What is the difference between IUI and IVF?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
IUI puts prepared sperm into the uterus and lets fertilization happen naturally; IVF moves fertilization into the lab and transfers an embryo. That single difference drives all the others. IUI is a minutes-long catheter procedure timed to ovulation, with mild or no stimulation drugs and a modest price tag. IVF means injectable stimulation, monitoring, a sedated egg retrieval, laboratory fertilization, embryo culture, and transfer, at roughly ten times the cost per cycle. IVF also wins per-attempt on success rates, sometimes several-fold. So the standard logic: IUI first when the problem is unexplained, mild, or donor-sperm-related, because it is cheaper and gentler; IVF first (or soon) when tubes are blocked, sperm counts are severely low, egg reserve is diminished, age is a factor, or IUI has failed a few times. Neither is a character test: they are rungs on a ladder, and many people use both in sequence.
What to do
- Match the method to the problem: IUI for unexplained or mild issues; IVF for blocked tubes, severe male factor, or low reserve.
- Know the cost gap: IVF runs roughly ten times the price of an IUI cycle.
- Know the success gap: IVF succeeds far more often per attempt.
- Typical sequence: 3 to 4 IUI cycles before moving to IVF, if the diagnosis allows.
- Age changes the math: over about 38, jumping straight to IVF is often the advice.
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