Free DNA Upload Sites

By ⁠Dr. Brandon Colby MD, a genetic testing expert specializing in advanced genetic analysis and clinical genomics.

There’s a lot of value in taking a DNA test. More value than many people realize. It’s not until people realize they can upload DNA data to many different sites that they understand how much value can be unlocked from the data obtained from their DNA test.

Free DNA Upload Sites: Summary

Many DNA sites allow people to upload their raw DNA data to use their analytical tools. While uploading data to the site is free, most DNA companies will then charge for the analysis of the data.

When considering the cost vs. value of information, it is worth it. This is especially true for those who have invested in DNA tests that test more of the genome, such as in the case of ⁠whole genome sequencing. With more advanced DNA testing, analysis reports are much more complete. 

However, even without sequencing your entire genome, it may still advantageous for you to upload your raw DNA data to sites offering analysis. This article identifies DNA sites that allow free DNA uploads.

Table Of Contents

DNA Sites: Get More from Uploading Raw DNA Data

Some DNA testing companies offering analysis open their site up to people to upload their DNA results. As long as it is a reputable company, the practice is usually safe and secure, and it can significantly increase the amount of information derived from a DNA test.

Tip: One way to quickly determine whether a company is reputable is to search Google for the company name followed by Better Business Bureau. The first search result is usually to the Better Business Bureau’s page about that company.

How do sites that allow for DNA data uploads increase the amount of information derived from a DNA test?

Most DNA companies online offer genetic testing services for a specific purpose. For instance, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, and AncestryDNA sell DNA tests to analyze ethnicity, genetic health, and possible DNA matches to people on the site. People who purchase their DNA kit will receive the analysis report with information about their genetic data.

Unfortunately, many people believe that’s all they can get from their DNA test. They don’t even realize there is raw data they can download.

Downloading that raw data is the right of anyone who purchases a DNA test because after all, it is THEIR personal data.

What can be done with that data? It can be uploaded to other DNA sites for analysis.

So, what one site doesn’t analyze for, another one may analyze it. What this means is that your data holds way more information than what some DNA sites are revealing.

The good news is that since you now know there is more you can learn from your DNA data, you can start taking advantage of all the free DNA upload sites that are available.

A Message for People Searching for Free DNA Upload Sites

Chances are since you’re looking for “free DNA upload sites” you already know there’s more you can do with your DNA. You know you can download your DNA data and upload it to other sites for additional analysis, as mentioned above. 

What you’re hoping to learn is what other sites will analyze your DNA data. 

Before you get excited though, you should know free DNA upload sites are free for uploading, but not most of them charge for the analysis. This means you can upload your DNA data without cost but if you want the analysis report from the DNA site, you may have to pay a fee. 

This may be a disappointment, but don’t let stand in your way of taking advantage of your raw data file. The information you can get from it even if you have to pay for the analysis is worth it.

Now that we have the details out of the way, let’s move on to identifying all the free DNA upload sites available right now.

Our List of Free DNA Upload Sites

The following DNA sites are categorized by the information they provide users.

Ancestry and Family Finder

These sites offer many tools to learn more about ethnicity, ancestry and find unknown family members, which can be quite useful for ⁠finding an adopted child online or biological parents as an adoptee.

GEDmatch

GEDmatch does not sell DNA test kits. Users must ⁠upload raw DNA data to GEDmatch.

The site specializes in providing advanced tools to dig deeper into ⁠genetic genealogy. Users have been able to track down family members and learn a great deal about their family history.

The site is completely free to use. There is no cost for the analysis making it one of the best free DNA upload sites.

Hint: GEDmatch is owned by Verogen, a company that specializes in forensic science and law enforcement. If you’re concerned about law enforcement possibly accessing your DNA data, Verogen’s ownership of GEDmatch may be an important consideration.

Sequencing.com

Sequencing is the world’s largest collection of DNA analysis apps and reports. You can upload DNA data from any DNA test to Sequencing and then use their apps and reports to obtain insights about ancestry, health, nutrition, fitness, beauty, and longevity.

Sequencing is discussed further down in this article.

MyTrueAncestry

MyTrueAncestry has ancient DNA samples from over 85 archeological dig sites. Users can upload their DNA to learn about their ancient ancestry. It identifies relations to ancient civilizations.

