Endotoxin test cost and sterility test cost: what labs charge, and what cheaper methods leave out

What endotoxin and sterility tests add to the bill

Endotoxin and sterility are priced per sample, on top of the core test for identity, purity and content. Each usually needs its own unopened vial, so the vials are part of the cost. Sterility also adds at least 14 days of incubation. And one test name can cover different work, so two prices for “sterility” may not buy the same answer.

Every price below is a published list price in US dollars unless stated, checked September 2026, before shipping and tax. Many labs quote instead of publishing. The core test is priced in peptide testing cost, and each lab’s full list is in the peptide testing price comparison.

Endotoxin testing price by lab

Lab	Endotoxin price	Technique the lab names	Result format
Bioviridian	$150	LAL and rFC, Charles River Endosafe	EU/mL, with no volume to convert it
PharmLabs	$160	Not stated	No client report read
Freedom Diagnostics	$175	LAL (USP <85>)	Two replicates, each “Pass”; no EU value
Janoshik	$180	LAL	EU per vial
Uzorak	$180	Chromogenic LAL	EU per vial, in one of three ranges you choose
Accumark Labs	$200	LAL, listed as EU/mL	“Pass”, with no value
Horizon Analytical	$200, or $325 for a 1-day rush	LAL	No method and no per-mg or per-vial basis
Vanguard Laboratory	$210	Not stated	“Pass”, against a limit written per human dose
Chromate	$240	Kinetic chromogenic LAL	Less than 0.5 EU per vial, with a printed spec
TrustPointe Analytics	$300	USP <85>, Charles River LAL cartridges	No client report read

The last column shows what the lab states or what a report we read in September 2026 showed. Formats change, so ask for a current example report; which labs report a real endotoxin number has the detail.

The price does not tell you what you will get. The reports we read from Freedom Diagnostics, Accumark and Vanguard showed a pass with no EU value, and those tests list at $175 to $210. Janoshik’s $180 test and Chromate’s $240 test returned a number per vial. A number lets you compare batches and apply a limit of your own. A pass does neither.

Endotoxin through Finnrick and in panels

• Finnrick Custom orders add endotoxin to a core test for $29 (Ichor) to $110 (BTLabs). Finnrick’s Standard test, at $250, covers identity, purity, quantity and endotoxin, keeps the result private and targets about two weeks.
• In a panel only: ILS publishes no single-test endotoxin price. Endotoxin comes in its $600 Full QC panel.
• A quoted range: ACS lists endotoxin by kinetic chromogenic LAL at $175 to $350 per sample and quotes each order.

Gel clot endotoxin test cost

No peptide lab in our research publishes a separate price for the gel-clot technique. Two labs that use gel-clot quote per order: Ethos Analytics, whose reports show USP <85> gel-clot, and MDx BioAnalytical, which lists gel-clot and kinetic turbidimetric LAL. Before you accept a quote, ask which technique it buys and what the report will print.

The technique decides the form of the answer. All three are in the harmonised Bacterial Endotoxins Test (USP <85>, Ph. Eur. 2.6.14, JP 4.01):

Technique	What it reads	What you get
Gel-clot limit test	Whether a firm gel forms at one set level	Complies or does not comply
Gel-clot assay	The last dilution in a series that still forms a gel	A value from the end point, or “less than” a value
Turbidimetric or chromogenic	Cloudiness or colour, read against a standard curve	A number in EU

Gel-clot is a full pharmacopoeial method: in a dispute, the harmonised chapter makes the gel-clot limit test decide, unless a monograph says otherwise. Its result can be checked when the report prints the working. An Ethos report we read gave less than 1.25 EU/mL at a 1:10 dilution with a lysate sensitivity of 0.125 EU/mL (0.125 × 10 = 1.25). Pay for a report that gives the value, the sensitivity, the dilution and the volume, so you can turn it into EU per vial. Endotoxin testing for peptides explains the units.

Sterility test price by lab

Labs that list the 14-day USP <71> test

Lab	Price	Vials or sample	Time published
Vanguard Laboratory	$150, an option on any package	One extra vial	14 days
Bioviridian	$200	Two vials	Not stated
Accumark Labs	$250	A dedicated vial	14 days
TrustPointe Analytics	$300	4 to 20 unopened vials by batch size, tested as one composite	14 to 21 days

TrustPointe follows the USP <71> table for the number of units: at least four vials for batches under 100, ten for 100 to 500, and twenty above 500. It composites them into one sample, with no extra charge up to 20 vials. You still pay for the vials you send.

