At home hormone test for women: cycle timing, panels and kits

The short answer on at-home hormone tests for women

Female hormones move through the month, so a hormone test is only as good as its timing. Test FSH, LH and estradiol on cycle days 2 to 5 (day 1 is the first day of your period) and progesterone about 7 days before your next period, which is day 21 of a 28-day cycle. SiPhox Hormone Focus covers FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone, total and free testosterone, SHBG, the free androgen index, prolactin, DHEA-S and cortisol for $124 plus $25 shipping from an upper-arm draw. It does not measure AMH, the main ovarian reserve marker, so fertility planning needs a different test.

Cycle-timed hormones, collected at homeSiPhox Hormone Focus: 14 biomarkers from a needle-free arm draw. $124 plus $25 shipping.

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Which cycle day to test each hormone

Quest's own progesterone test page gives the same 7-days-before-your-period rule. If your cycles are irregular, testing progesterone at the right time is hard; your doctor may repeat it or use other methods.

The chart shows why cycle day matters. A follicular FSH of 12 IU/L sits at the top of the normal range; the same 12 in the luteal phase would be well above it, and after menopause FSH runs roughly ten times higher. The same is true for LH, which ARUP lists at 2.4 to 12.6 IU/L in the follicular phase but up to 95.6 IU/L during the mid-cycle surge.

On hormonal birth control? The pill, patch, ring and hormonal IUDs change these hormones, so results will not reflect your natural cycle. Talk to your doctor before testing for fertility or perimenopause while on them.

Pick a panel by your goal

Perimenopause

Irregular periods, hot flashes and sleep changes in your 40s are the usual signs. MedlinePlus notes that FSH naturally rises in perimenopause and testing is usually not needed for women 45 and over with irregular periods, because FSH swings from month to month. Testing is more useful under 45, or under 40 when early menopause is a question. A panel with FSH, LH, estradiol and TSH helps rule out other causes such as thyroid problems.

Fertility

ACOG lists a cycle day 3 FSH, a mid-luteal progesterone to confirm ovulation, and ovarian reserve tests such as AMH. SiPhox gives you the first two but not AMH. MedlinePlus notes AMH estimates egg supply, not whether you will get pregnant. If you are trying to conceive and have been for 12 months (6 if you are 35 or over), see a fertility specialist rather than relying on home tests.

PCOS

The 2023 international PCOS guideline diagnoses PCOS from two of three features: irregular cycles, high androgens (on symptoms or blood tests), and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound or a high AMH in adults. For blood tests it recommends calculated free testosterone, the free androgen index or bioavailable testosterone, with DHEA-S and prolactin to rule out other causes and TSH to exclude thyroid disease. SiPhox Hormone Focus measures total and free testosterone, SHBG, the free androgen index, LH:FSH, DHEA-S and prolactin. A diagnosis still needs a clinician.

Goal, markers and test at a glance

What SiPhox covers for women

Two SiPhox panels include female hormones, both at $124 a test:

Hormone Focus is the one for cycle, PCOS and perimenopause questions. Longevity Essentials has fewer hormones but adds heart markers, ferritin (low iron stores are common with heavy periods), vitamin D and HbA1c. Ultimate 360 covers both plus the full thyroid set.

Hormone Focus

$124 + $25 shipping per test

14 biomarkers per test

Sex hormones for men and women, including PSA for men and progesterone for women.

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Most people start here

Longevity Essentials

$124 + $25 shipping per test

31 biomarkers per test

The default panel: heart, metabolic, hormone and inflammation markers in one draw.

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Ultimate 360

$249 + $25 shipping per test

62 biomarkers per test

Everything on the four core panels plus iron studies, B12 and folate, GGT and PSA.

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SiPhox uses a sensitive estradiol assay on both panels. That matters after menopause and for women with very low estrogen, where standard estradiol tests can struggle to measure low values accurately. It also reports LH:FSH as a ratio, which saves you the arithmetic when PCOS is the question.

Other at-home hormone kits for women

Prices checked September 29, 2026. Everlywell's Women's Health Test adds a four-point cortisol curve and thyroid antibodies, which SiPhox Hormone Focus does not. SiPhox adds prolactin, SHBG and the free androgen index, which matter most for PCOS. Rythm is the only one here that also includes heart markers such as ApoB in the same test; with SiPhox you get the same effect by alternating Hormone Focus with Longevity Essentials.

Per marker, SiPhox Hormone Focus works out at $149 / 14 = $10.64, the highest of SiPhox's panels per marker. Ultimate 360 carries every Hormone Focus marker plus the full thyroid set, iron studies and heart markers for $274, or $4.42 per marker (our arithmetic).

Which markers to test for which symptoms

Many symptoms women put down to hormones have more than one cause, and some of the likeliest are not sex hormones at all. This is a starting map, not a diagnosis:

Thyroid problems and low iron stores are common in women and cause symptoms that overlap with hormonal ones, so check them before assuming the cause is estrogen or progesterone. See our at-home thyroid test guide.

How to take an at-home hormone test

1. Count your cycle. Mark day 1 (first day of full bleeding). Work out which weekday your target day falls on, remembering SiPhox kits ship back Monday to Thursday only.
2. Order ahead. Kits take about 3 days to ship and 3 to 5 days to arrive, so order at least a week before your target day.
3. Collect in the morning. Morning collection gives the most consistent readings for testosterone, DHEA-S and cortisol. Hydrate with about 16 oz of water, warm up, and use the heat pack for 4 minutes before the EasyDraw draw.
4. Write down the cycle day. Hormone ranges on your report depend on the phase you were in; your doctor will need the day to interpret them.
5. Ship the same day from a staffed FedEx location before 4 p.m. with the cold pack.

When your results arrive, read estradiol, progesterone, FSH and LH against the range for your cycle phase. MedlinePlus notes that these hormones change across the month and with age and pregnancy, so labs often print separate follicular, mid-cycle, luteal and postmenopausal ranges.

What an at-home hormone test cannot tell you

• It cannot diagnose menopause, PCOS or infertility on its own. Those are clinical diagnoses that use your history, symptoms and often ultrasound.
• One reading is a snapshot. Hormones vary cycle to cycle, so repeat an unexpected result in a later cycle.
• Saliva and urine hormone tests are a different technology; this guide covers blood tests only.

• A normal result does not rule out a problem if your symptoms continue. Tell your doctor; conditions such as endometriosis do not show up on hormone blood tests.

Take abnormal results to your doctor or gynecologist. Our broader at-home blood test for women guide covers iron, thyroid and heart markers too.

Test your hormones on the right dayOrder before your period, collect on day 2 to 5, ship Monday to Thursday. HSA and FSA eligible.

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Frequently asked questions