The claim to fame for this site is that it doesn’t use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to identify a generic haplogroup like other DNA companies. It compares autosomal DNA directly to ancient samples so that it can reveal a specific ancient group, such as the Vikings.

The site does have a free feature, which includes an upload and analysis of one DNA file, basic maps, and a general timeline.

For additional information, there are many tiers available which can range from about $40 to nearly $400. How far you want to go with the tiers depends on how much genetic genealogy you want to perform on the site.

MyHeritage

⁠MyHeritage became popular with its ancestry specialization. The site has one of the largest genetic search engines online, so it’s a great option for genealogical research.

As you can read in our ⁠MyHeritage review, the company has done a great job helping people find relatives they didn’t know existed.

The DNA testing company offers a ⁠MyHeritage DNA kit. The data is instantly analyzed and results returned to test takers. That data can be downloaded and then upload to other DNA sites.

The site also always people to upload their DNA data. This adds more information to their rapidly growing database, which is why they love it when people take advantage of their free uploading.

Membership costs, which is what will enable uploaders to gain additional insight from their uploaded file range from $129 to $189 a year. Membership gives people access to their chromosome browser as well as other more information about ethnicity estimates.

Interesting in uploading DNA data to MyHeritage? Check out our ⁠how-to guide for uploading your data to MyHeritage.

LivingDNA

⁠LivingDNA allows users to transfer their raw DNA to the site. They offer information on genetic matches, an ethnicity report, and ancestral geographic origins report from the British Isles.

It only takes a few minutes to hours to get your ethnicity results. The DNA matches information can take a day or two.

Interesting in uploading DNA data to Living DNA? Check out our ⁠how-to guide for uploading your data to Living DNA.

African Ancestry

This DNA site specializes in family history for people with an African lineage.

DNA data can be uploaded to the site, but there’s a $210 cost for analyzing the data. That’s a hefty price comp, although the package does include a DNA sequence printout.

Ancestry.com

Surprising but true, Ancestry.com does not allow DNA data to be uploaded to its site. If you’ve already taken a DNA test from Ancestry, you can download your test data and then ⁠upload your Ancestry DNA data to other third-party sites such as Sequencing.com.

Learn more about ⁠alternatives to uploading DNA data to Ancestry.

23andMe

⁠23andMe does not allow uploads. If you’ve taken a DNA test from another company, 23andMe does not allow you to upload that data to its site.

If you’ve taken a 23andMe test, there is good news! 23andMe allows test data to be easily downloaded from a 23andMe account. You can then ⁠upload your 23andMe data to third-party sites.

Health & Wellness

For information on health and wellness, the following sites are great options for uploading DNA data.

Nebula Genomics

Nebula Genomics analyzes for genetic ancestry and health risks. They allow DNA uploads from people who have already taken DNA tests from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, and MyHeritage. Once your data is uploaded, you can then purchase reports to learn more about data.

Sequencing.com

In addition to apps for ancestry, Sequencing has dozens of unique DNA analysis apps and reports for health and wellness. Sequencing allows data to be uploaded from any DNA test, such as 23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage and even ⁠whole genome sequencing data.

Their DNA apps analyze DNA data from any test and then provide you with a genetic report. The reports are usually very extensive and provide insights and guidance not available from any other site.

If you’re concerned about privacy, Sequencing’s ⁠Privacy First Policy is very clear that they don’t sell data, including your DNA data, to anyone. This policy also states that you own your data and can download and permanently delete your data at any time.

Sequencing is discussed further down in this article.

Genomelink

Genomelink encourages users to upload their DNA data for 25 free trait reports. For additional trait information, they require a subscription.

While some sites provide comprehensive reports containing a wide variety of information about a person’s genes, Genomelink primary provides small tidbits of information about a single trait. For example, they may provide information about whether you are more likely to taste bitterness and whether you’re more likely to have blue eyes.

Genomelink does not provide health-related analysis.

SelfDecode

SelfDecode accepts DNA files from 23andMe, Ancestry, Courtagen, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, Atlas, MapMyGenome, Diagnomics, DNALand, Illumina, LivingDNA, and iGene.

The DNA site has different subscription plans. All of them include unlimited access to the Personalized Genetics Blog and the LabTestAnalyzer. The lifetime access plan offers unlimited access to current and future DNA Wellness Reports. The annual plan includes 5 DNA Wellness Reports each year.

