Always confirm costs with your healthcare facility and/or insurance coverage
Whether you’re digging into your ancestry, checking for health risks, or figuring out who your real dad is (yep, we said it), DNA tests are more accessible than ever. But the price? It ranges from dirt cheap to medical-bill levels of expensive.
Let’s break down exactly how much DNA tests cost — depending on what you want to learn, where you buy them, and whether you’re doing this for fun or for serious medical reasons.
💡 Quick Cost Snapshot
Test Type |
Cost Range |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Ancestry / Ethnicity |
$59 – $199 |
Family origin & genetic background |
Health Risk / Traits |
$99 – $299 |
Disease risk, carrier status, wellness traits |
Paternity / Relationship |
$79 – $400 |
Biological relationship confirmation |
Medical DNA Testing (Doctor Ordered) |
$300 – $5,000+ |
Diagnosing disease, pharmacogenomics |
Whole Genome Sequencing |
$300 – $2,000+ |
Full genetic blueprint |
🧾 Most at-home tests = $100–$200
Medical-grade tests = $500+ and may be covered by insurance
🧪 DNA Test Categories (And What You Get)
🧓 Ancestry & Family History
Brand |
Price |
Features |
|---|---|---|
AncestryDNA |
$99 – $119 |
Ethnicity + family tree integration |
23andMe (Ancestry only) |
$99 |
Ethnicity + migration patterns |
MyHeritage |
$89 – $129 |
Detailed regional ancestry + relative matching |
🧬 Great for finding long-lost cousins, building family trees, or just satisfying curiosity.
🧬 Health & Genetic Traits
Brand |
Price |
What You Get |
|---|---|---|
23andMe Health + Ancestry |
$199 |
Carrier status, wellness traits, genetic risks |
Nebula Genomics |
$299 – $999 |
Whole genome + lifetime updates |
Living DNA |
$149 |
Ancestry + well-being traits |
CircleDNA |
$189 – $699 |
Diet, fitness, disease risk, medications |
⚠️ Most of these are not FDA-approved for diagnosis — think “educational,” not clinical.
👨👩👧 Paternity / Legal DNA Tests
Brand |
Price |
Use Case |
|---|---|---|
DDC (DNA Diagnostics Center) |
$199 – $400 |
Legal or non-legal paternity |
HomeDNA Paternity Test |
$79 – $149 |
Personal use (not court-approved) |
Identigene (via Walmart/CVS) |
~$150 |
At-home + lab verified |
⚖️ If you need it for court, custody, or immigration, you’ll need a legal chain-of-custody test, which costs more.
🏥 Medical DNA Testing (Ordered by a Doctor)
Test Type |
Estimated Cost |
Use |
|---|---|---|
BRCA1/BRCA2 (Cancer Risk) |
$300 – $3,000 |
Breast/ovarian cancer risk |
Carrier Screening (for couples) |
$400 – $1,500 |
Future child health risks |
Whole Exome Sequencing |
$500 – $1,500 |
Genetic disorders, rare diseases |
Pharmacogenomics (medication response) |
$300 – $900 |
Tailored drug choices |
✅ Often covered by insurance with medical necessity & pre-auth.
💳 Is DNA Testing Covered by Insurance?
Test Type |
Insurance Coverage |
|---|---|
Ancestry / Trait Kits |
❌ No |
Paternity (non-legal) |
❌ No |
Paternity (court-ordered) |
❌ No (sometimes reimbursed) |
Medical Genetic Testing |
✅ With referral, conditions apply |
FSA/HSA Eligible? |
⚠️ Sometimes — health-based tests only |
💡 Insurance generally covers doctor-prescribed tests used to diagnose, treat, or manage a medical condition — not ancestry or “fun” testing.
📉 Ways to Save on DNA Testing
- ✅ Wait for Black Friday / Prime Day / DNA Day sales — big brands slash prices
- ✅ Buy multiple kits together for family discounts
- ✅ Use FSA/HSA on tests tied to health (like 23andMe’s Health + Ancestry)
- ✅ Don’t overbuy — a basic ancestry test + raw data upload is often enough
- ✅ For medical tests, get a referral so insurance can step in
🧠 Final Thoughts: Curious or Clinical?
DNA testing can be fascinating, empowering, and occasionally anxiety-inducing.
Whether you’re chasing your family tree or flagging health risks early, understand what you’re buying — and don’t confuse a fun mail-in kit with a doctor-backed medical diagnosis.
🧬 The test might be simple — but the impact could be huge.
🔚 Bottom Line
- Ancestry & trait kits = $59 – $199
- Health & disease kits = $150 – $500
- Legal paternity testing = $200 – $400+
- Medical-grade DNA testing = $500 – $5,000+ (often insurance-eligible)
- Know your goal, your budget, and your need before you swab that cheek
