On your lab requisition: Labcorp “ALT (SGPT)” (test no. 001545)
The short answer
The most specific liver enzyme — elevated ALT is a strong indicator of liver cell damage, measured from a standard blood draw. At TestWell it costs $18.99 plus a $6 lab processing fee, needs no fasting, and results post in 1–3 business days. Physician-authorized with no doctor's visit or insurance needed; draw at Quest or Labcorp.
Hospital Lab
$60
cash pay
Other Labs
$20
+ lab fees
TestWell
$18.99
+ $6 lab processing fee
ALT is an enzyme found primarily in the liver. When liver cells are damaged or inflamed, ALT leaks into the bloodstream, causing levels to rise. It's considered the most specific single marker for liver damage. Elevated ALT can indicate hepatitis, fatty liver disease, medication toxicity, or alcohol-related liver damage.
Alanine Aminotransferase — the most liver-specific enzyme. Elevated ALT signals hepatocellular injury from fatty liver, alcohol, viral hepatitis, or medications. The most sensitive single marker of liver inflammation.
Anyone monitoring liver health (statins, acetaminophen, alcohol intake), suspected fatty liver disease, post-Hep B/C exposure, anyone with right-upper-quadrant pain or jaundice, monitoring TRT or anabolic steroids.
Sample Type
Blood draw
Fasting
Not required
Results In
1–3 business days
Performed At
Quest or Labcorp
Your ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) results will include values for each of the 1 biomarker tested, along with reference ranges. Results are reviewed by a licensed physician before being released to your secure portal.
If any values fall outside the normal range, your report will include guidance on what that may mean and recommended next steps. You'll receive an email notification when your results are ready, typically within 1–3 business days.
Typical reference range layout
Lab reports show where your value sits relative to established reference intervals—your physician interprets this in context for you. Already have results? Analyze them with your AI assistant against our physician-reviewed ranges.
No fasting required. Avoid alcohol and strenuous exercise for 24 hours before.
What can throw off this result
Physician-reviewed “Before your test” pages — what each factor does, for how long, and what to do about it.
An ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test costs $18.99 at TestWell — $24.99 all-in when ordered alone, because the $6 lab processing fee is charged once per order, with no draw fee or physician fee added. Hospital outpatient labs typically bill around $60.00 self-pay for the same test, and often more. With insurance, what you pay depends on your deductible and your plan's negotiated rate; TestWell's price is fixed before the draw and is HSA/FSA-eligible.
| Where you order | Price | One test, all-in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TestWell (drawn at Quest or Labcorp) | $18.99 | $24.99 | Includes the one $6 lab processing fee, charged once per order |
| Hospital outpatient lab, self-pay (typical) | $60.00 | $60.00 | Reference figure; hospital charges vary widely by facility and are often higher |
Lab test codes: Quest test code 823 · Labcorp test no. 001545. Competitor prices are read from the linked public pages and re-checked regularly; the labs' sites may add taxes or change prices without notice.
Compare more: Quest Diagnostics price list · Labcorp price list · Quest vs Labcorp · Lab test price checker
Men: 7-55 U/L. Women: 7-45 U/L. Optimal for metabolic health: under 30 U/L for men and under 19 U/L for women per the AGA's MASLD/NAFLD guidance. Persistent elevation above the upper limit warrants investigation; sudden spikes (>3x upper limit) suggest acute injury.
ALT is more liver-specific; AST is also produced by muscle, heart, and kidney. AST/ALT ratio is diagnostic: >2 suggests alcoholic liver disease; <1 typically indicates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or viral hepatitis. Both are usually ordered together — the CMP includes both.
Recent intense exercise (especially weight training) can raise ALT 1-3x for several days. Statins, acetaminophen, antibiotics (azithromycin, amoxicillin/clavulanate), and many supplements (especially green tea extract, kava, niacin) can cause transient elevations. Recheck after 2-4 weeks of rest before assuming chronic disease.
On TestWell, the standalone ALT test is $18.99 — one of the cheapest labs we offer. The CMP at $22.99 includes ALT plus 13 other markers, making it usually a better value. Quest Direct lists standalone ALT at $20; hospital labs typically bill $40-60.
No fasting required for ALT alone. But it's usually drawn alongside a CMP or lipid panel (which do require fasting), so most people fast anyway.
If you only want to track ALT trends (e.g., on a statin or after an elevation), standalone is fine. For initial liver evaluation, the Liver Panel includes ALT, AST, GGT, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, and albumin — much more diagnostically useful for the same price tier.
ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test results are typically ready in 1–3 business days after your draw at Quest or Labcorp. TestWell emails you the moment they post, and your results dashboard shows each marker against its reference range with a plain-English explanation.
Alcohol, exercise, common medications and ashwagandha and thyroid-support supplements can change an ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test result without anything being wrong. Alcohol can raise ALT — abstain 24–72 hours before a liver panel. Exercise can raise ALT — rest 48 hours before a liver panel. Common medications can raise ALT — continue; report muscle pain to the prescriber. Ashwagandha and thyroid-support supplements can raise ALT — an unexplained rise in liver enzymes on ashwagandha warrants telling the clinician. Each factor is covered on our physician-reviewed "Before your test" pages; when one applies, the fix is usually to remove it and retest.
Order the ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test online from TestWell for $18.99 (plus a $6 per-order lab processing fee) — no doctor's visit, referral or insurance needed. A licensed physician authorizes the order, then you walk into any Quest or Labcorp patient service center near you for the draw (the lab locator on our site lists the closest ones by ZIP code), and results arrive in 1–3 business days.
The CPT code for an ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test is 84460. You can order it from TestWell for $18.99 — no doctor's visit or insurance required, with results in 1–3 business days.
The ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) test is Quest Diagnostics test code 823, Labcorp test number 001545 ("ALT (SGPT)") (CPT 84460). TestWell orders it under those codes for $18.99 at Quest or Labcorp — no doctor's visit or insurance required, results in 1–3 business days. Codes verified against the labs' catalogs in 2026.
Medically reviewed by Youmna DiStefano, MD · Last reviewed September 2026
TestWell Price
$18.99
+ $6 lab processing fee at checkout
No insurance needed · HIPAA compliant
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ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)
$18.99