Ancestrify
All stories
By Andi Thomaj
5 min read

What is an admixture calculator? How ancestry percentages are actually computed

Every admixture calculator — GEDmatch's classics, Global25 fits, testing-company estimates — is an optimiser that cannot say no. How the three families work, what the percentages mean, and the questions a calculator can and cannot answer.

admixtureguidemethodologypopulation-genetics

  1. The three families
  2. What every family shares: the optimiser cannot say no
  3. What a percentage actually means
  4. The questions a calculator answers well
  5. The questions it cannot answer
  6. If you want to try one now
  7. References

Related posts

Every number in your qpAdm report: the model record explained
Every number in your qpAdm report: the model record explained

What the full qpAdm model record in an Ancestrify report means — chi-square, degrees of freedom, f4 rank, SNP counts, jackknife blocks, 95% confidence intervals, the nested-model table and the rank test — and how to read the plain-text download.

11 min read
How to read qpAdm results: p-value, Z-score and SE
How to read qpAdm results: p-value, Z-score and SE

A plain reading guide to the three numbers in every qpAdm result — what the p-value tests, what a standard error bounds, what a Z-score rules out — with worked examples and the mistakes that make a passing model wrong.

6 min read
How accurate are admixture calculators? An honest audit
How accurate are admixture calculators? An honest audit

Accuracy has three different meanings for an ancestry calculator, and the tools do well on exactly one of them. Where percentages are trustworthy, where they are noise, and how to tell which regime you are in.

4 min read
Back to all stories
Ancestrify

Combining cutting-edge genomic science with rich historical records to map your ancestry across generations and continents.

Product
DashboardAncient OriginsYour ancestryPopulationsqpAdm analysisBuy qpAdmqpAdm Model LabGlobal25 analysisGet G25 coordinatesHow to get G25 coordinatesAncient MatchesRelative FinderNotable MatchesAncestry populationsAncient DNA testComparePricingFree toolsLive demoLeaderboardArticlesFAQAbout
Legal
Terms of ServicePrivacy NoticeRefund PolicyEditorial policyLegal noticeCredits
Connect
Contact UsSupportCommunity GroupFacebookInstagram
Card payments processed by POK Payments (RPay Ltd)
VISAMASTERCARD

© 2026 Ancestrify. All rights reserved.

Ancestrify is a trading name of Andi Thomaj, a sole trader registered in Tiranë, Albania · NUIS M61725001N