Not all blood tests are equal. Some check 20 markers. Some check 40. Some claim to be comprehensive but miss entire health systems. This page compares what each UK provider actually tests, and what "comprehensive" genuinely means when it comes to your blood.
The word "comprehensive" gets used loosely in health testing marketing. A test that checks 30 markers and calls itself comprehensive is not lying, but it is leaving out a lot. Here is what a genuinely comprehensive panel should cover.
Your body is not a collection of separate parts. Your thyroid affects your energy and your weight. Your iron affects your thyroid. Your cortisol affects your testosterone. Your insulin affects your inflammation. A blood test that only checks one system at a time cannot see these connections.
A comprehensive blood test covers enough systems simultaneously that cross-system patterns become visible. That means hormones, thyroid, cardiovascular, liver, kidney, metabolic, inflammatory, nutritional, immune, and ideally tumour markers and autoimmune screening too. Below about 70 markers, you are almost certainly missing entire categories.
Testosterone, oestradiol, SHBG, cortisol, DHEA-S, LH, FSH, prolactin, progesterone. Without these, you cannot assess energy, mood, recovery, fertility, or body composition properly.
TSH alone is not enough. Free T3, Free T4, and thyroid antibodies are needed to catch subclinical issues, conversion problems, and autoimmune thyroid disease.
Total cholesterol is a poor predictor. ApoB, Lp(a), triglyceride/HDL ratio, and remnant cholesterol are what cardiologists actually use to assess real risk.
HbA1c and fasting glucose are the basics. Insulin, C-peptide, and HOMA-IR reveal insulin resistance years before glucose becomes abnormal. This is where early metabolic insight lives.
Ferritin alone is not enough, and haemoglobin alone is worse. Serum iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation, and transferrin together reveal whether you are genuinely depleted, overloaded, or masked by inflammation.
PSA, CA-125, CA 15-3, immunoglobulins, and rheumatoid factor. Not diagnostic on their own, but part of a thorough screening picture. Most providers skip these entirely.
These are the largest private blood testing services in the UK, compared by their most comprehensive panel. Data sourced from each provider's website as of 2026.
| Provider | Max Biomarkers | Hormones | Full Thyroid | ApoB / Lp(a) | Insulin / HOMA | Tumour Markers | Collection | Report | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrueVitals Ultimate | 114 | Full panel | TSH + FT3 + FT4 + Ab | Both | Insulin + HOMA-IR | 7 markers | Venous (clinic/home) | 30+ page AI report | £349 |
| TrueVitals Signature | 200+ | Full panel | TSH + FT3 + FT4 + Ab | Both + extended | Full metabolic | 10+ markers | Venous (Randox clinic) | 30+ page AI report | £799 |
| Randox Everyman/woman | ~100 | Yes | Yes | ApoB only | Insulin only | Yes | Venous (Randox clinics) | Dashboard | £416 |
| Lola Health | ~70 | Yes | TSH + FT4 only | No | No | No | Venous (major cities) | Basic report | ~£350 |
| Medichecks | ~50 | Partial | TSH + FT4 only | No | No | No | Finger-prick or venous | Dashboard | ~£200 |
| Thriva | ~40 | Partial | TSH only | No | No | No | Finger-prick | Dashboard | ~£150 |
| Forth (Edge) | ~45 | Partial | TSH + FT4 | No | No | No | Finger-prick | Traffic-light dashboard | ~£180 |
| NHS (GP request) | 10-20 | Only on request | TSH only, if asked | No | No | No | Venous at GP/hospital | Phone call or letter | Free |
Data sourced from each provider's website. Biomarker counts are approximate for providers who bundle or vary by panel configuration. Prices reflect the most comprehensive available panel from each provider. See our full provider comparison for more detail.
This is not about counting for the sake of counting. It is about seeing the full picture rather than fragments of it.
Consider fatigue. It is the most common symptom reported by TrueVitals customers. A 20-marker panel might check haemoglobin, basic liver, and kidney function. If those are normal, you are told you are fine. But fatigue could be driven by low ferritin (iron storage, not just haemoglobin), underactive thyroid (Free T3, not just TSH), vitamin D deficiency, low testosterone, elevated cortisol, poor glucose regulation (insulin resistance, not yet visible on HbA1c), or chronic low-grade inflammation. You need markers across all of those systems simultaneously to identify which one, or which combination, is actually responsible.
