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GenePlanet Review: A DNA Test For Your Health?

Written by Samantha Odake, BS | Last updated:

Overview

  1. Products: DNA tests, health and wellness reports.
  2. Cost: $119 to $369.
  3. Reports: Nutrition, sports, sleep, and stress reports.
  4. Raw data access: No.
  5. Privacy: GenePlanet claims not to sell, lease, or rent identifiable information to third parties.
  6. Alternatives: SelfDecode – get personalized health recommendations based on your DNA, labs, and environmental data.

Pros

  • Brief health recommendations are included in the reports.
  • The company provides a 30-minute consultation with a specialist.
  • The reports are user-friendly and easy to understand.

Cons

  • The company does not allow raw data access or upload.
  • Does not use AI and machine learning to provide the most accurate results and recommendations.

About GenePlanet

GenePlanet was founded in 2008 by current CEO Marko Bitenc, a Master of Science in Biotechnology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

The company is based in Slovenia and claims to be the leading European company in the field of genetic testing. GenePlanet states they are a research and development-oriented company present in over 30 countries with more than 100 employees.

Review of GenePlanet Products & Features

GenePlanet offers two options of DNA tests, MyLifestyle, and MyHealth.

MyLifestyle includes 70 analyses covering nutrition, sports, stress, and sleep. MyHealth will tell users about their risk for infections and a number of diseases. Customers can get the Premium package with both tests, which is available as a one-time purchase or as a subscription.

Users can also upload their past blood test results to the platform and receive information about a limited number of blood marker.

GenePlanet calculates a Health Score based on DNA, blood test results, and self-reported information to give users an overview of their health status, but it is unclear how they calculate these scores.

Review of GenePlanet Reports

GenePlanet presents the results on their online platform. As can be seen from the screenshot below, the company first displays an overview of the Health Score.

GenePlanet dashboard

Users can view their DNA results by selecting this option on the home screen. The company delivers the results in an intuitive, color-coded format, shown below. The platform allows customers to filter their results according to the risk each trait presents.

GenePlanet test results

As seen below, each trait is then presented in more detail, although they are not very extensive. The result is displayed on a colored scale ranging from low to high risk.

Under the specific genetic results, the reports provide some generic health recommendations. From the report below, GenePlanet tells the user to increase their fibre intake, but they are brief and not very detailed.

Similar to the DNA tests, the blood test results are also presented in a color-coded manner. The company does provide some recommendations regarding blood test results, but these are not personalized and do not change based on the results inputted by the user.

Overall, the reports are user-friendly and the results are easy to comprehend, but the recommendations are generic and not very through. GenePlanet provides some links to scientific studies, but they are not readily available from the recommendations or results section.

Cost of GenePlanet

GenePlanet DNA tests cost $249 each. The Premium pack is priced at $369, or $119 + $12.99/month. Free worldwide shipping is included

Users can create an account and receive their Health Score based on self-reported information free of charge. The company also allows people to upload blood test results for no cost, but the lab markers available for analysis is very limited.

Health Recommendations from GenePlanet

GenePlanet claims to delivers health recommendations based on genetic results for each trait analyzed. When it comes to the blood tests, the advice given by the company does not change depending on the lab result inputted by the user. The recommendations provided by the reports are not very extensive.

Review of GenePlanet Privacy & Data Security

GenePlanet claims not to sell, lease, or rent identifiable information to third parties, but they may share anonymized and aggregated information for research purposes.

The company states that personal information is stored in Slovenia and other countries that may not be the user’s country of residence.

Customers can request the deletion of their information by contacting GenePlanet, in which case the company states that the DNA data will be deleted within 60 days. To request the destruction of their biological sample, users must send them an email or mail.

SelfDecode vs GenePlanet

  1. SelfDecode delivers natural supplements, diet, and lifestyle suggestions based on your genes that you can implement right away. GenePlanet claims to offers diet, lifestyle, and exercise recommendations.
  2. SelfDecode tells you why they make each recommendation so that you can understand the science behind the suggestion. GenePlanet briefly explains their recommendations, but they do not provide much detail.
  3. SelfDecode prioritizes recommendations based on their analysis of all the relevant genes instead of one gene at a time (through reports). GenePlanet provides the option of filtering the results according to the risk they present to the user.
  4. SelfDecode takes a holistic approach to give recommendations that are best for your genes AND the health topic. GenePlanet’s lifestyle reports only cover nutrition, sports, sleep, and stress.
  5. SelfDecode has the world’s first and only personalized genetics blog that allows you to get new gene-based recommendations daily. GenePlanet has a health blog, but it is not personalized.
  6. SelfDecode is the most comprehensive and looks at more genes & SNPs. SelfDecode uses AI and machine learning to analyze up to 83 million genetic variants to deliver the best analysis of genetic risks. GenePlanet only analyzes a few genetic variants in each report.
  7. SelfDecode supports everything with peer-reviewed scientific studies in their research and checks for contradicting information. GenePlanet shares scientific references in their reports, but they are not readily available from the results or recommendations sections.
  8. SelfDecode never sells your data or gives it away. GenePlanet claims not share identifiable personal information with third parties.

Comparisons

SelfDecode

GenePlanet InsideTracker DNAFit

Personalized & holistic health recommendations

Yes No No Yes
Personalized blog posts Yes No No

No

Products DNA testing, wellness reports, health recommendations, lab test analyzer, patient and provider options DNA and blood tests, health and wellness reports DNA and blood tests, health and fitness reports

WES, nutrition and fitness reports

Raw data access

Yes No Yes, for a fee No
Cost (USD) $97 – $389 $249 – $369 $49 – $589

$49 – $629

GenePlanet Reviews

DNAtestingchoice – 30 Customer Average Rating of 4.7 of 5 stars

Customers agree that the reports are comprehensive and enjoy the consultation with the specialists. However, they say that customer support needs improvement and that the company does not answer emails promptly. One customer complains about receiving multiple “annoying” phone calls from the company from a foreign number.

DNAWeekly – Editor Rating of 8 of 10

The reviewer appreciates the 30-minute consultation with a wellness specialist and likes that GenePlanet offers a free health score. They say the products and services are priced competitively, but also comment on how customer support needs improvement.

Alternatives to GenePlanet

SelfDecode: Offers personalized health recommendations based on DNA, lab tests, and environmental information.

GenePlanet Review Summary

GenePlanet is a Slovenian company that offers direct-to-consumer DNA tests to help their customers improve their health, but the reports only cover a limited scope of topics. They provide some generic recommendations to users, but those aren’t very detailed, and they only analyze a few SNPs for each trait. Health insights based on labs are not personalized and do not change depending on the results.

If you want truly personalized health insights that look at all relevant genetic variants for a health condition, you’ll need to look elsewhere. SelfDecode is the only direct-to-consumer company that uses AI and machine learning to analyze up to 83 million genetic variants to deliver personalized diet, lifestyle, and supplements recommendations.

While GenePlanet offers a blood test analysis of a few selected markers, SelfDecode Labs examines over 500 markers to provide advice tailored to each individual to help them reach optimal levels.

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About the Author

Samantha Odake

Samantha Odake

BS
Samantha is an engineer turned writer with a passion for helping people.

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