Most people comparing IVF clinics end up comparing a single number — the cycle fee — and that number is not comparable between clinics, because every clinic draws the line in a different place around what it includes.
Below are eleven questions worth asking before you commit anywhere. Ask every clinic you are considering the same eleven and write down the answers. Our answers are here, including the places where the honest answer is that it depends or that we do not publish a figure.
1. Is ICSI included, or billed separately?
Ours: included. Our self-pay cycle fees are $8,900 for a natural or minimal stimulation cycle and $13,900 for a standard stimulation cycle, and each includes ICSI.
Why it matters: ICSI is commonly quoted as a separate line. If one clinic's cycle fee includes it and another's does not, you are not comparing the same thing.
2. What does the facility fee cover, and is it in the quote?
Ours: a separate $1,000 facility fee covers the retrieval room and anesthesia.
Why it matters: anesthesia and the procedure room are real costs in every cycle. If a quote does not mention them, ask where they sit.
3. What do the medications cost?
Ours: medications are billed through a specialty pharmacy rather than by us, and we do not currently publish a range for them. We will tell you what to expect for your protocol before you start.
Why it matters: medication is one of the largest variable costs in a cycle and sits outside almost every published cycle fee. A clinic that cannot give you any sense of it before you commit is leaving a significant number out of your planning.
4. Is PGT-A recommended, optional, or assumed?
Ours: preimplantation genetic testing is billed separately and is not assumed into the cycle fee. Whether it is indicated or elective depends on your situation and is discussed with your physician.
Why it matters: PGT-A materially changes the total. Find out whether a quote assumes it, and whether the clinic treats it as routine or as a decision.
5. What does a frozen embryo transfer cost?
Ours: $4,000, covering the transfer cycle itself — see frozen embryo transfer.
Why it matters: most IVF cycles now end in a freeze rather than a fresh transfer, so the transfer is usually a second, later cost. A cycle fee that does not include a transfer is not a complete price for getting to a pregnancy attempt.
6. What does a multi-cycle package actually include?
Ours: a package of two cycles is $24,000 and must be used within a six month period; a package of three is $35,000 within an eight month period. The full fee schedule is on the cost and pricing page.
Why it matters: packages differ enormously in what counts as a cycle, what happens to unused cycles, and whether transfers are included. Ask for the terms in writing.
7. If I need donor eggs, what is and is not in the price?
Ours: our published donor egg figures exclude donor screening, donor payment and agency fees, and those exclusions are stated on the price list rather than discovered later. Both fresh and frozen donor options are listed. See egg donation.
Why it matters: the headline donor figure at any clinic is rarely the total. The excluded items are often several thousand dollars.
8. How old are the donors, and what screening do they have?
Ours: donor age and the screening protocol are reviewed with you at consultation. Screening is billed separately from the donor fee, which is why it appears as an exclusion on our price list.
Why it matters: this is a clinical and a cost question at once, and the answer should be specific rather than reassuring.
9. How many mature eggs should I expect?
Ours: nobody can answer this honestly before your evaluation. It depends on age and ovarian reserve, which is what AMH, antral follicle count and day-3 bloodwork are for. What we can do is tell you what those results predict for you specifically.
Why it matters: be careful with any clinic that gives you a confident number before testing you. If you want to understand how retrieved eggs become embryos, we have written about what happens to ten eggs.
10. What are your outcomes, and how are they counted?
Ours: we publish them, with the denominators, on our IVF success rates page. We also publish how to read an IVF success rate, which explains why our SART-reported figure is lower than our own numbers and why cross-clinic comparison is limited.
Why it matters: this is the question where the method matters more than the number. Per cycle started, per retrieval and per transfer produce very different-looking figures from the same clinic. Ask which denominator any number uses, and ask how many cycles it is based on. SART itself says its data should not be used to compare clinics.
11. What happens if the first cycle produces no transferable embryos?
Ours: we do not accept or deny patients for treatment based on likelihood of success, and a cycle that does not produce a transferable embryo is examined rather than simply repeated. Dr. Gindoff has written about what he reviews after a failed IVF cycle.
Why it matters: ask what the clinic does next, what it costs, and whether the package terms still apply. Ask before you start, not after.
Before you sign anything
Our financial coordinator verifies your insurance benefits and gives you a written itemized estimate before you begin — no surprise charges. If a clinic will not put the estimate in writing before you commit, that is itself an answer to the question you were asking.
Related: how our pricing is structured, fertility insurance coverage including the New York State mandate, and fertility second opinion if you have had treatment elsewhere.
Your initial consultation is free for all new patients, and we bill health insurance where you have coverage that applies. Call 212-685-2229 or send us a message to arrange a visit.
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Consultation is free for new patients; we bill health insurance where you have coverage that applies.