The true cost tool
What IVF actually costs
Tick what applies to you
Not sure whether something applies? Leave it ticked and treat it as a question for your clinic rather than a decision.
- £4,500–£5,500
Usually in the headline price
The core of the treatment: monitoring scans, egg collection, the lab work and one embryo transfer. What counts as the base package varies a lot between clinics, which is why two prices that look the same often aren't.
- £250–£500
Rarely in the headline price
Your first appointment with a consultant, plus blood tests, scans and a sperm analysis. Almost always charged before any cycle price and almost never included in the advertised figure.
- £1,000–£2,000
Rarely in the headline price
The injections and other drugs used to stimulate the ovaries and support the cycle. The exact drugs and doses are decided by your clinic, so the cost isn't known until your plan is set. This is the single biggest thing people forget to budget for.
- £80
Sometimes in the headline price
A fixed fee that every licensed UK clinic collects and passes to the regulator for each treatment cycle. Small, unavoidable, and often listed separately.
- £1,375
Rarely in the headline price
Injecting a single sperm directly into each egg rather than mixing them in a dish. Designed for cases where sperm is the main difficulty. Whether you need it is a clinical conversation, not a shopping decision.
- £300–£600
Rarely in the headline price
The one-off cost of freezing any suitable embryos left after your transfer. You often won't know whether you'll need it until part way through the cycle.
- £300–£400
Rarely in the headline price
A yearly fee for keeping frozen embryos stored. It keeps being charged until you use them or tell the clinic to stop, so it's worth knowing what you're signing up to.
- £1,500–£2,500
Rarely in the headline price
Thawing a frozen embryo and transferring it in a later cycle. Cheaper than a full cycle because there is no stimulation or egg collection, but not free, and often needs its own medication.
Ask your clinic these questions about the price
Take this list to the consultation or paste it into an email. A clinic that answers all of these clearly is telling you something useful about how it works.
- Can I have your full price list in writing, including everything that is charged separately?
- Exactly what is and isn't included in the headline cycle price?
- What is your best estimate of my total medication cost, and where can I buy the drugs?
- Are consultations, scans and blood tests during the cycle included, or charged each time?
- Is the HFEA fee included in the quoted price?
- What is charged if the cycle is cancelled before egg collection, or before transfer?
- What does embryo freezing cost, when does storage billing start, and how do I stop it?
- What does a frozen embryo transfer cost later, including medication?
- Which add-ons, if any, are you likely to recommend for us, and what would each cost?
- Are there any multi-cycle packages or refund schemes, and what are the conditions and exclusions?
- If we need a different procedure part way through, how and when will we be told the cost?
- Can I have this quote broken down line by line so I can compare it with another clinic?
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