# Free testosterone: The testosterone your body can use

> Free testosterone is the share your body can use. Check your result, see why the test method matters and learn when it adds to total testosterone.

- Also called Free T and Unbound testosterone
- Not on a standard checkup
- Test before 10 a.m., ideally fasting
- Web page: https://picardo.health/guides/biomarkers/free-testosterone

## The short answer

Free testosterone is the small share of your testosterone that isn’t held by proteins: 1.5% to 4.2% of the total in men, on Labcorp’s test.[4] It matters most when your total testosterone is borderline or your SHBG is high or low.[1]

- **A normal result:** 5.0 to 21.0 ng/dL for men and 0.10 to 0.85 for women, on Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test. That’s 50 to 210 and 1 to 8.5 in pg/mL.[4] Ranges differ a lot from method to method.[1]
- **If yours is low:** Read it with your total testosterone and your symptoms. A result from a “direct” test isn’t reliable either way.[1][3]
- **Should you test?** It helps most when your total testosterone is borderline or your SHBG is likely to be off, or if you’re a woman being checked for PCOS. Read it with your total testosterone, the main test for diagnosis.[1][2][8]

## What is a normal free testosterone level?

There’s no agreed normal range for free testosterone. Each lab sets its own, and results depend on the method.[1] On Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test, adults run 5.0 to 21.0 ng/dL for men and 0.10 to 0.85 for women. Direct tests read several times lower:[4][5]

Which fits you?

### A man

| Result (ng/dL) | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Under 5.00 | Below the range for men |
| 5.00 to 6.39 | Normal on your report, but borderline |
| 6.40 to 21.00 | Normal |
| 21.01 or more | Above the range for men |

### A woman

| Result (ng/dL) | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Under 0.86 | Not above the range for women |
| 0.86 or more | Above the range for women |

### A man, with a “direct” test

| Result (ng/dL) | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Under 0.66 | Below Labcorp’s direct range for men |
| 0.66 or more | A direct test: read it with care |

### A woman, with a “direct” test

| Result (ng/dL) | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Under 0.43 | A direct test: read it with care |
| 0.43 or more | Above Labcorp’s direct range for women |

Enter your result in ng/dL, the unit Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test (070038) uses.[4] If your report gives pg/mL, as direct tests and many calculated results do, divide by 10. If your report says “direct”, pick that option. Direct tests read several times lower and can’t be compared with the others.[5][7]

### Below the range for men

**Range:** Under 5.00 ng/dL (men).

This is below Labcorp’s range for men.[4] With symptoms and a total testosterone that’s low or borderline, it supports a diagnosis of low testosterone.[1]

**How worried to be:** Not urgent. Worth seeing a clinician in the next month or two.

**What to do next:**

1. Repeat it with total testosterone, before 10 a.m. and fasting.[1]
2. Check LH and FSH to look for the cause.[1][2]

[Test free and total testosterone, LH and FSH, $31.85](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070038,028480&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### Normal on your report, but borderline

**Range:** 5.00 to 6.39 ng/dL (men).

Your lab won’t flag this. But in a European study of middle-aged and older men, symptoms such as low sex drive and fewer morning erections went with a free testosterone under about 6.4 ng/dL (64 pg/mL, or 220 pmol/L), together with a total under 320 ng/dL.[1] European guidelines treat 6.4 ng/dL as a threshold for calculated free testosterone, on limited evidence.[3]

**How worried to be:** Not a worry on its own. It matters if you have symptoms.

**What to do next:**

1. Read it alongside your total testosterone and any symptoms.[1][3]
2. If both are near the line, repeat them before 10 a.m., fasting.[1]

[Test free and total testosterone, $18.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070038&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### Normal

**Range:** 6.40 to 21.00 ng/dL (men).

Your free testosterone is in Labcorp’s range for men and above the European line of about 6.4 ng/dL.[3][4]

**How worried to be:** Nothing to worry about.

**What to do next:**

1. If you still have symptoms, other causes are worth a look. Stress, tiredness and depression can feel the same.[2]

### Above the range for men

**Range:** Over 21.00 ng/dL (men).

This is above Labcorp’s range for men.[4] If you’re on testosterone, the timing of your test matters, and the Endocrine Society adjusts the dose when levels run high.[1]

**How worried to be:** Not urgent.

**What to do next:**

1. If you’re on testosterone, check when you tested against your last dose.[1]
2. If you’re not, check total testosterone and SHBG, and see a clinician if it stays high.

