Stem cell therapy cost goes up & what to consider looking ahead

How much does stem cell therapy cost in late 2025? How have prices changed from past years? To authoritatively answer these questions now, we need data along with expert perspectives. I’ve been tracking stem cell treatment cost for about a decade now.

Some surprises emerged in a new analysis I did on the current cost of “stem cell therapy”, which broadly encompasses many kinds of cell therapies.

In this article

Intro  | Stem Cell Therapy Cost: $5,000-$10,000 | Price changes   |  Cost of different treatments | Stem cell supplement cost | Does insurance or Medicare cover stem cell therapy?  |  Will stem cell therapy costs go down? | References

In the new work, I also polled on the number of stem cell treatments received.

Intro on stem cell therapy cost

This post is the most comprehensive, recent look at stem cell therapy cost and costs of related therapies that I’ve seen on the web. Our inclusion of historical polling data from past years here on The Niche adds another level of important context.

Today’s post also goes over other key issues related to insurance, fundraising, and approaches to being a smart consumer. Keep in mind that almost all stem cell “therapies” outside the established bone marrow/hematopoietic sphere are not FDA-approved. Those interventions mostly lack rigorous data to back them up too. So this post is not recommending you get them. I generally advise against going in that direction, but many people still want info on cost.

After more than 15 years of blogging about stem cells from just about every angle and doing research myself in my lab here at UC Davis School of Medicine, it’s interesting to consider trends in the types of questions I get asked. Beyond cost, I also often get asked How much of a stem cell treatment price does insurance cover?

Polling data on stem cell therapy cost points to around $10,000

In late 2025, the most selected price in our polling was $5,001-$10,000 for a stem cell therapy. The open-ended price range of more than $20,000 was the second-most-picked answer.

Since that second category is open-ended, it’s more challenging to establish a mean overall cost, but the best calculation is that stem cell therapy on average costs $10,000. The more nuanced explanation is that many people pay for expensive $20,000+ stem cell injections, while others pay much less. There’s less going on in between.

What about the number of injections?

The most common answer for the number of stem cell injections is no longer one as it was in the past. It is now more than 10. My sense of the consumer marketplace also fits with this as more clinics push customers to get many injections at once or over a period of months.

Because most places offer steep discounts on additional stem cell shots after the first one gets you in the door, we can’t simply multiple the number of shots by the mean cost, but it’s safe to say that many people are spending tens of thousands of dollars in total.

The second most common answer was just 1 stem cell shot.

Overall, it seems that many clinic customers either get one or many shots.

Data on price changes for stem cell shots

Compared to my historical data, prices may have gone up for stem cells.

The most common answer on stem cell therapy cost in 2019 was $2,501-$5,000. Other years it was $5K-$10K so prices are higher now.

The number of injections is higher now too, bumping up total cost.

Stem cell cost for different conditions

Stem cell therapy costs can vary substantially depending on the type. Below I’ve listed the best available stem cell treatment cost by type in the U.S.

1. What is the cost of stem cell therapy for knees? The average cost of stem cell shots for knees is lower than most other procedures. It typically ranges between $5,000-$10,000.
2. How about the cost of stem cell therapy for back pain and shoulders. Cost ranges between $5,000-$15,000. Injections into discs can be trickier.
3. Cost of stem cell treatment for neuropathy. While I have seen price tags of $2,500-$5,000 here, the upper end of cost has been going up into the tens of thousands of dollars.
4. The cost of stem cell therapy for vision loss seems higher. These procedures start around $20,000 and go higher. Based on adverse events including loss of vision, these are also some of the riskiest procedures out there. There just aren’t data to support these offerings.
5. Cost of stem cell therapy for autism. There is no proven safe and effective stem cell therapy for autism, but various offerings are still available.  Outside the U.S. the price for cord cells for autism is generally $20,000 and up. Note that the cells used are often not actual stem cells.

Stem cell treatment cost also varies based on location both inside or outside the U.S.

Interestingly, if anything, prices are generally higher at many clinics outside the U.S. but in the Americas now such as in Mexico, Colombia, and Panama.

Stem cell supplement costs

There is growing interest in stem cell supplements. I did a post on this earlier in late 2024 on stem cell supplements. In terms of cost, while supplements are far less expensive than getting stem cell, PRP, or exosome injections, supplements are still pricey for what you get.

It’s not unusual to pay $100 for a small bottle of stem cell supplements.

The other factor to consider is that these supplements generally have no solid, published data behind them so you might as well be paying $100 for vitamin water. It’s unclear what risks taking these supplements might bring as well.

I also wrote earlier in 2025 about the problem that many stem cell supplements are likely actually drugs that should be regulated by the FDA. Those products likely have higher risks.

Does insurance or Medicare cover stem cell therapy?

A common question I hear is the following: is stem cell therapy covered by insurance? Unfortunately for patients inclined to try stem cells, insurance generally does not provide any coverage, which often leads the patients to take extreme financial measures. These steps can include fundraising. On that front, many people wanting stem cells turn to GoFundMe or other options like working with their church to raise funds.

Does Medicare cover stem cell therapies? Medicare will generally cover the cost of established bone marrow transplantation-type therapies. However, Medicare does not cover unproven stem cells.

Looking ahead will stem cell therapy costs go down?

There is pressure on stem cell clinics now in 2025 in large part due to two factors. First, the FDA has been more active against unproven stem cell clinics in recent years. This may mean more money from the clinics going toward paying attorneys or FDA compliance experts. You’d think this might drive costs up. Competition between clinics could keep costs lower. Overall, it does seem like prices are going up though.

I urge patients to be cautious and talk to your personal physician. Most of the stem cell therapies at clinics out there have little chance of being helpful in the long run.

References on stem cell therapy cost

1. The Trouble With Stem Cell Therapy, Jeneen Interlandi, Consumer Reports, January 11, 2018.
2. FTC Returns Almost $515,000 to Consumers Who Bought Deceptively Marketed “Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy” Between 2014 and 2017, Federal Trade Commission, April 30, 2019.
3. Crowdfunding, stem cell interventions and autism spectrum disorder: comparing campaigns related to an international “stem cell clinic” and US academic medical center. Snyder J, Turner L.