CBC Test Price in India 2026: ₹250–₹449 vs CGHS ₹300

The short answer

On 26 September 2026 the price shown for a CBC (complete blood count) at six large Indian labs ran from ₹250 at Dr Lal PathLabs to ₹449 at Apollo 24|7 for Mumbai, with Metropolis at ₹340. The official CGHS rate is ₹300 in a Tier I city. Government hospitals can offer it free under National Health Mission guidelines, but we could not find a current published price list for one, so we do not quote a government hospital rupee figure.

Updated 26 September 2026. We re-read every lab page and the CGHS rate document that day. Older figures on this page (CGHS ₹80 to ₹120, "govt hospital ₹50 to ₹100") were wrong or unsourced and have been removed.

Key facts about the CBC test

CBC test price today, lab by lab

We opened each lab's own test page on 26 September 2026 and read the price it showed. Dr Lal PathLabs, Metropolis, Tata 1mg, Redcliffe and Healthians were on their Mumbai pages. Apollo 24|7 shows one pan-India base price. Prices are what the page displays, not what a cart may charge after coupons or slot fees.

Compare 6 pricesCompare 6 prices and book

All six labs, cheapest first:

Three things worth knowing before you pick the cheapest:

• Compare selling prices, not MRPs. Apollo and Healthians show a huge crossed-out MRP with 60% to 70% off. Ignore it. The price you pay is the ₹449 or ₹353.
• Parameter counts differ. The same "CBC" runs from 21 to 30 parameters across these pages, and some pages show two different counts for one test. A slightly higher price can include more.
• We could not read Thyrocare. Its site blocked our browser check, so it is not in the table. Do not treat a missing lab as a hidden bargain or a rip-off.

Only Tata 1mg's price moved since our August 2026 check, up from ₹299 to ₹329. For a seven-lab view with the anaemia severity checker, see our CBC comparison and anaemia checker.

The pages we read

What CGHS pays for a CBC (the official yardstick)

CGHS is the Central Government Health Scheme. Its current rate list is the office memorandum dated 3 October 2025, effective 13 October 2025. In Annexure I the CBC is item LB012, described as "Complete Haemogram/CBC, Hb, RBC Count and Indices, TLC, DLC, Platelet, ESR, Peripheral Smear Examination".

CGHS Annexure I, Tier I list, page 7 of the PDF. We outlined the CBC row. Source: the October 2025 memorandum linked in the references.

A subtle point that changes how you read the private prices: the CGHS ₹300 covers ESR and a peripheral smear too. Most private CBC pages do not say they include either. Metropolis lists ESR as a separate test at ₹200 on the same page. Tata 1mg and Redcliffe sell ESR separately too. Healthians says its CBC includes automated ESR. So a ₹250 CBC and a ₹300 CGHS package are not always the same thing.

CGHS rates apply to CGHS beneficiaries at empanelled labs. They are not a price cap for everyone, and a lab can charge you its own price. But they are the one government-set number you can hold a quote up against. For other tests, see CGHS vs private lab prices: is your bill fair?, which has a free bill checker.

Is a CBC free at government hospitals?

This is what people mean by "cbc test price in government hospital", so here is what we could and could not confirm.

• Policy says free. The National Health Mission's Free Drugs and Diagnostics Service Initiative says its listed tests are provided "free of cost in an assured mode". Haemoglobin is on the list from sub-health-centre level. The Community Health Centre list includes Hb, TLC, DLC, ESR, CBC and platelet count. The district hospital list includes CBC, peripheral blood film, ESR and platelet count. The lists are described as illustrative, and states can add to them.
• Practice varies. Whether a given hospital runs the machine, has the reagent and does not charge you depends on the state and the facility. We found no national price list.
• AIIMS Delhi. The archived rate list on its website shows the haemogram (Hb, PCV, TLC, DLC, ESR) at ₹0.00. We could not find a current published CBC price for AIIMS or any other central hospital, so we are not putting a rupee range here.
• Insurance. Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is built around hospital stays. Diagnostics are covered as part of the package, from three days before admission to fifteen days after discharge. It is not an outpatient benefit.

NHM Free Diagnostics Service Initiative guidelines (July 2015): the district hospital list.

If you are told a government hospital charges for a CBC, ask for the rate card. If you end up at a private lab instead, the table above is your yardstick.

What does a CBC test measure?