[Test testosterone and SHBG, $26.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070001,082016&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### Not above the range for women

**Range:** Under 0.86 ng/dL (women).

This isn’t above Labcorp’s range for women.[4] There’s no low cutoff that means a problem. No testosterone level separates women with and without sexual problems, and evidence that free testosterone is the active part in women is lacking.[9]

**How worried to be:** Nothing to worry about.

**What to do next:**

1. If you have excess hair, acne or irregular periods, ask about PCOS anyway. It can be diagnosed without a high level.[8]

### Above the range for women

**Range:** 0.86 ng/dL or more (women).

This is above Labcorp’s range for women.[4] It counts as a high androgen level on a blood test, which points toward PCOS, but other causes have to be ruled out first, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia, ovarian or adrenal tumors and hormones or medicines you take.[8]

**How worried to be:** Not urgent, unless your symptoms are changing quickly.

**What to do next:**

1. See a clinician about PCOS and the other causes.[8]
2. If symptoms came on fast, or your voice has deepened, go sooner.[8]

[Test SHBG and DHEA-S, $17.50](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=082016,004020&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### A direct test: read it with care

**Range:** Any result on a direct test.

Direct tests aren’t accurate. The Endocrine Society and European guidelines say not to use them, and they’re unreliable at women’s levels.[1][3][9] They read only a fraction of the true value, and how big a fraction depends on your SHBG.[7] Labcorp’s own page notes some studies found them about a quarter as high as the reference method.[5]

**How worried to be:** Not a worry on its own.

**What to do next:**

1. Go by your total testosterone first.[1]
2. If it’s near the line, ask for a free test by dialysis or ultrafiltration, or one calculated from total testosterone, SHBG and albumin.[1][4]

[Test free and total testosterone, $18.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070038&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### Below Labcorp’s direct range for men

**Range:** Under 6.6 pg/mL (0.66 ng/dL) on a direct test (men).

This is below even the lowest of Labcorp’s direct ranges for adult men, 6.6 to 18.1 pg/mL over 59.[5] But direct tests are unreliable, so confirm it with total testosterone and a free test by dialysis, ultrafiltration or calculation before reading anything into it.[1]

**How worried to be:** Not urgent.

**What to do next:**

1. Check your total testosterone, before 10 a.m. and fasting.[1]
2. Ask for a free testosterone test by dialysis, ultrafiltration or calculation if the total is near the line.[1]

[Test free and total testosterone, $18.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070038&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

### Above Labcorp’s direct range for women

**Range:** 4.3 pg/mL (0.43 ng/dL) or more on a direct test (women).

This is above Labcorp’s direct range for women, 0 to 4.2 pg/mL.[5] Direct tests are unreliable at women’s levels, so confirm it with a mass spectrometry total testosterone and SHBG.[8][9]

**How worried to be:** Not urgent.

**What to do next:**

1. Retest with total testosterone by mass spectrometry, plus SHBG.[8]
2. If you have excess hair, acne or irregular periods, ask about PCOS.[8]

[Test testosterone and SHBG, $26.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070001,082016&ref=guide-free-testosterone)

## What is free testosterone?

> Most of your testosterone rides on carrier proteins. SHBG holds it tightly and albumin loosely. Free testosterone is the small share that isn’t carried, and it’s thought to be the part your tissues can use.[1]

On Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test, free testosterone is 1.5% to 4.2% of the total in men and 0.5% to 2.8% in women. More than half of all testosterone is held by SHBG, and most of the rest by albumin.[4]

Because SHBG varies from person to person, total and free testosterone can disagree. A low SHBG can pull total testosterone below the range while free testosterone stays normal, and a high SHBG can do the opposite.[1]

In women, evidence that free testosterone is the active part is lacking, and guidelines use total testosterone to monitor treatment.[9]

## When do you need a free testosterone test?

Total testosterone comes first.[2] Free testosterone adds most in two situations:[1]

- Your total testosterone is near the lower limit, roughly 200 to 400 ng/dL. The AUA puts the useful window at about 230 to 317.[1][2]
- You have a condition that changes SHBG, such as extra weight, diabetes, liver disease, a thyroid problem, HIV or older age.[1]

