What is the best DNA test kit?

One of the more common questions that I get is: What’s the best DNA testing option? Below is a summary of what I think are important decision factors and then a summary of the major companies offering DNA testing.

Genetic Lifehacks has no affiliation with any of these companies.
Please also do your own research before you order from any company.

Jump to:

Consider these factors with DNA testing:

Privacy:
My number one concern is for user privacy with genetic and health data. Don’t trust their advertising; read the privacy policy. Especially the section on genetic data.
Downloadable data:
Make sure the company offers downloadable access to your genetic raw data.
Control of your data:
Check to see whether you can delete your genetic data and personal data from their website.
Customer support:
Customer support needs to be excellent. Check reviews to see how the company handles customer complaints. Reddit is a good source for finding out what customers think of the company, and Trustpilot is another good source of reviews.
Continuing costs:
Some genetic testing companies are moving to a model where they charge you monthly or yearly to store your genetic data. Consider the long-term storage cost when you are looking at the price. (Or download and store your data yourself)

Tip: If the company offers a downloadable data file, the same raw data is usually available whether you buy the cheapest option or a more expensive package.

DNA sequencing companies:

The following companies offer direct-to-consumer DNA testing. Most of these offer a type of microarray sequencing that gives you access to a raw data file containing around 650,000 – 700,000 SNPs.

AncestryDNA

AncestryDNA is a well-recognized company with millions of users. It uses a third-party testing lab (Quest) in the US for sequencing data.

Website:	https://www.ancestry.com/dna/
Price:	Regularly $99, but with frequent sales
Raw Data:	Yes (download instructions)
Delete data?	Yes, instructions on their website
Extra fees:	Raw data is stored for free. Packages offered with memberships for Ancestry.com for genealogy information
Privacy Policy:	AncestryDNA privacy information.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes, covers about 82% of Genetic Lifehacks SNPs

23andMe

23andMe was one of the first direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies. They offer ancestry information, DNA relatives, and health reports (additional). 23andMe uses Labcorp, located in the U.S., for the DNA test.

Website:	https://www.23andme.com/
Price:	Regularly $119, but with frequent sales
Raw Data:	Yes, download instructions on the website. It may take a few days to get access to the raw data file due to security checks.
Delete data?	Yes, under Settings. Note that if you have shared anonymized data with research studies, that data is not deleted.
Extra fees:	Raw data is stored for free. Additional packages are offered with health reports or consultations with health professionals. The most basic package is all that you need for the raw data file.
Privacy Policy:	23andMe privacy information. Note that survey questions are for research studies. Understand what you are doing when you opt-in to the surveys and research.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes, covers about 80% of Genetic Lifehacks SNPs

MyHeritage

MyHeritage is an ancestry-focused website that started offering its DNA service in 2016. MyHeritage uses Gene By Gene, a genetic testing facility in Houston, Texas, to sequence data for US-based clients.

Website:	https://www.myheritage.com/dna
Price:	Regularly $89, but with frequent sales
Raw Data:	Yes, download instructions on the website.
Delete data?	Yes, instructions on their website
Extra fees:	Raw data is stored for free. Packages offered with memberships for MyHeritage for genealogy information
Privacy Policy:	MyHeritage privacy information.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes, covers about 70% of Genetic Lifehacks SNPs

tellMeGen

The company was founded in 2014 and is located in Spain. Its sequencing laboratory is Eurofins Genomics, Denmark.

Website:	https://www.tellmegen.com/
Price:	$89
Raw Data:	Yes, download instructions on the website.
Delete data?	Yes. Covered by GDPR regulations on deleting personal data as well as genetic data.
Extra fees:	Raw data is stored for free. Additional packages are offered with health reports.
Privacy Policy:	TellMeGen Privacy Policy
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes

SelfDecode

Seldecode is using AI to generate reports and impute SNPs from standard genetic sequencing. Note that the raw data download is the actual sequenced data and not the imputed data.

Website:	https://selfdecode.com/
Price:	$289
Raw Data:	Yes, download instructions on the website.
Delete data?	Yes, but not as easily – you have to email their customer support to request it.
Extra fees:	$9.99/month subscription required Additional health reports are available for purchase as well as options for uploading your blood lab data.
Privacy Policy:	SelfDecode privacy policy – be sure to read the part about how they use your genetic data as “aggregated” information
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes – raw data file covers about 83% of SNPs on Genetic Lifehacks

FamilyTreeDNA

FamilyTreeDNA is owned by Gene by Gene. They offer ancestry information and DNA relatives. The samples are processed and stored in their laboratory.

