MyHeritage vs AncestryDNA 2026: Which One Is Better?

 

Choosing between MyHeritage and AncestryDNA for your genetic testing needs can be a tough decision. Both are decent companies, but they have unique strengths that cater to different user preferences.

MyHeritage is a popular choice because of its comprehensive, user-friendly experience. Known for its fast processing time, MyHeritage delivers results more quickly than most of its competitors, and it has recently upgraded its DNA test to Whole Genome Sequencing. Despite this, My Heritage is still the slightly cheaper ancestry test.

On the other hand, AncestryDNA is widely recognized for its extensive database, the largest in the industry. This gives you a better chance of connecting with distant relatives. It also covers a broad range of ethnic groups, making it a top pick for those interested in a detailed exploration of their roots. 

Both companies offer high-quality DNA testing services, but their individual strengths may sway your decision depending on your specific needs. 

Ancestry DNA and MyHeritage DNA Deals Update 2026

Quick Comparison: MyHeritage DNA vs. AncestryDNA

Types of DNA Kits Offered by Ancestry and MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Only One Test, but It Offers Whole Genome Sequencing

MyHeritage offers a single DNA test priced at $89, with an option to include a subscription trial at the same cost. This test used to be exactly the same as Ancestry’s, but My Heritage has recently transitioned its tests from genotyping array DNA testing to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), which samples around 3 billion base pairs. Soon, all new tests will be processed this way.

MyHeritage uses low-pass Whole Genome Sequencing at 2x coverage, meaning each position in the genome is read twice on average (rather than the 30x coverage typical in medical settings). The company says this strikes a balance between broad genome coverage and affordability.

This will hopefully bring future improvements, such as more accurate ethnicity estimates and enhanced DNA matching. However, it will take a while for customers to see the full benefits, as the database of whole genome sequences will need time to grow.

While this is an exciting upgrade and will add more value to My Heritage’s affordable pricing, it’s also worth noting that it’s one of the reasons the company stopped offering raw DNA uploads. Previously, you could upload your results from an Ancestry test to My Heritage; now, if you wanted to use both platforms, you have to buy two tests.

Ancestry: An Autosomal Test, with an Advanced Option Covering Traits

AncestryDNA offers an autosomal test, which surveys your genome at over 700,000 locations. The Ancestry offering stands out thanks to the world’s largest consumer DNA network, significantly enhancing its ability to link users with distant relatives.

Beyond a detailed ethnic breakdown, AncestryDNA’s StoryScout feature explores historical records and public family trees to reveal stories about your ancestors, offering deep historical and geographical context to your family history.

AncestryDNA offers two test options: a basic DNA test or AncestryDNA + Traits, which also analyzes certain genetic traits. These include traits on appearance, performance, behaviours, nutrients, and more.

You can also buy your test kit with a membership (I’ll discuss the advanced features included below). For example, you can get AncestryDNA + World Explorer Membership or AncestryDNA+ All Access Membership. If you’re a new customer, you can often get these subscription trials at a heavily discounted price.

Subscription Plans: Both Offer Basic Versions for a Taster, but The Paid Options Are Better

MyHeritage and AncestryDNA both offer subscription plans that go beyond basic DNA test results, primarily aimed at individuals interested in genealogy research and building detailed family trees.

MyHeritage offers a range of subscription options to suit different needs.

• The Data subscription provides access to a vast collection of historical records and enhanced search features.
• The Family Site plans (available in Premium and PremiumPlus) provide complete access to tools for building your family tree, along with other advanced DNA-related features. You’ll be able to expand your family tree to 2,500 individuals with Premium, or it becomes unlimited with PremiumPlus. 
• The Complete subscription combines both of these (a PremiumPlus Family Site and the Data Plan) for DNA analysis with unlimited access to historical records and advanced genealogy tools.
• The highest-level Omni tier includes everything in Complete, plus historical newspapers, a Geni.com Pro plan, access to webinars, and unlimited photo scanning. 

It’s worth noting that your account can have multiple Family Site Subscriptions (for different family sites), but you would only need one data subscription across everything.

AncestryDNA also provides subscription packages that unlock access to Ancestry.com’s extensive historical archive, including vital records such as birth, marriage, and death certificates. All the subscriptions include access to records and special collections, a family tree builder, family tree sharing, Ancestry Hints, direct messaging, photo scanning, tagging, and editing tools, ethnicity inheritance, matches by parent, and Traits analysis. The main difference between plans is in which records you can access. 

