How Much Does IVF Cost?

A single IVF cycle pack’s total cost — basically covering a controlled ovarian stimulation (single Stim protocol), egg retrieval, embryo generation, and embryo transfer — can range from $10,000 to $20,000, depending on the country, Ivf clinic, the medication used for a cycle, the patient’s case, and the patient’s needs. Medications can account for up to 40% of those charges, and if Ivf cycle involves some add–ons like DuoStim protocol (used in low ovarian reserve cases), multiple egg retrieval, magnetic–activated cell sorting (MACS), genetic testing, mock embryo transfer, cryopreservation of embryos, or/and 1 or 2 cryotransfers for boosting the chances of conceiving — the total cost will be plus $5,000 to $10,000. 

Cycles involving Egg Donation and multi–cycle Ivf are more expensive than single–cycle Ivf programs. The cost for such cycles can vary from $15,000 to $30,000 without medication. Some programs cover embryo vitrification and cryotransfers, which is a great plus. But not all. Thus, the total cost of cryotransfer cycles performed (if a fresh embryo transfer fails) can be $3,000 to $6,000 without medication. Medication for the frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle costs from $500 to $2,000.

The IVF price tag sounds expensive, especially considering that many patients go through several cycles of IVF before succeeding or attempting other options, such as Extra Cryotransfer, Preimplantation Genetic Testing and Cryotransfer, Egg Donor Ivf, Tandem Ivf, Embryo Adoption, or Surrogacy.

But there are ways to reduce some costs of IVF treatment. For example, your insurance may cover some of the screenings, procedures, or medications involved in a cycle, and there are also free Ivf programs (Ivf Grants) and discounted Ivf programs that may help to save up to 40% of the Ivf budget. In addition, natural Ivf and mini IVF are less expensive options to explore, though they are only suitable for some cases.

What Is IVF? 

IVF, a short abbreviation of in vitro fertilization, an effective fertility treatment that involves stimulation of the ovaries to produce extra oocytes, egg retrieval and sperm collection, mixing of the eggs and sperm in a Petri Dish or manual fertilization, cultivation of the fertilized oocytes in the lab, and then transferring the embryo(s) back to a woman’s uterus.

How Long Does IVF Cycle Take? 

Typically, IVF treatment is a more than one–month process. Some IVF cycles take 4–5 weeks. The others — designed for resolving more complex fertility issues and involving DuoStim protocol with multiple egg retrievals, Egg Donation, preimplantation genetic testing, or pausing an Ivf cycle — need up to 8 weeks to be completed.

What Should You Expect From IVF Process?

Before undergoing IVF, some tests need to be done, including bloodwork. After completing fertility testing, your fertility doc will prepare a treatment protocol. Routinely, most Ivf cycles (except the Natural Ivf cycle) start with stimulation.

Ovarian Stimulation

Stimulation — when you are administrating daily hormonal injections — is typically a t10– to 14–day time period. That is Ivf's most intensive part; you have frequent office visits for ultrasounds and blood tests. The primary stimulation drug you will be given is the hormone FSH (follicle–stimulating hormone), which stimulates the growth of several ovarian follicles in a single cycle.

Egg Maturation and Retrieval

The fertility experts measure the eggs maturation based on an ultrasound scan of the follicles, follicular fluid (FF) content around each egg, and estradiol (hormone) level in the blood. Then, when it is time, you will be given a trigger shot (an ovulation trigger), which causes the final maturation of the eggs.

After a trigger shot (hCG priming or leuprolide acetate (Lupron), or both depending on your treatment protocol), an egg retrieval will be scheduled. You will be given sedation or anesthesia for comfort, and the procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes. During follicular aspiration, the fertility specialist cannot visualize the eggs, so the doctor aspirates the fluid around them and takes them to the Ivf lab. In the lab, an Embryologist looks under the microscope to find the eggs in a follicular fluid content.

Fertilization and Embryo Transfer

In couples, for making an embryo, fertility specialists typically collect the partner’s sperm the same day they retrieve oocytes. It is also possible to collect sperm earlier, freeze it, and thaw it for fertilization. For women who don’t have a male partner, the Embryologist usually uses the donor’s sperm. 

Then, the fertilization process — conventional fertilization (combining egg and sperm in Petri Dish in the Ivf lab) or manual fertilization (routinely, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique is used). The Embryologist can confirm fertilization the next day. Then, you will get a phone call from the clinic informing you how many oocytes have been fertilized. Then, depending on your specific case and protocol, the plan may be to grow the embryo and transfer it, do preimplantation genetic testing, or pause an Ivf cycle and freeze the embryo for the future.

When Is the Right Time to Consider IVF?

Nowadays, IVF can be used to resolve most infertility cases. Usually, IVF treatment is recommended when simpler modalities — such as ovulation induction (OI), intrauterine insemination (IUI), or fertility surgery — have failed.

You are a good candidate for IVF if you have any of the following conditions:

●Advanced maternal age

●Low ovarian reserve

●Blocked fallopian tubes

●Severe endometriosis

●Low sperm count and/or low sperm motility

●Unexplained infertility

IVF is also an option if you need donor sperm or eggs and/or hire a surrogate mother to carry a baby.

