How much does an early pregnancy ultrasound cost without insurance?
By the mybaby4D teamUpdated 15 min read
The short answer
Without insurance, a medical early pregnancy ultrasound in the U.S. costs a few hundred dollars, and prices vary widely. In October 2026, prepaid cash prices on MDsave for a routine pregnancy ultrasound, at any stage, ran from $155 to $796. Turquoise Health, a price-comparison site, listed average cash prices of $542 and $656 for first-trimester scans. A hospital bill can also add a facility fee and a separate charge for the doctor’s reading.
This guide sets hospital, imaging center and elective studio prices side by side, then shows how to get a written estimate and pay less.
What an early pregnancy ultrasound costs in the U.S.
Each source below counts something slightly different. All three are for a medical scan, the kind your doctor or midwife orders. The first two are cash prices; the third is a list price before any discount.
Prepaid cash prices: $155 to $796. That’s the range on MDsave, a site that sells prepaid procedures, for a routine pregnancy ultrasound at any stage. Its national average is $285, and it says its prices are bundled to include related fees (MDsave procedure page, MDsave FAQ, checked October 2026).
Average cash prices: $542 and $656. Turquoise Health is a price-comparison site. When it launched in 2022, it drew on the price files U.S. hospitals must post (Healthcare Dive, 2022). In October 2026 it listed an average cash price of $542 for “Ultrasound, pregnancy, 1st trimester” (Turquoise Health) and $656 for “Abdominal ultrasound of pregnant uterus, first trimester” (Turquoise Health). Its pages don’t say which facilities, billing codes or dates these averages cover.
One clinic’s list prices: $643 and $506. Alaska law requires providers to publish yearly prices for their most-billed services. In 2024, an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Anchorage listed $643 for a first-trimester belly scan and $506 for an internal scan, before discounts (Alaska Department of Health).
Paying yourself? Budget for more than one scan. Two is common, one in the first trimester and one in the second, and more if your doctor or midwife feels it’s medically necessary (Cleveland Clinic).
Hospital, imaging center or elective studio
Hospital
Typically costs more than an imaging center. The bill can include a facility fee, and the doctor who reads the scan may bill you separately.
Imaging center or clinic
Typically less than a hospital for the same scan, insured or not (GoodRx, 2026). Ask whether the price includes the doctor’s reading.
Elective studio
One price, set by the studio and paid out of pocket. No doctor’s reading, report or due date, and insurance doesn’t pay. Ours is below.
Why a hospital bill can run much higher
“Hospital care often results in two bills: one from a physician and one from the hospital,” as the Health Care Cost Institute puts it (HCCI, 2025).
A facility charge. The hospital’s own bill covers its overhead, such as equipment, space and support staff (HCCI, 2025).
A separate charge for the reading. “In addition to the scan, you’re typically charged for the radiologist who interprets the images,” GoodRx notes (GoodRx, 2026).
A high list price. A hospital’s “gross charge” is the price on its master list, before any discount (45 CFR 180.20). U.S. hospitals must also post a discounted cash price for people paying themselves, if they offer one (45 CFR 180.60).
In 2022, for people with employer insurance in the U.S., hospital outpatient prices for imaging without contrast were 2.6 to 3.7 times those in doctors’ offices (HCCI, 2025). That covered insured prices for four levels of imaging, starting with simple X-rays, not cash prices for pregnancy scans. If you’re paying yourself, ask whether an independent imaging center can do the scan your doctor or midwife orders.
What the money buys: a medical scan or an elective one
The practice guideline from radiology, obstetric and ultrasound societies, ACOG among them, sets out what a medical early scan covers (ACR–ACOG–AIUM–SMFM–SRU). It checks where the pregnancy sac is, looks for a yolk sac and embryo, measures the embryo, records whether there’s a heartbeat and counts the babies. A final report goes into your medical record, and when a radiologist reads the scan, the signed report goes to the doctor who asked for it (RadiologyInfo).
A medical early scan includes
A doctor’s reading, and a report in your medical record.
A check that the pregnancy is in the uterus, and of the heartbeat.
Measurements that help date the pregnancy and set your due date.
A count of how many babies there are.
An elective scan includes none of these
No doctor’s reading and no medical report.
No medical check of where the pregnancy is, or of the heartbeat.
An elective scan has one job: to show you the pregnancy, with the people you choose, for one set price. The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) says commercial keepsake studios usually work without any physician review of the images. The AIUM and the FDA discourage scans done only for keepsakes (AIUM, FDA). ACOG says ultrasound should be used only to answer a medical question or bring a medical benefit (ACOG Committee Opinion 723). Safety, in plain words has their statements.
Elective scans also aren’t allowed everywhere: Connecticut requires a medical purpose and an order, and Germany has banned non-medical scans in pregnancy since January 2021. Can you get a pregnancy ultrasound without a doctor’s referral? gives the sources and covers who needs an order for which scan.
