How Much Does an Ultrasound Cost? A Data Analysis of 296 U.S. Hospitals

National Ultrasound Cash Prices by Procedure

These are cash-pay (self-pay) prices — what a patient without insurance, or one who chooses not to run the scan through insurance, would be asked to pay. Each row shows the range across hospitals in our sample. Click a procedure to compare every hospital's price side by side.

Data filtered to a $50–$8,000 plausibility window. Values below $50 (5 hospitals) appear to be copay fragments, deposits, or single line-item component charges rather than a full scan price. A posted price may reflect only the technical (facility) component and exclude the radiologist's interpretation — see Methodology.

The Transparency Paradox

The federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule took effect in 2021 with a simple goal: if hospitals publish their prices in machine-readable form, competition would narrow the gaps between them. Five years on, an abdominal ultrasound — the same CPT, 76700 — is posted at $53 at Summers County ARH Hospital in Hinton, West Virginia and $6,256 at HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville, Florida. That is a 118x gap for the identical procedure code, published publicly by both hospitals under the same federal rule.

We call this the Transparency Paradox: the rule revealed the problem, but it didn't solve it. The spread is especially jarring for ultrasound because there is so little underlying cost to justify it — no radiation, no contrast dye, no million-dollar magnet, just a portable probe and a sonographer's time. The $6,256 price isn't buying a better scan than the $53 one; it's buying it inside a large for-profit hospital with the pricing power to charge it. Posted prices are now a public fact. What hospitals actually charge is still a patient's problem to shop around.

Why Ultrasound Cost Varies So Much

• The type of study. An abdominal ultrasound (CPT 76700) and a pelvic ultrasound (CPT 76856) are different codes with different prices, and there are dozens of other ultrasound codes — transvaginal, scrotal, thyroid, breast, vascular — each priced on its own. Make sure the code your doctor ordered matches the price you're quoted.
• Complete vs. limited study. A "complete" ultrasound images an entire organ system and costs more than a "limited" study that looks at a single organ or follows up one specific question. If your doctor only needs to check the gallbladder, a limited exam may be both clinically appropriate and cheaper — ask which one was ordered.
• Whether Doppler is added. Color or duplex Doppler — used to assess blood flow through vessels and organs — is billed as an additional code on top of the base scan. A "duplex" or "with Doppler" study can cost meaningfully more than a standard grayscale ultrasound.
• Hospital facility fee vs. freestanding imaging center. The single biggest lever. Hospitals bill a facility fee on top of the scan; a freestanding or outpatient imaging center has lower overhead and no inpatient facility fee, and is almost always cheaper for the same exam.
• The scan and the read are billed separately. The sonographer performs the scan (the technical component) and a radiologist later interprets the images (the professional component). These are frequently two separate bills, sometimes from two different entities — and the radiologist's group can be out of network even when the hospital is in network.
• ER vs. scheduled outpatient. An ultrasound done in the emergency department carries the ED facility fee layered on top of the scan, often making it dramatically more expensive than the identical study scheduled a few days later through an outpatient order.

The 10 Most Expensive and 10 Cheapest Abdominal Ultrasounds

These are the highest and lowest cash-pay prices for a complete abdominal ultrasound (CPT 76700) in our data, one row per hospital (lowest posted cash price each). Click any hospital to see its full price and compare cash vs. gross vs. insurance-negotiated rates.

10 Most Expensive (CPT 76700)

10 Cheapest (CPT 76700)

A patient at HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville, FL would pay 118x what a patient at Summers County ARH Hospital in Hinton, WV pays for the identical abdominal ultrasound. Both hospitals publish these prices publicly under the same federal rule. The lowest figures may reflect only the technical component — confirm whether the radiologist's read is included.

How to Pay Less for an Ultrasound

1. Ask for the cash or self-pay rate — even if you have insurance. For a scan this inexpensive, the posted cash price is often lower than what you'd pay toward a high deductible. Ask billing for the self-pay or prompt-pay price before you book.
2. Use a freestanding imaging center. Outpatient imaging centers have lower overhead and don't add a hospital facility fee. Your doctor's order does not bind you to the hospital — you can take it anywhere that accepts the same code.
3. Confirm complete vs. limited, and whether Doppler is included. A limited study or a scan without Doppler may be both appropriate and cheaper. Match the code to what your doctor actually needs.
4. Ask whether the radiologist read is included. The interpretation is often a separate bill from a separate group. Get an all-in number, and confirm the radiologist is in your network.
5. Get a written good-faith estimate. Under the No Surprises Act, self-pay and uninsured patients are entitled to a good-faith estimate before a scheduled scan. If the final bill exceeds it by more than $400, you can dispute it.
6. Avoid the ER for non-urgent imaging. An ultrasound done in the emergency department carries the ED facility fee on top of the scan. If it isn't clinically urgent, schedule it as an outpatient through your doctor's order instead.

What to Ask When You Schedule

• What is the CPT code for the ultrasound my doctor ordered? (The code determines the price.)
• Is this a complete or a limited study?
• Does it include Doppler, or is that an extra charge?
• What is the cash (self-pay) price, and what is the price if I run it through insurance?
• Is the radiologist's interpretation included in that price, or billed separately?
• Is the radiologist who reads my images in my insurance network?
• Is there a facility fee on top of the scan price?
• Is there a lower-cost freestanding imaging center that takes the same order?
• Can I get a written good-faith estimate before I come in?

Frequently Asked Questions

References & Further Reading

• CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR 180) — the federal requirement that produces the underlying data on this page.
• RadiologyInfo: General Ultrasound — patient guidance on how ultrasound works and what to expect during the exam.
• CMS: No Surprises Act — Good-Faith Estimates — your right to a written cost estimate before a scheduled scan.
• American College of Radiology: ACR Appropriateness Criteria — evidence-based guidance on when ultrasound is clinically indicated.

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