29.99 EUR, Ancient Matches 29.99 EUR; add-ons one-time |
| Hosting | Germany and Finland, EU, under GDPR |
The differentiators are the p-value with everything behind it published, the official row policy, the Personalized Calculator that an analyst hand-builds around one customer's coordinates, and the free Lab that runs the same arithmetic in the browser.
Illustrative DNA#
| Method | DeepAncestry: a coordinate-based report across six periods with distances, an unsupervised enumeration of three-component mixtures, PCA and hierarchical clustering; AdmixLab: do-it-yourself qpAdm and Fst on AADR v62 and v66 panels |
| Who builds the model | You, in AdmixLab; DeepAncestry is automated |
| Published statistics | AdmixLab exposes the tool's own output for the models you compose; which statistics DeepAncestry shows: not stated on their site |
| Coordinates | Their own coordinate system from a raw file upload |
| Whole-genome VCF | Their AdmixLab page states WGS files cannot be used unless first converted to genotype format |
| Price model | DeepAncestry per report; AdmixLab as a subscription; prices not stated on the pages read |
| Hosting | ILLUSTRATIVEDNA OÜ, Estonia |
The right choice when you want to sweep your own models continuously and enjoy the work. The cell-by-cell version is at Ancestrify vs Illustrative DNA, and the alternatives guide maps each reason people look elsewhere.
Genoplot#
| Method | 500+ admixture and G25 calculators, G25 and nMonte modelling, PCA, whole-genome imputation, and on paid tiers qpAdm and formal statistics with optimaFit automated modelling on Pro |
| Who builds the model | You; the paid tiers add AI-assisted population selection that rotates combinations until models reach acceptable p-values |
| Published statistics | qpAdm output on Basic and Pro; which statistics are shown: not stated on their pricing page |
| Coordinates | Free Geno25 (G25) coordinate simulation on every tier; paid tiers add one or two Geno25 coordinate sets a year as a bonus |
| Whole-genome VCF | Whole-genome imputation of the uploaded raw file is offered; VCF upload: not stated on their site |
| Price model | Free tier with 100 compute credits; Basic 35 USD per year (listed at 50 USD) with 1,000 credits a month; Pro 54 USD per year (listed at 90 USD) with 3,000 credits a month; "cancel at any time" |
| Hosting | Not stated on their site |
The friendliest free entry point and the widest library. Its coordinates are its own simulation, not the official row, and its qpAdm is a rotation you drive. Comparison: Ancestrify vs Genoplot; alternatives: Genoplot alternatives.
DNAGENICS#
| Method | By their methods summary: admixture analysis, chromosome painting, genetic similarity, identity-by-state segments, PCA and UMAP including G25-derived coordinates, haplogroups and local ancestry; qpAdm and f-statistics are not named on the pages read |
| Who builds the model | Automated reports |
| Published statistics | Not stated on their site |
| Coordinates | Sold as a product and included in the packs; described on their methods page as G25-derived, computed in their own space, not the official portal row |
| Whole-genome VCF | Converter tools produce a RAW file from VCF, BAM, CRAM or FASTQ for analysis |
| Price model | One-time packs on 2026-09-06: Starter listed at 90 EUR and shown at 63 EUR, Explorer 140 EUR shown at 98 EUR, Ultimate 160 EUR shown at 112 EUR; a coordinate row alone at 14 EUR |
| Hosting | Not stated on their site |
Breadth is the offer: hundreds of reports for one payment. What is missing is a formal test and the official row. Comparison: Ancestrify vs DNA Genics; alternatives: DNAGENICS alternatives.
MyTrueAncestry#
| Method | Compares an uploaded raw file with ancient samples and civilizations, with a free basic analysis and further results at paid levels |
| Who builds the model | Automated |
| Published statistics | The site renders client-side; methods, per-individual itemisation and prices are not stated on the pages as served |
| Coordinates | Not applicable |
| Whole-genome VCF | Not stated on their site |
| Price model | Free tier with paid levels; prices not stated on the pages as served |
| Hosting | MyTrueAncestry AG, Switzerland |
The "which civilizations am I closest to" experience. If what you want is the evidence behind each match, Ancient Matches shows it per segment; the alternatives guide sorts the options by need.