How to get a real price before you go
Comparing prices is for a planned scan. If you have symptoms, don’t shop around.
Severe pain, heavy bleeding, pain in the tip of your shoulder, or feeling faint?
These can be signs of an ectopic pregnancy, which is an emergency. Call 911 or go to the emergency room now. For milder pain or spotting, call your doctor or midwife today. A keepsake scan can’t check on your health.
Cost shouldn’t keep you away. Under a U.S. federal law called EMTALA, hospitals that take part in Medicare and offer emergency care must screen you, regardless of ability to pay. If you have an emergency condition, they must stabilize you (CMS).
For a planned scan in the U.S., these steps get you a written price.
Ask which scan, and its billing code. For an early pregnancy scan, the CPT codes are 76801 for a scan over the belly before 14 weeks and 76817 for an internal (transvaginal) scan. A limited check, such as of the heartbeat, is 76815 (Louisiana Healthcare Connections). If you need both a belly and an internal scan at one visit, both can be billed, though some insurers pay less for one of them, so ask for the price of each (Centene, 2025).
Ask for the self-pay price of each code. Check whether it includes the doctor’s reading and any facility fee. GoodRx suggests asking for a bundled price for all charges up front (GoodRx, 2026).
Ask about discounts and payment plans. Some facilities offer self-pay discounts for paying up front, and some offer payment plans (GoodRx, 2024). The Anchorage clinic above gave self-pay patients 30% off for paying in full at the visit, or 20% off over 4 monthly payments.
Check the hospital’s posted prices. Since January 1, 2021, U.S. hospitals have had to post their standard charges online, including the discounted price they accept from people paying cash (CMS). They must also list at least 300 “shoppable” services in a consumer-friendly way, or offer a price estimator (45 CFR 180.60). The first-trimester codes aren’t among the 70 services CMS requires on that list, though the later belly scan (76805) is (CMS). If they’re missing, check the full price file or call.
Get a Good Faith Estimate. Since 2022, if you’re uninsured or not using insurance, providers and facilities must, in most cases, give you one. You get it when you book at least 3 business days ahead, or when you ask (CMS fact sheet, CMS). It lists expected charges and service codes, and it’s due 1 to 3 business days after you book or ask (45 CFR 149.610). For now, each estimate covers a single provider or facility, so ask a radiology group that bills separately for its own.
Keep the estimate. If a provider or facility bills you at least $400 more than its estimate, you can dispute the bill. Start within 120 days of the first bill. The fee is $25, and the bill can’t go to collections while the dispute is open (CMS).
Ways to pay less, or get covered
In the U.S., without insurance
Medicaid. It covers pregnancy, and you can apply any time of year, unlike Marketplace plans: pregnancy alone doesn’t open a Special Enrollment Period on HealthCare.gov or Covered California (HealthCare.gov, Covered California). As of January 2026, Medicaid income limits for pregnancy ran among the states from 138% of the federal poverty level in Idaho, Louisiana and South Dakota to 306% in Wisconsin. Some states also cover pregnancy at higher incomes through CHIP, Louisiana up to 214% (KFF).
Coverage while you apply. As of January 2025, 28 of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., had presumptive eligibility for pregnancy, which lets a qualified provider enroll you temporarily (KFF). It covers outpatient prenatal care while your full application is processed (Medicaid.gov).
In California. If you’re pregnant, not on Medi-Cal and under the income limit, a participating provider can give you immediate, temporary coverage for outpatient prenatal care (California DHCS). Your first prenatal appointment explains this presumptive eligibility. Medi-Cal’s pregnancy income limit was 213% of the poverty level in January 2026 (KFF). Above it, ask about the Medi-Cal Access Program (Covered California).
A community health center. Health centers serve everyone, even people who can’t pay, and adjust fees to income and family size (HRSA). Federally funded centers must offer prenatal care and diagnostic radiology, either themselves or through contracts or other arrangements (42 U.S.C. 254b). At or below the federal poverty guidelines, the sliding fee gives a full discount or a small set charge, with partial discounts up to 200% (HRSA). Ask whether the discount covers the scan. Find a health center.
Planned Parenthood. Some of its health centers offer prenatal care, and staff can help you look into coverage (Planned Parenthood).
Hospital financial assistance. Tax-exempt (nonprofit) hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy for emergency and other medically necessary care (IRS). They can’t charge people who qualify more than they generally bill insured patients (IRS). In California, uninsured patients and those with high medical costs qualify for a hospital’s charity care or discount payment if their family income is no more than 400% of the poverty level (HCAI). Payment plans offered under those policies must be interest-free (California Health and Safety Code § 127425).