How Much Does IVF Cost?

If you are pricing IVF using own eggs and the partner’s sperm at fertility clinics in Canada or the United States — ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, embryo creation, and embryo transfer — expect to pay $10,000 to $20,000 for one cycle, depending on your case and individual needs. But typically, this cost doesn’t cover all parts of IVF. There are parts of the IVF cycle — some required, some optional, and some on–demand — that most fertility clinics treat as add–ons to the base IVF fee. 

Depending on your case and your needs, a single IVF cycle can cost $25,000 or more. For example, if you need some add–ons like DuoStim Protocol, Multiple Egg retrieval, Endometrial Scratches, Embryo Glue, Immune Therapy, Intralipid Infusions, Mock Embryo Transfer, Genetic Testing or Cryopreservation of Fertilized Embryos, — the total cost will be plus $5,000 to $10,000. And medications can account for up to 40% of those charges. Thus, more often, the total cost of IVF will fall somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000.

Often, a clinic’s base fee for an IVF program will cover monitoring appointments, bloodwork, anesthesia, egg retrieval, embryo generation, embryo transfer, and follow–up care. If you’re quoted below $10,000, it might mean that the base fee covers less than what is listed above. If you’re quoted above $15,000, it may mean that your IVF package covers vitrification and storage of embryos left after fresh embryo transfer and/or cryotransfer in case of failed fresh embryo transfer. The base fee might cover more if you’re quoted above $20,000. For example, some packages may also cover preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), cryopreservation of embryos after PGT, and cryotransfer. 

IVF multi–cycle programs that cover 2 or 3 IVF cycles are more expensive and range from $15,000 to $30,000 without medication. Adding $2,000 to $7,000 for injectable hormones to each IVF cycle will increase the total cost drastically.

At most fertility clinics, the quoted price for the IVF program doesn’t cover the price of the injectable hormones, which can cost from $1,000 to $2,000 for mini IVF and from $3,000 to more than $7,000 for standard & DuoStim IVF. The medication fee is usually paid directly to the pharmacy filling the prescription. 

Additional clinic fees may include intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI (a specialized technique to create embryos manually), genetic testing of embryos, a trial transfer (mock embryo transfer), and/or cryopreservation and cryostorage fees for embryos you wish to preserve for future cycles. 

Suppose you use a sperm donor, egg donor, or surrogate mother’s services. In that case, that may cost an additional few hundred dollars for a sperm donation, thousands of dollars for an egg donation to tens of thousands of dollars for hiring a surrogate mother.

Here is a breakdown of the fees you may be charged during the IVF cycle. Note that other tests or procedures may be required for your case, depending on your health history and individual needs.

The figures below are all estimates. Before starting an IVF program or signing paperwork, kindly follow this advice — get pricing directly from your IVF clinic, including all add–ons and fees for additional embryo transfers, multiple embryo transfers, and multiple full cycles of IVF. 

Pre–Treatment (Non–Donor IVF) Costs Include: 

●Fertility Assessment Packages/Consultation & Pre–Treatment Packages: $500 to $1,000 (typically includes a consultation, follow–up consultation(s), anti–Müllerian hormone test, pelvic ultrasound scan, antral follicle count test, blood pressure, and semen analysis).

●Fertility Blood Tests Packages: $300 to $500 (typically includes virology blood tests for both partners, male panel blood tests, and female panel blood tests).

●Hysterosalpingo–Contrast–Sonography (HyCoSy) Tubal Patency Test to assess the patency of the fallopian tubes: $500 to $1,000 (typically includes consultation and HyCoSy).

Costs before IVF treatment (Non–Donor IVF) include: 

●Base fee: $10,000 to $25,000 (typically includes monitoring appointments, bloodwork, sperm wash, egg retrieval, embryo creation, and fresh embryo transfer).

●Injectable medications (Gonadotropins): $1,000 to $7,000 per cycle.

●Monitoring appointments & bloodwork: typically included in the base fee.

Costs of Embryo Creation in IVF laboratory and Fresh Embryo Transfer: 

●Egg retrieval: typically included in the base fee.

●Anesthesia (during egg retrieval): typically included in the base fee.

●Sperm washing: typically included in the base fee.

●Donor sperm (a vial of sperm costs $500 and $1,000): $500 to $2,000. 

●Conventional fertilization: typically included in the base fee.

●Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI): typically included in the base fee. But if an IVF bundle does not cover ICSI, expect to pay $1,000 to $3,000. 

●Cultivation of embryo(s): typically included in the base fee.

●Mock Transfer Cycle: $250 to $500.

●Fresh embryo transfer: typically included in the base fee.

Costs of Embryo Cryopreservation and Frozen Embryo Transfer

Embryos can be frozen on your demand for future FET cycles or/and to wait for the results of PGT (preimplantation genetic testing). There are multiple types of genetic tests, and each test has its price. Prices vary depending on the test and if the clinic doesn’t have a genetic lab — to which genetics lab your IVF clinic outsources its testing.

