By Russell Browne (Dip. Adv. Nut.) · Specialist in Genetic Nutrition & Methylation Protocols
With 23andMe’s future uncertain, a lot of people are asking what their alternatives are. It’s a good question — but “alternative” can mean two very different things, and knowing which one you actually want saves you money and time.
First: which kind of alternative do you need?
There are two paths, and most people assume they need the first when they really want the second:
- A different testing company — take a new DNA test with someone other than 23andMe.
- A different way to analyze the data you already have — get more from your existing raw file without testing again.
If you’ve already tested with 23andMe (or AncestryDNA), you almost certainly want the second path. Your raw file doesn’t stop working because the company is in transition, and re-testing to get health insights you could already extract is usually wasted money.
Path 1: Alternative testing companies
If you’ve never tested, or you want a fresh sample, the main consumer options include AncestryDNA and MyHeritage DNA, among others. These are primarily ancestry-focused services; the health insights people want usually come from running the resulting raw file through a separate analysis tool anyway. So even here, testing is only step one.
A quick, honest caveat: any consumer DNA test has limits in accuracy and coverage, and none of them are diagnostic-grade. Whichever company you use, treat the results as educational rather than clinical.
Path 2: Get more from the file you already have
This is where most of the value is. Your existing 23andMe or AncestryDNA raw file already contains far more than the reports you were shown. Uploading it to an independent analysis tool produces a variant report — an organized, searchable view of your genetic variants, including well-studied ones (like MTHFR) that the testing companies don’t surface in their standard reports.
The advantages of this path:
- No new test, no new cost of testing — you use the file you already downloaded.
- More depth — you can look up specific genes or browse by area of interest.
- It’s future-proof — it works regardless of what happens to the company that did your test.
As always, a variant report is an educational and research tool, not a diagnosis. Its best use is as one input you review with a qualified practitioner.
So which should you choose?
- Already tested? Skip re-testing. Run your existing raw file through an analysis tool for a variant report.
- Never tested? Take an ancestry test with a company you trust, then analyze that raw file the same way.
Either way, the analysis step — turning raw data into a readable variant report — is where the health-relevant understanding actually comes from.
Make your existing data work harder: upload your raw DNA file to generate a variant report, no re-testing required.
About the Author
Russell Browne (Dip. Adv. Nut.)
Specialist in Genetic Nutrition & Methylation Protocols
Russell Browne is a qualified practitioner of Advanced Nutrition, Advanced Herbalism, and Homeopathy, with a specialized clinical focus on genetic nutrition, methylation pathways, and detoxification. With years of dedicated clinical experience helping patients decode complex chronic health issues, Russell is also the author of How to Treat Your MTHFR Gene Mutations the Right Way – The Genetic Advantage and several works on genetic wellness. He is committed to bridging the gap between complex genetic data and practical, root-cause clinical care.
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