Which DNA Database Is Largest? Real Numbers by Company
AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and Living DNA database sizes compared, plus why active users matter more than total kits sold.
If your goal is finding relatives, the database your kit lands in matters more than any other spec. A test with twice the user base gives you roughly twice the chance of an autosomal match at every centimorgan threshold. So which consumer DNA database is largest, and by how much?
The current ranking, as of early 2026:
- AncestryDNA holds the largest matching database at roughly 25 to 30 million tested users. It has held the top spot for most of the past decade and continues to add the most new kits per quarter.
- 23andMe sits in second place at about 14 million. That figure dropped from roughly 15 million following the 2023 breach and the 2025 Chapter 11 filing. Treat 23andMe specs as moving targets and see our privacy guide before you buy.
- MyHeritage DNA reports about 5 to 8 million profiles in its matching database. Industry trackers note that this figure includes free uploads from other services, which inflates the number relative to kits MyHeritage actually sold.
- FamilyTreeDNA has approximately 2 to 3 million autosomal profiles, plus separate Y-DNA and mtDNA databases that are the largest of their kind.
- Living DNA has a small matching database that has never been publicly quantified with confidence. Living DNA is built around ethnicity detail rather than match volume.
These numbers come from company statements and from industry trackers such as The DNA Geek. None are independently audited.
Why database size matters
Autosomal matching works by comparing your DNA against every other tested user. A second cousin shares about 200 centimorgans with you on average. The probability that any individual second cousin has tested with the same company is small, so the larger the database, the more of your true cousins are actually visible.
For close-family verification, database size matters less. A first cousin match shows up readily in any of the major services as long as the relative has tested anywhere. The case for the largest database gets stronger as you push out to fourth, fifth, sixth cousins where the match density drops sharply.
Total kits sold vs active users
The headline numbers above are total profiles in each matching database. That is not the same as active users. Many tested kits belong to people who took the test years ago, never logged back in, and never responded to messages. There is no clean public figure for “active” users at any of these companies. Assume the working number is meaningfully smaller than the headline.
This is one reason the gap between AncestryDNA and the rest matters more than the raw multiple suggests. A 25 million user database with even 30 percent active users is still larger than the entire MyHeritage database.
Upload, do not buy twice
If you have already tested with AncestryDNA or 23andMe, you do not need to buy a second kit to search the smaller databases. MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and Living DNA all accept free raw-data uploads from the big two for matching. That lets a single $39 to $99 kit reach roughly the top three databases at once.
The exception is AncestryDNA itself, which does not accept uploads. If you want to be in the largest database, you have to buy the AncestryDNA kit directly.
Where to read more
For a side-by-side feature view, see our feature comparison and price comparison. For ancestry-only considerations, our AncestryDNA vs 23andMe and AncestryDNA vs MyHeritage articles go deeper. Our full DNA test comparison pillar links every head-to-head we have published.