The short answer: choose Medichecks Optimal Health if you want a broad general check with strong heart markers (including ApoB and Lp(a)), thyroid, sex hormones, iron and a full blood count for £284 all in (59 biomarkers, £249 plus a £35 clinic draw), with a doctor's comments. Choose TrueVitals Ultimate if you want the rest of the picture as well: 140 biomarkers (139 for women) for £399 including the blood draw, covering 57 of the 59 Optimal Health markers plus fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, AST and creatine kinase, cystatin C, electrolytes, calcium and magnesium, cortisol, DHEA-S, prolactin and progesterone, tumour markers, immune and coeliac screening and a full urinalysis, in a clinician-reviewed report that reads every result together.
Medichecks figures from the Optimal Health product page on medichecks.com, checked 1 November 2026. The page showed an offer countdown when we checked, so the price on the day you buy may differ.
| Feature | Medichecks Optimal Health | TrueVitals Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Biomarkers | 59 on the published list (one FAQ on the same page says 58) | 140 (139 for women), including calculated clinical indices |
| Test price | £249 | £399, blood draw included |
| Blood draw | Partner clinic +£35, nurse at home +£59, or arrange your own professional (no Medichecks fee) | Included at 103 partner clinics; home or office visit £29 extra |
| All in, clinic draw | £284 (£4.81 per marker) | £399 (£2.85 per marker) |
| All in, home visit | £308 | £428 |
| Sample | Venous blood | Venous blood plus a urine sample, by a phlebotomist |
| Who reviews it | Doctor's comments included by default; results-only option if you have your own clinician | Clinician-reviewed written report, written from your own lifestyle quiz |
| Turnaround | 4 working days, estimated, from the lab receiving the sample | Within 4 working days of the lab receiving the sample |
| Booking | Choose your collection method when you order | Book by phone after payment; the referral never expires |
| Laboratory | - | Nationwide Pathology (UKAS-accredited) |
| Biological age | Not included | PhenoAge and TrueScore on every report |
| Guarantee | None stated | No findings, no fee |
| Pay in instalments | - | Klarna: 3 interest-free payments of £133; Clearpay at checkout |
Per-marker cost is the all-in clinic price divided by the marker count. A dash means we didn't confirm it on Medichecks' page that day. Medichecks' current panel and prices are on medichecks.com.
Optimal Health from Medichecks' published biomarker list; TrueVitals Ultimate from the full list on our Ultimate panel page. Grouped by system so you can see where the two overlap and where they don't.
| System | Medichecks Optimal Health | TrueVitals Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Full blood count | Haemoglobin, haematocrit, red cell count, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, platelets, MPV, white cells with neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils | All of these, plus reticulocytes, ESR and calculated indices (Mentzer index, reticulocyte production index) |
| Cholesterol and heart | Total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol, total:HDL ratio, triglycerides, triglyceride:HDL ratio, ApoA1, ApoB, ApoB:ApoA1 ratio, Lp(a) | All of these, plus VLDL, remnant cholesterol, Lp(a)-corrected LDL, atherogenic index of plasma, LDL:HDL ratio and creatine kinase |
| Glucose and metabolic | HbA1c | HbA1c, glucose, fasting insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR, HOMA-B, TyG index, estimated average glucose |
| Liver | ALT, ALP, GGT, bilirubin, total protein, albumin, globulin | All of these, plus AST, albumin:globulin ratio, AST:ALT ratio, FIB-4, APRI and NAFLD fibrosis score |
| Kidney and electrolytes | Urea, creatinine, eGFR, uric acid | All of these, plus cystatin C, two cystatin-based eGFRs, sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, anion gap |
| Bone and minerals | Not included | Calcium, corrected calcium, phosphate, magnesium, parathyroid hormone |
| Thyroid | TSH, free T3, free T4, TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies | The same five, plus the FT3:FT4 ratio |
| Sex hormones | Testosterone, calculated free testosterone, free androgen index, SHBG, oestradiol, LH, FSH | All of these, plus prolactin, progesterone, bioavailable testosterone, free oestradiol index |
| Adrenal | Not included | Cortisol, DHEA-S |
| Iron | Iron, TIBC, UIBC, transferrin saturation, ferritin | Iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation, ferritin, transferrin (no separate UIBC) |
| Vitamins | Active B12, serum folate, vitamin D | Total vitamin B12, folate, vitamin D, total antioxidant status (active B12 is in Signature) |
| Inflammation | hs-CRP | hs-CRP, ESR, neutrophil:lymphocyte and platelet:lymphocyte ratios, systemic immune-inflammation index |
| Tumour markers | Not included | CEA, CA 19-9; PSA total, free and ratio (men); CA-125 and CA 15-3 (women) |
| Immune, gut and coeliac | Not included | IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE, rheumatoid factor, amylase, lipase, anti-tTG |
| Urine | Not included | Twelve-point urinalysis with culture and sensitivities |
| Scores | Not included | PhenoAge biological age, TrueScore, cardiovascular risk score |
Two items. Active B12: Medichecks measures the active fraction of B12; Ultimate measures total B12 (Signature measures active B12). UIBC, unsaturated iron-binding capacity: Ultimate reports TIBC and serum iron, and UIBC is the difference between the two, so the information is there but not as a line of its own.
