The Headline Number Is Rarely the Full Story
Clinics package services differently. Two clinics quoting different prices may be describing different scopes of care. The starting point for any comparison is "what's actually included?"
Common Cost Components
- Base cycle fee — monitoring, egg retrieval, basic lab fertilization, and one embryo transfer.
- Medications — billed separately and dependent on protocol and dose.
- Add-ons — ICSI, assisted hatching, PGT-A, extended embryo culture.
- Anesthesia for egg retrieval.
- Cryopreservation and ongoing storage fees.
- Frozen embryo transfers in subsequent cycles.
- Donor programs (egg, sperm, or embryo) are priced separately.
Indirect and Travel Costs
For international patients, plan for transportation, lodging, time away from work, and any local monitoring fees in your home country.
Cheaper Isn't Always Better Value
The clinically relevant question is whether evaluation, lab quality, and protocol individualization are appropriate — not just price. Cost is one input into a larger decision.
Questions Worth Asking
- What is included in the base price?
- What is the realistic medication cost range for someone with my profile?
- What happens financially if a cycle is cancelled?
- What are storage fees after year one?
- Are there package or multi-cycle options, and what are their refund terms?