Your DNA Family is free to use.
Upload your DNA, build your family tree, browse your matches, and talk with your cousins, without a paywall.
What's free to use today
Here's what you can do on Your DNA Family today without spending a single credit:
- Upload your DNA test results (unlimited)
- Upload your family tree (GEDCOM)
- See all your DNA matches
- View your Triangulated Groups
- Join private discussion forums with your DNA cousins
- Appear in the Surname Directory
- Receive email notifications for new matches
- A welcome allowance to confirm your first DNA cousins
We say "today" deliberately. The list above is what's free right now. We'll explain below where credits come in, and we'll always tell you in advance if anything moves between sides of that line.
What it costs us behind the scenes
Running this app isn't free for us. Every month we pay for:
- the servers that are online around the clock
- the cloud storage that holds your DNA file, your family tree, and your matches
- the compute that runs every DNA comparison, GEDCOM import, and chromosome-map generation
- the bandwidth that delivers all of that to your computer
We're transparent about this because we'd rather you understand the cost picture than wonder where the catch is.
Where credits come in
Credits are the in-app digital currency we use to meter compute that scales with how each person uses the app. Today, the main thing they cover is DNA-triangulation comparisons: turning your raw cousin matches into confirmed common ancestors, pair by pair. Each pairwise comparison costs one credit.
Other heavy features that we currently absorb on our side may move to a credit or subscription model in future, as we learn how heavily they get used. When that happens, we'll tell you in advance.
How to earn credits
Three ways to earn credits:
- Upload a DNA file for a new person, 250 credits.
- Invite a DNA cousin who joins and uploads their own DNA, 50 credits each side. You and the cousin who joined both get credited once their file is in.
- Reach a research milestone, like your first triangulated group, up to 50 credits.
How we count uploads: per person, not per file
We count per individual person, not per file. If you upload three different DNA files for yourself, say from Ancestry, 23andMe, and MyHeritage, that's one person and you earn 250 credits once. If you upload three files for three different people (yourself, your mother, your aunt), that's three persons and 750 credits. Identical twins are an exception we can't distinguish genetically; they count as one person.
Why upload more than one file per person at all?
Each additional file improves the matching accuracy for that person. With more raw data, the algorithm makes fewer borderline calls, which means fewer credits spent on comparisons that turn out not to be cousins. Better data costs you fewer credits over time.
What a first session looks like
Sign up (0 credits). Upload your own DNA, plus 250. Add your mother's DNA, plus 250, total 500. Invite a cousin who joins and uploads, plus 50, total 550. Reach your first triangulated group, plus 50, total 600. That's 600 pairwise comparisons before you've even thought about the credit balance.
Ready to start?
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