An MRI in the U.S. is usually several hundred to a few thousand dollars, but the range is very wide. The exact price depends on body part, facility type, and whether you have insurance.
Typical price range
Most sources put the national average MRI cost around 1,300 dollars, with a common overall range of roughly 400 to 12,000 dollars for a single scan without insurance. Outpatient imaging centers are usually on the lower end, while large hospital systems tend to be on the higher end.
With vs. without insurance
If you have insurance, your out‑of‑pocket cost is often between about 50 and a few hundred dollars, depending on your copay, deductible, and coinsurance. Without insurance, typical prices at outpatient centers average about 350 to 2,500 dollars, while hospitals often run from about 500 to over 6,000 dollars.
By body part
Different scans have different price ranges; for example, brain or abdominal MRIs often fall around 1,600 to 8,000 dollars, while simpler bone MRIs can be in the low hundreds to a couple thousand dollars. Full‑body MRIs are usually among the most expensive, with ranges commonly around 2,000 to 12,000 dollars without insurance.
Key factors that change cost
Major factors include:
- Where you go (hospital vs independent imaging center). Hospitals often charge more, sometimes around 1,000 dollars higher than clinics for similar scans.
- Technical details (with or without contrast, full‑body vs single area, emergency vs scheduled, and machine type), all of which can move the price up or down within that wide range.