A complete blood count analyses three things in your blood: red cells, white cells and platelets. Most modern analysers report 18 to 25 or more parameters.

Red blood cell (RBC) parameters

White blood cell (WBC) parameters

Platelet parameters

Normal CBC ranges for Indian adults

Reference ranges vary a little by lab, age, sex and altitude. Your report prints the lab's own range next to each value, and that is the one your doctor will use. These are commonly used adult ranges:

Haemoglobin (Hb)

• Men: 13.0 to 17.0 g/dL
• Women: 12.0 to 15.0 g/dL
• Pregnant women: anaemia is defined as under 11.0 g/dL in the first and third trimesters and under 10.5 g/dL in the second trimester (WHO 2024)
• Children (6 to 12 years): 11.5 to 15.5 g/dL

RBC count

• Men: 4.5 to 5.5 million/µL
• Women: 3.8 to 4.8 million/µL

WBC count (total)

• Normal range: 4,000 to 11,000 cells/µL
• Children may have slightly higher values

Platelet count

• Normal: 1,50,000 to 4,00,000 per µL
• Warning level (dengue): under 1,00,000 per µL
• Critical level: under 20,000 per µL (transfusion may be needed)

For the WHO severity grades (mild, moderate, severe), use the anaemia severity checker. The normal range page for a full report walk-through is CBC normal range in India.

What abnormal CBC results mean

Anaemia: India's most widespread blood problem

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21) found anaemia in 67.1% of children aged 6 to 59 months, 57.0% of women aged 15 to 49 and 25.0% of men aged 15 to 49. A CBC is the first test used to find it.

NFHS-5 India fact sheet, anaemia rows (PDF page 5).

Infection clues

A CBC is routinely ordered in any fever to help tell bacterial from viral illness:

• High WBC with high neutrophils: bacterial infection is more likely.
• Normal or low WBC with high lymphocytes: viral infection (dengue, chikungunya, influenza) is more likely.
• Very low WBC (under 3,000) with low platelets: the classic dengue pattern, which needs monitoring.
• High eosinophils: allergy or worm infestation.

Dengue monitoring with repeat CBCs

In dengue, doctors repeat the CBC daily once platelets fall. They watch platelets, WBC and haematocrit. A rising haematocrit (by more than 20%) points to plasma leakage, a sign of severe dengue.

The cost adds up. At today's ₹250 to ₹449 per test, five to seven daily counts come to roughly ₹1,250 to ₹3,150 at a private lab, before any home-collection charge. If you are being monitored, ask the treating doctor how many repeats are actually needed, and see our dengue test price guide for the NS1 and antibody tests that confirm the diagnosis.

When to worry about a result

How to pay less for a CBC without cutting corners

1. Compare two or three labs on the same day. In our check the spread was ₹199 (₹250 to ₹449) for the same test name. Change the city in the lab's URL or selector, because the price is city-specific.
2. Ask what is included. If your doctor wants ESR too, price it: Metropolis lists it at ₹200 on top. A "₹250 CBC plus ₹200 ESR" is not cheaper than a package that includes both.
3. Check your entitlement first. CGHS, ESI and many state schemes cover the test for members, and public hospitals may do it free under National Health Mission guidelines.
4. Ignore MRP and "70% off". Compare only the amount you would pay.
5. Check accreditation. Search the lab on the NABL accredited laboratory search. CGHS itself pays accredited labs more than non-accredited ones for the same test.
6. Do not repeat a test you already have. If you had a CBC a few weeks ago and nothing has changed, ask your doctor whether the old one is enough. That only works if you can find the old report.

Keep your CBC reports in one place with Ayu

A CBC is most useful as a trend: haemoglobin creeping down over months, platelets falling through a dengue week, a child's repeated infections. Reports scattered across WhatsApp and email make the trend invisible.

• Scan the report with your phone and Ayu reads it into a structured record.
• Track trends across visits instead of comparing paper reports by eye.
• Share with any doctor instead of carrying a folder.

Download Ayu

Related reading: CGHS vs private lab prices has the official rates for thyroid, sugar, lipid, kidney and liver tests too, and how to store and share medical records covers keeping reports safe.

Medical disclaimer

This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor. Lab prices were read from each lab's public page on 26 September 2026, are indicative, vary by city and offer, and may have changed since. CGHS rates come from an official document dated 3 October 2025 and may be revised. Confirm the price with the lab before booking. Your doctor decides which tests you need and how to read your results.