FamilyTreeDNA Family Finder
FamilyTreeDNA has run its own lab in Houston since 2000, which almost nobody else in this trade does. Family Finder is the autosomal test: cheek swab, myOrigins ethnicity map, match list with shared centimorgans and predicted relationship ranges. The stored sample can later be upgraded to Y-DNA or a full mitochondrial sequence without ordering a new kit, and uploads from other companies are free.
This is the kit for surname projects and stubborn brick walls, where the answer hides in a paternal line rather than in a pie chart. The site looks like it was designed years ago, the ethnicity estimate is not the strong part, and the match pool is smaller than Ancestry or 23andMe. Deep tests such as Big Y-700 run into several hundred dollars on top of the kit.
Pros
- In house lab, sample kept for later tests
- Upgrades to Y-DNA and mtDNA on file
- Free raw data upload from rivals
- Surname and haplogroup group projects
- Match list shows shared cM detail
Cons
- Dated web interface
- Smaller matching database
- Ethnicity estimate less precise
- Deep Y-DNA tests are expensive
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