• The U.S. Discovery plan focuses on records from the United States.
• The World Explorer plan expands access to global records.
• The All Access plan includes everything from the previous tiers, along with exclusive access to Fold3 military records and Newspapers.com archives. This plan also allows you to add 4 family members to join your plan, without paying anything extra. 

It’s important to note that both services offer free basic versions that allow for DNA matching and building a family tree, but the advanced features and historical records are behind a paywall.

Sample Collection and Turnaround Time

Both DNA testing kits contain everything you need to collect and send in your sample: instructions, sample collection tubes, and related paraphernalia, and return envelopes or boxes.

How to Get Your DNA Tested (Through Either Company)

1. Register Online. After you buy your test kit, you’ll need to go online and create an account. In addition to your email address and other information, you’ll need to provide the unique code that’s printed on your test kit (either on the box or somewhere inside). This is so they can match your sample to your account.
2. Supply Your Sample. You’ll need to wait at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking anything. Then, follow the instructions on your test kit for collecting your DNA and mailing it in.
3. Wait for Results, Grow Your Tree. They’ll email you right away to let you know when they’ve received your sample. After that, it takes a few weeks for them to sequence your DNA, interpret their findings, and prepare a report for you.

While waiting for further updates, you have the option to begin constructing your family tree on their website or mobile app. If you haven’t already subscribed to their genealogy service, it’s worth considering, as it significantly enhances your ability to build a comprehensive family tree. Without a subscription, you’ll be on the free plan, so your ability to build your family tree will be quite limited.

Once you provide the names, birth dates, and birthplaces of your closest relatives, these genealogy companies will suggest additional relatives for you to include based on matches found in their extensive genealogy databases. However, please note that you may not be able to add these suggested relatives unless you have an active subscription to the genealogy service.

4. Receive Your Report. When your report is ready, the companies will notify you via email. To view your results, just log in to their website or mobile app. Your report will spell out everything they’ve discovered about your ancestry and your likely relatives around the world.

Where the Process Differs:

1. Sample Collection Type. With AncestryDNA, you collect your DNA sample by spitting into a tube. It’s pretty quick and easy – just be careful not to overfill! There’s some liquid in the cap that’s intended to stabilize your DNA while it’s in transit. MyHeritage, on the other hand, asks you to rub a swab against the inside of each cheek for 30-60 seconds. Ultimately, which you find easier will come down to individual preferences. 
2. Postage. AncestryDNA has prepaid the postage for mailing in your sample. MyHeritage makes you pay for the return postage. This means an inconvenient trip to the post office, plus an added cost. The included padded envelope is 160 mm x 95 mm and is around 10 grams, if you want to calculate how much that would cost from your location. 
3. Wait Time. MyHeritage promises you’ll get your results within three to four weeks of receiving your sample. AncestryDNA says it takes more like four to six weeks to analyze your DNA and prepare your report. In my case, I got results from both companies in around two weeks. So there may not be as much of a difference as their websites would suggest.

Overall, the collection method is a matter of choice, so the main differences for me are the extra postage costs associated with MyHeritage and a potential longer wait time for results with AncestryDNA. 

Volume of Emails: There Are A Lot, So You May Want to Unsubscribe

While you’re waiting for your report – as well as after you receive it – both companies will send you lots of emails saying they’ve found new likely relatives for you in their database.

If you’re subscribed to their genealogy services, the emails you receive can be helpful. You can click through, review new DNA matches, and add them to your family tree. If you’re not subscribed, though, these emails can be frustrating. You won’t be able to add matches to your tree, and you’ll likely receive additional messages urging you to subscribe.

In the subsequent two months after signing up for both services, I received 45 emails from MyHeritage and 24 from AncestryDNA. You can opt out of these messages at any time. I just chose to keep receiving them so I could keep count and give you a clear picture of what to expect.

Next, we’ll take a closer look at what each report includes.

Test Results

When the big day comes, and you find out your report is ready, you’ll run to your computer and eagerly log onto the testing company’s website (or pull out your phone to check their app). What will you see?

The ancestry reports from MyHeritage DNA and AncestryDNA contain many of the same elements. I’ll show you examples of my reports side by side so you can see how they compare. Then I’ll present some unique features from each.

