Inability to detect large deletions or duplications of sequences
Can only sequence short DNA fragments of about 300 to 1000 base pairs
Sequence quality is not very good in the first 15 to 40 bases as that is where the primer binds
Sequence quality degrades after 700 to 900 bases
Not suitable for parallel testing
Not suitable for sequencing large genomes
High infrastructure costs and high cost per test
Despite its limitations, Sanger sequencing is still a good choice when sequencing single genes or amplicon targets up to 100 base pairs, analyzing fragments or short tandem repeats, or identifying microbes.