With 114 biomarkers, the TrueVitals Ultimate panel generates over 6,400 possible pairwise interactions between markers. AI-powered reporting analyses every one of those relationships, cross-references them with your lifestyle quiz data (goals, symptoms, diet, exercise, stress, sleep), and surfaces the patterns that matter. A doctor reviewing results in a 10-minute consultation cannot mentally process that volume of data. AI can, every time, consistently.
This is why the most comprehensive blood test is not just about bragging rights. It is about giving you, and your doctor, the data resolution needed to actually understand what is going on inside your body.
Three tiers. Every one includes AI-powered cross-system reporting and medical professional review.
74 BIOMARKERS
Full blood count, liver, kidney, electrolytes, cholesterol and advanced lipids (ApoB), iron studies, vitamins (B12, D, folate), thyroid (TSH, FT3, FT4), hormones (testosterone, SHBG, LH, cortisol, DHEA-S), inflammation (hs-CRP), cardiac markers, bone minerals, antioxidant status, and standard urinalysis.
114 BIOMARKERS — MOST COMPREHENSIVE IN THE UK
Everything in Advanced, plus: complete hormones (FSH, oestradiol, progesterone, prolactin), tumour markers (PSA, CA-125, CA 15-3, CEA, CA 19-9), immunoglobulins and autoimmune screening, gut and coeliac markers, deeper metabolic profiling (insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR), Cystatin C, Lp(a), parathyroid hormone, and urinalysis with culture and sensitivities.
200+ BIOMARKERS — DEEPEST AVAILABLE IN THE UK
Everything in Ultimate, plus: neurological markers, digestive health (H. pylori, pepsinogen, gastrin), extended autoimmune profiling, extended tumour markers, metabolic syndrome assessment, Epstein-Barr antibodies, allergy screening, and physical health measurements (BP, waist, hip, height, weight, pulse). Processed by Randox Health. Phlebotomy included.
See the full in-depth explanation of every biomarker we test →
We are not going to pretend everyone needs 114 markers. If your GP has ordered a specific test for a specific concern, that is the right tool for that job. If you are monitoring a known condition with regular NHS bloods, keep doing that.
A comprehensive panel is most valuable when you want a proactive baseline rather than a reactive investigation. When you want to see how systems connect rather than checking one thing at a time. When you have symptoms your GP has not been able to explain with the standard panel. Or when you train seriously and want to optimise rather than just screen for disease.
If you are not sure which level of testing is right for you, take our 2-minute quiz for a personalised recommendation. Most customers choose the Ultimate panel because it offers the most depth for the price. But the Advanced panel at £269 is a strong choice for anyone who wants hormones, thyroid depth, and advanced lipids without the full specialist screening.
The TrueVitals Ultimate panel tests 114 biomarkers across every major health system for £349. No other UK provider matches it at any price point. The Signature panel extends to 200+ biomarkers with Randox Health laboratory processing for £799.
A genuinely comprehensive blood test should cover at least 70 biomarkers across hormones, thyroid, cardiovascular, liver, kidney, inflammation, vitamins, minerals, and metabolic markers. Below that, you are likely missing entire health systems. The most thorough tests cover 100 or more and include tumour markers, autoimmune screening, and advanced lipids like ApoB and Lp(a).
Cost and complexity. Each additional biomarker requires laboratory reagents, analysis time, and reporting infrastructure. Finger-prick services are limited by sample volume, which caps how many markers they can run reliably. Providers using venous blood collection can test more markers from a single draw.
For most people, it provides more actionable health data in one test than years of sporadic GP blood tests. It is particularly valuable if you have unexplained symptoms, want to optimise performance, are monitoring hormones or medication, or simply want a proactive annual health baseline. Panels start from £269.
NHS blood tests are limited to what is clinically indicated at that moment, typically 10 to 20 markers. GPs cannot order comprehensive hormone panels, advanced lipids, or tumour marker screening as part of routine care. See our full NHS vs private comparison.
114 biomarkers. AI-powered cross-system analysis. Medical professional review on every report. From £269.
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