If you haven’t yet uploaded your DNA to Gedmatch, you might be wondering if it is worth the effort. Perhaps you’ve done several DNA tests and feel confident you won’t find new DNA matches, or you feel like it is too complicated to learn how to use a new site. In this post, I’ll explain why it’s worthwhile to upload to Gedmatch.
You’ll learn:
- Why it’s worth it to upload to Gedmatch even if you’ve done multiple DNA tests
- How the tools on Gedmatch can help you
- Best ways to learn how to use Gedmatch
- How to get started with your Gedmatch upload
Tested with all major companies? Gedmatch will still help you
First, I’d like to congratulate you for your initiative! Testing with, or uploading to, as many companies as possible is the best way to learn as much as possible about your ancestry from your DNA.
Even though you have tested with more than one (or two!) companies, there will still be DNA matches on Gedmatch that you have probably not seen on your testing company sites. Gedmatch accepts DNA uploads from smaller testing companies and institutions that do autosomal DNA testing (as long as the files are in the correct format), and so you may find genetic relatives that were previously unknown to you.
If you upload and don’t see people who are new to you, be patient! Gedmatch is still growing in popularity. As more people learn about all they can do with their DNA results, you will surely discover new matches.
Gedmatch is more than just DNA matches
One of the most popular reasons to upload to Gedmatch is the access to DNA matches who have uploaded from other testing companies (i.e not the ones that you tested with). This is not the only thing that Gedmatch has to offer.
This is my list of reasons why you should upload to Gedmatch no matter which company you tested with or how many DNA tests you’ve done:
- Potential for DNA matches from smaller DNA testing companies or institutions
- Access to a chromosome browser to get segment data about your matches
- Compare your matches across companies using chromosome browser
- Ability to compare X-DNA between yourself and matches
- Use of many admixture calculators for more insight into your ancestral roots
- Access to ethnicity data by chromosome using admixture calculators
While some DNA testing companies offer access to chromosome browsers and even ethnicity segment data, the ability to use these tools to compare matches from different testing sites is something that can’t be done on any testing company site.
It’s not hard to learn how to use Gedmatch
Gedmatch might seem strange once you first start to use it. What do all of those numbers mean? Do you have to have a degree in biology to understand the tools? You don’t need any specialized education or experience to be able to learn how to use Gedmatch.
There are lots of great tutorials, videos, and articles that can help you learn the basics about using Gedmatch. I have several on this site that you can use to get started. Here are just a few:
First step to a Gedmatch upload
If you’d like to read more about how to upload to Gedmatch, check out this post:
The entire process of downloading your DNA from your DNA testing company and uploading to Gedmatch can be completed in a matter of an hour or less. Why not get started today to see what you can learn?
Conclusion
I hope that this post has helped you understand more about Gedmatch, and why it’s worth the time and effort to upload there. If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, or if you would like to add your own experience learning with Gedmatch, I would love to hear from you in the discussion below.
Thanks for stopping by today!