IVF abroad: your cost and success-rate questions, answered in plain English

Across the clinics we list, a standard IVF cycle with your own eggs starts from €2,200. That's the lowest published starting price in our directory; most clinics sit between that and roughly €5,500 depending on the country and what's included. Published London self-pay prices are around £6,000–£8,000 per cycle (London Women's Clinic and CRGH 2026 price lists), before add-ons like medication or embryo freezing.

A clinic's starting price normally covers monitoring scans, egg collection, lab fertilisation and one embryo transfer. It usually excludes medication (often €1,000–€2,500), embryo freezing and storage, genetic testing such as PGT-A (from €1,800–€3,500 in Spain), and blood tests. Always ask the clinic for a written itemised quote before you commit.

Based on the published starting prices in our directory: Czech Republic from €2,600, Greece from €2,200, North Cyprus (TRNC) from €3,000, Poland from €2,300, Latvia from €2,200, and Spain from €4,300. The cheapest headline price isn't always the cheapest cycle — medication, add-ons and travel change the total, so compare itemised quotes rather than headline figures. See country-by-country IVF costs.

Egg donation cycles cost more than own-egg IVF because of donor compensation and screening. In our directory, egg donation typically starts from around €4,500–€5,500 depending on the country, with Spain and the Czech Republic at the higher end and North Cyprus (TRNC) often lower. Each clinic page on this site shows its own published egg donation price where one is available.

The common ones: medication (€1,000–€2,500), initial consultations and blood work, embryo freezing and annual storage, PGT-A or other genetic testing, a frozen transfer if the fresh one doesn't go ahead, and travel — flights and accommodation for one or two trips, typically £150–£400 for a short stay. Budget 20–30% on top of the headline cycle price to be safe.

On published prices, yes for most patients. London self-pay packages start around £6,000–£8,000 per cycle (London Women's Clinic and CRGH 2026 price lists), while listed European clinics start from a lower base. Lower operating and staffing costs account for most of the difference; it's not a difference in laboratory standards at regulated clinics. The gap narrows once you add medication and travel, so compare the full cost of one complete cycle. Try the IVF cost calculator for a personalised estimate.

Some do — multi-cycle packages and partial-refund ("money back") programmes exist, mainly in Spain, the Czech Republic and Greece. They cost more up front and have strict eligibility rules (age, AMH, medical history). Read the exclusions carefully and ask what happens to your refund if you withdraw mid-programme.

Generally no. NHS funding rarely follows you abroad for elective treatment, and the cross-border healthcare routes that exist (such as the S2 scheme) apply to state-provided care and require prior authorisation. Most patients going abroad for IVF self-fund. Check your eligibility with your local ICB before making plans based on reimbursement.

There is no single honest number. Success depends mainly on your age, the diagnosis and whether you use your own eggs or donor eggs. What we publish is each clinic's own reported figures, broken down by age band where the clinic provides them, with the reporting period and definition. We don't average figures across clinics or countries, because that would mix different age groups and definitions into a misleading number. See IVF success rates by age.

More than anything else. With your own eggs, success per cycle falls steadily through your late thirties and sharply after 40, because egg quality declines with age. With donor eggs (donors are typically under 35), outcomes depend far less on the recipient's age. That's why any success figure that doesn't state the age band isn't useful to you.

Because clinics measure different things: pregnancy rate per cycle started, per egg collection, per embryo transfer, clinical pregnancy (heartbeat on scan) or live birth. Per-transfer figures always look higher than per-cycle-started figures. Patient mix matters too — a clinic treating mostly younger donor-egg patients will post higher numbers than one treating complex cases. Always ask: which definition, which age band, which year?

Not directly. UK clinics report verified live-birth rates to the HFEA using standardised definitions. Most overseas clinics publish their own figures using their own definitions, and these aren't independently verified in the same way. Treat overseas figures as a starting point for questions, not as a like-for-like comparison with HFEA data.

Four questions: (1) Is that a pregnancy rate or a live birth rate? (2) Is it per cycle started, per egg collection, or per embryo transfer? (3) What's the figure for my age band, using my own eggs? (4) What period does the data cover? A clinic that answers these clearly in writing is telling you something useful about how it operates.

Yes, substantially, because donors are young and medically screened. Clinics in our directory typically report per-transfer figures in the 50–70% range for donor-egg cycles — clinic-reported and not age-adjusted. The trade-offs are cost (donor cycles cost more), anonymity rules (which vary by country), and the personal considerations of using donor gametes.

No. Price differences between countries reflect operating costs far more than outcomes. What matters for your chance of success is your age and diagnosis, the embryology lab's quality, and the clinic's experience with cases like yours — not the headline price. A cheaper regulated clinic isn't a worse bet than an expensive one.

The evidence-backed basics: don't smoke, aim for a healthy BMI, limit alcohol, and follow your clinic's medication protocol exactly. Beyond that, ask the clinic what they'd change for your specific case — for example a freeze-all cycle, PGT-A if you've had repeated implantation failure, or immune testing where there's a clinical reason. Be wary of add-ons sold without evidence for your situation; the HFEA rates common add-ons by evidence on its website.