How much does a cortisol test cost? UK and US prices compared

As of October 2026, a home blood cortisol test from a major UK provider costs £41 to £45, or up to £104 if you have the blood taken from a vein at a clinic or by a nurse, and a one-day saliva test costs £89.¹²³ In the US, single blood cortisol tests cost $23.95 to $79 before fees, saliva tests $99 to $149, a 24-hour urine test $55.95 and the DUTCH dried urine adrenal panel $399.^4567891011 If a doctor thinks you need a cortisol test, NHS services in England are free of charge except in limited circumstances.¹² But the price of one test is not the whole story. What matters is how many tests it takes to answer your question, and for long-term cortisol, a single hair sample covering roughly three months answers it most directly.¹³

What cortisol tests cost in the UK

The main UK options from major providers are a morning blood test and a one-day saliva test, both sold direct as home kits:

• Finger-prick blood test: £41 or £45, including the kit, the laboratory analysis and a doctor's comment or report on the result.¹²
• Blood taken from a vein instead: £35 to £45 extra at a partner clinic, or £59 extra for a nurse to visit you at home. One provider also offers an arm-worn collection device for £20 extra.¹²
• Saliva test with four samples across one day: £89.³

So a single morning blood cortisol costs £41 to £104, depending on how the blood is taken.¹² None of the major UK providers we list sells a 24-hour urine test direct; a GP can arrange one if your symptoms call for it.¹⁴

What cortisol tests cost in the US

• Single blood test at a laboratory: $23.95, $66.75 (a sale price, usually $89) or $79 plus a $6 physician fee. In-home collection, where offered, adds $79.⁴⁵⁶
• Finger-prick blood test for cortisol and DHEA-S: $159.¹⁵
• Saliva tests: $99 for one saliva sample plus a finger-prick card for two other hormones; $119 for four saliva samples in a day; and $149 plus a $6 physician fee for four saliva samples and a DHEA-S blood test.⁷⁸⁹
• 24-hour urine with creatinine: $55.95.¹⁰
• DUTCH adrenal dried urine panel: $399.¹¹

Several of these were shown as discounts, some from much higher list prices, so check the current price on the provider's site.⁴⁵¹⁰ The full list, with what each test measures and how you collect it, is below.

What the price includes, and what costs extra

Headline prices are not always the whole cost.

• Getting the blood. UK finger-prick kits include everything you need. A venous draw at a clinic or by a home nurse adds £35 to £59.¹² In the US, most single blood tests are taken at a patient service centre, and in-home collection can double the price.⁶
• Physician fees. US tests are usually authorised by a physician working with the company. Some charge for this separately, $6 at one large laboratory, while others list no separate fee.⁶⁵
• A doctor's comment. UK blood kits include a doctor's report or comment.¹² It is a short note on the numbers, not a consultation or a diagnosis.
• Time. Turnaround ranges from one day after the sample reaches the laboratory to 10 to 14 days end to end, including postage both ways.⁵⁷
• Extra hormones. Panels that add DHEA-S, testosterone or a thyroid test cost more.⁷¹⁵ Check whether you need them.

Cost per useful answer

A single snapshot test is cheap, but if your question is about your usual cortisol level, one snapshot rarely answers it. About 75 per cent of the variation in a single saliva sample reflects the situation on the day,¹⁶ and researchers estimate that a reliable saliva average needs samples from at least three separate days.¹⁷ At October 2026 prices, three one-day saliva kits would cost £267 in the UK, or $357 for three four-sample kits in the US.³⁸

Urine is similar. A 24-hour urine result can vary by around 50 per cent from one collection to the next, so doctors ask for two or three collections;¹⁸¹⁹ three US urine tests would cost $167.85.¹⁰ A morning blood test catches one moment, so building a picture of your usual level from blood means several mornings and several fees.

A hair test works differently. One sample covers roughly three months,¹³ and the results are consistent: hair cortisol correlated at r = 0.84 from one month to the next in the same people, against 0.38 to 0.61 week to week for saliva and 0.59 to 0.68 for 24-hour urine.²⁰ For the question "has my cortisol been high or low over recent months?", one hair test is the most accurate single-sample answer. Compare the price of one hair kit, in the note below, with the cost of the several saliva or urine tests needed to approach the same question. See how often to test cortisol for timing repeat tests.

Tests from your doctor

If you have symptoms that could mean a problem with your adrenal glands, start with your GP rather than a home kit. A GP can arrange cortisol tests of blood, urine or saliva, and specialists may then do further tests and scans.¹⁴ In England, NHS services are free of charge except in limited circumstances, and access is based on clinical need, not ability to pay.¹²

Those are the tests used to diagnose Cushing's syndrome and adrenal insufficiency, including late-night saliva, 24-hour urine, dexamethasone suppression and Synacthen tests, which no home kit, hair included, can replace.²¹²² In the US, a test your doctor orders is usually billed through your health insurance, and what you pay depends on your plan. Our guide to getting a cortisol test from your doctor explains what to ask.

What is not worth paying for

• Tests for "adrenal fatigue". The Endocrine Society says there is no scientific proof that adrenal fatigue is a real medical condition, that no test can detect it and that tests offered for it are not based on scientific evidence.²³ A systematic review reached the same conclusion.²⁴ That applies to any cortisol test sold on that basis, hair included. See adrenal fatigue.
• A blood test at the wrong time of day. Cortisol peaks at around 8.30am and is lowest around midnight.²⁵ One NHS laboratory says a random sample taken away from 9am cannot be interpreted,²⁶ yet some low-priced blood tests give no time-of-day instruction.⁴¹⁵ If you pay for a blood test, take it in the morning.
• A blood test on oral oestrogen without allowing for it. Oral oestrogen, in the combined pill and some HRT, raises total blood cortisol: in one study, women taking it had 67 per cent higher levels, while their saliva cortisol was similar to that of women not taking it.²⁷ A high blood result may simply reflect the medicine.
• Repeating one-off tests to settle a long-term question. More snapshots of a moving target cost more without giving you a reliable average. A test that measures the long term answers that question more directly.
• A home test instead of a doctor when you have symptoms. It costs money and can delay the tests that matter. Our guide to at-home cortisol tests explains when to see a doctor instead.