Common Features

1. Ethnicity Estimate. This feature tells you what percentage of your ancestors came from specific areas around the world. AncestryDNA recently changed the name of its ethnicity estimate to “Ancestral Regions”, which is basically the same thing – it shows your regions by percentage. 

Here’s my ethnicity estimate from MyHeritage DNA:



And here’s AncestryDNA’s version (for new tests, look for this under Ancestral Regions in your AncestryDNA Origins results):



As you can see, both reports have color-coated blobs that represent the regions from which my forebears originated. There’s a lot of overlap between the two ethnicity estimates.

However, AncestryDNA picked up on my Southeast Asian ancestry, whereas MyHeritage DNA did not. That’s not to say that MyHeritage doesn’t look for such ancestry. They just didn’t find it for me.

For each ethnicity or region, both companies will give you a bit more context or historical/geographical detail.

MyHeritage DNA:



AncestryDNA:



They’re very similar in terms of content. It’s just the presentation that’s different. Personally, I prefer MyHeritage DNA’s brightly colored maps to the darker ones that AncestryDNA uses.

2. DNA Matches. Both companies will give you a list of people who are likely to be your relatives, based on commonalities in your DNA. I’ll show how my lists compare. I’ve redacted my relatives’ names for privacy.

MyHeritage DNA’s list for me includes more than 11,000 people. (I wonder, can I really have that many living relatives who have taken their DNA test?!)

I don’t know how many DNA matches are in my AncestryDNA list. It doesn’t give you a number. You just scroll and scroll and scroll…



Anyways, on either company’s list, you’ll find each likely relative’s name, how you appear to be related, what percentage of DNA you have in common, and how many DNA segments you share.

If you click on a relative’s name, you can get more information about them, including shared family surnames. You can also attempt to contact them through the company. And if you subscribe to the company’s genealogy service, you can easily add them to your family tree.

3. Family Tree. Even if you don’t subscribe to MyHeritage or AncestryDNA’s genealogy services, buying one of their test kits entitles you to build a small family tree online – by manually adding all the relatives you know about. My family trees are below.

AncestryDNA (again, with the gloomy color scheme):



MyHeritage DNA:



As you can see, they’re not very big…because I’m not a subscriber. If I were, they’d be much larger and more detailed.

Both companies (especially MyHeritage) frequently dangle relative matches that they’ve found for me in front of my face. If I were to only subscribe, I could add these relatives to my tree. Alas.

Features Unique to MyHeritage DNA

1. Chromosome Browser. This feature lets you choose one or more specific relatives from among your DNA matches and see exactly which DNA segments you have in common on each of your chromosomes.

They’re color-coded so you can see which segments you share with whom. I guess this is kind of interesting, but it’s not very meaningful to me as a non-geneticist, and I could just as easily live without it. (Although, from reading the reviews, I know some people find this feature super interesting – to each their own!)

2. DNA Match Overview. This is a nice touch. In addition to giving you a huge list of people who seem to be related to you based on shared DNA, MyHeritage DNA offers you a high-level snapshot that categorizes these matches as either close family, extended family, or distant relatives. Here’s mine.

3. Auto Clusters. If you’re a MyHeritage subscriber, this feature will show you how you and your DNA matches are descended from common ancestors. Since I’m not a subscriber, here’s an example from the website.

Again – it’s kind of cool. Although I’m not really sure what I’d do with this info if I had access to it.

4. Ethnicities Around the World. This interactive map shows you which ethnicities are most common in any given part of the world. (And, by the way, anyone can use this feature – even if you haven’t taken a test or subscribed.)

You can narrow this down to the level of a specific country or region, or search by ethnicity:



This feature is interesting to explore, in my opinion. I think we usually tend to think of other countries as being pretty homogenous, especially if they’re countries we have no personal connection to. But, in reality, every country is a melting pot in its own way, as this feature reveals.

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Features Unique to AncestryDNA

1. ThruLines. This is a similar idea to MyHeritage DNA’s AutoClusters. It shows you which ancestors you may have in common with your DNA matches. Here’s the example from AncestryDNA’s website:

And here’s mine. It’s not as colorful. I guess AncestryDNA doesn’t have photos for any of them (or I need to have a subscription).



Most of these potential ancestors (based on my DNA) are ones that I don’t share with any other people in AncestryDNA’s DNA database. But here’s an exception (unredacted because they’re deceased):



If you’re like me and have trouble visualizing how you’re related to distant family members, this is a pretty useful feature. 

