The Best Surrogacy Agencies to Help You Achieve Parenthood

Best Overall: Hatch

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $160,000 to $225,000
• Insurance accepted? Yes
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

With widespread national and international locations, Hatch Egg Donation and Surrogacy is a well-established surrogacy agency that prioritizes how it treats gestational carriers and intended parents.

Pros & Cons

Overview

Founded in 1991, Hatch Egg Donation and Surrogacy was one of the first surrogacy agencies. The Los-Angeles based company serves families in 46 locations across the United States as well as 51 additional countries and offers egg donation and surrogacy services. The agency is respected by fellow agencies, gestational carriers, and intended parents alike, and has a 99.5% success rate and a live-birth guarantee.

The agency states its matching process takes around three months. Gestational carriers for Hatch must be between the ages of 21 and 42 and have a BMI lower than 32. They must also have not had more than three C-sections and have had at least one child they currently are raising with a history of healthy pregnancies.

Furthermore, gestational carriers are required to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Additional health and psychological screenings are required of prospective gestational carriers during the application process. The average compensation for carriers starts at $45,000. It includes additional allowances, such as covering lost wages, a household allowance to maintain your lifestyle while pregnant, childcare allowances, and personalized gifts, as well as bonuses for twin pregnancies, C-sections, and additional IVF transfers.

Hatch’s pricing varies depending on the service you need. A fixed-fee, unlimited transfer surrogacy starts at $160,000, and includes gestational carrier compensation, legal representation, health and life insurance, re-matching, and unlimited embryo transfers for the chosen gestational carrier.

A surrogacy with qualifying unlimited transfer cycles starts at $187,000 and includes gestational carrier compensation, legal representation, health and life insurance, gestational carrier re-matching, unlimited embryo transfers, as well as single egg retrieval.

A “baby guarantee with donor eggs” starts at $225,000 and includes compensation, legal representation, health and life insurance, re-matching, unlimited embryo transfers, as well as egg donor compensation and unlimited egg retrievals. The latter two options go a step further than the fixed-fee plan by covering the costs of embryo genetic screening, carrier screening, clinic gestational carrier screening, and clinic egg donor screening.

Best Without Insurance: IARC Surrogacy

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $128,220 to $241,240
• Insurance accepted? Yes
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

IARC Surrogacy offers a variety of financial aid options along with lower prices than competitors for prospective parents.

Pros & Cons

Overview

Headquartered in Minnesota, IARC Surrogacy offers a more affordable option for surrogacy services compared to its competitors. Steven Snyder, an attorney, founded the agency in 2003 to help people who might be having trouble conceiving grow their families.

IARC Surrogacy clearly outlines its prices (as well as an explanation for them), prioritizing transparency and quality customer service. Its prices are in line with the average cost of surrogacy with an estimated range of $128,220 to $241,240. In addition to its lower cost, IARC offers pro bono or discounted surrogacy services through the Gay Parenting Assistance Program. The agency also provides financing options—similar to other surrogacy agencies.

The base compensation for gestational carriers at IARC ranges from $30,000 to $45,000, and the agency uniquely allows gestational carriers to choose their base pay. Additional benefits or reimbursements include medical expenses, travel costs, housekeeping or childcare costs, and lost wages coverage. 

The requirements to become an IARC gestational carrier are similar to other agencies. Prospective gestational carriers should be between the ages of 21 and 44 with a BMI below 35. Additional requirements include at least one healthy pregnancy, a maximum of three C-sections, no significant criminal history, a good support system, and a financially stable household. IARC’s final criteria for gestational carriers is that “You are kind-hearted and altruistic in your intent to help another family have the child they otherwise couldn’t have without your help!”

Best All-Inclusive Rate: ConceiveAbilities

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $164,900
• Insurance accepted? Yes
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

ConceiveAbilities offers a single fixed price that is on par with competitors and eligible for insurance coverage.

Pros & Cons

Overview

Founded in 2000, ConceiveAbilities first began as Reproductive Options of Illinois, one of the first egg donor agencies in the United States. In two decades, the agency has grown to serve 21 states as well as offer international options. The most distinct aspect of ConceiveAbilities is its guaranteed fixed price.