European guidelines strongly recommend measuring SHBG and calculating free testosterone when SHBG may be off.[3] When total testosterone is very low, under 150 ng/dL, free testosterone rarely changes the picture.[1]

## Why the test method matters

There are four ways to get a free testosterone number. Guidelines accept dialysis and calculation, and advise against direct tests:[1][3][7]

| Method | How it works | What guidelines say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Equilibrium dialysis | Separates the free part from the bound part, then measures it | The reference method |
| Equilibrium ultrafiltration | Separates the free part by filtering it through a membrane, then measures it | Not named in guidelines, but a separation method like dialysis, not a direct antibody test |
| Calculated | Works it out from total testosterone, SHBG and albumin | Accepted. Close to dialysis, except in pregnancy |
| Direct (analog) immunoassay | An antibody test run straight on the sample | Don’t use it. It’s inaccurate |

Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test is 070038. Its direct tests are 144980 and the free result in 070195.[1][3][4][5][6][7]

Direct tests are widely offered.[1] Labcorp’s Testosterone, Free, Direct With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS test measures total testosterone by mass spectrometry, but its free result comes from a direct immunoassay.[6] If your report says “direct”, go by your total testosterone, and get a free test by dialysis, ultrafiltration or calculation if the total is borderline.[1]

## What changes free testosterone?

- Age: it falls as you get older, faster than total testosterone, because SHBG rises.[1]
- Extra weight and diabetes, which lower SHBG. Total testosterone falls, sometimes below the range, while free testosterone can stay normal.[1]
- Conditions that raise SHBG, such as liver disease, an overactive thyroid, HIV and some seizure medicines. Total testosterone can look normal while free is low.[1]
- Anything that lowers testosterone itself, such as opioids, steroid medicines, pituitary problems or damage to the testes.[1]

## How to raise free testosterone

- **Testosterone treatment:** Raises total and free testosterone. In men with proven low testosterone, it can improve sex drive, erections and mild anemia.[2] It shuts down sperm production, so it isn’t for men trying to conceive.[2] How much it helps: a lot. How sure we are: very sure.
- **Treating the cause:** If a medicine such as an opioid or a steroid, or a pituitary problem, is lowering your testosterone, dealing with it can let it recover.[1] How much it helps: some. How sure we are: fairly sure.
- **Losing extra weight and exercising:** European guidelines put this first for men with extra weight. A low-calorie diet raised total and free testosterone in studies, though the rise in total testosterone was small, about 1 to 2 nmol/L.[3] How much it helps: a little. How sure we are: fairly sure.

If a high SHBG is the reason your free testosterone is low, look for what’s raising it, such as a thyroid or liver problem.[1]

## Who should get a free testosterone test?

It’s worth checking if any of these apply to you:

- You’re a man whose total testosterone is borderline, roughly 200 to 400 ng/dL, especially with symptoms.[1]
- You’re a man with extra weight, diabetes, HIV, liver disease or a thyroid problem, where SHBG is often off.[1]
- You’re a woman being checked for PCOS. Ask for a calculated or measured free testosterone, not a direct test.[8]

Read it alongside your total testosterone, which is the main test for diagnosing low testosterone.[2]

## How to get a free testosterone test, and what it costs

It comes from the free and total testosterone test, which costs $18.00 through Picardo.

- [Free and total testosterone test, $18.00](https://app.picardo.health/labs/order?tests=070038&ref=guide-free-testosterone). The test this number comes from. Labcorp 070038, test before 10 a.m., ideally fasting.

Every order comes with:

- Results in 2 to 3 days, in the app
- Physician follow-up if you want one
- Free Labcorp draw, or $75 at home
- No other fees. HSA and FSA eligible.

It’s also part of the [Base Core Annual – Men](https://picardo.health/labs/panels/base-core-men), [Base Core Annual – Women](https://picardo.health/labs/panels/base-core-women) and [Fertility](https://picardo.health/labs/panels/fertility) panels, if you’d rather test more at once.

Already have a result? [Ask Picardo about it](https://app.picardo.health/auth).