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How Accurate are the DNA Test Kits?

Okay, I’ve walked you through how these two companies’ reports compare. But how accurate are these reports? How satisfying are they overall?

In identifying ancestral origins, MyHeritage DNA categorizes the world into 79 regions, while AncestryDNA uses over 500. Although the reason for this discrepancy is unclear, it suggests that AncestryDNA’s larger number of regions could lead to more geographically accurate reports.

In my case, AncestryDNA was able to identify some Southeast Asian ancestry that MyHeritage DNA didn’t detect at all. I’m pretty sure one of my ancestors was Javanese, and AncestryDNA picked up on this. 

Did MyHeritage DNA miss that because of the limited number of regions it considers? Maybe. All I know is that I found my ethnicities estimate from MyHeritage DNA a bit lacking.

I must point out that millions of customers have used both MyHeritage DNA and AncestryDNA. For each company, a certain percentage of customers feel their results are inaccurate, whereas most are satisfied with the accuracy of their results. So my own experience is by no means representative.

Database Size

AncestryDNA and MyHeritage DNA both maintain large databases of millions of customer DNA samples. AncestryDNA offers access to over 60 billion historical records, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as census and military records. MyHeritage provides access to approximately 38.6 billion historical documents.

While I can speculate that both companies would provide valuable family tree suggestions, I have not personally subscribed to their genealogy services and cannot provide a direct comparison of this aspect. If we’re assuming the largest database is the best, then I’d go for Ancestry DNA. 

Geographical Coverage

Geographical coverage in DNA tests helps identify the regions your ancestors came from, which adds depth to your understanding of your heritage. DNA will give you a breakdown of your ancestors’ ethnicities. They’ll tell you where those ancestors lived, and what percentage of your heredity each ethnicity represents. When it comes to ethnicity estimates, MyHeritage offers over 2,100, compared to AncestryDNA’s 1,800. 

This extra coverage may offer a more detailed picture of your ethnicity, potentially identifying more specific areas where your ancestors lived. However, it’s important to note that the accuracy of these estimates depends not just on the number of regions but also on the size and diversity of the DNA database each service has. AncestryDNA, with its larger database, might offer more accurate connections despite having fewer regions. So, while MyHeritage covers more regions, AncestryDNA’s larger database could compensate for its slightly narrower geographical scope.

Privacy Measures: Both Services Take Looking After Your Data Seriously

When it comes to DNA testing services, privacy is a significant concern. Users are essentially handing over sensitive genetic information, and how that data is managed is crucial.

Both companies adhere to privacy laws and guidelines, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe. Both companies also offer two-factor authentication as an added security measure. With Ancestry, you have to use two-factor (or sign in via an Apple or Google account) to access features like ThruLines® or DNA matches. MyHeritage is similar; it offers optional 2FA for accounts, unless you have a DNA kit, in which case it’s mandatory to protect your genetic data.

AncestryDNA has a privacy policy that specifies that your data will not be shared with third parties without your explicit consent. They also offer users the choice to participate in research studies, which would involve sharing anonymized data with researchers. You have the option to delete your DNA data and terminate your account if you wish. However, if your data has been used in studies, it can’t be withdrawn from those studies retrospectively.

MyHeritage also takes privacy seriously, explicitly stating that they will never sell or license DNA data to insurance companies, government agencies, employers, or any third party without explicit user consent. They also allow users to download and delete their DNA data at any time.

One main difference is that with MyHeritage, all genetic samples are destroyed by the lab after they’ve been processed (unless you’ve enrolled in the MyHeritage DNA BioBank service). Ancestry also allows you to destroy your sample, but this is by request.

Raw Data Download and Upload: Neither Offer Uploads

AncestryDNA allows users to download their raw DNA data, which is useful if you want to use that data with other services for additional analysis. You can’t upload DNA data from other websites to Ancestry.

MyHeritage used to allow you to upload raw DNA from other services, but this is no longer supported; now you can only download your raw data. 

Community and Additional Features

While the ancestry reports you receive from AncestryDNA and MyHeritage share many common elements, they have their differences.

AncestryDNA offers a feature called ThruLines, which traces your ancestry back to a number of specific forebears. This feature shows how you’re related to your DNA matches (i.e., through which specific family line).

