Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one of them, we may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. We only recommend kits we’ve actually researched and would suggest to a friend.
Two Kits, Two Completely Different Jobs
If you’ve found yourself comparing these two, there’s a good chance you’re actually deciding between two different types of DNA test, not just two brands. AncestryDNA is built for genealogy — tracing your family tree, finding relatives, understanding your ethnic background. DNApower is built for wellness — understanding what your genes suggest about diet, fitness, and lifestyle.
They’re not really competitors. But if you’re weighing which one to spend your money on first, here’s how they actually differ.
What AncestryDNA Actually Does
AncestryDNA gives you an ethnicity breakdown, a list of DNA matches (other testers who share your DNA), and — its biggest strength — direct integration with historical records like census data, immigration documents, and military records. It has the largest consumer DNA database of any company, which means the best odds of finding real relatives.
If your goal is understanding where your family came from, or actually building out a documented family tree, this is exactly what AncestryDNA is designed for.
What DNApower Actually Does
DNApower has no ancestry component at all — no ethnicity percentages, no relative matching, no family tree. Instead, it analyzes genetic markers related to nutrition, exercise response, and lifestyle traits, like how your body processes caffeine or carbohydrates.
Higher-tier packages include a consultation call with a health professional, which helps translate the raw genetic findings into something you can actually act on day to day.
Turnaround Time
DNApower is notably faster — typically two to three weeks. AncestryDNA usually takes three to four weeks, sometimes longer during peak gifting season in December and January. If you’re impatient and leaning toward wellness insights anyway, DNApower’s speed is a nice bonus on top of its actual focus.
Price
The two aren’t directly comparable dollar-for-dollar since they cover different ground, but roughly speaking: AncestryDNA’s base kit is mid-range, with costs climbing if you add the historical records subscription. DNApower’s pricing scales with how many report categories and add-ons you select, including the optional consultation call, so the total can vary more depending on how deep you want to go.
Data and Privacy
AncestryDNA’s privacy considerations mostly center on ancestry-related data — your ethnicity information and DNA matches, which some people are more cautious about due to the chance of discovering unexpected relatives. DNApower’s data is narrower and health-focused; the company states it doesn’t sell genetic data to insurance companies or third parties, with lab processing through a CLIA-certified facility.
Neither company’s practices are unusual for the industry, but it’s worth reading the specific policy relevant to the type of data each kit actually collects.
How the Kits Feel Once They Arrive
The experience of using each kit reflects its different purpose. AncestryDNA’s saliva collection takes a few minutes, and once results are ready, you’re dropped into a dashboard built for exploration — matches to browse, hints to follow, a tree to slowly build out over weeks or months. It’s less a one-time report and more an ongoing research project.
DNApower’s cheek swab is similarly quick, but what comes after is more compact. You get a detailed report organized by category, and if you’ve chosen a higher tier, a scheduled call to walk through what it actually means for your daily choices. It’s designed to be actionable relatively quickly, rather than something you keep returning to over time.
So, Which One Should You Actually Get?
Choose AncestryDNA if:
- You want to trace your family history or find new relatives
- You’re interested in connecting DNA results to actual historical documents
- Ancestry, not health or wellness, is your primary curiosity
Choose DNApower if:
- Ancestry isn’t your focus at all — you want wellness-related genetic insights
- You want a faster turnaround and value having a consultation to interpret results
- You’re specifically interested in diet, fitness, or lifestyle-related genetic markers
Is There Any Overlap Between Them?
Not really, and that’s actually a point in favor of getting both if you’re curious about each category. Since AncestryDNA and DNApower analyze essentially non-overlapping aspects of your genetics, there’s no redundancy in testing with both — unlike choosing between two ancestry-focused kits, where you’d be paying twice for similar information.
If budget allows, some people order both around the same time: DNApower’s faster turnaround means those results typically land first, while the AncestryDNA kit is still being processed or you’re waiting to build out matches and connect records over the following weeks. There’s no technical reason the two orders would interfere with each other, since they’re processed by entirely separate labs and systems.
Still Deciding Which Category You Actually Want?
If you’re not sure whether ancestry or wellness insights matter more to you, our breakdown of ancestry-focused versus health-focused DNA tests walks through how to think about that choice before picking a specific brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AncestryDNA tell me anything about my health? Only in a very limited sense — it includes light trait reports (like whether you likely have a sweet tooth), but nothing close to the depth of a dedicated wellness test like DNApower.
Is DNApower a replacement for a genealogy test? No. DNApower has no ancestry, ethnicity, or relative-matching features whatsoever — it’s built entirely around wellness-related genetic markers.
Which one is better value for the money? It depends entirely on what you’re trying to learn. Comparing price alone isn’t meaningful here since the two kits answer completely different questions.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t really a competition — it’s a fork in the road. Decide first whether you’re chasing your family history or wellness insights, and the choice between AncestryDNA and DNApower becomes far more obvious than trying to weigh their features against each other directly.