Some clinics include embryo cryopreservation and up to one year of free storage at the base price of IVF. If your fertility clinic doesn’t include these fees, expect a price tag of $1,000 to $2,500.

● Embryo cryopreservation: $1,000 to $2,500 (typically covers cryopreservation/vitrification of the embryos and 1st year of storage). If you are quoted below $1,000, it might mean that the base fee covers only cryopreservation, and embryo storage may cost you around $300 to $750 a year. Some fertility clinics charge storage fees per straw: $150 to $300, and 2 or 3 embryos can be stored in one straw.

●Genetic testing: $2,000 to $10,000. 

The price of PGS/PGT–A testing (preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy that screens for extra or missing chromosomes) can range between $3,000 and $10,000.

The price of PGS/PGT–SR testing (preimplantation genetic testing for structural rearrangements that screens for chromosomal inversions, translocations, deletions and/or insertions) can range between $2,000 and $6,000. 

The price of PGT–P (preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disorders that screens for the risk of polygenic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes) can range between $2,000 and $5,000. 

The price of PGD/ PGT–M (preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic diseases that screens for specific gene mutations that the embryo is at risk of inheriting) can range between $2,500 and $6,000, depending on the genetic mutation being tested. If you need an extensive PGD/ PGT–M screening, the process may cost between $6,000 and $12,000.

●Frozen embryo transfer (FET): can be included in the base fee of IVF programs costing above $10,000. If your base fee doesn’t cover FET, expect to pay between $3,000 and $8,000. FET packages under $3,000 may cover only thawing and monitoring tests. 

●Medication for FET: $400 to $1,500. 

Mini IVF Cost & Natural IVF Cost

Minimal stimulation cycle IVF, or mini IVF, is the term for an IVF cycle done with minimal medications. You may also hear it referred to as mild ovarian stimulation IVF, mild–dose IVF or low–dose IVF. Instead of injecting hormones, most likely, you will take oral medication, or your fertility specialist may prescribe injectable medication but you will take a lower dose than is usually prescribed for an IVF cycle. Usually, this cycle is less expensive because fewer medications are administrated to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs. However, the lower hormone dose will likely result in fewer eggs developed and retrieved and, thus, fewer possible embryos created. A standard micro–IVF cycle costs around $5,000 to $10,000 plus medications, ranging from $200 or less for Clomid to $1,000 to $2,500 for injectable hormones. And if you need to undergo several cycles of embryo creation, mini IVF can be more expensive than conventional IVF.

Non–medicated Ivf cycle, also called Natural, is less expensive than mini Ivf because it doesn’t involve ovarian hyperstimulation using the drugs. Instead, the cycle management focuses on the natural development of a single egg in a single cycle, and only in the last stages it involves using medications to prevent spontaneous ovulation. The major odd associated with this cycle is having the only egg that can be used in the embryo generation process. And if the only embryo survives the early stages of development — it will be transferred into the mother’s uterus. If no viable embryo results after fertilization — the cycle will be canceled. The approximate cost of Natural Ivf is around $5,000 to $9,000.

There are also reasons to consider mini IVF or Natural IVF beyond its lower price, including its reduced risk of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. 

Fresh vs. Frozen Egg Donor IVF Cost

If you are using fresh/frozen donor eggs in the IVF cycle, the total cost will depend on a fertility clinic’s options. Most fertility clinics work with local/international egg cryobanks and egg donor agencies. However, only some clinics have their own egg cryobanks or/and work with local/international egg donors. And some clinics are shipping eggs from international egg cryobanks for Egg Donor IVF.

The fresh donor eggs cycle is more expensive than frozen donor eggs. The egg donor IVF cycle with fresh eggs fee ranges from $28,000 to $50,000+. Egg donor IVF using frozen eggs: $13,000 to $20,000 for a single cycle and $16,000 to $25,000+ for two Egg Donor IVF cycles.

Costs of Hiring a Surrogate Mother

Casually, surrogacy comes with medical expenses and legal fees. There are also surrogacy agency fees (some agencies also ask for an initial deposit) and fees paid to the surrogate mother for providing surrogacy services if you select a commercial surrogacy program. All in all, expect to pay anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000. 

Some countries allow only altruistic surrogacy. It means that your surrogate mother volunteers to carry a surrogate pregnancy, and you don’t have to pay her any fees for carrying a baby. The only fees that you need to pay are legal fees and medical expenses. This type of surrogacy could save around $25,000 to $50,000 of your surrogacy budget.

Wrapping Up

Any IVF cycle is a powerful tool for resolving most infertility cases. A natural IVF cycle is ideal if you want to avoid the stimulation phase and have a good ovarian reserve and egg quality. A Mini IVF cycle would be perfect if you have mild to moderate fertility issues and can still collect good–quality eggs. Classic IVF can be an option if you want more eggs for fertilization. Egg Donor IVF would be the best offer if you don’t have viable eggs left in your ovarian reserve or your eggs cannot be used because of their quality. There is also a Tandem IVF cycle created for cases when you have a low ovarian reserve and are not sure if IVF would work, thus, you would like to have an Egg Donor Back–Up.