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kana

Free plan Web

What kana is

Kana is a free web application for analyzing single-cell data directly in a browser. Its standard workflow includes quality filtering, normalization, PCA, graph-based clustering, dimensionality reduction, marker detection, and gene set enrichment. The analysis can produce UMAPs, t-SNEs, clusters, and marker genes, and it supports multimodal work with Cite-seq and/or CRISPR data. Inputs include Matrix Market files, 10x HDF5, AnnData H5AD, RDS files containing SummarizedExperiment or SingleCellExperiment objects, and Bioconductor ExperimentHub datasets. Users can also explore pre-analyzed datasets, select cells, detect markers, annotate cell types, and filter analyses by annotation. The official site says computations run on the user's device and data does not leave the computer. Kana uses scran.js and WebAssembly, with computations handled in Web Workers to keep the interface responsive. Its project lists an MIT license and names Jayaram Kancherla and Aaron Lun as developers. A Node API layer called kanapi is described for running analysis in backend environments and communicating over WebSockets.

Who it suits

Kana suits researchers and analysts working with single-cell datasets who want browser-based analysis and exploration. Its supported inputs and multimodal options may fit workflows involving Cite-seq or CRISPR data.

What it does well

Free to use in the browser
Supports several single-cell data formats
Analysis runs on the user's device
Supports Cite-seq and/or CRISPR analysis

What to know first

Web platform only
Works with single-cell data rather than general-purpose datasets

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Free	Always free · Runs in your browser on your device	Free

As kanaverse.org lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open the Kana website in a web browser.
Load a supported Matrix Market, 10x HDF5, AnnData H5AD, or RDS file, or use an ExperimentHub dataset or ID.
Run the standard analysis workflow or explore a pre-analyzed dataset.
Select cells, detect markers, annotate cell types, or filter by annotation.

Verdict

Kana offers a broad single-cell workflow in a free browser application, with multiple input formats and on-device computation. Its web-only format and specialized focus make it most relevant to people working specifically with single-cell data.

Questions

Is kana free?

Yes. Its Free plan is listed at 0.00 USD and is always free.

Which platforms does kana support?

Kana is a web application that runs in the browser.

What input formats can it use?

It supports Matrix Market (.mtx), 10x HDF5, AnnData H5AD, RDS files containing SummarizedExperiment or SingleCellExperiment objects, and Bioconductor ExperimentHub datasets or IDs.

Does kana support multimodal analysis?

Yes. Kana supports multimodal analysis for Cite-seq and/or CRISPR.

Is kana open source?

The GitHub project lists an MIT license.

Who developed kana?

The official site names Jayaram Kancherla and Aaron Lun as its developers.

Facts from kana's own pages

Analysis: It can analyze single-cell datasets and produce UMAPs, t-SNEs, clusters, and marker genes. · kanaverse.org, 12 Oct 2026
Analysis features: The standard workflow includes quality filtering, normalization, PCA, graph-based clustering, dimensionality reduction, marker detection, and gene set enrichment. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Data import formats: Matrix Market (.mtx), 10x HDF5, AnnData H5AD, RDS files containing SummarizedExperiment or SingleCellExperiment objects, and Bioconductor ExperimentHub datasets · kanaverse.org, 23 Sept 2026
Data privacy: The official site says analysis runs on the user's device and that data never leaves the computer. · kanaverse.org, 12 Oct 2026
Deployment: The project can be deployed by serving its static files, including through GitHub Pages or other static hosting providers, without a backend server. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Developers: The official site names Jayaram Kancherla and Aaron Lun as Kana's developers. · kanaverse.org, 12 Oct 2026
Exploration: Users can explore pre-analyzed datasets, make custom cell selections, detect markers, annotate cell types, and filter analyses by cell annotation. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Free plan: Yes · kanaverse.org, 23 Sept 2026
Input formats: Supported inputs include Matrix Market files, HDF5 in 10x V3 or AnnData h5ad formats, RDS files containing SummarizedExperiment or derivatives such as SingleCellExperiment, and ExperimentHub IDs. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Integrations: The GitHub project describes kanapi as a Node API layer that can run Kana single-cell analysis in backend environments and communicate over WebSockets. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Multimodal analysis: Kana supports multimodal analysis for Cite-seq data and/or CRISPR. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Project license: The GitHub project lists an MIT license. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Purpose: Kana is a web application for single-cell data analysis that runs directly in the browser. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Technical implementation: Kana uses scran.js and WebAssembly, and runs computations in Web Workers to keep the interface responsive. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026

Where kana stands on Freedom251

Statistical Analysis Software#34 of 106