Estradiol test: normal E2 levels by cycle phase, age and sex

An estradiol test measures estradiol, also called E2, in a blood sample. Estradiol is the main oestrogen in women of reproductive age, and its level rises and falls across the menstrual cycle, so a result makes sense when it is read against the cycle day, age and sex of the person tested. Men make it in small amounts, and it matters for them too.

What it measures

Estradiol, spelt oestradiol on many UK reports, is made mostly in the ovaries. It helps release an egg each cycle, thickens the lining of the womb, and supports bone and brain health. Oestrogen levels rise at puberty, are at their highest in pregnancy and fall after menopause. Men make small amounts in the testes, and an enzyme called aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol in several tissues. In men, estradiol plays a part in libido, erections and sperm production.

Laboratories measure estradiol by immunoassay or by mass spectrometry. Both are reasonably well suited to fertility testing, but the very low levels found in men, children and women after menopause are hard to measure accurately or precisely, and differences between methods mean results from different laboratories are not always comparable.

Normal ranges

Estradiol is reported in pmol/L by many laboratories and in pg/mL by others (1 pg/mL is about 3.67 pmol/L). The table shows one NHS laboratory's ranges. Ranges vary by laboratory, method, age, sex and cycle phase, and the range on your own report is the one to read against.

Ranges set with mass spectrometry, which is more specific at low levels, sit lower at the bottom end. In one study traceable to the US reference method, men ranged from 12 to 136 pmol/L, women after menopause were below 26 pmol/L, and women in the early follicular phase spanned 31 to 771 pmol/L. Another NHS laboratory gives 77 to 921 pmol/L for the follicular phase and below 161 pmol/L for adult men.

The cycle in brief

Estradiol is at its lower levels in the days after a period starts, rises as a follicle grows, peaks around the LH surge that triggers ovulation, and stays raised through the luteal phase before falling if there is no pregnancy. The same person can produce a low or a high result in the same month, which is why the cycle day matters more than the number on its own.

What a high result usually points to

In women, a high estradiol is often a matter of timing: a sample taken near ovulation, or during pregnancy. It is also expected with oestrogen-containing medicines and during fertility treatment, where estradiol is used to follow the ovaries' response. A persistently high level with no clear reason leads doctors to look further, including for an oestrogen-producing ovarian tumour.

In men, estradiol is usually checked when there is breast enlargement (gynaecomastia), infertility or erectile problems. Gynaecomastia reflects a shift in the balance between oestrogen and androgen in breast tissue, so doctors read estradiol with testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH, prolactin, hCG and thyroid tests. Because testosterone is converted to estradiol, testosterone treatment can raise it.

What a low result usually points to

Low estradiol is expected after menopause. Before menopause, a low level with infrequent or absent periods is read with FSH and LH:

• Low estradiol with high FSH and LH suggests the ovaries are making less, as in menopause or, before 40, premature ovarian insufficiency.
• Low estradiol with low or normal FSH and LH points to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. Rapid weight loss, very low body weight, intense exercise and a high prolactin are among the causes.

NICE advises against using estradiol to identify perimenopause or menopause in women aged 45 and over, where the diagnosis rests on symptoms. When premature ovarian insufficiency is suspected before 40, NICE looks for raised FSH on two samples taken 4 to 6 weeks apart rather than a single test.

What moves estradiol

• Cycle day, the biggest factor before menopause.
• Pregnancy, when oestrogen levels are at their highest.
• Hormonal contraception, menopause hormone therapy and fertility medicines, which change levels directly.
• Body weight and exercise: being very underweight or training very hard can suppress the signals that drive estradiol.
• Time of day matters less than for testosterone: in a study of men, estradiol varied much less across clinic hours.
• Biotin: high-dose biotin supplements can make some estradiol immunoassays read falsely high.
• Method: immunoassay and mass spectrometry results differ, most of all at low levels.

Preparing for the test

Estradiol needs no fasting. Note the date your last period started, since every result is read against it. When estradiol is taken with FSH and LH to look into cycle problems, laboratories recommend a sample on day 1 to 5 of the cycle, counting the day bleeding starts as day 1. Tell the person taking the sample about hormonal contraception, hormone therapy, fertility medicines and supplements such as biotin, and do not stop any of them without your doctor's advice.

How Clare's panel handles it

In Clare's panel, estradiol is measured by the lab. It sits with the other hormone markers in the panel, LH, FSH, prolactin, DHEA-S, total testosterone and SHBG, and reading them together is what turns a single estradiol figure into a pattern.

Price

When we read public prices on 11 October 2026, an estradiol test on its own cost from 55 to 90 at 2 UAE providers. VAT was not stated at one, and the other adds a home collection fee of 100 (50 for a lab walk-in) on orders under 300 without a package. Estradiol is also sold inside female and male hormone packages.

Related tests

Estradiol is usually read with LH and FSH, and often prolactin, which all sit in the female hormone test. In men it is read with total testosterone and SHBG, part of the testosterone test. Our article on what to expect from a comprehensive blood test in Dubai explains how hormone markers fit into a wider panel.

Why the number means more over time

Because estradiol swings within a single cycle, one result is a snapshot, and repeat tests are often needed to see a trend. Comparisons are fair when samples are taken at the same point in the cycle and measured by the same laboratory. Across the years, a fall is expected as menopause approaches; a change outside that pattern, or one that comes with new symptoms, is worth talking through with a doctor, with your results in front of you. Clare is opening with a waitlist at clare.health.