MyHeritage DNA has some unique tools such as its Chromosome Browser, AutoClusters, and Ethnicities Map, as well as a pictorial overview of your DNA matches.

Customer Support: A Mixed Bag

Most of the time, commercial DNA testing goes smoothly. But when it doesn’t, how hard is it to resolve the issue? And if you have questions, how hard is it to get answers?

FAQ Pages

Both MyHeritage DNA and AncestryDNA have support pages that try to answer the questions customers ask most frequently.



For whatever it’s worth, the MyHeritage DNA Help Center seems to contain a lot more FAQs than the AncestryDNA Help Center. That may (or may not) mean you’re more likely to find answers to your questions.

Support Request Forms, Live Chats, and Phone Support

Most DNA testing companies have a form you can fill out on their website to request support via email. When I took my DNA tests from MyHeritage DNA and AncestryDNA, both offered this support option.

I didn’t have a great experience with the MyHeritage form, as my question was never answered. On the plus side, MyHeritage DNA offers 24/7 phone support, at least in English-speaking countries (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc.). Annoyingly, there are no details on how to contact customer support unless you log in first, which is not useful for prospective customers. If you pay for a subscription, you’ll get priority customer support.  



AncestryDNA, on the other hand, offers support via live chat, email, and telephone.

My Personal Experience

I didn’t have any problems with my DNA tests, so I don’t know how well MyHeritage or AncestryDNA would have responded if I had. But I did ask them both questions about their services, via phone and email.

• In both cases, my phone support went very smoothly. The wait was short, the customer service representatives were friendly and knowledgeable, and I was satisfied with the answers I received.
• The same was true for my email response from AncestryDNA. MyHeritage, as I said, never responded.
• I also asked a range of questions to “Leif”, AncestryDNA’s chatbot in the FAQ section. I was impressed with its responses. It took a while to think about each question, then answered them clearly and succinctly, rather than just directing me to a “best guess” FAQ page. 

What Other Users Are Saying

Location Differences Between the Services

I’ve noticed that some users comment on the regional differences between the services. Namely, that European users report better results with MyHeritage and Americans with AncestryDNA. There’s no hard data to back this up, it’s just anecdotal, but people seem to think that as MyHeritage is popular in Europe, its database leans that way, and so provides a larger number of European matches.

Have Others Experienced Any Issues?

From my research, I’ve seen a lot of complaints involving MyHeritage’s free one-month genealogy trial subscription. These customers said their free trial got converted into a full one-year subscription without any notification or their consent. They were just suddenly charged for it. When they tried to get their money back, they failed. That’s pretty appalling, and something to watch out for.

For AncestryDNA, customer complaints are a bit more varied.

• Some had a similar issue with a free trial that got converted to a paid subscription without consent.
• Some complained that their DNA results were inaccurate for various reasons.
• Some customers never got their results – and couldn’t even get a refund!

No company is perfect, and you can find customer complaints about pretty much any product or service. That being said, based on my experience, I believe most MyHeritage DNA and AncestryDNA customers probably don’t run into any problems (I certainly didn’t).

But when problems do occur, both companies have had some well-documented trouble giving their customers satisfaction. It doesn’t seem that either company is better than the other in this respect.

Pricing: Both Good Value, Especially With a Code

If budget is your only concern, MyHeritage DNA is cheaper than AncestryDNA. While both companies occasionally discount the price of their test kits to different amounts, the price of a MyHeritage DNA kit is usually less than the cost of an AncestryDNA test kit. If you factor in the cost of a genealogy subscription, there’s an even greater price difference. Now, all this assumes that you’re getting the exact same thing from each subscription. That’s clearly not the case.

In terms of access to information, it’s hard to figure out exactly what features come with each tier of a MyHeritage subscription. The best way to do this is to scroll to the bottom of the site and click on “Price List” at the bottom. This will bring up each subscription tier, the starting price, and what’s included. AncestryDNA has the same sort of thing on its site, and I found it much easier to find and much clearer to compare the various subscription tiers. 

What I can tell you is how I feel about just the ancestry tests by themselves. In my opinion, MyHeritage DNA offers the best value test with WGS, and it gave me a few more cool features than AncestryDNA, plus it costs less.

The other thing to note with MyHeritage is that, while it is cheaper, there are a few hidden costs, such as the return postage. This is free with Ancestry. Also, as Ancestry offers monthly subscriptions as well as annual, it gives you more flexibility with your budget to subscribe for a shorter amount of time.

