Published October 2026

The path to parenthood can be expensive for anyone. But for LGBTQ+ parents — who often have to pursue fertility treatments such as assisted reproduction — there are extra costs to consider. Funding your fertility journey can be expensive, and, because conception does not always happen on the first try, it can be hard to know at the outset the exact cost of bringing a child into your family. Factors including your health, what pathways are available to you, and even where you live can dramatically impact the overall cost of having a child. For LGBTQ+ families especially, there are additional legal costs when working with donor sperm, eggs, and/or a surrogate, and establishing legal parentage for all intended parents. 

In other words: Fertility journeys are expensive, but there are ways to finance your journey and make it potentially more affordable for your family. 

For an approximate picture of the costs of fertility treatment as of October 2026, explore the rough estimate below. Note that it often takes more than one cycle to achieve pregnancy, so it is very hard to know the exact costs to expect. 

Costs will vary depending on what kind of donor you use.

Using a known or familial sperm donor can greatly reduce the costs of obtaining donor sperm. In fact, some people even donate their sperm to a friend or family member at no cost. However, you will still have to pay for health and sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening (these may be covered by the donor’s insurance and will vary depending on other health factors), storage ($600 – $1,500/year), and genetic testing ($1,500 – $5,000).

Using an unknown sperm donor will likely cost $500 – $2,000 per vial with additional storage feels of $600 – $1,500/year.

If you use familial or known donor sperm, doing an at-home intravaginal insemination (IVI) or intracervical insemination (ICI) would be one of the least expensive options for achieving pregnancy. Outside of the costs of obtaining sperm, testing, and paying for storage, there may be no additional costs for this process.

If you use unknown donor sperm, doing an at-home procedure is also possible with the support of some fertility clinics and cryobanks. This is also less expensive than other options. In addition to the cost of unknown donor sperm, you will have to pay for storage and shipping, which can range from $300 – $600 per vial.

However, the success rate for at-home insemination is lower on average than the success rate for more expensive and invasive procedures, so it’s likely you will have to cover these costs more than once. Our experts estimate that on average, it takes up to a year to achieve pregnancy if there are no other issues.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) occurs when donor sperm is inserted via a tube directly into an individual’s uterus to facilitate fertilization. Typically, IUI requires the help of a provider, and IUIs require washed sperm — which will be different from the vials you may purchase for ICI or IVI. For these reasons, IUI can cost between $300 – $4,000 per cycle. There’s also often the additional cost of medications which range from $3,000 – $5,000. IUI has a 20% success rate with each attempt.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) involves removing eggs from an individual’s ovaries and fertilizing them outside of the body with sperm in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryos are then transferred into a uterus through the cervix. A more invasive procedure, IVF costs between $15,000 – $30,000 per cycle. You will also have to pay for medications ($3,000 – $8,000) and, optionally, Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) ($3,000 – $6,000). This is often used for subsequent attempts.

While this is a more expensive route, IVF has the highest success rate of all the methods of getting pregnant with donor sperm.

Reciprocal IVF (R-IVF) is similar to IVF but eggs are harvested from one person’s ovaries, inseminated outside of the body, and transferred to another person’s uterus. R-IVF has the same baseline cost of IVF with an additional $3,000 – $8,000 cost for medications and the estimated $3,000 – $6,000 for FET if needed for subsequent attempts.

Obtaining an egg donor and a surrogate

Costs will vary depending on what kind of donor you use.

Using a known or familial egg donor and/or surrogate can greatly reduce the costs of obtaining donor eggs and/or a surrogate. In fact, some people even donate their eggs to a friend or family member or volunteer to be a surrogate at no cost. However, depending on whether you are using traditional or gestational surrogates, you may still have to pay for IVF. You’ll also have to pay for medical care ($30,000 – $50,000) and legal expenses ($10,000 – $20,000).

Using an unknown egg donor will likely cost $10,000 – $60,000 for the eggs; $10,000 – $20,000 per cycle for egg retrieval and freezing; and $500 – $1,000 for storage.

A traditional surrogate is an individual who carries a pregnancy for an intended parent or parents achieved by using the surrogate’s egg and a donor’s or intended parent’s sperm. Traditional surrogates have a genetic link to the baby or babies born as a result of the pregnancy. With traditional surrogacy, conception is possible through cheaper methods such as IUI or even at-home insemination, but you will have to pay:

Traditional surrogacy has become increasingly less common with agencies.

A gestational surrogate is an individual who carries a pregnancy for an intended parent or parents using a donated egg and a donor’s or intended parent’s sperm. Gestational surrogates do not have a genetic link to the baby or babies born as a result of the pregnancy. With gestational surrogacy, IVF is involved. As a result, you will have to pay:

Gestational surrogacy is the most common type of surrogacy in agencies.

In the United States, fertility-related healthcare is often not covered by insurance. In fact,only a handful of states require private insurers to cover fertility-related healthcare. As you start your fertility journey, be sure to review what your insurance covers. It can also be helpful to compare your insurance coverage with that of your spouse and explore shifting to the best plan for your needs as you start the process. 

As part of your insurance coverage, you may be eligible for an FSA (flexible spending account) or an HSA (health savings account). Both of these accounts allow you to set aside money, which is sometimes even supplemented or matched by your employer, for healthcare expenses from your paycheck pre-tax. You can often cover doctor appointments, medication costs, and some fertility-related costs with funds from these types of accounts. Because these are pre-taxed, this can save you a bit of money. Check with your insurance provider to see what options are available to you.

Some state medicaid plans cover some fertility costs such as fertility preservation or even fertility treatments. If you receive medicaid as your insurance provider, check your plan to see what they cover. 

Many LGBTQ+ prospective parents look to supplemental fertility insurance coverage to help off-set costs. Some employers are starting to offer supplemental fertility insurance through your benefits, so check with your employer’s Human Resources department to see what options may be available to you through your job as well as your spouse’s job. 

Your current insurance provider may offer supplemental fertility plans that you can add to your current insurance coverage by paying out-of-pocket fees. Additionally, there are supplemental providers who specialize in fertility coverage that sometimes offer better coverage and lower costs as they specialize only in fertility:

Many providers of assisted reproduction offer financing options within their practice or have partners that they work with to offer financing to their patients. As you are exploring fertility providers, ask about financing options and see what might work for you and your family. 

It is not uncommon for prospective parents to rely on loans to help cover the costs of fertility treatments and surrogacy. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a Fiduciary Financial Advisor to provide you with guidance on your personal financial options. Here are some of the common ways LGBTQ+ intended parents personally finance their fertility journey: 

Your current financial institutions may have family planning loan programs, such as Wells Fargo or SoFi. Additionally, some financial organizations specialize in fertility financing and offer loans and payment plans for prospective parents. Here are some fertility-focused financial options:

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