Intended parents should expect to pay $164,900 for surrogacy services at ConceiveAbilities. The agency offers “one fixed price, packed with value and security” for its parents, called its All-In Program. The All-In Program protects intended parents from the cost of unexpected expenses during the surrogacy journey. The agency also offers to walk alongside parents when navigating insurance benefits to cover costs. While the one-time fee is higher than some of the averages on this list, when you consider the potential unexpected costs that can arise, such as multiple embryo transfers or additional medical costs, it may be the more financially viable option.

That said, there are additional expenses that might apply, such as if your gestational carrier's compensation is higher than the base rate (say, if you are having twins), as well as IVF clinic costs. IVF costs include “your surrogate’s medical screening and workup, preparation for the embryo transfer and medical monitoring until the pregnancy is ‘established,’” or when a fetal heartbeat is heard.

A gestational carrier's compensation for ConceiveAbilities starts at $48,000. If your chosen carrier's base rate is higher than $48,000, then you will pay the difference in addition to your fixed price. Intended parents will know the gestational carrier's total base compensation before they agree to a match.

The agency prides itself on its screening process, promising a 97% success rate at the first meeting between gestational carriers and intended parents. Aptly titled Matching Matters, its 10-point screening process is completed by licensed nurses and involves:

• Vetting, consultation, and enrollment steps
• OB recommendation, health check, and clearance letter
• Background check for both the gestational carrier and their partner
• Financial check for both the gestational carrier and their partner
• Home check
• Medical review of previous labor and delivery history 
• Psychological screening of gestational carrier by a licensed mental health provider
• Insurance review
• Benefits review

Best for Intended Parents: Growing Generations

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $153,000 to $305,000
• Insurance accepted? Yes
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

Growing Generations places its focus on intended parents by providing informative resources on its user-friendly website as well as personalized support throughout the surrogacy journey.

Pros & Cons

Overview

Growing Generations was established in 1996 to serve the LGBTQIA+ community. In the years since, the agency has played a role in more than 2,000 births. It’s also expanded to three different locations, including Los Angeles; Wheeling, West Virginia; and New York City.

The agency prioritizes the care of both intended parents and gestational carriers with its three rules of employee service, including “have kind, warm, and genuine interactions, be interested, and anticipate and fulfill spoken and unspoken wishes.” The agency uniquely outlines its values in an easy-to-read format on its website. These values range from “I advocate for and give back to my communities” to “I am responsible for the integrity of our work and our professional image." From this page on its website, it's clear the agency is intentional about how it treats intended parents and gestational carriers alike.

Additionally, Growing Generations’ website offers a variety of resources for intended parents. The blog format provides multiple articles on the surrogacy experience, from whether to use breastmilk to a list of children’s books about surrogacy.

It is important to point out the wide price range for using Growing Generations’ surrogacy services. While its prices are above the average of surrogacy agencies, Growing Generations does offer financing options. The agency offers three packages:

• Concierge starts at $174,605 for a singleton pregnancy and includes a customized gestational carrier match as well as additional matches if needed, expense account management, case management, insurance facilitation services, unlimited embryo transfers, and a credit of $5,000 for failed screening expenses of the gestational carrier. 
• VIP Concierge starts at $224,605 and includes everything in the Concierge package, plus an expedited match, additional administrative support, collaboration with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, evening and weekend access, as well as three days of staff travel for doctors' appointments. 
• Executive VIP Concierge starts at $274,605 and includes all Concierge and VIP Concierge benefits plus three more days of staff travel, additional oversight of the surrogacy journey, and personal contact information to access its staff after hours.

Best for LGBTQIA+ Parents: Same Love Surrogacy

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $163,000 to $229,000
• Insurance accepted? No
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

Same Love Surrogacy is a great option for LGBTQIA+ parents due to the company’s mission to emphasize cultural and societal factors for the LGBTQIA+ population.

