The best DNA ancestry kits

Explore your family history with this hot new trend in genealogy

Explore your family history with this hot new trend in genealogy

Once upon a time, researching your family tree meant combing through dusty public records and picking the brains of elderly relatives for the maiden name of that long-lost aunt. Today, thanks to the internet, so much of this information is at the click of a button.

However, rather than just compiling databases of births and deaths, increasingly online services are offering to analyse your DNA to unlock the secrets of your family tree.

First you buy your kit online, which generally consists of either swabbing your mouth or – rather inelegantly – spitting into a plastic tube. You then return your sealed-up saliva sample in a prepaid envelope, then after a few weeks, you log in online to view your results.

This generally includes a list of living relatives and a breakdown of your ethnic origins.

Demand for these genetic genealogy kits has never been higher, with more people tested in 2017 than in all previous years combined. It’s thought 12 million people have sent off saliva to be scrutinised, with most of those tested in the US, suggesting

1 in 25 American adults now have access to their personal genetic data.

With such a huge reference pool to draw on, there’s never been a better time to get on board with a DNA test kit. But the home DNA test kit market is made up of many companies, with deals ranging from £50 to over £100, and each one offering slightly different services. Read onto discover our top picks.