The decision to freeze your eggs is deeply personal, but the price tag makes it a financial decision too. The average egg freezing cost in the United States ranges from $6,000 to $15,000 per cycle, with medications adding $3,000 to $7,000 on top. Then there are the annual storage fees that continue for years or even decades. More women are pursuing egg freezing than ever before, with the number of cycles increasing over 400% in the past decade according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. Our healthcare costs guide puts these numbers in context with other major healthcare expenses.
Average Egg Freezing Cost in 2025
Without insurance: A single egg freezing cycle typically costs $6,000 to $15,000 for the procedure itself. Add fertility medications ($3,000 to $7,000), and the total per cycle reaches $9,000 to $22,000. Most fertility specialists recommend retrieving 15 to 20 mature eggs to give a reasonable chance of a future pregnancy, and many women need two cycles to reach that number.
With insurance or employer benefits: Traditional health insurance rarely covers elective egg freezing. However, a growing number of employers now offer fertility benefits that include egg freezing, typically through companies like Progyny, Carrot, or Kindbody. These benefits may cover $10,000 to $25,000 or more in lifetime fertility expenses. In states with fertility insurance mandates, coverage for egg freezing is generally limited to patients with a medical reason (such as cancer treatment).
The total cost for a complete egg freezing journey, from initial consultation through 10 years of storage, can reach $25,000 to $50,000 or more. That figure includes 1 to 2 retrieval cycles, medications, freezing, storage, and the eventual thaw and IVF cycle to use the eggs.
Full Cost Breakdown
Egg freezing involves the same ovarian stimulation and retrieval process as the first half of an IVF cycle. Here’s where the money goes.
- Initial consultation and diagnostic workup: $300 to $800 (AMH blood test, antral follicle count ultrasound, other bloodwork)
- Ovarian stimulation medications: $3,000 to $7,000 (injectable gonadotropins, trigger shot, and supporting medications)
- Monitoring appointments: $1,000 to $2,500 (5-8 blood draws and ultrasounds over 10-14 days)
- Egg retrieval procedure: $1,500 to $3,500 (includes IV sedation and the aspiration)
- Laboratory processing and vitrification: $1,000 to $3,000 (the flash-freezing process)
- First-year storage: Often included in the cycle fee; if not, $500 to $1,000
- Annual storage thereafter: $500 to $1,000 per year
When you’re ready to use your frozen eggs, the thawing, fertilization, and embryo transfer process is essentially an IVF cycle and costs an additional $4,000 to $8,000 plus medications.
How Many Cycles Do You Need?
This is the question that determines whether egg freezing costs $10,000 or $40,000. The answer depends primarily on your age and ovarian reserve.
Women under 35 typically retrieve 10 to 20 eggs per cycle. Research published in Human Reproduction suggests that 15 to 20 frozen eggs give a woman under 35 approximately a 70% to 80% chance of at least one live birth. Many women in this age group reach that number in a single cycle.
Women between 35 and 37 may retrieve 8 to 15 eggs per cycle and often benefit from two cycles to bank enough eggs. By ages 38 to 40, egg yield per cycle drops further and egg quality declines, making the cost-per-expected-live-birth significantly higher. Fertility specialists are candid that egg freezing after 38 requires more cycles with less predictable outcomes.
Your AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone) level and antral follicle count, measured during your initial workup, give your doctor a reasonable estimate of expected yield before you commit financially.
Factors That Affect Your Price
Geographic location is the largest price driver. Egg freezing in New York City, San Francisco, or Boston can run $12,000 to $18,000 per cycle before medications. The same procedure in cities like Atlanta, Dallas, or Denver may cost $7,000 to $11,000. Some patients travel specifically to take advantage of lower pricing at highly rated clinics in mid-range markets.
Clinic volume and reputation influence pricing as well. Large, well-known fertility centers with high SART-reported success rates often charge premium fees. Newer boutique clinics focused on egg freezing (like Kindbody, Extend Fertility, or Spring Fertility) sometimes offer competitive pricing or package deals specifically targeting the elective freezing market.
Medication protocol and dosage create the biggest variable cost within a cycle. Your dose is calibrated to your ovarian reserve, body weight, and response to stimulation. A lower-dose protocol might cost $2,500 in medications, while an aggressive protocol could reach $7,000 or more.
Does Insurance Cover Egg Freezing?
Elective (social) egg freezing is generally not covered by health insurance. However, there are important exceptions.
Medical egg freezing is increasingly covered when a medical condition or treatment threatens fertility. Cancer patients facing chemotherapy, for example, often have egg freezing covered under their health plan. The American Cancer Society recommends discussing fertility preservation before starting treatment, and many oncologists now routinely make referrals. Other qualifying conditions may include endometriosis, autoimmune diseases requiring gonadotoxic medications, or genetic conditions affecting ovarian function.
Employer fertility benefits are the most common source of financial support for elective egg freezing. Companies including Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, Starbucks, and many financial firms offer fertility benefits covering egg freezing. These benefits are typically administered through third-party platforms and may cover the full cycle cost or provide a dollar amount (commonly $10,000 to $25,000).
