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Research · head to head

DNAnexus vs Terra

DNAnexus logo

DNAnexus

Research

Regulated cloud platform for genomic and multiomic data, with GxP and FedRAMP coverage

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Terra logo

Terra

Research

Open biomedical research platform for genomic analysis, priced only by the cloud you consume

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Terra has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: DNAnexus no pricing is published, so an organisation cannot compare the total cost against running the same pipelines on its own cloud account until it is deep in a sales process.; Terra the absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.
  • They diverge on capability: DNAnexus covers Governed data storage, Terra covers No platform licence fee.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DNAnexus and Terra actually diverge.

Attributes where DNAnexus and Terra differ
AttributeDNAnexusTerra
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, LinuxWeb, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in DNAnexus

  • Governed data storage
  • Workflow execution
  • App building
  • Controlled collaboration
  • Cohort browsing

Only in Terra

  • No platform licence fee
  • Cloud pass-through billing
  • WDL workflow execution
  • Notebook environments
  • Controlled-access data
  • Workspace sharing
  • Multi-cloud

Both cover

  • Compliance posture

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

DNAnexus

  • A clinical diagnostics laboratory that needs a CLIA and CAP aligned environment for production sequencing pipelines without building the compliance evidence itselfnot Terra
  • A pharma sponsor analysing genomic endpoints in a registrational programme where 21 CFR Part 11 records are requirednot Terra
  • A biobank or consortium giving hundreds of external researchers governed access to a dataset too large to distributenot Terra
  • A diagnostics vendor packaging its pipeline as a versioned app so partner laboratories can run it without receiving the source codenot Terra

Terra

  • A genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local clusternot DNAnexus
  • A consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each sitenot DNAnexus
  • A health system analysing patient genomic data under a HIPAA business associate agreementnot DNAnexus
  • A federal or federally funded project needing FedRAMP Moderate authorisation for its analysis environmentnot DNAnexus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

DNAnexus

  • No pricing is published, so an organisation cannot compare the total cost against running the same pipelines on its own cloud account until it is deep in a sales process.
  • Compute and storage are billed through the platform rather than at underlying cloud list price, so the compliance envelope carries a persistent margin on every terabyte and core hour, which grows with the science rather than staying fixed.
  • Data egress at genomic scale is slow and chargeable, so leaving the platform later is a real project rather than a contract decision, and that gravity weakens negotiating position at renewal.
  • The regulated and validated configurations sit in a higher commercial tier than the research configuration, so an organisation that starts in research mode and later needs GxP faces a repricing rather than a setting change.
  • Bioinformaticians used to running Nextflow on their own infrastructure find the platform abstractions constraining, and porting an existing pipeline into the app model is engineering work that does not carry over to any other platform.

Terra

  • The absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.
  • Cost governance is entirely the customer responsibility, and grant-funded groups without a cloud engineer routinely overspend before anyone reads the Google or Azure bill in enough detail to find the cause.
  • It assumes genuine bioinformatics competence: writing or adapting WDL workflows, managing data tables and debugging failed tasks are all on you, so a wet lab without computational staff cannot use it productively.
  • Feature parity between the Google Cloud and Azure deployments is not identical, so a decision on cloud provider constrains which capabilities and datasets you can reach and is expensive to reverse later.
  • It is a research platform rather than a regulated clinical system: it is not a validated GxP environment and does not carry the qualification package a diagnostic or submission workflow would require, so clinical use needs additional infrastructure and validation you provide yourself.

Pricing, plan by plan

DNAnexus

On request
  • DNAnexus Platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per organisation through a sales process
    • Storage and compute billed through the platform rather than at cloud list price
    • Regulated and validated configurations are a separate commercial tier

Terra

Free
  • Terra platformFree
    • No charge for the platform, administration, security controls or frontline support
    • Workspaces, workflow execution and notebook environments included
    • Available on Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure
  • Cloud consumption$undefined/month
    • Google Cloud or Azure charges passed through at cost with no markup
    • Running notebook virtual machines around 0.22 USD per hour, roughly 0.027 USD per hour when paused
    • Storage billed continuously on workspace buckets and intermediate workflow outputs

Which should you pick?

Choose DNAnexus if

  • You need governed data storage.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want workflow execution.
DNAnexus review

Choose Terra if

  • You need no platform licence fee.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure.
  • You also want cloud pass-through billing.
Terra review

Questions people ask

Is DNAnexus or Terra better?
Neither clearly leads. DNAnexus starts at On request and Terra at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DNAnexus or Terra?
Terra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for DNAnexus and Free for Terra.
Does DNAnexus or Terra run on more platforms?
DNAnexus runs on Web, Linux. Terra runs on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure.
Can I use Terra for free?
Yes. Terra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DNAnexus starts at On request.
What is DNAnexus best used for?
DNAnexus is most often used for a clinical diagnostics laboratory that needs a clia and cap aligned environment for production sequencing pipelines without building the compliance evidence itself, a pharma sponsor analysing genomic endpoints in a registrational programme where 21 cfr part 11 records are required, a biobank or consortium giving hundreds of external researchers governed access to a dataset too large to distribute, a diagnostics vendor packaging its pipeline as a versioned app so partner laboratories can run it without receiving the source code. Of those, a clinical diagnostics laboratory that needs a clia and cap aligned environment for production sequencing pipelines without building the compliance evidence itself and a pharma sponsor analysing genomic endpoints in a registrational programme where 21 cfr part 11 records are required are not what Terra is typically brought in for.
What can DNAnexus do that Terra cannot?
DNAnexus covers Governed data storage, Workflow execution, App building, Controlled collaboration. Terra covers No platform licence fee, Cloud pass-through billing, WDL workflow execution, Notebook environments. Both handle Compliance posture.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DNAnexus: Why pay for DNAnexus instead of raw AWS?

For the compliance evidence. GxP, FedRAMP, CLIA, CAP and Part 11 coverage removes a validation programme most organisations would otherwise have to build and maintain themselves.

Terra: Is Terra really free?

The platform is. There is no licence fee. Everything you pay is Google Cloud or Azure compute, storage and egress, passed through at cost.

DNAnexus: Is validated use included?

No. Regulated and validated configurations sit in a separate commercial tier from ordinary research use.

Terra: What actually drives the bill?

Running virtual machines and stored data. Pausing notebooks drops a virtual machine from about 0.22 to about 0.027 dollars an hour, and deleting intermediate workflow outputs is the other main saving.

DNAnexus: Can I get my data out?

Yes, but egress at genomic scale is chargeable and slow, so plan exit costs at the point of signing.

Terra: Can I use it with protected health information?

Yes. Terra signs HIPAA business associate agreements and GDPR data processing agreements, and the Azure deployment holds FedRAMP Moderate authorisation.

DNAnexus: Does it host UK Biobank?

Yes, DNAnexus hosts the UK Biobank research analysis platform, which has its own access approval and cost terms.

Terra: Is it validated for clinical or GxP use?

No. It is a research platform. Regulated clinical or submission workflows need validation and controls you build yourself.

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