A morning blood cortisol test costs $59–$109 cash at online lab services, an AM/PM pair costs $129, and a 24-hour urine cortisol costs about $90, each plus a $0–$6 checkout fee — prices verified September 26, 2026. Cortisol is the one common blood test where the clock matters more than the lab: it peaks within an hour of waking and falls all day, so the same person can read "high" at 8 a.m. and "low" at 3 p.m. Here's the full price table for every version, the timing rule, and which test actually answers the question you have — including the one most people ask that no blood test can settle.
Published: September 26, 2026 · Prices verified September 2026 · Edited by LabTestInsight Editorial Team · How we test
Two honest picks (Sept 2026): for a single morning draw, Walk-In Lab is cheapest at $65 all-in (not a partner of this site). If you want the morning and evening values — the pair that shows whether your rhythm is intact — HealthLabs sells both draws as one order for $129, about what two separate draws cost anywhere else, with no checkout fee and no doctor visit.
Order the $129 AM/PM Cortisol Pair → Single Cortisol at HealthLabs — $109 →The Numbers
Prices below are the advertised direct-pay cash prices recorded from each provider's public product page on September 26, 2026, using the same method as our quarterly Lab Test Price Index. "All-in" adds the per-order fee each provider discloses at checkout. Blood, paired, and urine tests are listed separately because they are different products answering different questions, not the same test at different prices.
| Provider | Test as listed | Cash price | Checkout fee | All-in | Turnaround listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-In Lab | AM Cortisol Test | $59 | $6 physician fee | $65 Lowest all-in | 1–2 business days | |
| Walk-In Lab | Cortisol Blood Test, Random Serum | $59 | $6 physician fee | $65 | 1–2 days | |
| Labcorp OnDemand | Cortisol Test (draw between 7 and 9 a.m.) | $89 | None listed | $89 | Not stated | |
| HealthLabs | Cortisol Levels Blood Test | $109 | None listed | $109 Partner | 1–3 business days | Check Price → |
| Provider | Test as listed | Cash price | Checkout fee | All-in | Turnaround listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HealthLabs | Cortisol AM & PM Test | $129 | None listed | $129 Only paired order read | 1–3 business days | Check Price → |
| Any provider, two single orders | Morning draw + afternoon draw bought separately | $118–$218 | Two fees | $130–$218 | — |
| Provider | Test as listed | Cash price | Checkout fee | All-in | Turnaround listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-In Lab | Cortisol Urine Test, Urinary Free, 24-Hour | $84 | $6 physician fee | $90 | 4–6 days |
| Walk-In Lab | Cortisol, Free and Cortisone with Creatinine, 24-Hour Urine (LC/MS) | $189 | $6 physician fee | $195 | Not stated |
Excluded on the verification date: RequestATest, Ulta Lab Tests, Quest Health, DiscountedLabs and Personalabs, because we could not read a cortisol price from a public product page on the day stated. Cortisol is not yet in our quarterly index, so there are no earlier recorded prices to fall back on; it will be added at the next quarterly pass. Late-night salivary cortisol kits are sold by several services but are not included here because the collection method differs from a lab draw.
| Test | What it shows | Good for | Cash price range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single morning blood cortisol | Peak cortisol at 7–9 a.m. | Screening for low cortisol (adrenal insufficiency); a baseline before a clinician orders further tests | $65–$109 |
| AM/PM pair | Whether the morning peak and afternoon trough both exist | Seeing if the daily rhythm is intact; the first look most people actually want | $129 |
| 24-hour urinary free cortisol | Total cortisol output over a full day | One of the three guideline-recommended screens for high cortisol (Cushing's) | $90–$195 |
| Late-night salivary cortisol or dexamethasone suppression | Loss of the normal midnight low, or failure to suppress | The other two Cushing's screens; usually ordered through a clinician | Varies |
| Any cortisol test for "adrenal fatigue" | — | Nothing. The condition is not a recognized diagnosis and no test confirms or excludes it. | Wasted |
The practical order: if you suspect your cortisol is low (unexplained fatigue with weight loss, low blood pressure, salt craving, or after stopping long-term steroids), a single morning draw at the cheapest lab is the right first test. If you want to know whether your rhythm is intact, the AM/PM pair. If you or a clinician suspect cortisol is high, skip the morning blood test entirely and start with the 24-hour urine or ask about a late-night salivary test.
Order the AM/PM Pair at HealthLabs — $129 →What You're Paying For
Cortisol is the adrenal glands' main stress hormone, and it runs on a strict daily rhythm. It surges in the hour after waking, rises sharply from its overnight low, and then declines through the afternoon to a midnight trough. Every reference range printed on a lab report assumes a specific point on that curve. A "morning" range of roughly 6–23 mcg/dL applies to a draw between 7 and 9 a.m.; the same value at 4 p.m. means something different, and a 4 p.m. draw judged against the morning range will look falsely low. Book the earliest slot the draw site offers, and if you work nights, tell the lab so the result can be read against your own wake time.
The second thing to know is that the common direct-pay test screens well for one problem and poorly for the other. A very low morning cortisol, under about 3 mcg/dL, is a strong signal of adrenal insufficiency and needs same-week clinical follow-up; a morning value above about 15 makes it unlikely. But high cortisol, Cushing's syndrome, shows up as a loss of the evening drop rather than an unusually high morning peak, which is why the Endocrine Society's recommended screens are a late-night salivary cortisol, a 24-hour urinary free cortisol, or an overnight dexamethasone suppression test, not a morning blood draw. If "is my cortisol too high?" is your question, the $65 morning test is the wrong purchase.
Get the quarterly price-drop alerts and a re-test reminder when it's time to re-check — roughly one email a quarter.
Common Questions
Direct-pay: $59–$109 for a single morning blood cortisol, $129 for an AM/PM pair, and about $90 all-in for a 24-hour urinary free cortisol, each plus a $0–$6 checkout fee, verified September 26, 2026. Walk-In Lab at $65 all-in was the lowest single draw; HealthLabs was the only service we could read that sells the AM/PM pair as one order.
Between 7 and 9 a.m., within an hour or two of waking. Reference ranges assume that timing. A later draw compared against the morning range reads falsely low. Night-shift workers should tell the lab their wake time.
Not Cushing's: guidelines screen for high cortisol with a late-night salivary test, a 24-hour urine, or a dexamethasone suppression test, because the disease shows as a lost evening drop rather than a high morning peak. A very low morning value does point toward adrenal insufficiency. "Adrenal fatigue" is not a recognized diagnosis, and no cortisol test confirms or excludes it.
Estrogen-containing contraceptives and hormone therapy (raise total cortisol), steroid medicines including some inhalers and creams (suppress or cross-react), high-dose biotin (assay interference), and illness, poor sleep, hard exercise, or the stress of the draw itself (all raise it).
Lab tests for medical care are generally HSA/FSA-eligible (IRS Publication 502) — check with your plan administrator. HealthLabs accepts HSA/FSA cards at checkout; for other services, pay normally and submit the itemized receipt. Our HSA/FSA lab testing guide covers the mechanics.
Keep Reading
Single morning cortisol from $65; the AM/PM pair that shows your rhythm, $129 in one order at HealthLabs. Prices verified September 26, 2026 and re-checked quarterly.
Order the AM/PM Cortisol Pair at HealthLabs →No fasting · No separate checkout fee · No insurance or doctor visit required · Suspect high cortisol? See the 24-hour urine table above