ExploreYourDNA#
| Method | Global25-based reports fitted on coordinates you already have |
| Who builds the model | Automated reports from a chosen calculator |
| Published statistics | Fit output per report |
| Coordinates | Takes your existing Global25 row; does not compute coordinates; also offers to obtain a row from an external service at a price not stated |
| Whole-genome VCF | Not applicable; the input is a coordinate row |
| Price model | One-time reports on 2026-09-06: regional focus reports at 15 EUR each, a "DNA Mega-Analysis" at 25 EUR, a "Legend Check" at 7 EUR; calculators free |
| Hosting | Not stated on their site |
Inexpensive single-report reads of a row you already own. The Ancestrify Global25 analysis covers the same ground across six eras with the full panel published, and the free Lab does the calculator part without an account.
Illustrative DNA vs Genoplot vs Ancestrify#
These three are the ones people weigh against each other for qpAdm. The decision reduces to who chooses the model. Illustrative DNA's AdmixLab and Genoplot's paid tiers hand you the environment and a run allowance; Genoplot adds automated rotation. Ancestrify sells the finished, hand-checked model with everything behind it published, and only then a Model Lab for your own runs on your own merged dataset. If you will run models every week for a year, a subscription can cost less; if you want one defensible answer, the one-time report does. Coordinates split the same way: Genoplot simulates its own, Illustrative DNA uses its own system, Ancestrify uses only the official row.
Side by side#
| Ancestrify | Illustrative DNA | Genoplot | DNAGENICS | MyTrueAncestry | ExploreYourDNA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formal qpAdm with a p-value | Yes, hand-checked | DIY in AdmixLab | DIY on paid tiers | Not named | No | No |
| Full statistics published | Yes, every tier | Tool output, DIY | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Fit output |
| Official Global25 row only | Yes | Own system | Own simulation | Own derived | n/a | Yes, yours |
| Source panels incl. rejected | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Whole-genome VCF direct | Yes | Conversion first | Not stated | Converter tools | Not stated | n/a |
| Matches with individuals | Yes, per segment | No | Not stated | Yes | Yes | No |
| Price model | One-time | Per report + subscription | Credits, yearly | One-time packs | Free + paid levels | One-time reports |
Which one for which question#
- "What ancient populations am I a mixture of, and can the answer be wrong?" A qpAdm analysis with the statistics published.
- "I have official G25 coordinates; where do I sit?" A Global25 analysis, or the free Lab.
- "Which individual ancient people do I overlap with?" Ancient Matches, read as identity by state.
- "I want to run hundreds of my own models." A DIY environment: AdmixLab, Genoplot's paid tiers or the free AdmixTools 2 online.
- "I want hundreds of reports for one payment." DNAGENICS.
What no ancient DNA test can tell you#
None of these services can identify a specific ancestor. A source population is a reference group a model tests against; a distance is a position in a reference space; a shared stretch is evidence about a shared ancestral population, not proof of descent. Any service that says otherwise is selling a story, and a legitimate one says so up front.
Frequently asked questions#
What is the best ancient DNA test?#
For a tested model with published statistics and a person checking it, Ancestrify's qpAdm analysis from 29.99 EUR. For a do-it-yourself sandbox, Illustrative DNA's AdmixLab or Genoplot. For the widest report library, DNAGENICS. The best one depends on whether you want an answer that can be wrong or a ranking that always answers.
Is 23andMe an ancient DNA test?#
No. 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage compare you with living reference populations and give you the raw file. An ancient DNA test is what you run on that file afterwards, against published ancient genomes.
Which ancient DNA test gives a p-value?#
Only qpAdm-based ones. Ancestrify publishes the p-value with every weight, standard error, z-score and the full right set; Illustrative DNA's AdmixLab and Genoplot's paid tiers let you run qpAdm yourself and read the tool's output.
Which services accept a whole-genome VCF?#
Ancestrify accepts a sequencing VCF directly, up to 1 GB, for a 10 EUR add-on. Illustrative DNA's AdmixLab page states WGS files must be converted to genotype format first. DNAGENICS offers converter tools. Genoplot and MyTrueAncestry do not state it on the pages read.
Are ancient DNA tests accurate?#
A qpAdm model is accurate to the degree its statistics say, and a rejected model is the method working. Coordinate fits and calculators are accurate to their panel and their fit distance, and cannot reject anything. No test of either kind can identify an individual ancestor.
Terms used here are defined in the glossary.
