Before investing in a DNA test, it’s essential to evaluate whether it offers good value for your money. For those seeking both ancestry and well-being insights, LivingDNA could be a strong contender. But the critical question remains: Is it worth the cost?
To answer this, I conducted an in-depth review of all LivingDNA kits. I examined their features, benefits, and compared them to other options on the market, aiming to determine if LivingDNA provides a worthwhile investment and if it includes any unique or essential features.
If you’re considering the value of LivingDNA kits, let’s dive into the specifics to help you decide if they’re a good fit for your needs.
LivingDNA Test Kits: Price, Value & More
Living DNA has three different kits on offer. You can choose from an ancestry kit, a wellbeing test, or the combined kit which has everything in one. As you’d expect, every test is priced differently. So let’s see what they have to offer.
1. Ancestry Kit – Ethnicity Percentages & Deep Heritage Reports
- Full ancestry for $99
- Ethnic percentages, migration mapping, and relative finder
- Free ancestry updates
- Results in 6-8 weeks
Living DNA’s ancestry kit comes in at just under $100, slightly pricier than a few other top competitors, but only by about $20. Considering the wealth of information provided in your report, that extra investment is well justified.
It’s important to note that there is a shipping fee involved. Standard shipping is priced at $9.95, while you also have the option to upgrade to express shipping for an additional $39.95. The express shipping fee includes the cost of return shipping, so you won’t face any unexpected extra charges.
The ancestry kit accurately identifies your ethnicity percentages based on 150 worldwide regions. It can also identify sub-regions in your heritage from over 100 areas in Europe, Africa, and Britain.
Using your DNA, it’s able to look back thousands of years to explore your ancestors’ migration maps. And it can track them down, too. It has a relative finder that scans the database to find your DNA matches and put you in touch with your ancestors.
You get free ancestry updates after taking your test. If any new regions are added, for example, your results are updated automatically at no cost.
2. Wellbeing Kit – Personalized Fitness & Nutritional Reports
- Costs $129 for full diet, vitamin, and fitness testing
- Determine your sensitivity towards foods and which foods to eat
- Assesses your optimal exercise routine
- Results take 6-8 weeks
Living DNA’s wellbeing kit costs $30 more than the ancestry test, coming in at $129.
It’s certainly not the most expensive wellbeing kit I’ve seen. In fact, it’s very budget-friendly. And it’s great value for money if you’re hoping to optimize your diet and fitness routine. But for health condition and carrier risk screening, it’s probably not worth it.
The wellbeing kit assesses your metabolism of different foods to identify sensitivities, particularly towards gluten and lactose. It tells you which foods to be eating to optimize your nutritional health. You get a full vitamin report, too.
You can also learn about which exercise routine to follow, with fitness ideas including intensity, duration, and type.
Results time is still between 6-8 weeks, and there are no extra fees for returning your kit or processing your sample. The only extra cost you have to pay is shipping, but even with that added on, it’s still very good value.
3. Combined Ancestry & Wellbeing Kit – Everything In One
- Wellbeing and ancestry for $179 – save over 21%
- Full ancestry report with regional mapping, migration lines, and ethnicity percentages
- Diet and fitness optimization, including personalized food list and exercise routines
- Results in 6-8 weeks
The Living DNA combined kit stands out as one of the top choices. Priced at $179, it includes both the ancestry and wellbeing tests at a discounted rate.
Purchasing these tests separately would cost you $49 more, making the combined kit a saving of over 21%.
If you’re intrigued by both aspects of your DNA, this kit is definitely worth considering. However, it’s important to note that shipping costs are still applicable, as with all Living DNA tests.
With just one saliva swab, you can delve into your ancestors’ migration maps, ethnicity percentages, and the geographic regions and sub-regions that shape your origins.
On the wellness front, you’ll receive all the features of the wellbeing test, including nutritional screening, personalized diet advice, fitness recommendations, and a comprehensive vitamin report.
Regardless of whether you opt for one or both reports, the results time remains consistent at 6-8 weeks.
Does Living DNA Have Any Extra Costs?
