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Blood Test Guide UK · Independent

Understand Your Blood Tests With Clarity

Independent UK private blood test reviews & buyer’s guide.

Popular: Vitamin D Thyroid Testosterone Ferritin Medichecks vs Thriva
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Verified against
  • UKAS
  • NHS
  • MHRA
  • WHO
  • Provider price pages
Re-checked every 7 days

01 / TOOL

Build the panel. See the price. Pick a provider.

Tick what matters. We tally the cheapest UK price and surface the providers that cover all of it.

Interactive · No signup

Build your test panel

Tick what you actually want to know. We'll add up the cheapest UK provider prices for that combination — and show which providers cover all of them.

Quick start:
Selected 0 tests
Estimated total £0 – £0 cheapest single-test prices, before bundle discounts
Providers covering your panel Pick at least one test
Compare providers →

Prices reflect cheapest verified single-test cost at major UK providers (May 2026). Bundled panels are usually cheaper per marker — see our full comparison. Not medical advice.

02 / Same test · different price

Compare UK providers at a glance

One test, ranked by price across UK home-blood providers. Every figure re-verified by hand — tap a provider to read our full review.

Sorted by Price ↑

25(OH)D · single-marker home test

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £39–£99 (£60 for the same test) Full methodology →

TSH, FT3, FT4 (± antibodies)

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £41–£99 (£58 for the same test) Full methodology →

Total (± free, SHBG)

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £19–£75 (£56 for the same test) Full methodology →

Oestradiol, FSH, LH, AMH

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £49–£130 (£81 for the same test) Full methodology →

Total PSA · single-marker

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £37–£85 (£48 for the same test) Full methodology →

Iron stores · single-marker

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £25–£45 (£20 for the same test) Full methodology →

Full lipid profile

Same UKAS-accredited assay across providers · spread £39–£59 (£20 for the same test) Full methodology →

03 / METHOD

One rubric. Eight criteria. Every provider.

Tap a criterion to see the definition and how UK providers score on average.

Criterion 01

Price transparency

Standalone price visible without signup or quiz funnel.

UK industry average

6.4
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

9.5
/ 10

Criterion 02

Lab accreditation

UKAS ISO 15189 lab named on the provider site, not just "accredited".

UK industry average

7.1
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

9.0
/ 10

Criterion 03

Result clarity

Plain-English commentary, UK reference ranges, and trend over time.

UK industry average

5.8
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

8.5
/ 10

Criterion 04

Doctor review

A GMC-registered clinician reviews flagged results and offers follow-up.

UK industry average

6.0
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

8.0
/ 10

Criterion 05

Sample method

Finger-prick vs venous choice, with honest accuracy caveats.

UK industry average

5.4
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

8.5
/ 10

Criterion 06

Turnaround

Median days from sample posted to result delivered, not best case.

UK industry average

6.7
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

8.5
/ 10

Criterion 07

Customer support

A real channel (phone or chat) with verified response times.

UK industry average

4.9
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

7.5
/ 10

Criterion 08

Disclosures

Affiliate relationships and editorial dates declared on the page.

UK industry average

3.2
/ 10

Our bar for a "buy this" verdict

10.0
/ 10

Every review on this site applies these eight criteria — same weights, same evidence requirements. Read the full editorial policy →

EDITORIAL

Most-read this week

The guides UK readers are reaching for. New analysis added every Sunday.

All guides
Most read

Buyer Guide

How much do private blood tests cost in the UK?

A clear-eyed look at standalone prices, panel discounts, and the £79–£499 in-clinic MOT market — with worked examples for the four tests people search for most.

11 min May 2026 Read guide →

Comparison

Best UK private blood test providers — 2026

Same rubric, every provider. Our editor's call on who to pick by use case.

14 min May 2026

Live evidence

News

LetsGetChecked UK has quietly cut half its catalogue

HTTP-verified evidence of which UK SKUs went 404 or redirected to homepage in early 2026.

6 min May 2026

Guide

Best men's health blood test UK (30s / 40s / 50+)

Which markers matter at which decade — testosterone, PSA, metabolic, plus what to skip.

9 min May 2026

Reference

How to read your private blood test results

UK reference ranges, what "out of range" actually means, and when to call your GP.

