For many women in their twenties and early thirties, the concept of having a family is very much a someday thing. But then suddenly, without any warning, someday arrives, and perhaps having the family you’ve always wanted doesn’t happen as easily as you’d like it to.
Fertility testing for women isn’t new, but it’s not wildly popular. That is, until companies like Modern Fertility, Everlywell, and LetsGetChecked emerged and made it exceedingly easy and painless. At least compared to old-fashioned fertility tests from your doctor that require you to pre-order in advance, specify the exact hormones you want tested, and shell out $800 to $1500 for a full panel.
As a woman, we want to know everything we possibly can about our bodies before another little human grows in there for nine months. Luckily, there’s a badass group of startups who can help you learn about your body, egg count, and overall fertility so you know what you’re working with and prepare for any bumps in the road.
Curious exactly how a modern fertility test works, and which one’s best? Let’s dig into three top women’s testing options — Modern Fertility, Everlywell, and LetsGetChecked — to see which test could be right for you.
How do at-home women’s fertility tests like Modern Fertility, Everlywell, and LetsGetChecked work?
So you’ve hit that point in life where you want — maybe even need — to know your egg count. Perhaps you’re worried about what grandma says about how fertile (or not!) the women in your family are. Either way, more info is better, so it’s a good idea to get tested.
The good news is that these new age fertility tests can be done in the comfort of your own home to assess various hormones, determine how fertile you are, and help you plan accordingly.
The bad news: fertility testing is yet another arena where women have it harder than men. While dudes can just pop into the bathroom, get a little excited, and come….out with a sample, it’s slightly more complicated for women who need to provide a blood sacrifice sample. Here’s how at-home female fertility tests typically work, from sample collection to analysis
Step 1: Order your kit.
After a quick registration form online, Modern Fertility, Everlywell, and LetsGetChecked will discreetly ship your fertility kit to your door.
Step 2: Prick your finger.
Full disclosure: this is not fun, especially if you’re queasy around blood or needles. Customers have even suggested going for a run prior to get the circulation flowing and having a partner to help. Luckily, all three kits — Modern Fertility, Everlywell, and LetsGetChecked — provide ample guidance to walk you through the process of sample collection.
Step 3: Send in your blood sample.
Wait for the blood to dry (spooky, right?) and send your sample in for testing by mail.
Step 4: Receive your results.
In just a few days, you’ll receive your test results that have been reviewed by a real-life physician.
If you’re not super comfortable playing nurse alone at home, Modern Fertility allows you to visit a Quest Diagnostics lab to get blood drawn. And for anyone who really can’t get over the blood sample part, there’s another startup called Mira that offers a fertility test for women with a pee-on-a-stick option.
Who should use an at-home fertility test like Modern Fertility, Everlywell, or LetsGetChecked?
Do you want a baby? Maybe two or three? You should probably know how fertile you are to see how realistic that is.
Knowledge is key when doing something as serious as preparing to start a family. And knowing how fertile you are? Well that’s pretty much the key to the castle. Determining your egg count can help you know if right now is the best time to start having kids, or if you can afford to wait a bit longer.
Fertility tests are also a first step for women interested in freezing their eggs, since you first need to know how many eggs you have to freeze. The only potential downside to taking the test might be if you’re not in a place to freeze your eggs and find out you don’t have many left. It could cause unnecessary panic or stress in a woman who isn’t ready to procreate right away, whether that’s getting pregnant or via oocyte cryopreservation (i.e. egg freezing). That said, facing reality is important and necessary for women to make the best decisions for their future family.
Overall, for those ready to learn more about their fertility, at-home testing kits are an affordable and accessible option in comparison to in-office alternatives. But with quite a few options out there, which at-home fertility test is best suited for you? Use the chart below to quickly compare options.
Modern Fertility vs Everlywell vs LetsGetChecked: Best At-Home Fertility Kits | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $159 | $159 | |
| Time to get results | 2-5 days | 2-5 days | 2-5 days |
| Collection method | At-home finger prick or Quest Diagnostics Lab visit | At-home finger prick | At-home finger prick |
| Hormones measured | Depends on your birth control | Estradiol, LH, FSH, Total Testosterone, TSH | Depends on test choice |
| Fast required | Depends on your birth control | ❌ | ✅ |
| Community | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Support | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalized Report | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quiz | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| CLIA Certified Labs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Accepts insurance | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Accepted payment through HSA/FSA | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Available in: | USA, except New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island | USA, except New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island | USA, except New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Rhode Island |
| Website |
Now that we know more about how these three at-home fertility tests stack up against each other, let’s look at what makes each one unique.
Review of Modern Fertility
When it comes to reproductive health, Modern Fertility’s goal is to empower women. By democratizing fertility information, the company hopes to help women better plan for starting a healthy family.
Founded in 2017, Modern Fertility had built a customizable fertility test offering based your birth control. For women not using birth control, Modern Fertility will test you for the eight fertility-related hormones in general, and for those on the pill, they use your AMH levels.