What to do with your FTDNA, AncestryDNA or 23andMe raw data?

Download your raw data from FTDNA, Ancestry DNA or 23andMe so that you may use them to learn more about yourself! However, you don’t have to do them yourself. There are many third-party tools or DNA upload sites that interpret your DNA raw data for you. All you have to do is simply upload your raw data to these tools and watch them being analyzed for you. Some of the best DNA raw data Analysis tools are Xcode Life, Genetic Genie, Stratagene, and GEDMatch.

Some of these accept raw data from selected providers while others like Xcode Life accept from nearly all ancestry DNA companies.

So if you’re one of those curious people who had to get raw data from 23andMe or other companies that provide this service, you probably did not know that they test for hundreds of thousands of genetic markers, which hold far more information about you. For instance, information about your nutrition, fitness, health and wellness, allergy, and so on.

Raw data from 23andMe, AncestryDNA or Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) contain ~600,000 genetic markers. 

 

In a table at the end of this article, you’ll find companies that provide raw data analysis and interpretation services. The features they offer for different prices and how these compare across the various companies are given.

Some of these are free but very basic (you get what you pay for!), while some charge a lot for elaborate fitness programs. Yet, some others have reasonable pricing. 

What more information can you get from your FTDNA, Ancestry DNA or 23andMe raw data?

Here is the list of all possible reports, health, and ancestry, that you can by letting third-party raw data analysis tools to browse your raw data:

1. Nutrition report
2. Fitness report
3. Health report
4. Allergy report
5. Skin report
6. Carrier Status report
7. Breast Cancer and BRCA report
8. Methylation and MTHFR report
9. Precision Medicine report

How to read your FTDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe raw data?

As mentioned earlier, you do not need to read your 23andMe raw data by yourself. You can use 3rd party raw data analysis tools that browse your raw data. You just have to upload your raw data and download your results.

There are companies like Xcode Life and others that specialize in providing you various reports based on your raw data from ancestry data providers such as 23andMe, AncestryDNA.com, or Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). If you have been actively researching about which tools you can use for raw data analysis, you may have come across some blogs with a list of various sites offering the service. Some of these blogs have a lot of text and don’t allow for simple and quick comparison across companies. That is what I have attempted to do here in a table format.

The best third-party tools or companies providing DNA raw data analysis services are listed below:

Happy choosing!

#1 Xcode Life Sciences raw data analysis

Xcode Life is a global genetics and bioinformatics company that specializes in 23andMe raw data analysis, but also analyzes raw data from all major international data providers such as Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), AncestryDNA, and Helix among several others. Xcode provides a variety of expertly curated reports, starting at $20, including 23andMe health reports, nutrition, medication sensitivity (precision medicine), fitness, allergy, skin, personality and other custom reports. Above all, these reports come with a specific recommendation for people with your genetic type, all of which are delivered in under 24 hours. Moreover, counseling is also available upon request. In addition, Xcode Life also provides reports to individuals and professional practitioners such as physicians, surgeons, nutritionists, sports trainers, chiropractic and other professionals. Get your 23andMe raw data analyzed here.

#2 Promethease 23andMe raw data analysis – Now acquired by MyHeritage

Promethease is a software program that was developed by SNPedia to perform raw data analysis. It uses your 23andMe raw data to generate largely disease-based reports. You will get to know which mutation confers what risk. They charge $12 per report. However, it is to be noted that they may be quite technical for most people unless they have expert knowledge of polymorphisms and biostatistics.

This literature retrieval system that analyzes your 23andMe, FTDNA, or AncestryDNA.com raw data and then builds a report based on the vast SNPedia database. Reports contain information about health, precision medicine as well as some other traits. The report gives you health information regarding your genetic risks for certain illnesses such as Alzheimer’s. In spite of its popularity, the scientific rigor of Promethease is questioned often due to its reliance on SNPedia that is a Wikipedia-like repository of scientific literature. 

Update: In 2019, MyHeritage acquired Promethease and SNPedia.

MyHeritage offered Promethease free of charge through the end of 2019 and continues to maintain SNPedia as a free resource for academic and non-profit users. For Non-European users, the DNA raw data will be shifted to MyHeritage into new accounts which will be created for them. However, the users will retain the ownership of their DNA raw data file and are free to delete it from MyHeritage’s server.

#3 Athletigen 23andMe raw data analysis

As the name indicates Athletigen does “athletic profiling” of the 23andMe raw data analysis. They accept 23andMe data, but also offer their own kit which is quite expensive. They provide insights into the exercises that are best suited to you. For instance, this includes aspects of power, endurance, muscle type and recovery time.

Athletigen has a team of researchers for analyzing and interpreting genetic data. They use a combination of current studies and their own research based on the samples they collect from the athletes they test. Their genetic tests reveal insights, such as a heightened risk of injury, nutritional demands and allow the fitness trainers of an athlete to adjust his or her workout plan and nutrition in accordance with these insights. However, it seems to be a report for hardcore athletes.  So, if you are a professional, this could be the report for you. 

#4 Genetic Genie 23andMe MTHFR raw data analysis

Genetic genie provides a free methylation and detox report after 23andMe raw data analysis. This tool uses your 23andMe results to perform a methylation gene analysis.  The site also provides a tool for a detox analysis that looks for defects in the cytochrome P450 detox enzymes.  This site uses the API from 23andMe and this enables users to link their 23andMe account to this service. Incorrect methylation leads to a wide range of serious medical conditions.

