My inbox gets the same question almost every day: “How much does IVF cost?” And honestly, there’s no one-line answer. Last month a friend sent me an agency quote sheet with a 500,000 RMB budget. She was torn between IVF in Russia and surrogacy in Greece. I sat down with her and went through that quote line by line, and by the end we realized something important: the same cycle can cost wildly different amounts depending on what’s actually inside the quote.
Page One of the Quote Only Shows a Third of the Total
Her Russia IVF quote came in at 198,000 RMB, which looked cheaper than the other agencies on her list. But here’s the catch: that number only covered ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, one embryo transfer, and three months of pregnancy management. Buried on later pages were the real costs—20,000 RMB per year for embryo freezing, 30,000 RMB per PGT screening batch, and 40,000 RMB for a second transfer. None of that was in the headline number.
To be fair, mainstream Russian clinics charge roughly 280,000–350,000 RMB for a full IVF cycle including genetic screening, once you’re actually on the ground. I took the seven line items on her quote and asked the agency one by one whether each was included. By the end, we found the original quote was missing nearly 100,000 RMB.
Actionable tip: When you get a quote, ask one question first: “From this number to a baby in my arms, how many steps are still missing?”
Greece Surrogacy: The Extra Money Is Almost All Legal Costs
Her other option was surrogacy in Greece, quoted at 420,000 RMB. On the surface that’s pricier than Russia, but once you break it down, it makes sense: surrogate compensation, pregnancy insurance, and the court’s parentage judgment together account for about 180,000 RMB.
The legal process was what mattered most to her. In Greece, a court ruling on parentage is secured before the baby is born, which means the paperwork for registering the child back home is complete from day one. A friend of hers did surrogacy in another country and spent eight months just sorting out the birth certificate—plus another 60,000 RMB in travel costs chasing documents back and forth.
Actionable tip: When comparing surrogacy countries, treat “how many months until I have complete birth documents” as a metric equal in weight to price.
Same Stimulation Cycle, So Why Do Some People Spend 200K More?
She’s 41, with an AMH of 0.9. At her first consultation, the agency pushed her to start her cycle immediately. I asked to see the clinic’s protocol first, and it told a different story: for older patients, it typically takes 2–3 egg retrievals to bank even one screenable blastocyst. At 110,000–140,000 RMB per retrieval cycle (medication plus procedure), two extra retrievals mean 200,000+ RMB added to the bill.
She ended up choosing a mild stimulation approach to bank embryos gradually. Her second retrieval produced 8 eggs and 2 usable blastocysts. The lesson: the budget logic changes completely with age. This isn’t about haggling—it’s about how many retrievals you’ll realistically need.
Actionable tip: If you’re over 35, when discussing your protocol, ask the clinic directly: “Given my AMH, how many retrievals do you estimate?” Then have the agency quote a total price based on the worst-case number.
The 500K Allocation Sheet I Built for Her—Feel Free to Copy It
Here’s how her final budget broke down: 300,000 RMB capped for medical costs in Russia, 60,000 RMB for flights and accommodation (about 18 days per stay), 50,000 RMB for legal and documentation fees, and 90,000 RMB held back as a contingency for a second attempt.
The agency initially wanted her to transfer the full 500,000 upfront. We insisted on milestone-based payments instead—each payment released only after she’d seen the report for that stage. The day she signed the contract, she deleted the third country from her shortlist, and oddly, felt more at ease, not less.
Actionable tip: Never make more than three prepayments, and keep the first-stage prepayment below 30% of the total.
So if you’re out there asking “how much does IVF cost,” don’t rush to compare total prices. Lock in your age, your AMH, and your target country first, then make the agency itemize everything: number of retrievals, legal documents, each stage itemized. 500,000 RMB is enough for IVF in Russia; for surrogacy in Greece, you must factor in the legal costs from the start. The finer you break the budget down, the safer every yuan you spend becomes.
📌 Further reading: A 450K overseas IVF budget—blastocyst grading and IVF insurance, the math first / Is 250K enough for IVF in Malaysia? Every expense broken down