Stack every line item: clinic fee, meds, ICSI, PGT-A, transfers, storage, and financing
| Line item | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinic base fee (monitoring, retrieval, 1 transfer) | $12,000 | $13,500 | $18,000 |
| Medications (per cycle, by protocol) | $2,000 | $5,500 | $10,000 |
| ICSI (sperm injection) | $1,000 | $1,800 | $2,500 |
| PGT-A (embryo genetic testing) | $2,500 | $3,000 | $4,000 |
| Frozen embryo transfer (each) | $1,000 | $2,500 | $3,500 |
| Anesthesia (per retrieval) | $500 | $600 | $1,000 |
| Embryo storage (per year) | $350 | $500 | $600 |
National ranges as of 2025; major metros run higher. Some clinics bundle anesthesia and monitoring into the base fee — the written quote is what counts. Donor eggs, donor sperm, surrogacy and PGT-M for specific inherited diseases are separate, much larger stacks.
| Loan Amount | 9.99% APR | 13.99% APR | 17.99% APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 | $380/mo | $410/mo | $441/mo |
| $20,000 | $507/mo | $546/mo | $587/mo |
| $25,000 | $634/mo | $683/mo | $734/mo |
Fertility lenders commonly quote APRs from about 8% for strong credit to 20%+ at the margin; clinic payment plans are sometimes interest-free but short-term. Compare the total repaid, not the monthly — at 13.99% over 48 months, a $20,000 loan repays $26,229.
IVF pricing is opaque by design: the number a clinic advertises is almost never the number a cycle costs, because the base fee excludes the variables — medications, ICSI, genetic testing, anesthesia — that most patients end up paying for. This calculator works the way a cycle actually bills: per line item, stacked.
Per fresh cycle = base fee + meds + ICSI (if selected) + PGT-A (if selected) + anesthesia. Total program = fresh cycles × per-cycle cost + FET count × FET fee + storage years × storage fee. Out-of-pocket = total − insurance coverage. Financed payment uses a standard amortization: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where r is monthly APR and n is the term in months.
Start with your clinic's written base fee — replace the $13,500 default with the real number. Pick the medication tier closest to your protocol (your RE will name it; "antagonist" and high-dose protocols sit in the top tier). Toggle ICSI and PGT-A to match your plan, and set FET cycles for frozen transfers — commonly at least one, since PGT-A requires freezing embryos and transferring later. If your plan has IVF coverage, enter the benefit you've confirmed, not the number you hope for.
One fresh cycle at a $13,500 base, standard meds ($5,500), ICSI ($1,800), PGT-A ($3,000), anesthesia ($600), one frozen transfer ($2,500), and a year of storage ($500): a $27,400 total program. With $5,000 of confirmed insurance coverage, out-of-pocket is $22,400. Financed at 11.99% APR over 48 months, that's $589.77 a month — $28,309 repaid, with $5,909 of it interest. That interest figure is the argument for cash and HSA dollars wherever possible.
For contrast, the bare-minimum cycle — no testing, no ICSI, minimal meds, fresh transfer only — runs $16,000 at the same clinic. The gap between "a cycle" and "a cycle with the standard workup" is $11,400, and most of it is genuinely optional medicine that depends on your diagnosis.
The clinic's base fee runs $12,000-$18,000, which covers monitoring, egg retrieval, and one embryo transfer but usually not medications. With standard stimulation meds ($4,000-$6,500) and ICSI ($1,000-$2,500), one fresh cycle runs about $18,000-$27,000 all-in. Industry tracking of real patient invoices puts a typical single cycle near $23,500.
Between $2,000 and $10,000 per cycle depending on your protocol and dosage. Minimal or oral-plus protocols run $2,000-$4,000; a standard injectable stimulation cycle runs $4,500-$6,500; high-dose, antagonist, or poor-responder protocols can reach $8,000-$10,000. The same drugs often cost 30-50% less through mail-order fertility pharmacies than through a clinic's in-house pharmacy.
It depends on your state and your plan. As of 2025 roughly two dozen states require some form of fertility coverage, but only about a dozen include IVF specifically, and coverage caps are common ($15,000-$100,000 lifetime maximums in several mandate states). Crucially, state mandates don't reach self-funded employer plans, which cover most workers at large companies and are governed by federal ERISA instead.
Usually yes if you're likely to need more than one cycle. A single fresh cycle with meds and ICSI runs about $20,800, so three cycles a la carte would be $62,400. Multi-cycle packages commonly bundle 2-3 cycles for $20,000-$30,000, and refund programs (unlimited cycles until a live birth or your money back) run $25,000-$40,000. The trade-off: you pay the full package price even if the first cycle works.
Yes. IVF is a qualified medical expense for FSAs and HSAs, which lets you pay with pre-tax dollars — an effective discount of your marginal tax rate, often 22-32%, on the portion you can fund that way. Keep itemized receipts; the IRS may ask for a diagnosis or doctor's letter establishing medical necessity.