This makes the methylation profile offered by genetic genie a good report. The detox profile looks at gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the cytochrome P450 detox enzymes, amongst others. The methylation report is detailed, but the detox report just displays a table without any interpretation. This is a free service but a voluntary donation starting from $5 is accepted.

Read an in-depth comparative analysis of reports from Genetic Genie and Xcode Life 

#5 Livewello raw data analysis

Their 23andMe raw data analysis and interpretation reports focus on nutrition and health. After paying a one-time fee of $20 you get to keep your account for life. In addition, you also get free app updates. But do take note that, other subscription charges are applicable on top of the $20 fee for basic access.

You either get your report altogether or a monthly subscription for personalized 23andMe health reports and results in emails. However, the reports lack some important genetic markers. These might be added to their service over time.

Livewello generates health reports from raw data issued by laboratories including 23andMe, AncestryDNA.com, Gene By Gene, National Geographic, BioCore and Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) for raw data analysis and interpretation.

#6 StrateGene 23andMe raw data analysis

Gives you a 23andMe raw data analysis report of what your polymorphisms are for methylation pathways similar to Genetic Genie. They recommend working with a physician to interpret your results as all genetic reports should.

Their reports are a little too complex to be of practical use to non-technical folks. However, it is recommended for those who have a keen interest in the science behind DNA testing.

For those looking for easily understandable results, you may want to explore some of the other options given in this blog which give some ready-to-implement recommendations. That said, their report is much better suited to those with a medical or scientific background than consumers.  

#7 Enlis Genomics 23andMe raw data analysis

The primary focus of this 23andMe raw data analysis service provider is for educational purposes and not for direct consumer purposes. Their service, that caters to research scientists, focuses on analyzing DNA data to provide users with information about the health risks associated with specific genetic variants.

The initial intention of developing this software is to allow researchers to analyze full genome files but they have then added a software program for personal use and a free genome report that is accessible directly from their site. Navigating through their many software products on their site it is not immediately noticeable as to where one should upload data for their free report or even that this option was available.

#8 Genomelink raw data analysis

Genomelink provides free reports based on your raw data by assessing your traits and health risks. However, due to its free cost, the number of traits provided in the reports is quite limited (only 25) and does not cover a range of categories. To unlock more traits, you have to be subscribed to their ‘Unlimited Plan’ for $14/month, which is not considered cost-effective, as mentioned in a few reviews.

After signing up, all your reports will be consolidated and present in your dashboard, which can be accessed only online, as downloadable PDF reports are not available. A feedback option will be present next to every trait in your dashboard, so you can choose to let them know whether or not the results provided are accurate. While the interface is pleasing, their reports are not extensive and cover only a little over 100 traits. This is relatively small, compared to other companies that provide over 300 traits.

#9 NutraHacker raw data analysis

Provides some free features which are: A free detoxification and methylation analysis that will help clarify your nutritional needs. In addition, a ree placebo tendency analysis report. A full report is $23 along with future updates. Nutrahacker reports are more for nutrition information, and specifically vitamin supplements. 

This website has several reports that you can buy on celiac disease, methylation, and carrier status. However, they accept raw data only from 23andMe, so if you have raw data from other companies you need to spend $99 extra for a Nutrahacker report.

#10 Interpretome raw data analysis

The Interpretome website does 23andMe raw data analysis and accepts raw data from Lumigenix. Using Interpretome, you can access the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) database which contains much information about variations in genes.

This enables your specialist to make an informed decision regarding the treatment/management of complex disorders and ascertaining drug response.

You also receive information regarding genealogy. For instance, about the most likely populations that your chromosomes closely match. 

#11 DNAFit raw data analysis

They provide DNA nutrition reports and DNA fitness reports or a diet and fitness combination report. Additionally, the report is available online. Initially, the information does feel a bit overwhelming. However, the reports do a good job of giving background information relevant to the results. This is fairly comprehensive, including not only a list of the genes analyzed in the test but also information about each gene and the basis for reaching a conclusion. There are clauses in their privacy policy about how it could be passed on as aggregated data to third parties for research with or without client consent according to DNA Testing Choice, a popular genetic testing company review website. If you are a hardcore athlete, you might want to consider this. However, before buying, do check out our comparative blog on top 5 fitness DNA fitness report providers.

Read an in-depth comparative analysis of reports from DNAFit and Xcode Life

#12 Lifenome raw data analysis

One of the newer companies that provide 23andMe raw data analysis and interpretation tools. They do not provide health reports but offer a variety of personalized wellness reports based on your raw data. Above all, their report display a predisposition summary at the beginning for a quick look at all your traits for the module and your probable risk.  There are six report options available: NutriNome, which would provide information relating to nutrition; FitNome, which was about fitness and training; SkinNome for skin-related traits; AllergeNome, for allergies and sensitivities; PersoNome, for personality-based traits; Total Insights that includes all reports for 20% less than if buying them all separately. Results may be viewed online on both desktop and mobile. In addition, they can also be downloaded as a PDF file. Above all, there is an option to connect directly to 23andMe. Alternatively, you can upload a Family Tree DNA/Ancestry DNA file from your system.

Other Resources to Explore More:

You want to dig deeper into this and explore more by yourself; here are some resources that will give you more information:

1. List of the most popular genetic testing companies: ISOGG Wiki
2. There are some good answers to a Quora question along similar lines: https://www.quora.com/Which-tools-can-be-used-to-analyze-23andMe-raw-data

Which tools can be used to analyze your raw data? (not arranged by rank)

DIY- Do it yourself