GeneMatrix vs 23andMe: which DNA test fits what you want to know?

This isn’t a contest of lab technology: both use genotyping. They are built to answer different questions. Here is how they compare, using 23andMe’s own website and FDA records, checked on September 28, 2026.

Yes. 23andMe says it uses genotyping, and FDA records describe its test the same way.^[1][2] GeneMatrix’s genetic tests are genotyped too. Genotyping checks a chosen set of known positions in your DNA. It doesn’t read whole genes, so it can’t find a change it wasn’t built to look for.

US laboratories that do health-related testing, including genetic testing, are regulated under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and certified labs have to meet federal quality standards. The National Cancer Institute adds that CLIA certification doesn’t guarantee that a test is medically useful or properly interpreted.^[4]

23andMe says it analyzes samples in CLIA-certified US labs.^[1] GeneMatrix’s genetic tests are genotyped in our own CLIA-certified laboratory in Chicago (New York orders excepted). See our lab.

Orders shipped to New York are completed through a physician order or a reference laboratory permitted in New York.

23andMe’s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) report has FDA authorization. The FDA notes that the variants it reports are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and don’t represent most BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants in the general population, and that not finding one doesn’t rule out other variants that may be linked to cancer.^[2]

GeneCancer is a selected-variant test too. It checks selected variants, by genotyping, and isn’t a full-gene test either, so a result with nothing found doesn’t rule out inherited risk.

Testing for inherited cancer risk is a screening test, not a diagnosis. A result with no variant found does not mean you will not develop cancer, and finding a variant does not mean you will. Talk to your doctor or a genetic counselor before making any decision about screening, medication or surgery.

The FDA authorized 23andMe’s pharmacogenetic reports in October 2018. When it did, the FDA said the test does not determine whether a medicine is right for someone, and that consumers should not use it to make treatment decisions on their own.^[3]

Pharmacogenomic results describe how your body is likely to process certain medicines. They do not tell you whether a medicine will work for you, and they are not dosing instructions. Never start, stop or change a medication because of a genetic result. Bring it to the prescriber who manages your medicines.

We say the same about our own results. GenePGx gives you one report with everyday, pain and mental-health medicine views, plus a supplement view, written to take to the prescriber who manages your medicines.

The supplement section is never billed to insurance.

23andMe’s reports cover traits as well as ancestry and health.^[1] GeneCore is our all-in-one wellness test: your diet, fitness and everyday health traits in one report, and each area is also sold on its own. These reports describe traits and associations for general wellness. They don’t tell you what to eat or how to train.

• March 2025. 23andMe Holding Co. began voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to sell its business through a court-supervised process. It said there were no changes to the way it stores, manages or protects customer data.^[5]
• July 2025. TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit public benefit corporation based in California, completed its purchase of 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service and Research Services businesses. 23andMe said it continues to operate, and that TTAM is committed to giving customers choice and transparency with their data.^[6]

Whichever company you choose, the National Cancer Institute’s advice applies: the privacy of at-home genetic test results depends on each company’s own policies, so read its privacy policy and terms of use before you send a sample.^[4]

Your genetic data is never sold, and never shared for marketing or research. Our full terms are on our privacy page.

• You want your ancestry or your DNA relatives. 23andMe offers that. GeneMatrix doesn’t.
• You want a report on how you’re likely to process medicines, to take to your prescriber. GenePGx.
• You want your diet, fitness and everyday health traits in one report. GeneCore, or one area on its own from Nutrigenomics.
• You or a close relative has had cancer. Start with your doctor, and ask about full-gene clinical testing, not a consumer test.
• You want to check selected inherited variants linked to higher cancer risk. GeneCancer checks selected variants, by genotyping. It isn’t a full-gene test, so a result with nothing found doesn’t rule out inherited risk.
• You’re testing a newborn. GeneBaby, from the baby’s own saliva swab.

GeneBaby does not replace the newborn screening your state performs at birth, and it is not a diagnostic test. Deciding to test a child is a decision to make with your pediatrician.

• A diagnosis. A genetic result describes inherited traits and risks. It isn’t a diagnosis.
• Everything in a gene. Genotyping checks selected variants, so a result with nothing found doesn’t rule out a variant the test doesn’t look for.^[2]
• Your whole risk. Many things contribute to a health condition, including your environment and how you live. Genetic risk is one piece.^[2]
• What to do about a medicine. Never start, stop or change a medicine because of a genetic result. Take it to the prescriber who manages your medicines.

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