Even without direct coverage, you can use HSA or FSA funds for egg freezing that’s medically indicated. Elective egg freezing may not qualify for HSA/FSA under current IRS rules, though some patients have successfully argued medical necessity with a physician’s letter.
How to Save Money on Egg Freezing
Check employer benefits first. Even if you don’t think your company offers fertility benefits, check with HR. Many employees are unaware of benefits buried in their plan documents. Fertility benefits have expanded rapidly in recent years as a recruitment and retention tool.
Compare at least three clinics. Request a detailed fee schedule that breaks out every charge. Some clinics quote all-inclusive pricing while others list the procedure fee separately from monitoring, labs, and storage. Make sure you’re comparing the same thing.
Explore multi-cycle packages. Many clinics offer two-cycle packages at a 10% to 20% discount over individual cycle pricing. If your doctor anticipates you’ll need more than one cycle, this saves money.
Reduce medication costs. Ask your clinic about cost-effective medication protocols. Compare prices between specialty fertility pharmacies, which can vary by 20% to 30% for the same drugs. Check for manufacturer discount programs and compassionate use programs, especially if you’re paying out of pocket.
Look for grants and shared programs. Organizations like RESOLVE and the Livestrong Foundation offer grants for fertility preservation. Some clinics participate in research studies that subsidize part of the cost in exchange for donating a portion of retrieved eggs.
Time it with your tax planning. Egg freezing qualifies as a medical expense for tax deduction purposes when medically indicated. Even for elective freezing, some tax professionals have successfully argued for deductibility. Consult a tax advisor familiar with fertility expenses.
The Long-Term Cost of Storage
One cost that patients often underestimate is long-term egg storage. At $500 to $1,000 per year, a woman who freezes eggs at 30 and uses them at 38 will pay $4,000 to $8,000 just in storage fees, and that’s before the cost of thawing and IVF.
Some clinics offer prepaid storage plans (such as 5 years for $2,000 or 10 years for $3,500) that significantly reduce the annual cost. If you’re confident you won’t need the eggs for several years, prepaying is almost always a better deal than annual billing.
It’s also worth understanding that you’ll eventually need to decide what to do with unused eggs. Options include discarding them, donating to research, or donating to another patient. There’s no additional cost for discarding, but the emotional weight of that decision is something to consider early on.
Egg Freezing vs IVF: Understanding the Full Cost Picture
Egg freezing is only the first half of the financial commitment. When you’re ready to use your frozen eggs, you’ll undergo an IVF cycle that includes thawing, fertilization, embryo culture, and transfer. This adds $4,000 to $8,000 in procedure costs plus $1,500 to $4,000 in medications for endometrial preparation.
Here’s the full cost trajectory for a typical egg freezing journey: one or two retrieval cycles ($10,000 to $25,000 per cycle), 5 to 10 years of storage ($2,500 to $10,000), a thaw and fertilization cycle ($4,000 to $8,000), and potentially PGT-A genetic testing of the resulting embryos ($3,000 to $6,000). The total investment from freezing through a successful pregnancy attempt can reach $25,000 to $60,000.
That said, egg freezing provides something money can’t easily replicate later: reproductive optionality. For women who aren’t ready for children but want to preserve the possibility, the cost compares favorably to the potentially much higher cost of IVF with diminished ovarian reserve at an older age, or the use of donor eggs ($15,000 to $30,000 per cycle on top of IVF fees).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best age to freeze your eggs?
Most fertility specialists recommend freezing eggs before age 35 for the best balance of egg quality, quantity, and cost-effectiveness. Freezing in your late 20s to early 30s typically yields more eggs per cycle and higher-quality eggs, reducing the number of cycles needed and improving future pregnancy odds.
How long can frozen eggs last?
Vitrified (flash-frozen) eggs can be stored indefinitely without degradation in quality. Successful pregnancies have been achieved with eggs stored for over 10 years. The freezing technology preserves eggs in a state of suspended animation regardless of storage duration.
What is the success rate of egg freezing?
Egg survival rates after thawing are approximately 80% to 90% with modern vitrification techniques. For women who froze eggs before age 35 with 15 or more mature eggs banked, the estimated chance of at least one live birth is 70% to 80%, according to data from SART.
Is egg freezing tax-deductible?
Medical egg freezing (for cancer patients or those with medical conditions) is a qualified medical expense. Elective egg freezing may also qualify, though the IRS hasn’t issued definitive guidance. Consult a tax professional who specializes in medical deductions for your specific situation.
The Bottom Line
Egg freezing cost is significant but increasingly accessible through employer benefits, multi-cycle packages, and strategic medication shopping. The most important financial decision is timing: freezing eggs at a younger age typically means fewer cycles and more eggs per cycle, reducing total cost while improving future success rates. Before committing, get your AMH and antral follicle count tested so your doctor can give you a realistic estimate of how many cycles you’ll need. Then compare at least three clinics, check your employer benefits, and factor in the long-term storage costs that will accumulate until you’re ready to use those eggs.