Pros & Cons

Overview

Three LGBTQIA+ fathers and a four-time gestational carrier founded Same Love Surrogacy, headquartered in Los Angeles, in the late 1990s. The four sought to create an agency that fully understood and respected the needs of LGBTQIA+ intended parents, such as the societal challenges these parents faced during the surrogacy process. 

Today, the agency offers surrogacy and egg donation services with locations in three states: California, Oregon, and New York. It has a transparency policy between gestational carriers and intended parents to ensure the gestational carrier is comfortable with and aware of the intended parents’ sexual orientation. Same Love Surrogacy states, “Our application questionnaires for potential surrogates and egg donors make it clear that the intended parents are likely to be LGBT individuals. In no case would we attempt to match you with a gestational carrier or egg donor who was not fully aware of your sexual orientation.”

Out-of-pocket costs for intended parents are estimated to start at $163,000 for a single pregnancy and $229,000 for twins. These costs cover agency fees, legal fees, egg donor fees and compensation, gestational carrier compensation, medical clinic expenses, health insurance, and delivery costs. Same Love Surrogacy does offer financing options, but it does not accept insurance to cover carrier costs.

Gestational carrier compensation and expense reimbursement at Same Love ranges from $58,000 to $73,000. Expenses gestational carriers can have reimbursed include the cost of travel to medical appointments as well as co-pays, maternity clothing, therapy appointments, cost of lost wages, and legal fees related to carrying. Same Love Surrogacy also offers a pregnancy wellness program for its gestational carriers, including nutritional counseling, acupuncture, and birth coaching. Additionally, gestational carriers can attend support groups with other Same Love gestational carriers.

The website for Same Love Surrogacy offers little information about the agency’s screening or matching processes. Prospective gestational carriers can apply through an online form that takes 30 to 45 minutes to complete. The agency states the matching process can take up to three weeks. On its FAQ page, the agency lists its gestational carrier criteria as follows:

• Delivered a child of your own
• Age 21 to 40
• BMI (body mass index) of 32 or less
• No serious complications during your pregnancy or delivery
• Able to provide OB and delivery records from your pregnancies
• Have a vehicle and valid driver’s license to attend appointments
• Good support network of family and friends who will provide emotional and physical support during the process.
• Partner support and consent: If you are in a relationship your partner must be supportive of your gestational carrier process and must be willing to undergo a medical screening process (blood testing) and/or background check if requested
• Do not use recreational drugs, smoke cigarettes, or abuse alcohol
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

Best Implantation Success Rate: Circle Surrogacy

Key Specs

• Cost estimate: $157,750 to $184,750
• Insurance accepted? Yes
• Legal protections? Yes

Why We Chose It

Circle Surrogacy is a leading surrogacy agency with an implantation success rate of 99.3%.

Pros & Cons

Overview

John Weltman founded Circle Surrogacy and Egg Donation in 1995 after he and his husband were the first American gay couple to have a child via surrogacy. As one of the oldest agencies, the Boston-based company has six locations in the United States and one in London. It prides itself on creating a “Circle Family” rather than viewing surrogacy as a business transaction.

The agency has one of the highest implantation success rates at 99.3%—Hatch, our selection for overall best agency, is just above it at 99.5%. Circle's customer reviews reflect its success rates, with patterns of intended parents and gestational carriers praising the agency’s personalized care, overall organization, and customer support.

Prospective parents pay an estimated $157,750 for traditional surrogacy services and $184,750 for surrogacy plus egg donation. Circle Surrogacy outlines the cost of surrogacy with a well-organized pie chart indicating the categories that each dollar goes to. These include agency fees, legal fees, gestational carrier compensation, and insurance costs.

The base gestational carrier compensation at Circle Surrogacy ranges from $30,000 to $40,000. Prospective parents should also expect to cover monthly payments for the gestational carrier's personal care, as well as the cost of child care and lost wages.

Each gestational carrier completes a standard screening, including information about past pregnancies, medical records, criminal and financial background checks, and a personality assessment inventory. The personality assessment consists of more than 300 questions to measure psychological well-being. A social worker also interviews each prospective gestational carrier regarding “her motivation, her family and interpersonal relationships, who’s part of her support network, what her expectations are for the experience, and her views on termination and selective reduction.”