Bottom Line

When it comes to getting an ancestry report, are you still wondering whether to go with MyHeritage DNA or AncestryDNA? I know, it’s a tough choice, as they’re similar in many ways:

• Both have a very similar benefit: the powerful combination of a DNA ancestry test and a world-class genealogy service.
• Both have huge numbers of DNA and genealogy customers, as well as enormous troves of family heritage data. Either option can help you learn a lot about your ancestry and build your family tree.
• Both have very similar ancestry reports. MyHeritage DNA has a few more features, but AncestryDNA has more advanced options (like Traits).
• Both are secure platforms with clear privacy policies and practices.

There are some differences that may help you make a decision:

• MyHeritage DNA is less expensive, both in the cost of its DNA test and the price of its monthly genealogy subscription. But they’re pretty close.
• My Heritage has also rolled out Whole Genome Testing, which may lead to more accurate results and estimates over time (once it builds its database)
• AncestryDNA has a larger DNA customer database, which may mean that they can connect you with more relatives based on your shared DNA.
• AncestryDNA has more historical records, which may be preferable if you want to uncover your family history. 

Overall, though, if you’re looking for an ancestry report combined with a powerful genealogy service, you should do just fine with either company. The best option will depend on your goals and budget, so the choice is yours!

FAQ

Which vendor is less expensive: MyHeritage or AncestryDNA?

MyHeritage’s DNA tests are usually less expensive (starting price: $89) in their list price than AncestryDNA’s tests (starting price: $99), and are more likely to be on sale at any given time.

Who should choose MyHeritage over AncestryDNA?

MyHeritage offers you basic information about your ancestry at a lower cost than AncestryDNA. MyHeritage’s genealogy subscriptions are also considerably less expensive. Therefore, MyHeritage is a better choice if cost is a key consideration. If you’re looking for Whole Genome Testing, only My Heritage offers this option currently.

Who should choose AncestryDNA over MyHeritage?

AncestryDNA’s ancestry reports are more detailed and accurate than MyHeritage’s ancestry reports. Plus, AncestryDNA also has the largest DNA database as well as the largest database of historical records, which should allow you to find more relatives and discover more about your family’s past. If cost is no object, you’re more likely to be happy with the ancestry information you get from AncestryDNA.

Is MyHeritage owned by Ancestry?

No. MyHeritage is an independent company and is not owned by Ancestry. Ancestry and MyHeritage are separate competitors in the genealogy and DNA testing space, even though they offer similar services.

Which DNA test is better for finding relatives: MyHeritage or AncestryDNA?

AncestryDNA is generally better for finding relatives because it has one of the largest DNA databases in the world. A larger database increases your chances of getting more matches, especially close relatives. MyHeritage still offers useful DNA matching and can be particularly strong in certain regions (such as Europe), but Ancestry typically produces longer match lists and more connections overall.

What’s the real total cost of MyHeritage vs AncestryDNA in the first year?

The first-year cost will vary depending on current sales and whether you add an optional subscription:

• MyHeritage: The regular price of the DNA kit is usually about $89 plus shipping and return postage. If you add a genealogy subscription, plans can start around $89–$149 for the first year (discounted) and go higher depending on features.
• AncestryDNA: The test kit is typically about $99 plus shipping, and a records subscription can cost around $24.99 per month (or more for international records).

So, the true first-year cost ranges from roughly the price of the kit alone (~$90–$120 – less if you buy during a sale) up to a few hundred dollars if you add a full genealogy subscription.

Should I test with both MyHeritage and AncestryDNA, or is one enough?

One test is enough for most people, especially if your goal is to learn your ethnicity or find some relatives. The benefit of testing with both is that you can increase your chances of finding additional DNA matches because each company has its own database. Some people start with AncestryDNA for its larger match pool and then test with MyHeritage to reach relatives who may have tested there instead.

Is it worth paying for a MyHeritage or AncestryDNA subscription, or can I just buy the DNA test?

You can absolutely just buy the DNA test and still get your core results: ethnicity estimates and DNA matches. A subscription becomes valuable if you want access to historical records, advanced family tree tools, and deeper research features. Without a subscription, you’ll still see matches and basic information, but many genealogy tools and records are locked behind a paid plan. So it really depends on what you want to do with the information.