Blood tests compared on what they measure

It depends on whether you use the breadth. Function charges $365 a year (functionhealth.com/pricing, read October 31, 2026) for two draws at Quest. Its list measures about 99 distinct markers by our count, including ApoB, Lp(a), fasting insulin, omega-3 and heavy metals, so it costs about $3.69 per measured marker. If you only need ten common tests, ordering them yourself at a lab-test store can cost less. Our Function review and the biomarker table show both.

By cost per measured marker, Empirical Health's heart panel ($190 one-time for 66 measured markers) and Maximus's Optimal panel ($199.99 a year) come out lowest, ahead of Function and Superpower. For a core set of 11 tests (CBC, metabolic panel, lipids, A1c, hs-CRP, ApoB, Lp(a), vitamin D, ferritin, TSH, testosterone), Ulta Lab Tests came to $363.40 on October 31, 2026, including its $12.95 standard draw fee, the lowest of the classic lab-test stores. Mito Health came to $105.86 for the same 11 at non-member prices, including the $15 Quest draw fee its FAQ now publishes.

Not with these services: memberships and lab-test stores include an order from a clinician they work with. The law that requires an order is federal (CLIA requires a test request from an authorized person), and each state decides who that can be. New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island restrict direct-access testing, and Maryland prohibits it without a physician's order, which is why lab-test stores do not sell there.

Mostly Quest Diagnostics. Function, Superpower, Everlywell 360, Labs by Hims, Ulta Lab Tests and Marek Diagnostics draw at Quest. Labcorp OnDemand and Personalabs use Labcorp, Walk-In Lab and Request A Test let you choose, and Mito adds BioReference. Rythm and LetsGetChecked run kits in their own CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited labs. Each review names the lab and links the page that says so.

Some of them, at a different price. Lab-test stores (Ulta, Walk-In Lab, Request A Test, Personalabs) do not sell in NY, NJ or RI. Superpower charges $399 instead of $199 in NY and NJ, Empirical adds a $99 lab fee there, and Function and Labs by Hims say the lab bills a separate fee without publishing the amount. Function, Superpower and Mito do not sell in Rhode Island. Our cost chart reprices for NY and NJ.

Most providers we track say you can: Function, Superpower, Empirical, Mito, SiPhox, Rythm, Lifeforce, Marek and the lab-test stores all state HSA or FSA payment on their own pages. None of the memberships take insurance. Whether a test is a qualified medical expense is between you and your plan administrator.

Read the privacy policy, not the marketing. The lab is a HIPAA covered entity for the test itself, but the company selling it often is not: Quest says its consumer store arm does not provide HIPAA covered services, and Hims & Hers says it is not a covered entity. Several policies allow sharing de-identified data or sharing identifiers for advertising. Each review quotes the provider's own policy.

For some markers, close; for others, less so. A finger-prick or upper-arm sample is small, and a 2015 Rice University study found large drop-to-drop variation in finger-prick hemoglobin and white cell counts. HbA1c holds up better. A kit is only as good as the lab that runs it, so check that it names a CLIA-certified lab. If a result surprises you, repeat it with a venous draw before acting.