## Questions people ask

### Which matters more, free or total testosterone?

Total comes first. Guidelines diagnose low testosterone from total testosterone, and add free testosterone when the total is borderline or SHBG is off.[1][2] In one European study, men with a low total but normal free testosterone, often heavier men with low SHBG, didn’t have the symptoms of low testosterone.[1]

### Is a calculated free testosterone as good as a measured one?

Mostly, yes. A calculation from total testosterone and SHBG gave almost the same results as equilibrium dialysis in a large comparison, except in pregnancy.[7] It depends on accurate total testosterone, SHBG and albumin results, and different formulas give somewhat different numbers.[1]

### Why do free testosterone ranges differ so much between labs?

No agreed range exists, so each lab sets its own, and the range depends on the method and formula.[1] Direct tests read several times lower than dialysis, ultrafiltration or calculated results.[5][7] Compare your result only with the range on your own report, and retest by the same method.

### Should women test free testosterone?

For PCOS, yes. Guidelines assess total and free testosterone, with free estimated by calculation or measured by dialysis, not by a direct test.[8] For low sex drive, it can’t explain your symptoms. No level separates women with and without sexual problems, and treatment is monitored with total testosterone.[9]

### Do I need to fast?

Ideally, yes, and test before 10 a.m. Free testosterone comes with a total testosterone result, and that’s best drawn in the morning while fasting.[1][3]

## Often checked alongside

- [Total testosterone](https://picardo.health/guides/biomarkers/testosterone.md): All the testosterone in your blood
- [SHBG](https://picardo.health/guides/biomarkers/shbg.md): The protein that binds sex hormones
- [LH](https://picardo.health/guides/biomarkers/lh.md): A brain hormone that triggers ovulation and testosterone
- [FSH](https://picardo.health/guides/biomarkers/fsh.md): A brain hormone that drives egg and sperm production

## Test details

- **Labcorp test:** Testosterone, Free, Equilibrium Ultrafiltration With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS, 070038
- **LOINC:** 2991-8
- **Sample:** Blood
- **Fasting:** Ideally, yes[1][3]
- **Best time:** Between 7 and 10 a.m.[3]
- **Typical lab range:** 5.00 to 21.00 ng/dL (men); 0.10 to 0.85 ng/dL (women), on Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test[4]
- **Percent free:** 1.50% to 4.20% (men); 0.50% to 2.80% (women)[4]
- **Units:** ng/dL on Labcorp’s ultrafiltration test; multiply by 10 for pg/mL. Direct tests report pg/mL.[5]
- **Method:** Equilibrium ultrafiltration for free testosterone; mass spectrometry for total[4]

## Sources

1. Bhasin S, Brito JP, Cunningham GR, et al. Testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018;103(5):1715–1744. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00229
2. Mulhall JP, Trost LW, Brannigan RE, et al. Evaluation and management of testosterone deficiency: AUA guideline. J Urol. 2018;200(2):423–432. Reviewed and validity confirmed 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2018.03.115
3. Salonia A, Boeri L, Capogrosso P, et al. EAU guidelines on sexual and reproductive health: male hypogonadism. Edn. presented at the EAU Annual Congress, London 2026. Arnhem: EAU Guidelines Office; 2026. https://uroweb.org/guidelines/sexual-and-reproductive-health/chapter/male-hypogonadism
4. Labcorp. Testosterone, Free, Equilibrium Ultrafiltration With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS, test 070038. Labcorp test menu. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://www.labcorp.com/tests/070038/testosterone-free-equilibrium-ultrafiltration-with-total-testosterone-lc-ms-ms
5. Labcorp. Testosterone, Free, Direct, test 144980. Labcorp test menu. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://www.labcorp.com/tests/144980/testosterone-free-direct
6. Labcorp. Testosterone, Free, Direct With Total Testosterone, LC/MS-MS, test 070195. Labcorp test menu. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://www.labcorp.com/tests/070195/testosterone-free-direct-with-total-testosterone-lc-ms-ms
7. Vermeulen A, Verdonck L, Kaufman JM. A critical evaluation of simple methods for the estimation of free testosterone in serum. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999;84(10):3666–3672. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.84.10.6079
8. Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJE, et al. Recommendations from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023;108(10):2447–2469. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad463
9. Davis SR, Baber R, Panay N, et al. Global consensus position statement on the use of testosterone therapy for women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019;104(10):4660–4666. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2019-01603

Updated 2026-10-28. This is general health information, not medical advice: talk to your clinician about your results and before changing any treatment.