Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday · Patient Tool

IVF Cost Per Baby Calculator

Uses national CDC outcome data by age to estimate what it takes, on average, to bring home a baby with IVF, and to compare paying per retrieval with a package.

Last reviewed: November 2026 · v1.0

Read this first. This tool uses national averages for IVF with a patient’s own eggs. Your own chances depend on your diagnosis, ovarian reserve, embryo quality and clinic, and can be very different from an average. It is not a prediction, not financial advice, and it does not include donor eggs, donor sperm or surrogacy. Ask your clinic for the numbers that apply to you.
1 About you

The CDC groups everyone over 40 together. Chances at 43 and older are far lower than at 41, so treat the over-40 numbers as generous for the older end of that range.

2 What one retrieval costs you
$
$

Count everything you pay from the start of stimulation through the embryo transfers that come from that retrieval, including any frozen transfers, genetic testing or freezing you expect to use. For context only: 2026 consumer guides citing RESOLVE put the base fee near $12,000 to $17,000 and medications near $3,000 to $7,000, with each frozen transfer adding roughly $3,000 to $6,000. Use your clinic’s actual prices.

3 Optional: your own success number
%

Leave blank to use the national CDC number for your age. Your clinic’s own figure is on the SART clinic report (look for “live birth per intended retrieval” for your age group) at sartcorsonline.com, or ask your clinic.

4 Optional: compare with a package
$
%

The package is assumed to cover the number of retrievals you plan and to be paid up front. A second retrieval is assumed only if the first does not result in a baby. Unused retrievals are assumed not refunded. Read the contract for the real terms and who qualifies.

The CDC numbers behind this

National ART Summary, CDC, cycles started in , patients using their own eggs. Percent of patients with a live birth:

“Per retrieval” counts every fresh and frozen transfer that follows one egg retrieval. “New patients” are people with no earlier IVF cycles. CDC’s “retrievals per live birth” is the average number of intended retrievals it took across all patients; it equals 1 ÷ the per-retrieval rate.

How the math works

Cost per baby = (clinic fees + medications per retrieval) × average retrievals per live birth

For a plan of up to two retrievals, the chance after the first retrieval and after the first or second come from CDC data for new patients (or the all-patient rate if you have had a retrieval before). If you enter your own clinic’s number, it replaces the first-retrieval chance, and the second-retrieval chance is built using the share of people the CDC saw succeed on a second try after a first that did not work (about 13% under 35, falling with age). That is why the second retrieval adds much less than the first: it is not a fresh draw of the same odds.

Expected spend = per-retrieval cost × (1 + chance the first does not work, if you plan two). The package’s break-even price is the price at which both options cost the same on average. The CDC chance after two retrievals counts people who chose to stop, so for someone who does continue, the real chance may be somewhat higher.

Sources and change log
  • CDC, National ART Summary (ART Surveillance / National ART Surveillance System), cycles started in 2021: percent of intended retrievals resulting in live-birth deliveries, new-patient cumulative rates, and average intended retrievals per live birth, by age, own eggs. cdc.gov/art.
  • SART Clinic Outcome Reporting System, sartcorsonline.com: clinic-specific live birth per intended retrieval by age.
  • Price ranges quoted in the hint are from 2026 consumer cost guides citing RESOLVE and are for context only.

Change log. v1.0, November 2026: first release with CDC 2021 national data. To update, replace the numbers in the CDC table at the top of the script and the year label.

Educational tool from Taco Bout Fertility. It is not medical, legal or financial advice and does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Nothing you type leaves your device.

Talk with your own fertility doctor about your dates, your protocol and your costs.