No matter which kit you choose, there’s a shipping fee ranging from $9.95 for standard delivery to $39.95 for one-day shipping. Keep in mind, this fee covers both sending the kit to you and the return shipping of your sample.
Living DNA doesn’t tack on any extra charges for processing your sample. Plus, if you opt for the ancestry test, you’ll receive free updates.
If you have a change of heart about your purchase, you can get a full refund as long as the kit remains unopened. Just make sure to cancel your order within 14 days to qualify for the refund.
How Does Living DNA Compare to Competitors?
Living DNA’s ancestry kit is slightly more expensive than AncestryDNA and MyHeritage. But there are pros and cons to them all, and it all depends on what you really want from your results.
AncestryDNA has the largest DNA database in the world and a great family tree builder, which you don’t get with Living DNA.
While Living DNA can’t compete in these areas, it does give you really deep ancestry insights with sub-regional origins to over 100 locations. And extended ancestry to look at your ancestors’ migrations from tens of thousands of years ago.
When it comes to the wellness kit, 23andMe offers no insights into diet and fitness, so the reports really can’t compare to what you get with Living DNA.
You can discover your genetic predisposition to certain diseases and learn whether you’re a carrier for different congenital conditions, though, which is what Living DNA is missing. However, 23andMe’s health kit is $20 more expensive than Living DNA’s combined kit. If you’re really interested in personal nutrition or exercise insights, Living DNA is the only choice.
| AncestryDNA | 23andMe | MyHeritage | Living DNA | |
| Ancestry Kit Cost | $99.00 | $99.00 | $89.00 | $119.00 |
| DNA Matches | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Regions Covered | 1,100+ | 2,000+ | 42 | 150 |
| Database Size | 18 million+ | 10 million+ | 1.5 million+ | Unknown |
| Y-DNA | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
| mtDNA | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Family Tree Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
| Health-related Kit Cost | ✘ | $199.00 | ✘ | $139.00 |
| Health Condition Screening | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Diet and Fitness Insights | ✘ | Limited | ✘ | ✔ |
| Diet Recommendations | ✘ | Limited | ✘ | ✔ |
| Vitamin Response | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Refunds | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review |
Comprehensive DNA Insights on a Budget
Living DNA provides good value for the range of insights it offers. You have the option to buy ancestry and well-being tests either as a package or individually. Buying them together saves you over 21%. The ancestry kit is strong on ethnicity breakdowns and ancestral history, but less so for detailed family tree construction.
On the other hand, the well-being test, priced at $129, offers budget-friendly guidance on diet and exercise, but won’t provide extensive health screenings or carrier status information.
In short, Living DNA offers a wide-ranging DNA testing service in both ancestry and well-being categories at reasonable prices. Be sure you know what kind of results you’re after before purchasing. If you haven’t opened your kit, a refund is still an option.
Discover Your Origins & Nutritional Health With Living DNA!
FAQs
Does Living DNA offer any regular or special discounts?
Living DNA’s kits are very affordable compared to a lot of other tests out there. It does run some discounts to help you save even more money every now and again. Right now, all of its kits are discounted by up to 45%.
How does Living DNA pricing compare to competitors?
In terms of both the insights it offers and its price tag, Living DNA’s wellbeing test is $20 cheaper than 23andMe’s health and ancestry kit. And 23andMe only touches on nutrition and exercise, which is Living DNA’s main focus. But you do get reports on your genetic predisposition and carrier status for certain conditions with 23andMe.
Living DNA’s ancestry test is more expensive than both MyHeritage and AncestryDNA, but you do get sub-regional origin mapping to over 100 subregions in Europe, Britain, and Africa. Though you don’t get a family tree builder, like with MyHeritage and AncestryDNA.
Does Living DNA include shipping?
Unfortunately, no. Living DNA does not include shipping. 23andMe offers free shipping, so you could try that kit if you prefer. But a lack of free shipping isn’t uncommon in the DNA testing market, as AncestryDNA and MyHeritage don’t offer it either.
Is there a subscription cost for Living DNA?
Living DNA doesn’t make you pay any ongoing subscription costs. You’d usually expect to pay this for family tree builders and genealogical research, like with AncestryDNA and MyHeritage, but this isn’t something Living DNA offers.