In the U.S., with insurance
All Marketplace and Medicaid plans cover pregnancy and childbirth, even if your pregnancy began before your coverage did (HealthCare.gov). What counts is the medical reason. One Medicaid plan’s 2026 policy, for example, lists confirming the pregnancy is in the uterus, confirming the heartbeat and estimating how far along you are as first-trimester reasons for a scan. It calls scans done only to learn the sex or to give parents photographs not medically necessary (Louisiana Healthcare Connections).
Covered isn’t free. Ultrasounds ordered by a doctor usually come with a copay or coinsurance, GoodRx says (GoodRx, 2022). Until you meet your deductible, you may pay the full cost of covered care yourself (HealthCare.gov). Ask your plan what you’d owe at an in-network imaging center versus a hospital. With a high deductible, ask for the cash price too, since it can sometimes be lower than the cost with insurance (GoodRx, 2026). Then ask whether paying cash counts toward your deductible.
Outside the U.S.
In England, hospitals offer at least 2 ultrasound scans in pregnancy: a dating scan at 11 to 14 weeks, and a screening scan that usually comes at 18 to 21 weeks (NHS). NHS England’s screening guide says “all screening tests provided by the NHS are free” (GOV.UK). NHS hospitals can also sell private scans. Royal United Hospitals Bath, for example, offers a private early reassurance scan at 7 to 15 weeks, “optional and additional to the routine NHS 12 and 20 week ultrasound scans” (Royal United Hospitals Bath).
The elective option at our studio
Our Pregnancy Check is a short, private 2D ultrasound in the first 10 weeks, at our studio in Glendale, Los Angeles County. It costs $100, which covers the scan and 8 black-and-white prints. Insurance doesn’t cover elective scans, so you pay one price, with no referral. On a big screen, we point out what you’re looking at, and we tell you what we could and couldn’t see.
A scan that comes too soon can show very little (what shows, week by week), so call (818) 243-7010 before you book. Tell us the first day of your last period, and we’ll tell you whether it’s a good day to come. If it’s still too early to see, you come back for a second look, almost always at no charge. Seeing little or nothing yet can simply mean it’s early, but it can also be a sign of a problem, and only your doctor or midwife can tell which. Whatever a scan shows, tell your doctor or midwife, even if you feel well. Same-day appointments are often available.
We’ve been in Glendale since 2006, and Irina, our lead sonographer, has more than 30,000 pregnancy ultrasounds and nearly two decades behind her. A Pregnancy Check is a keepsake, not medical care: we can’t date your pregnancy, check on your health or tell you everything is OK, so keep your first prenatal appointment too. See how the Pregnancy Check works, or compare all our sessions and prices.
Does insurance cover an early pregnancy ultrasound?
In the U.S., usually, if your doctor or midwife orders it for a medical reason. Most insurance plans cover prenatal care, and all Marketplace and Medicaid plans cover pregnancy, though you may still owe a copay, coinsurance or your deductible. Scans done only for keepsakes aren’t medically necessary, so you pay for them yourself.
Why is a hospital ultrasound so expensive?
A hospital bills for its overhead, such as equipment, space and staff, and the doctor who reads the scan may bill separately. In 2022, among people with employer insurance in the U.S., hospital outpatient prices for four levels of imaging without contrast, from simple X-rays up, were 2.6 to 3.7 times those in doctors’ offices. That study didn’t single out pregnancy scans. Imaging centers typically cost less, insured or not.
Can I get a free pregnancy ultrasound?
In the U.S., sometimes: Medicaid gives free or low-cost coverage that includes pregnancy care. At a community health center, if your income is at or below the federal poverty guidelines, you get a full discount or pay a small set fee; ask whether that covers the scan. For severe pain, heavy bleeding, pain in the tip of your shoulder or feeling faint, call 911 or go to the emergency room now. U.S. hospital emergency rooms that take Medicare must screen you, whether or not you can pay.
What is the CPT code for an early pregnancy ultrasound?
In the U.S., 76801 is a first-trimester scan over the belly, before 14 weeks, and 76817 is an internal (transvaginal) pregnancy scan. If both are needed at one visit, both can be billed, so ask for the price of each. A limited scan, such as a check of the heartbeat, is 76815.
Is a Good Faith Estimate binding?
In the U.S., a Good Faith Estimate isn’t a contract, and it doesn’t oblige you to get the care. But if a provider or facility bills you at least $400 more than its estimate, you can dispute the bill. Start within 120 days of the first bill; the fee is $25.
An early look can help after a loss, but no scan can promise how a pregnancy will go. The care you may be offered, what to ask for at a scan, and support.
On an internal medical scan, two sacs can show from about 5 weeks and two heartbeats from about 6. Early scans can miss a twin; later medical scans settle it.
No harm to babies reported in over 40 years of medical use, says the WFUMB. The FDA says long-term effects are unknown and discourages keepsake-only scans.
Updated October 13, 2026
Ready when you are.
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