Website:	https://www.familytreedna.com/
Price:	$79 The report gives a percentage breakdown of your origins and connections to ancient European groups.
Raw Data:	Only the Y-DNA haplotypes and SNPs.
Delete data?	You have to email their customer support to request it.
Extra fees:	Other genealogy packages available
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	No

CRI Genetics

CRI Genetics was founded in 2017 and is a smaller company than the ones listed above. It is not focused on genealogy but rather gives you the composition of your ancestry plus traits

Website:	https://www.crigenetics.com/
Price:	$189 for Ancestry plus Traits report
Raw Data:	No, there is no option to download your data.
Delete data?	Yes, upon request
Extra fees:	Other report packages available
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	No

Genesight

Genesight offers pharmacogenomics testing and reports on how your genes interact with medications. The company is part of Myriad Genetics. The tests are analyzed at its in-house lab.

Website:	https://genesight.com/
Price:	The testing is ordered by your doctor and billed through insurance. They state they will notify the customer if the cost exceeds $330. The reports are intended to demonstrate how genetics may impact drug interactions.
Raw Data:	No, there is no option to download your data.
Delete data?	Unknown
Extra fees:	No
Privacy Policy:	Genesight’s privacy information.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	No

How much of what is on Genetic Lifehacks is covered by each test?

Percentage of SNPs covered
Testing Company	Approx. % Covered
23andMe v5 (current)	73%
23andMe v4	84%
AncestryDNA	82%
Selfdecode	83%
MyHeritage	69%
Strategene	75%
Combo 23andMe v5 + AncestryDNA	89%
Combo 23andMe v5 + MyHeritage	80%
23andMe v4+v5	95%

Whole Genome Testing

Whole genome testing gives you more details on your genetics, including rare mutations. The drawback is that the data file is very large and in a format that is more difficult to work with.

The file formats that you get from a whole genome company will not work with Genetic Lifehacks out-of-the-box. You would need to convert the whole genome file (.BAM or .CRAM) using software, such as WGSExtract. Here’s the article on how to do it. It takes a bit of computing power and time to do the conversion.

If you’re doing a whole genome test just for use on Genetic Lifehacks, please be sure you’re comfortable with using the conversion software before deciding to go that route.

Sequencing.com

Sequencing.com was founded in 2013 by ⁠Dr. Brandon Colby, MD. It offers whole genome testing as well as many different third-party apps.

Website:	https://sequencing.com/products/purchase-kit
Price:	$389 for standard turnaround, $1099 for faster turnaround time
Raw Data:	Yes, download instructions on the website.
Delete data?	Yes, but not as easily – you have to email their customer support to request it.
Extra fees:	$19 + per month for different membership levels and access to their genome report viewer
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy – be sure to read the section on AI chat integration and your data being used on ChatGPT
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Yes. You can download a .txt file similar to 23andMe v5 data (covers 90% of SNPs) or you can download the .BAM or .CRAM file and convert it using WGSExtract (covers 100% on Genetic Lifehacks)

Nebula Genomics

according to Wikipedia, Nebula was founded in 2018 by George Church. It was bought out in 2021 by ProPhase Labs. Be sure to check with their customer service if you have questions before ordering, and read their reviews.

Website:	https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing-dna-test/
Price:	$637 for 30X and $2102 for 100x (frequently goes on sale) $295 Membership fee or $12.90/mo
Raw Data:	Yes, .CRAM download available
Delete data?
Extra fees:	$295 for three years or $12.90/mo
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy Be sure to understand that they have surveys and optional research opt-ins.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	If you convert the file using WGSExtract

Dante Labs

Dante Labs is a European-based whole genome sequencing company. *** Members report having problems when ordering outside of the US or EU. Be sure to check with their customer service if you have any questions, and also be sure to read reviews (Reddit, Trustpilot) on the company before buying.

Website:	https://us.dantelabs.com/
Price:	$499 for 30x
Raw Data:	Yes, .CRAM download available
Delete data?	Yes
Extra fees:	$295 for three years or $12.90/mo
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy Be sure to understand that they have surveys and optional research opt-ins.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	If you convert the file using WGSExtract

MyNucleus

New in the whole sequencing game is MyNucleus. While they don’t give a lot of information about the company on their site, they have raised over $17 million and are backed by the Peter Thiel Foundation and the Founders Fund.

Website:	https://mynucleus.com/
Price:	$499 for 30x (often on sale for $399) plus an annual membership of $45/year to see results and store data.
Raw Data:	Yes. Submit a request and get access to the whole genome file.
Delete data?	Yes
Extra fees:	$45/year to see your results and store your data. $99 for Genetic Counseling
Privacy Policy:	Privacy policy Read carefully. They are using anonymized data in many ways and are aggregating data about you from third-party sites. They share personal data with business partners and affiliates.
Works on Genetic Lifehacks?	Unknown It isn’t clear on the site whether you can download your whole genome files. Double-check before buying to make sure you have access to the .BAM or .CRAM file. If so, you could convert the file using WGSExtract