A DNA test can do two valuable things for a Hungarian family history: connect you with living relatives—sometimes cousins still in the ancestral region—and confirm the lines you have traced on paper. What it cannot do is name your village or build your tree; for that you still need the records. This hub explains which test to choose and why.
Which test, in one line
For most people with Hungarian ancestry, MyHeritage and AncestryDNA are the two to consider first. AncestryDNA has the largest overall database—best for finding cousins, especially on the American diaspora side—while MyHeritage is especially strong in Central and Eastern Europe, which makes it valuable for finding relatives still in Hungary and the successor states. Because MyHeritage accepts free uploads of AncestryDNA data, testing at Ancestry and uploading to MyHeritage gives you both pools.
The main options
- AncestryDNA — biggest match database, best for diaspora cousins, integrated with Ancestry’s trees and hints.
- MyHeritage — strongest for European and Central/Eastern European matches, includes a chromosome browser, and accepts free raw-data uploads from other tests.
- 23andMe — health-and-traits focus; weaker for tree-building genealogy, and carrying real privacy considerations (see below).
- FamilyTreeDNA — the specialist for Y-DNA and mtDNA, useful for focused surname-line work.
On 23andMe: the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025; a nonprofit founded by its former CEO (the TTAM Research Institute) acquired its assets and it now operates as a nonprofit, but the episode drew lawsuits over genetic-data privacy and legal scrutiny has continued. Your results would not be wrong, but if long-term custody of your genetic data matters to you, read the current privacy terms and know you can request deletion.
Ready to test? Our recommended kits and current discounts are kept on this DNA hub. New to it all? Start with the best DNA test for Hungarian ancestry.
A note on Hungarian DNA
Hungarian results have their own character. Despite the Magyars’ origins as a people who arrived in the Carpathian Basin from the east, the modern Hungarian gene pool is largely Central European, reflecting a thousand years of life among neighbouring peoples. Ethnicity estimates often show broad Eastern European, Balkan and Central European bands rather than a tidy “Hungarian” signal, and should be read as interesting rather than precise. As always, lead with the records and use DNA to confirm and to connect with cousins.