MyHeritage
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable for casual family-tree builders and DNA curiosity, especially European ancestry . but keep a close eye on auto-renewals.
Comparison
MyHeritage vs FamilyTreeDNA
MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA both land on Depends.
FamilyTreeDNA
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy FamilyTreeDNA only if you're a serious genealogist doing Y-DNA, mtDNA, or surname-project research.
| Compare | MyHeritage | FamilyTreeDNA |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Casual family-tree builders | Serious genealogists |
| Who it's not for | Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked | Casual ethnicity-curious testers |
| Privacy | Breached: 92.3M user credentials exposed (disclosed 2018); one old client-side CVE.⁵ | Gave the FBI access to its genetic database in 2019; law-enforcement matching is now documented in an official guide.11 |
| Support quality | Billing disputes dominate complaint threads | Recurring customer-service complaints on its own forums |
| Public sentiment | Opinion is split: hobbyist genealogists find value in it, while a loud segment of users complain about billing, renewals, and pricing.⁴ | Serious genealogists value its Y-DNA depth, but casual buyers report disappointing results, a dated website, and support frustrations.13 |
| Biggest gotcha | Auto-renewal traps: users report unexpected renewal charges, including a $149 BBB complaint | Law-enforcement matching exists; review the official guide and opt-out settings before testing |
Pick MyHeritage when
- Casual family-tree builders
- Hobbyist genealogists chasing European records
- DNA relative and adoption searches
- Ethnicity-estimate curiosity
When MyHeritage is not a fit
- Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked
- Serious US-focused genealogists . Ancestry's records run deeper
- One-time testers unwilling to pay recurring subscriptions for record access
- Anyone who resents auto-renewal billing . complaints are everywhere
Pick FamilyTreeDNA when
- Serious genealogists
- Surname project admins
- Deep paternal-line (Y-DNA) research
- mtDNA maternal-line tracing
When FamilyTreeDNA is not a fit
- Casual ethnicity-curious testers
- Privacy-first buyers wary of law-enforcement matching
- Health-and-traits shoppers
- One-and-done gift testers wanting a polished app
Sources
- MyHeritage official sitemyheritage.comofficial
- MyHeritage pricing pagemyheritage.comofficial
- 855 MyHeritage Reviews . PissedConsumermyheritage.pissedconsumer.comreview
review
- MyHeritage Data Breach . Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity
- MyHeritage data breach: 92.3M credentials exposed . SecurityAffairssecurityaffairs.comsecurity
- CVE-2013-2602 . NVDnvd.nist.govsecurity
- Best DNA Test for Genealogy . Your DNA Guideyourdnaguide.comreview
- MyHeritage . Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgnews
news
- Family Tree DNA Review 2026: Is It Worth the Price?dnaweekly.comreview
- A Detailed Review: FamilyTreeDNAgenomelink.ioreview