Krause Analytical lists a 14-day USP <71> add-on but publishes no price. Chromate’s services page lists a $240 sterility test by membrane filtration and incubation per USP <71>, with vials beyond the one for HPLC. It publishes no incubation time, and a Chromate report we read cited USP <1223> BacT/ALERT, an alternative method. Ask which method your sample will get. Finnrick’s Custom orders showed sterility as unavailable.

Tests sold as “sterility” that are not USP <71>

Lab	Name on the price list	Method	Price and sample	Time published
Freedom Diagnostics	Sterility (PCR)	PCR test for microbial DNA	$150, plus one extra vial	Not stated for this test
PharmLabs	Sterility Testing	Microbial counts (TAMC and TYMC)	$220, and 1.0 g of sample	3 to 5 business days
Accumark Labs	Rapid Sterility Screening (PCR)	DNA-based screen	$230	Not stated
Janoshik	Sterility testing (TAMC+TYMC)	Microbial counts, pass or fail	$290, and two unopened vials	14 days

Horizon Analytical lists sterility at $275, “temporarily outsourced”, with 16 days published and no method named.

What cheaper sterility methods leave out

A screen does not always cost less. Vanguard’s USP <71> option and Freedom Diagnostics’ PCR test both list at $150. Accumark’s PCR screen costs $20 less than its USP <71> test. Janoshik’s count, at $290, costs more than three of the four USP <71> prices above. What the other methods mostly save is time.

What each method leaves out:

• A PCR test looks for microbial genetic material instead of growing live microbes. Accumark sells its screen as DNA-based detection “without the 14-day compendial wait”.
• A microbial count (TAMC for aerobic microbes, TYMC for yeasts and moulds) comes from USP <61>, the chapter for products that are not sterile. It says how many microbes grew from a measured portion.
• USP <71> cultures the tested units in two media, fluid thioglycollate and soybean-casein digest, for at least 14 days. It asks whether anything grows at all.

Any sterility pass covers only the units tested, and none of these tests measures endotoxin. A vial can grow nothing and still carry endotoxin from dead bacteria. See sterility testing for peptides and bioburden vs sterility.

Extra vials, rush and other costs

• Vials. Freedom Diagnostics asks for one additional vial each for endotoxin and sterility. Janoshik prefers a separate vial for endotoxin and asks for two unopened vials for its sterility count. PharmLabs asks for 100 mg for endotoxin and 1.0 g for its sterility test, the labelled contents of 100 vials of 10 mg. Plan the count with how many vials a test needs.
• Rush. Horizon lists endotoxin at $325 for a 1-day rush against $200 standard. Janoshik doubles the price of the tests it expedites. No fee shortens USP <71>, because the 14-day incubation is part of the method.
• Price changes. Chromate listed sterility at $180 in July 2024, with no price yet for endotoxin; both were $240 in September 2026. TrustPointe’s USP <71> test rose from $250 in January 2025 to $300. Get the price in writing before you ship.

Safe savings and false savings on safety tests

Savings that keep the answer:

• Split the bill in a group. At TrustPointe’s list prices, endotoxin ($300) plus USP <71> sterility ($300) is $600 for one batch, or $60 each for ten members, before vials and shipping. See how to run a peptide group test and our group testing page.
• Order everything together. Sterility can then run alongside the other tests, so its 14 days are not added after them.
• Order the test your question needs. Endotoxin and sterility answer different questions; endotoxin vs sterility shows which is which.

Savings that cost the answer:

• Endotoxin as a pass, or EU/mL with no volume. You cannot compare it or apply your own limit.
• A count or a PCR test bought as sterility. It can cost as much as USP <71> and answers a different question.

What HK Analytical quotes for endotoxin and sterility

HK Analytical has no published price list. Endotoxin and sterility are quoted on request through the quote form, and group tests and batch testing for brands are quoted per sample. Our running costs are lower, and our quotes reflect that. The evidence does not change: every number comes with its raw data, in a signed record you can check.

Our endotoxin test uses LAL and reports EU per mg and EU per vial, with the limit of quantitation, replicates and spike recovery. Our sterility test is Sterility (USP <71>, 14 days), run on its own unopened vials. Results within days of receipt. Sterility (USP <71>, 14 days) is the one test that takes 14 days, because the method incubates for 14 days. Reports can be checked on /verify, and the example report shows the format. We do not hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.