12 min May 2026

03 / Head to head

The comparisons people actually search

Real verdicts, not affiliate fluff — including where each provider loses. Pick a matchup.

Criteria
MedichecksOverall winner
ThrivaFrom £39
Entry price
✓£19
✕£39
Test range
✓300+ tests
✕~75 panels
App & tracking
✕Good
✓Best-in-class
Doctor-reviewed results
✓Standard
✕Add-on
Result turnaround
✕2–5 days
✓2–3 days
One-off value
✓Excellent
✕Subscription-led
Rows won
4 / 6
2 / 6

Verdict: Medichecks for one-off value & range. Thriva if you want a polished app and ongoing tracking.

Read full comparison →
Criteria
ForthOverall winner
ThrivaFrom £39
Entry price
✓£29
✕£39
Health-score dashboard
✓Yes (10 areas)
✕Trends only
App polish
✕Very good
✓Best-in-class
Build-your-own panels
✓Strong
✕Curated only
Subscription model
✕Good
✓Strongest
Turnaround
✓2–3 days
✕2–3 days
Rows won
4 / 6
2 / 6

Verdict: Forth for customisation and value; Thriva for the slickest subscription experience.

Read full comparison →
Criteria
MedichecksOverall winner
RandoxFrom £45
Entry price
✓£19
✕£45
Sample options
✕Finger-prick + venous
✓Clinic / Tasso
Test range
✓300+ tests
✕Broad
High-street clinics
✕Partner network
✓Own UK-wide clinics
Doctor commentary
✓Standard
✕Standard
Best for
✓Value at home
✕In-clinic experience
Rows won
4 / 6
2 / 6

Verdict: Medichecks for value and breadth at home. Randox if you want a clinic draw or painless Tasso collection.

Read full comparison →
Criteria
MedichecksOverall winner
ForthFrom £29
Entry price
✓£19
✕£29
Test range
✓300+ tests
✕Broad + custom
Health-score dashboard
✕Results portal
✓Yes (10 areas)
Doctor-reviewed results
✓Standard
✕Standard
Personalised targets
✕Basic
✓Strong
Best for
✓Cheapest single tests
✕Tracking & performance
Rows won
4 / 6
2 / 6

Verdict: Medichecks wins on raw price and range; Forth for health-score tracking and fitness-minded users.

Read full comparison →
Buyer’s guides

Where to start: our top UK private blood test guides

Honest, UK-specific cornerstone guides for the most-asked blood-test questions — what’s worth paying for, what NHS will and won’t do, and how to read your result. Updated 31 May 2026.

Browse all 30+ buyer guides →

We also cover

UK private DNA testing — paternity, sibling & more

Same independent rubric, applied to relationship and ancestry DNA testing. UK lab comparisons (AlphaBiolabs, AffinityDNA, IBDNA), real 2026 prices, and — because most buyers don’t know this — a clear answer to whether you need a peace-of-mind home test or a court-admissible legal test.

Browse all DNA test guides →

Open data

The dataset behind every recommendation on this site

We verify UK private blood test prices weekly and publish the full dataset under CC BY 4.0. If you’re a journalist, researcher, NHS commissioner or comparison-site builder, the data lives at our open data hub — the UK blood test price index is the headline dataset, available in JSON and CSV. Our methodology documents how it’s captured, and the public changelog documents every change.

05 / LIVE · FREE

Paste your results. Get them explained, in plain English.

Ask Aether reads your blood-test result, classifies every marker against UK reference ranges, and tells you what's worth a follow-up — and what isn't. Free. No signup. No data leaves your browser.

Try Ask Aether

Pure browser-side parsing — your numbers never leave your device. Editorial source: our test guides.

  • UK reference ranges (NHS / NICE)
  • Tells you when to call your GP — not "consult a doctor" boilerplate
  • Citations on every claim
Ask Aether · preview

my vitamin D came back at 28 nmol/L. is that bad?

Aether UK · NHS ranges

28 nmol/L is in the deficient range in UK guidance.

  • < 25 nmol/L Deficient
  • 25–50 nmol/L Insufficient ← you're here
  • > 50 nmol/L Sufficient

NHS guidance for adults is to take 10 μg (400 IU) of vitamin D daily through autumn & winter; with this result, your GP or pharmacist can advise on a short higher-dose loading course. Source: NHS