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 these companies. Please also do your own research before you order from any company.
Consider these factors with DNA testing:
1) 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.
2) Downloadable data:
Make sure the company offers downloadable access to your genetic raw data.
3) Control of your data:
Check to see whether you can delete your genetic data and personal data from their website.
4) 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.
5) 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:
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 90% 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 Genetic Lifehacks does each test cover?
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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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? | If you convert the file using WGSExtract |
How much of Genetic Lifehacks’ SNPs does each test cover?
| 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% |
Related Articles and Topics:
Getting Started
You can learn so much from your genetic data from 23andMe, Ancestry.com, and other genetic data. Here is a quick guide to getting started!
Using your genetic raw data file to optimize your health
Learn how and why you can use your genetic raw data file from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, etc., to learn more about your health and well-being.
What can you do with your 23 and Me or AncestryDNA raw data?
Learn how to interpret and analyze your 23andMe raw data file – along with where to start with genetics. Includes reviews of genetic reports.
How to login and download raw data from 23andMe
Step-by-step instructions on how to log in to 23andMe and download your raw data. Be sure to securely save the file on your own computer.