The best DNA test for Czech and Slovak ancestry depends on what you want from it: cousins in Central Europe, a clue to a region, or a test of a single line. Czech and Slovak records are good and often free, so DNA works best as a partner to the registers, not a substitute. This guide compares the main tests as of October 2026, explains an important change to uploads, and notes where each company is strongest for Czech, Slovak and Rusyn families. We name MyHeritage first because it is our primary recommended platform, and we say plainly where another test does something better. We checked these details in October 2026, and company features, database sizes and prices change often, so confirm them before you buy.
What DNA can and cannot do
- Autosomal DNA finds cousins on all your lines across recent generations, which makes matches the most useful result for genealogy.
- Ethnicity estimates are statistical, and Central European results often look mixed. See our guide to Czech and Slovak ethnicity estimates.
- Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA follow a single male or female line, and FamilyTreeDNA is the usual seller of those tests.
- Citizenship is documented with records. None of the embassy pages we read lists DNA as evidence. See our citizenship guide.
A change you need to know about: uploads
According to a report from August 2025 and MyHeritage’s own help pages, MyHeritage stopped accepting DNA uploads from other companies in August 2025, and its help pages still carried that notice when we checked. To appear in its database you must take a MyHeritage test. You can still move results out: FamilyTreeDNA’s upload page says it accepts free transfers, and the free GEDmatch and Living DNA also take uploads. AncestryDNA and 23andMe do not accept transfers from other companies.
The main tests compared
| Test | Strengths for Czech and Slovak roots | Limits and notes |
|---|---|---|
| MyHeritage DNA | An independent 2026 review says its database has matches that other databases lack, particularly for relatives in continental Europe. The British Czech and Slovak Association describes MyHeritage as having extensive Czech and Slovak records that may offer possible connections. It also offers a tree, AutoClusters and a chromosome browser. | No uploads from other companies. Its database, about 9.7 million people in the 2026 review, is smaller than Ancestry’s. We could not confirm its current labels for Czech and Slovak ancestry. |
| AncestryDNA | The largest database, with over 28 million tests according to Ancestry. It is sold in Czechia and Slovakia. | Accepts no uploads. One blogger found Czech and Slovak ancestry grouped as Europe East until a later update added regions. |
| 23andMe | Its pages list Czech Republic (14+ regions) and Slovakia (8+ regions). In April 2025 it added 17 Genetic Groups in Czechia and 15 in Slovakia, and in March 2025 it added Early Czech Americans groups tied to settlements in Texas, Nebraska and Wisconsin. | Does not accept transfers. It went through bankruptcy in 2025 and is now owned by the nonprofit TTAM Research Institute. It says not everyone with ancestors from the region will receive a match. |
| FamilyTreeDNA | Autosomal Family Finder plus Y-DNA and mitochondrial tests, free transfers, and group projects, including a Carpatho-Rusyn Heritage DNA Project. | Uploaded results do not store a sample and may not give every match. Advanced tools need an upgrade. |
Prices and database sizes change often, so check each company’s page before you buy.
Our recommendation
If you can buy one test and want to find relatives, start with MyHeritage. It has strengths for European relatives and a tree that works with Czech and Slovak record research, and because it no longer accepts uploads, a MyHeritage kit is the only way into its database. Then transfer your results to FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch for free.
If your family is Czech American, consider 23andMe as well. By its own announcement, it added Early Czech Americans groups in March 2025 for places such as Lavaca and Ellis Counties in Texas, the Nebraska Till Plains and Kewaunee and Manitowoc Counties in Wisconsin, and it reports Czech and Slovak regions in Europe. Read its privacy terms first, and treat its regions as estimates.
If most known relatives are in North America, AncestryDNA’s large database may produce more matches, and you can transfer its results to FamilyTreeDNA.
Which test for which goal
| Goal | Best starting point |
|---|---|
| Find living cousins in Europe | MyHeritage, then transfer to FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch |
| Find Czech or Slovak cousins in North America | AncestryDNA, or both |
| See a regional clue within Czechia or Slovakia | 23andMe, with MyHeritage as a second opinion |
| Trace a Czech American settlement community | 23andMe’s Early Czech Americans groups, if you receive a match |
| Test the male line | A Y-DNA test from FamilyTreeDNA |
| Test the female line | A full-sequence mitochondrial test from FamilyTreeDNA |
| Carpatho-Rusyn lines | FamilyTreeDNA’s Carpatho-Rusyn Heritage DNA Project alongside an autosomal test |
Single-line tests at FamilyTreeDNA
According to FamilyTreeDNA’s own pages, its Y-DNA tests are Y-37, which connects you with distant relatives on the direct paternal line and gives a predicted haplogroup, Y-111, which it calls the most beneficial for group projects and for confirming a match between two living men, and Big Y-700, for expert users, which adds a confirmed haplogroup. Its mtFull Sequence test examines the whole mitochondrial genome for the direct maternal line. For regional Y-DNA work, a project such as the Lanškroun Region DNA Project, run by an administrator who says he looks for men whose paternal line comes from that area of Czechia, shows what a local project aims to do. See our guide to finding cousins.
Who to test
Test the oldest relatives first, because they share the most DNA with your older ancestors, and test siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins to cover different segments. If your family has Czech, Slovak, Rusyn or German-Bohemian branches, test someone from each.
Privacy and terms
In the European Union the GDPR treats genetic data as a special category and gives rights to access and erasure, and the European Consumer Centres say it binds laboratories even in third countries that offer tests to European consumers. The 2023 23andMe breach exposed data from about 6.9 million users, and the company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 before TTAM completed its purchase on 14 July 2025. MyHeritage says it has committed never to sell or license users’ data to third parties, which is a company statement to read for yourself. See our guide to DNA testing in Czechia and Slovakia.
After you test
- Read the ethnicity estimate carefully. See our ethnicity guide.
- Find your cousins. See how to find Czech and Slovak cousins with DNA.
- Turn matches into evidence. See connecting DNA matches to Czech and Slovak records.
- Keep working the paper trail. See our tracing guide.
What we could not verify
- MyHeritage’s current Czech and Slovak ethnicity labels. Its country pages load dynamically, and the only snapshot we could read was old.
- How many people in Czechia and Slovakia have tested. We found no reliable figures, so the number of European matches you will see is unknown.
- Whether your result will include a 23andMe Genetic Group. The company says not everyone whose ancestors came from the region will receive a match, and that the update applies to customers on its latest chip.
- Prices and sales. They change often, so compare the current offers.
A budget plan
- Test one older relative at MyHeritage, since a MyHeritage kit is the only way into its database.
- Transfer the result to FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch for free.
- Build your tree with Czech or Slovak villages, spellings and house numbers.
- Add a second test later if you want North American cousins (AncestryDNA) or a Czech American settlement group (23andMe).
- Consider a Y-DNA or mtDNA test only when you have a specific question about one line, or a regional project to join.
Common mistakes
- Following an old upload plan. MyHeritage uploads are closed.
- Choosing by ethnicity percentages. Matches matter more.
- Testing only yourself. Older relatives carry more.
- Reading regions as proof. They are estimates, and not everyone receives a match.
- Skipping the terms. Decide what you will share first.
Continue with MyHeritage DNA for Czech and Slovak ancestry or the DNA testing hub, and browse DNA & Tools. Sources include a 2026 DNA test review in Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, FamilyTreeDNA’s upload page, 23andMe’s ancestry page, 23andMe’s April 2025 announcement, 23andMe’s March 2025 diaspora update, Ancestry’s list of countries and a summary of the 23andMe sale.
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