FlowSEQ®

Read-Based Calculator Guide

Plan sequencing costs by read target — for RNA-seq, amplicon, and multi-assay service labs

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Before you start

You need at least one sequencer with a flow cell configured in My Lab before this calculator can produce meaningful results.

Not set up yet? Read the My Lab Setup Guide →

FlowSEQ has two ways to specify a sequencing project. The right choice depends on what your protocol spec sheet tells you:

Single / Multi-Sequencer CalculatorRead-Based Calculator
You know…Genome size + coverage target (e.g. 30×)Reads per sample target (e.g. 50M reads)
InputGenome selection + coverage + sample countSample group + reads/sample
Capacity unitGb (gigabases of sequence data)Reads (read count)
Output includesRuns needed, cost/sampleFlow cells needed, cost/sample, cost/million reads
Typical useWGS, WES, targeted enrichmentRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, amplicon, 16S/metagenomics, service core quoting

✓ Simple rule: If your protocol spec sheet says "50 million reads per sample" or "20M paired-end reads", use this calculator. If it says "30× coverage" or "100× depth", use the Single Sequencer Calculator.

What this guide covers

  • How the read-based calculator decides how many flow cells you need
  • Why target utilization is 85% (not 99.9% like the coverage calculators)
  • How sample groups work and when to use more than one
  • What cost/million reads means and how to use it to compare platforms
  • How to read the utilization colour bands in results
  • How per-group cost allocation works