DNA Matches by Cluster

Matches by Cluster is a new feature available to Ancestry Pro Tools members*. Clusters are a powerful genetic genealogy tool that allows you to visualize, sort, and group your DNA matches so you can easily see how your matches are related to each other through DNA. Clusters often represent branches of your family tree, making it easier to identify common ancestors and solve genealogical puzzles!

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What Is a Cluster?

Each group, or “cluster,” represents people who likely share the same common ancestor with you. Instead of looking at hundreds of individual DNA matches, you now have organized groups of matches. This makes it easier for you to figure out which side of your family any individual match belongs to.

How Do Clusters Work?

DNA matches sharing between 65 and 1300 cM of DNA are grouped into grids as shown below (if you have more than 100 clustered matches, you will not see this grid view). Each group or cluster represents DNA matches that are shared with each other, and represent a branch of your family tree.

An example of Matches by Cluster results. Each colored square indicates a case where two of the member’s DNA matches also share DNA with each other.

Diving Deeper into Cluster Results

Below the grid view is where you can find additional details about each cluster. There is a new “bulk add” feature for you to add a custom dot to the group.

Clicking the “caret” on the right allows you to expand the list of matches in the cluster and explore additional details about those matches.

A separate Ancestry Pro Tools feature, enhanced shared matches (https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/pro-tools-dna-matches), allows you to explore these relationships in even more detail. Using these data, you are able to identify common ancestors and their related family groups. You can do this even if you do not have historical records to show how they are related.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide for using Matches by Cluster in your research:

  1. Click on the “By cluster” option at the top of your match list.
  2. Research the members of the cluster by looking at their family trees and the amount of DNA they share with each other to identify common ancestors.
  3. Compare this information with your family tree and add the DNA matches who are descendants of your common ancestors to your family tree.
  4. Use these clusters to validate, confirm, or refine your genealogical research.
  5. If there is a cluster you cannot place in your family tree, that cluster might help you break down one of your genealogical brick walls.

Clusters are particularly valuable for adoptees (https://www.ancestry.com/c/dna-learning-hub/ancestrydna-beyond-adoption-registry)and others with recent unknown parentage. You can use them to identify close relatives and biological ancestral lines. Because clusters are displayed directly on the Ancestry site, you can easily add notes and custom group dots as you are analyzing each cluster. For DNA matches without trees, matches by cluster will still help you identify which branch of your family tree the person belongs to.

Potential Complicating Factors for Analyzing DNA Matches

Matches by Cluster will generally work for most people who have taken an AncestryDNA test. If you don't have many matches sharing 65 cM of DNA or more with you, then it will not work, and it will not place any matches labeled “Unassigned” into a cluster. The Matches by Cluster feature also works best when there isn’t significant pedigree collapse or endogamy—instances when the same ancestors appear more than once in a family tree because two distant cousins married, for example, or when people who live in a geographically isolated area, like an island, intermarry over many generations.

  • Individuals of recent origin from East Asia, South Asia, and South America will likely not have enough matches in the database to generate many clusters.
  • Individuals of Ashkenazi, French Canadian, Puerto Rican, Pacific Island, or other populations where there was a lot of intermarriage, will likely have large, overlapping clusters. That makes it difficult to identify a single common ancestor.

Using Science to Advance Your DNA Research

Matches by Cluster is an exciting new Ancestry Pro Tools feature that will help you speed up your DNA analysis, determine how you connect to your matches, and break down those pesky brick walls! This is a BETA version of the feature; you’re likely to see updates to it in the coming months.

If you’re curious to learn how to make the most from your clusters, check out our related posts (https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Science-of-Matches-by-Cluster) and virtual events.

* Matches by Cluster requires an Ancestry Pro Tools membership. Some members will not be able to access this feature until December 2025.