SelfDecode’s DNA analysis reports are also available through Sequencing.com’s ⁠DNA App Store.

XCode

This site isn’t as well known but they do offer uploading from 23andMe and Ancestry. They offer more than 15 health reports and information on over 3,000+ genetic traits.

XCode also has different packages offering different types and numbers of reports. For instance, a recent package included 9 reports and analysis of 700+ traits for $99.

GenoPalate

GenoPalate offers nutritional information based on genetics, called nutrigenomics. They analyze the optimal level of 23 different types of vitamins and nutrients for your body. It can also identify the best foods for your body and how well it metabolizes different foods.

The site offers a DNA testing kit, but people can upload their DNA test results from AncestryDNA and 23andMe. The analysis costs $39.95. For even more information, there’s a $69.95.

Many people who upload their data to GenoPalate also use:

• Sequencing.com
• DNAFit
• Orig3n
• Atheletigen
• Vitagene
• Fitness Genes

Additional Resources for Data Uploads

Promethease

⁠Promethease is a technical literature retrieval system started by genealogists. It offers information about health, disease, and traits. Their scientific literature database pulls peer-reviewed journal articles provides information on the gene variants found in DNA data

The platform searches SNPs in the SNPedia database, which is a wiki site that has single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

Hint: Promthease is now owned by MyHeritage. This may be an important consideration before ⁠uploading your DNA data to Promethease.

Promethease used to be free but now costs $5-$10 to use. The site accepts data uploads from:

• 23andMe
• Ancestry.com
• Sequencing.com
• Nebula Genomics
• LivingDNA
• FamilyTreeDNA
• DNA.Land
• Complete Genomics
• Affymetrix GCOS
• VCF (Standard VCFs from genome sequencing)
• Illumina GenomeStudio
• WeGene
• Dante Labs (although they ⁠no longer allow downloading of DNA data)

Sequencing.com

⁠Sequencing.com is one of the best DNA upload sites because it has more than 100 different DNA analysis apps for almost anything you can want to know about your DNA.

This site makes it simple to transfer a copy of your DNA data from almost any other DNA testing company. Once your DNA data is uploaded or imported to Sequencing.com, your data can then be used with any of the analysis apps in their ⁠DNA App Store.

Many of their DNA apps are free to use. This is much different from other DNA upload sites. 

Sequencing.com offers the most genetic information available, including hundreds of DNA apps and reports for almost everything imaginable. They’re the one-stop-shop for everything relating to your DNA.

Browsing the available apps will show you the amount of insight the apps can provide. 

New DNA analysis apps and reports are added to the site’s ⁠DNA App Store every month. 

DNA Sites Not Allowing Raw Data Uploads

The following sites may offer genetic tests and the downloading of the data from them, they do not allow people to upload their DNA to the site to use their analysis tools.

• ⁠23andMe
• ⁠Ancestry.com - Read our article ⁠Upload DNA to Ancestry. 
• ⁠FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA)

While the above sites have sold many DNA tests and reports to users, sites like Sequencing.com offer Ultimate Genome Sequencing, which is a ⁠30x whole genome sequencing service that obtains data on 100% of the genome. Compare this to the DNA tests from 23andMe and Ancestry that obtain data on less than 0.1% of the genome!

Even if you have already had your DNA tested, it is worth it to take another one for more DNA data either with the Ultimate DNA Test or Whole Genome Sequencing service.

Learn more about them by clicking here or upload your existing DNA data here.

That completes our list of DNA sites that allow free uploads. Many will think we have left some DNA sites off the list, but that’s because many well-known sites do not support DNA data uploads. If you know of a site that accepts DNA uploads and should be added to this list, please email [email protected].

About The Author

⁠Dr. Brandon Colby MD is a US physician specializing in the personalized prevention of disease through the use of genomic technologies. He’s an expert in genetic testing, genetic analysis, and precision medicine. Dr. Colby is also the Founder of Sequencing.com and the author of ⁠Outsmart Your Genes.

Dr. Colby holds an MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and a degree in Genetics with Honors from the University of Michigan. He is an Affiliate Specialist of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (⁠ACMG), an Associate of the American College of Preventive Medicine (⁠ACPM), and a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (⁠NSGC).