83 further markers for men and 82 for women, counting the calculated indices and scores: the metabolic markers, AST and creatine kinase, cystatin C, electrolytes and minerals, PTH, cortisol, DHEA-S, prolactin, progesterone, tumour markers, immune and coeliac screening, the full urinalysis, and PhenoAge.
Optimal Health gets a lot right. Its heart section is better than most general panels: ApoB and Lp(a) sit alongside the standard cholesterol numbers, which is what a modern heart risk check should look like. The European Atherosclerosis Society's consensus statement (Kronenberg et al., European Heart Journal, 2022) recommends measuring Lp(a) at least once in every adult, because it is largely genetic and a normal LDL says nothing about it. Both panels do that. Where they differ is everything around the heart markers.
Insulin before HbA1c moves. HbA1c is a three-month average of blood sugar. It usually rises late, after the body has been working harder to keep glucose down for years. Fasting insulin, glucose and HOMA-IR show that extra effort earlier. Optimal Health has HbA1c only; Ultimate has all four, plus C-peptide.
Liver or muscle? ALT can rise after hard exercise as well as with a fatty liver. AST and creatine kinase help tell the two apart, and FIB-4 and APRI turn the liver enzymes and platelets into a fibrosis risk estimate. Optimal Health has ALT and GGT; Ultimate adds AST, creatine kinase and the fibrosis scores.
Kidneys, measured two ways. Creatinine-based eGFR depends partly on muscle mass, so a muscular person, or anyone taking creatine, can show a low eGFR with healthy kidneys. Cystatin C doesn't depend on muscle, which is why Ultimate includes it and calculates eGFR from it too. Ultimate also measures sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate, which Optimal Health leaves out.
The rest of the hormone picture. Optimal Health covers testosterone, oestradiol, SHBG, LH and FSH, which is a good core. It doesn't include prolactin, progesterone, cortisol or DHEA-S. Prolactin is one of the first things checked when testosterone or periods are off; cortisol and DHEA-S matter if stress, sleep or energy are the question.
Screening markers. Ultimate includes tumour markers, immunoglobulins, rheumatoid factor, coeliac antibodies and a urinalysis with culture. These are screening support, not a diagnosis: tumour markers in particular can be raised or normal for reasons unrelated to cancer, and nothing on a private panel replaces NHS screening programmes. Optimal Health doesn't include them; Medichecks offers a separate qFIT bowel screening kit as an add-on.
Preparation is similar. Medichecks asks for a sample between 6am and 10am, no heavy exercise for two days beforehand, no fatty food for 8 hours, and timing around day 3 of a menstrual cycle if you have periods. That is sound advice for either panel. Ultimate's fasting markers (insulin, glucose) need a fast, which is why we recommend an 8 to 9am draw. How the wider Medichecks range compares.
You want a strong general check for less. At £284 with a clinic draw, Optimal Health costs well over £100 less than Ultimate's £399 and covers the markers most people ask about first: blood count, cholesterol with ApoB and Lp(a), HbA1c, liver, kidney, thyroid with antibodies, sex hormones, iron, vitamin D and hs-CRP.
