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Not Really a Fair Fight — And That’s the Point
Unlike most head-to-head comparisons on this site, this one isn’t really about which kit is “better.” MyHeritage DNA and DNApower aren’t competing for the same customer — they’re answering two entirely different questions. One traces where your family came from. The other looks at what your genes suggest about your diet, fitness, and daily wellness.
If you’ve landed on this comparison, there’s a good chance you’re actually trying to figure out which type of test you want, not just which brand. So let’s break down both, honestly.
What MyHeritage DNA Actually Does
MyHeritage is an ancestry-focused kit. You get an ethnicity breakdown by region, a list of DNA matches (other testers who share DNA with you), and family tree-building tools that connect your matches to a documented genealogy.
It’s particularly strong for European and Jewish ancestry specifically, thanks to the depth of its reference database in those regions. If your goal is understanding where your family came from, or finding relatives you didn’t know existed, this is squarely what MyHeritage is built for.
What DNApower Actually Does
DNApower skips ancestry entirely. There’s no ethnicity breakdown, no relative matching, no family tree. Instead, it analyzes genetic markers tied to nutrition, fitness response, and lifestyle-related traits — things like carbohydrate sensitivity, caffeine metabolism, and how your body responds to exercise.
Higher-tier packages also include a consultation call with a health professional to walk through what the results actually mean for your day-to-day choices, which is a meaningfully different experience than opening a static PDF report.
Turnaround Time
This is one of the few areas where a direct comparison actually makes sense. DNApower is significantly faster, typically returning results in two to three weeks. MyHeritage takes three to four weeks on average, sometimes longer during peak season. If speed matters to you regardless of which category you’re after, DNApower has the edge.
Price
Both companies price competitively within their respective categories, but they’re not really comparable dollar-for-dollar since you’re paying for different things. MyHeritage’s base kit is one of the more affordable ancestry tests on the market and goes on sale frequently. DNApower’s pricing scales with how many report categories and add-ons (including the consultation call) you choose, so the total cost depends heavily on how deep you want to go.
Data and Privacy Approach
Both companies are reasonably transparent about data handling, though the context differs. MyHeritage’s privacy considerations center mostly around ancestry-related data — ethnicity estimates and relative matching, which some people are more cautious about due to the possibility of surfacing unexpected family connections.
DNApower’s data is more narrowly health-related, and the company states clearly that it doesn’t sell genetic data to insurance companies or third parties, with processing through a CLIA-certified lab. Neither company’s practices are dramatically different from typical industry standards, but it’s worth reading each policy for the specific type of data you’d be sharing.
How the Testing Process Differs
The two also feel different from the moment the kit arrives. MyHeritage uses a cheek swab — register online, swab both cheeks for a few seconds each, seal, and mail it back. Once results are ready, everything lives in a single dashboard alongside your family tree, if you’ve started building one.
DNApower also uses a cheek swab, but the experience afterward diverges. Because the higher-tier packages include a consultation call, getting your results isn’t necessarily the end of the process — you may be scheduling time with a health consultant afterward to actually walk through what the findings mean for your daily habits, rather than just reading a report on your own.
So, Which One Should You Actually Get?
Choose MyHeritage DNA if:
- You want to know your ethnic background or build a family tree
- You’re hoping to find new relatives
- Your ancestry is European, Jewish, or Eastern European specifically
Choose DNApower if:
- Ancestry doesn’t interest you at all — you want wellness insights specifically
- You want a fast turnaround and value having a consultation call to interpret results
- You’re focused on diet, fitness, or lifestyle-related genetic markers
Can You Get Both?
Yes, and this is actually one of the more sensible reasons to consider two separate kits rather than a single combo product. Since MyHeritage and DNApower analyze completely different aspects of your genetics, there’s no overlap or redundancy — testing with both gives you a genuinely fuller picture than either one alone, without paying for features you won’t use in a combo kit like 23andMe.
If You’re Still Deciding Between Categories
If you’re genuinely torn between wanting ancestry information and wellness insights, it’s worth reading our breakdown of ancestry-focused versus health-focused DNA tests before committing to either kit specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does MyHeritage DNA offer any wellness or health features? Health reporting exists as a limited add-on, but it’s not MyHeritage’s core focus or strength — DNApower’s wellness reports go considerably deeper in this specific area.
Does DNApower offer any ancestry features? No. DNApower is exclusively focused on wellness-related genetic markers, with no ethnicity breakdown or relative-matching features at all.
Is it worth buying both kits instead of a combo test like 23andMe? It can be, particularly if you want more depth in each category than a combo kit typically provides. The tradeoff is cost and managing two separate accounts and processing timelines.
The Bottom Line
This comparison isn’t really about picking a winner — it’s about recognizing that MyHeritage DNA and DNApower solve two different problems entirely. Get clear on whether you’re chasing ancestry answers or wellness insights first, and the right kit becomes obvious from there.
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