Echocardiogram (Heart Ultrasound): what it covers and what it costs
What does an Echocardiogram (Heart Ultrasound) cost? Across 36 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for an Echocardiogram (CPT 93306) runs from about $249 in Memphis, TN to $3,124 in Riverside, CA, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 20 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What an Echocardiogram price actually covers
A transthoracic echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart taken through the chest wall, showing the chambers, valves and pumping function in motion. It is the standard first-line cardiac imaging study and is performed without radiation.
Code scope. 93306 = complete transthoracic echo WITH spectral and color-flow Doppler (the standard complete TTE). Complete without Doppler is 93307; limited/follow-up study is 93308.
What is — and isn't — in the price
Hospital prices usually cover the sonographer's time and equipment. The cardiologist's interpretation is commonly a separate professional fee. Doppler and colour-flow components are frequently billed as add-on codes rather than being included in the base study.
Why Echocardiogram prices differ so much between hospitals
A complete study with Doppler and colour flow prices well above a limited or follow-up echocardiogram, and hospitals publish these separately. Stress echocardiography is a different procedure again. Because the add-on codes are routinely performed, the headline price for the base study can understate the final total.
What else usually lands on the bill
Doppler and colour-flow add-on codes usually accompany a complete study. A transoesophageal echocardiogram, stress echocardiogram or bubble study are each separate procedures priced well above a standard transthoracic study.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether Doppler and colour-flow imaging are included in the quoted price or billed as add-ons, since most complete studies include them in practice.
Where the money actually moves
Cardiology practices with in-office echocardiography frequently price below hospital departments. Ask whether the study can be done at the practice, and whether the Doppler add-ons are inside the quoted figure.
What the Echocardiogram numbers show nationally
A Echocardiogram costs 12.6× as much in Riverside as in Memphis
Across the 36 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $249 in Memphis, TN to $3,124 in Riverside, CA — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 1155% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Echocardiogram prices
Lowest: ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM (Memphis, TN) at $1; ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER (Philadelphia, PA) at $43; HARPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Detroit, MI) at $82. Highest: ALTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (St. Louis, MO) at $5,792; CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL NORTHEAST-NORTHWEST (St. Louis, MO) at $5,480; NORTH AUSTIN MEDICAL CENTER (Austin, TX) at $5,141. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
20 of 36 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Echocardiogram price
Cheapest published cash price: $573 (Phoenix). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 71% below the list price for an Echocardiogram
Across the 28 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 71% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Jacksonville: $5,093 list against $289 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish an Echocardiogram price
232 hospital price-file entries across 36 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 93306 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Echocardiogram price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Echocardiogram, by metro — lowest first. 20 of these 36 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 29 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis, TN | $249 | $1–$1,283 | — | 4 |
| Baltimore, MD | $281 | $137–$366 | — | 4 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $289 | $289 | $1,884 | 3 |
| Raleigh, NC | $337 | $337–$574 | $1,236 | 3 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $384 | $262–$453 | $1,443 | 4 |
| Atlanta, GA | $566 | $334–$2,083 | $1,553 | 9 |
| Detroit, MI | $570 | $82–$1,746 | $1,408 | 6 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $584 | $505–$2,102 | $573 | 10 |
| Orlando, FL | $599 | $550–$605 | — | 3 |
| Tampa, FL | $602 | $467–$605 | — | 6 |
| Portland, OR | $662 | $653–$2,434 | — | 7 |
| Buffalo, NY | $679 | $385–$769 | — | 3 |
| New York, NY | $692 | $207–$1,075 | $4,595 | 7 |
| St. Louis, MO | $857 | $684–$5,792 | $4,692 | 7 |
| Hartford, CT | $881 | $273–$1,106 | — | 4 |
| San Antonio, TX | $885 | $500–$991 | — | 3 |
| Birmingham, AL | $892 | $474–$2,355 | — | 10 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $948 | $43–$4,170 | $1,537 | 15 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $1,002 | $647–$1,409 | — | 3 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $1,089 | $364–$3,720 | $2,928 | 8 |
| Seattle, WA | $1,151 | $298–$2,826 | $1,192 | 7 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $1,189 | $914–$2,001 | — | 4 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $1,199 | $1,196–$1,215 | — | 6 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $1,244 | $220–$1,672 | $2,111 | 5 |
| Washington, DC | $1,275 | $244–$2,407 | $2,230 | 8 |
| Kansas City, MO | $1,278 | $851–$4,106 | — | 7 |
| Cleveland, OH | $1,362 | $424–$1,835 | $2,049 | 8 |
| San Diego, CA | $1,656 | $597–$4,159 | $4,309 | 6 |
| Chicago, IL | $1,774 | $1,498–$1,815 | $1,115 | 3 |
| Nashville, TN | $1,787 | $883–$3,107 | — | 9 |
| Miami, FL | $1,803 | $312–$3,163 | — | 4 |
| Dallas, TX | $1,886 | $892–$4,755 | $2,590 | 10 |
| Denver, CO | $2,009 | $259–$4,245 | $1,551 | 10 |
| Houston, TX | $2,398 | $1,350–$3,793 | — | 6 |
| Austin, TX | $2,502 | $547–$5,141 | $2,390 | 9 |
| Riverside, CA | $3,124 | $240–$4,924 | $2,253 | 4 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does an Echocardiogram cost?
- Across 36 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $1,002, ranging from $249 in Memphis to $3,124 in Riverside. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 93306.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- Hospital prices usually cover the sonographer's time and equipment. The cardiologist's interpretation is commonly a separate professional fee. Doppler and colour-flow components are frequently billed as add-on codes rather than being included in the base study.
- Why do Echocardiogram prices differ so much between hospitals?
- A complete study with Doppler and colour flow prices well above a limited or follow-up echocardiogram, and hospitals publish these separately. Stress echocardiography is a different procedure again. Because the add-on codes are routinely performed, the headline price for the base study can understate the final total.