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Testosterone blood test

Total testosterone

In short

A typical adult testosterone result is 8 to 60 ng/dL for women (morning) and 240 to 950 ng/dL for men (morning). In women, a high testosterone is most often linked to PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), a common hormone condition. In men, male hormone treatment is a common reason, and mild rises often have no clear cause. Always read your result against the range printed on your own report.

The main male sex hormone, also made in smaller amounts in women.

Testosterone helps with sex drive, muscle and bone strength in both men and women. Levels peak in the morning and swing from day to day, so tests are usually done early and often repeated. This test counts all the testosterone in the blood, bound and free together.

Is my Testosterone high or low?

Type your result to see where it sits.

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Typical range

ForRangeUnit
Female · morning8–60ng/dL
Male · morning240–950ng/dL
Female · morning0.3–2.1nmol/L
Male · morning8.3–33nmol/L

Typical ranges for adults. Labs differ a little, so the range printed next to your result is the one to go by.

If your Testosterone is high

In women, a high testosterone is most often linked to PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), a common hormone condition. In men, male hormone treatment is a common reason, and mild rises often have no clear cause.

Common reasons

  • A mild rise with no clear cause, which is common
  • PCOS, a common hormone condition, in women
  • Male hormone treatment or muscle-building steroids
  • High SHBG, a carrier protein, which raises total but not free testosterone
  • Less often: a rare inherited hormone condition, or a hormone-making tumor

If your Testosterone is low

In men, one low result is often rechecked on another morning, because levels swing from day to day. In women, a low level is common and is read alongside other hormones.

Common reasons

  • Blood drawn later in the day, when levels are naturally lower
  • Getting older, as levels drift down slowly with age
  • Extra body weight or type 2 diabetes
  • A recent illness, very hard training or eating too little
  • Heavy alcohol use
  • Birth control pills in women, and some other hormone medicines
  • Less often: a problem in the testicles or the pituitary (a brain gland)

What can throw it off

Levels peak in the morning and swing from day to day, and many lab methods read higher than others, especially at women's lower levels.

Questions to take to your appointment

  1. 1Should this be repeated on another morning before anything is decided?
  2. 2Would free testosterone or SHBG help explain my result?
  3. 3Could my weight, alcohol or medicines be playing a part?

Read together with

Doctors rarely read Testosterone alone. These usually sit next to it.

Quick answers

What is the testosterone blood test?

Testosterone: The main male sex hormone, also made in smaller amounts in women. Testosterone helps with sex drive, muscle and bone strength in both men and women. Levels peak in the morning and swing from day to day, so tests are usually done early and often repeated. This test counts all the testosterone in the blood, bound and free together.

What is a normal testosterone level?

For most adults, testosterone is typically 8 to 60 ng/dL for women (morning) and 240 to 950 ng/dL for men (morning). Some countries print it in nmol/L, so check the unit first. Labs differ a little, so the range printed next to your result is the one to go by.

What does a high testosterone mean?

In women, a high testosterone is most often linked to PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), a common hormone condition. In men, male hormone treatment is a common reason, and mild rises often have no clear cause. Common reasons include a mild rise with no clear cause, which is common; PCOS, a common hormone condition, in women; male hormone treatment or muscle-building steroids; and high SHBG, a carrier protein, which raises total but not free testosterone. A doctor reads it together with your other results and how you feel.

What does a low testosterone mean?

In men, one low result is often rechecked on another morning, because levels swing from day to day. In women, a low level is common and is read alongside other hormones. Common reasons include blood drawn later in the day, when levels are naturally lower; getting older, as levels drift down slowly with age; extra body weight or type 2 diabetes; and a recent illness, very hard training or eating too little.

What can affect my testosterone result?

Levels peak in the morning and swing from day to day, and many lab methods read higher than others, especially at women's lower levels.

What should I ask my doctor about my testosterone?

Questions worth taking to the appointment: Should this be repeated on another morning before anything is decided? Would free testosterone or SHBG help explain my result? Could my weight, alcohol or medicines be playing a part?

What this page can’t do

It reads each number on its own.

Doctors read results together — ALT with AST, ferritin with hemoglobin, TSH with free T4. A pattern says more than any single flag.

It doesn't know you.

Your age, your medicines, how you feel and your last result all change what a number means.

It doesn't remember.

Close this page and your results are gone. That's on purpose: nothing was ever sent to us.

We also make Vita: Health Coach, an app for those parts. It reads your whole report with your medicines and history in mind, answers follow-up questions in plain words, and keeps your reports in one place — for you and for the people you look after.

Vita: Health Coach on the App Store

Sources

Stuck on a word? See the medical words. How we choose our sources. More about Vita Health Coach.