Fertility treatment costs range from around $1,200 per cycle for the simplest procedures to $30,000 or more for a single round of IVF. The total you’ll pay depends on the type of treatment, whether you need donor eggs or genetic testing, how many cycles it takes, and whether your insurance covers any of it. Here’s what to expect at each level.
Medication-Only Treatment
The least expensive starting point is oral fertility medication paired with timed intercourse. This approach uses drugs that stimulate ovulation without any lab procedures. The median cost runs about $1,182 per person over a course of treatment, though individual cycles can be as low as a few hundred dollars for the medication itself. This is typically the first step a reproductive endocrinologist will recommend for conditions like irregular ovulation.
IUI: The Mid-Range Option
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) involves placing a prepared sperm sample directly into the uterus, timed to ovulation. A single cycle typically costs $1,200 to $2,350 without insurance. That breaks down into a few components: cycle monitoring with bloodwork and ultrasounds runs $300 to $1,200, while the insemination procedure itself adds another $300 to $650.
When IUI is combined with injectable hormones that stimulate multiple eggs, costs climb. The median per-person cost for IUI with these stronger medications reaches about $8,594 over the course of treatment, reflecting the fact that most people need more than one cycle. IUI with simpler oral medications has a median per-person cost closer to $3,595. If you need donor sperm, that adds several hundred dollars per cycle.
IVF: What a Full Cycle Costs
A single IVF cycle, including procedures, bloodwork, fertility medications, and genetic testing, runs $15,000 to $30,000. Strip away the medications and genetic testing, and the clinic fees alone average about $12,400, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Fertility IQ reports that the average total exceeds $20,000 when everything is included.
Medications are a significant chunk of that bill. Injectable hormones used to stimulate egg production, trigger shots, and progesterone supplements can add thousands on top of clinic fees. The exact amount varies based on your dosage protocol, which depends on factors like age, ovarian reserve, and how your body responds to stimulation.
Most people don’t succeed on the first cycle. The median total cost per person for IVF treatment (across however many cycles are needed) is about $24,373. For some, that means one cycle. For others, it means two or three.
Add-Ons That Increase the Price
Several procedures can be added to a basic IVF cycle, each with its own price tag.
Genetic testing of embryos before transfer (called PGT-A) screens for chromosomal abnormalities. This includes both the biopsy of each embryo and the lab analysis. Costs range from roughly $3,000 to over $12,000 depending on how many embryos are tested and the lab performing the work. Many clinics now recommend it for patients over 35 or those with a history of miscarriage.
A technique where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg (ICSI) is commonly recommended when sperm quality is a factor, though many clinics now use it routinely. This typically adds $1,000 to $2,500 to the base IVF cost.
Donor Eggs and Surrogacy
Using donor eggs significantly increases the price. Frozen donor eggs, where a donor has already completed her retrieval cycle and the eggs are banked, cost around $26,000 or more for a full cycle. Fresh donor eggs, where a donor goes through stimulation and retrieval simultaneously with your cycle, run $43,000 or higher. Frozen eggs cost roughly 50% less than fresh and offer easier scheduling, which is why many patients choose that route.
The median per-person cost for IVF with donor eggs reaches about $38,015 across treatment. Surrogacy adds another layer entirely, with gestational carrier fees, legal costs, and medical expenses pushing totals well into six figures.
Egg Freezing for Future Use
If you’re preserving fertility rather than trying to conceive now, an egg freezing cycle costs $10,000 to $15,000. That covers the same stimulation and retrieval process as IVF, minus the fertilization and transfer steps. On top of the upfront cost, you’ll pay $500 to $1,000 per year in storage fees for as long as your eggs remain frozen. Those annual fees add up, especially if you store eggs for five or ten years before using them.
What Insurance Covers
Coverage varies enormously depending on where you live and what type of plan you have. About 20 states plus Washington, D.C. have some form of fertility insurance mandate, but the details differ widely. States like Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois require many insurers to cover IVF for large group plans. Others, like Ohio and Massachusetts, mandate coverage only for diagnosis and fertility drugs, not the procedures themselves. Colorado will require large group plans to cover fertility treatment starting in January 2026.
There are important gaps even in states with mandates. Self-insured employer plans, which cover the majority of workers at large companies, are generally exempt from state insurance laws because they’re regulated at the federal level. Religious employers are also frequently excluded. So even if your state has a mandate, your specific plan may not be required to follow it. Always check your plan’s specific benefits rather than assuming your state’s law applies to you.
Grants and Financial Assistance
Several nonprofit organizations offer grants to help offset fertility treatment costs. The Baby Quest Foundation provides grants to U.S. residents of all genders and family structures. The Cade Foundation offers family building grants to anyone with a documented infertility diagnosis who is a legal, permanent U.S. resident. The Starfish Infertility Foundation awards grants up to $5,000 for people without fertility insurance coverage.
Some programs are geographically limited. The Fertility Foundation of Texas serves Central Texas residents. ANEDEN Gives currently only accepts patients at specific clinics in Houston and Seattle. RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, maintains a regularly updated directory of scholarships and grants that’s worth checking, since new programs appear frequently and application windows open and close throughout the year.
Beyond grants, many fertility clinics offer multi-cycle discount packages or shared-risk programs where you pay a flat fee for multiple IVF attempts and receive a partial refund if treatment doesn’t result in a live birth. Financing through medical loan companies is another common option, though interest rates vary. Some patients also use health savings accounts (HSAs) or flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to pay with pre-tax dollars, which effectively reduces costs by your marginal tax rate.