You want a doctor's comments. They are included by default, and you can choose results only if you already have a clinician to interpret them.
You care about active B12. It is a more direct measure of usable B12 than the total B12 on Ultimate.
You want to choose your own collection. You pick a partner clinic, a nurse at home or your own phlebotomist when you order. TrueVitals books by phone after payment, which suits some people and not others.
You want to add bowel screening at the same time. Medichecks offers a qFIT kit alongside the panel. We don't sell a stool test.
You retest single markers often. Medichecks sells single-marker tests, such as ferritin or vitamin D, which make sense for checking one thing between bigger panels. We don't sell single markers.
If you only need one or two markers, a single Medichecks test is the right tool. If you want a finger-prick kit, we don't offer one. If your budget is under £300, Optimal Health or a similar general panel is the realistic option. And if you have symptoms that worry you now, start with your GP, not a private panel.
Where Ultimate is the stronger choice is a full baseline: heart, metabolic, kidney, liver, muscle, hormones, immune and screening markers in one draw, with a report written from your own lifestyle quiz that reads them together, and a named account manager to ask afterwards. For a hormone-focused Medichecks panel, see Medichecks Ultimate Performance vs TrueVitals Ultimate; for every provider, the best blood tests in the UK, ranked.
Either panel tells you where your markers sit on the day of the draw. Results can move with exercise, sleep, illness, alcohol, supplements, your cycle and the time of day, which is why both providers give preparation instructions. Neither panel diagnoses a condition on its own, and a result inside the laboratory range isn't always a result you can ignore. Anything that needs follow-up is flagged in a TrueVitals report with what to take to your GP.
£249 for the test, plus the blood draw: £35 at a Medichecks partner clinic (£284 all in) or £59 for a nurse home visit (£308 all in). Arranging your own phlebotomist is free on Medichecks' side, but you pay the phlebotomist. Checked on medichecks.com, November 2026, when the page showed an offer countdown, so the price can change.
The published list has 59 (one FAQ on the same page says 58): full blood count, total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, ApoA1, ApoB and Lp(a) with ratios, HbA1c, uric acid, liver and kidney function, TSH, free T3 and free T4 with thyroid antibodies, testosterone, calculated free testosterone, free androgen index, SHBG, oestradiol, LH, FSH, iron studies, active B12, folate, vitamin D and hs-CRP.
It depends what you need. Optimal Health is a broad general check with strong heart markers for £284 with a clinic draw, with a doctor's comments and an estimated 4 working days from the lab receiving the sample. TrueVitals Ultimate is £399 including the draw, also within 4 working days, and covers 57 of the 59 Optimal Health markers plus 83 more for men (82 for women), including fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, AST, creatine kinase, cystatin C, electrolytes, magnesium, cortisol, prolactin, progesterone, tumour markers and urinalysis, in a clinician-reviewed written report.
Its published list does not include glucose, fasting insulin or HOMA-IR, AST, creatine kinase, cystatin C, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, parathyroid hormone, cortisol, DHEA-S, prolactin, progesterone, PSA or other tumour markers, immunoglobulins, coeliac screening or urinalysis. Medichecks sells some of these as separate tests.
Yes. Optimal Health includes apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, the ApoB to ApoA1 ratio and lipoprotein(a) alongside the standard cholesterol panel. TrueVitals Ultimate includes the same, plus remnant cholesterol and Lp(a)-corrected LDL.
Yes. Medichecks says a doctor's comments are included by default. You can choose results only, without the doctor's comments, if you have your own clinician to interpret them.
No. On medichecks.com in November 2026 the collection options for Optimal Health were venous draws: a partner clinic (£35), a nurse at home (£59) or a professional you arrange yourself. TrueVitals Ultimate is also venous only, at 103 partner clinics with the draw included or at home for £29.
One venous draw, read together across every system, clinician-reviewed, with PhenoAge on every report and results within 4 working days of the lab receiving your sample. Klarna: 3 interest-free payments of £133.
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