How to compare different longevity clinics and programs?
To compare longevity clinics, score each on eight things: how often you will actually see a doctor; how much of the menu is backed by real trials; who follows up each result and when; whether the doctors are properly board-certified; who manages and pays for the follow-up when a scan finds something; the total yearly cost including retests; whether the clinic sells what it prescribes; and whether it admits what its tests cannot do. The clinic with the plainest menu and the most contact usually wins; the one with the biggest scan usually loses.
Compare longevity clinics and programmes on eight criteria, ranked by how much each separates a good clinic from an expensive one: physician contact — how many times a year, for how long, with whom; the evidence share of the menu — what fraction of the core offering has randomised outcome data; follow-through — who acts on each result, with what plan and retest date; credentials — board certification in a recognised specialty, verified, versus a 'longevity' certificate; cascade management — a written protocol and price for incidental findings; total annual cost including retests and follow-up; conflicts — whether the prescriber sells the products and tests; and published limits — whether the clinic states what its tests cannot do. Score each clinic on all eight and the comparison usually inverts the marketing: the programme with the plainest menu and the most contact scores highest, and the one with the largest scan scores lowest. A clinic that will not answer a criterion in writing scores zero on it.
- Contact frequency separates programmes more than any other criterion, because it is what the prevention trials tested and what premium tiers most often lack.
- The evidence share of the menu is checkable: grade each core offering against the site's ledger and count.
- Follow-through is the criterion that distinguishes a plan from a report; ask for the retest date on an abnormal result.
- Credentials are verified against the certifying board's directory, not the clinic's website.
- A clinic that answers all eight in writing is rare and worth more than one that answers none with a brochure.
The eight criteria, ranked by how much they separate clinics
Ranked on: how much the criterion varies between clinics that use the same language, how strongly it predicts whether the programme delivers what the evidence supports, and how easily it can be answered in writing rather than in a sales consultation.
| # | Option | Verdict | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Physician contact — frequency, duration, who | The biggest separator; the trials' active ingredient | GRADE AEstablished |
| 2 | 2. Evidence share of the core menu | Checkable against the ledger; count the A's and D's | GRADE AEstablished |
| 3 | 3. Follow-through — who acts on each result, and when | Separates a plan from a report | GRADE AEstablished |
| 4 | 4. Credentials — recognised specialty, verified | Internal medicine, family medicine, geriatrics — not 'longevity certified' | GRADE BPromising |
| 5 | 5. Cascade management — protocol and price for incidental findings | The expensive half of every scan, priced or not | GRADE BPromising |
| 6 | 6. Total annual cost, including retests and follow-up | The membership fee is the floor | GRADE BPromising |
| 7 | 7. Conflicts — does the prescriber sell the product? | Supplements, IVs and peptides sold by the party ordering the tests | GRADE BPromising |
| 8 | 8. Published limits — does the clinic say what its tests cannot do? | Candour as a proxy for competence | GRADE CEarly |
- 01
1. Physician contact — frequency, duration, who
GRADE AEstablishedThe biggest separator; the trials' active ingredientAsk how many times you will speak to a physician in a year and for how long. Published cadences at premium tiers can be one physician-led review, a mid-year lab review and a year-end check — a diagnostic event. The structured-prevention trials delivered frequent contact; a programme that does the same is a different product from one that does not, at the same price.
- 02
2. Evidence share of the core menu
GRADE AEstablishedCheckable against the ledger; count the A's and D'sList the clinic's core offerings and grade each against the evidence: blood pressure, ApoB, GLP-1 agonists, structured coaching, guideline screening, VO₂max and DEXA on one side; whole-body MRI, epigenetic age, CGM in non-diabetics, compounded peptides, IV therapy on the other. The fraction with outcome evidence is the clinic's evidence share, and clinics using identical words range from most to almost none.
- 03
3. Follow-through — who acts on each result, and when
GRADE AEstablishedSeparates a plan from a reportFor an abnormal ApoB, who prescribes, what is the retest date, and is that included? For a supplement list, who reviews it? A clinic with a named clinician, a written plan per result and a pharmacist's medication review is delivering care; one that emails a dashboard and sells a retest is delivering measurement.
- 04
4. Credentials — recognised specialty, verified
GRADE BPromisingInternal medicine, family medicine, geriatrics — not 'longevity certified'Ask which board certifies the physician you will see and verify it in that board's directory. Certification in internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, endocrinology or geriatric medicine is the standard; a 'board certification' in longevity or anti-ageing medicine from a body that created the credential it sells is a different and lesser claim, and a CME certificate is education.
- 05
5. Cascade management — protocol and price for incidental findings
GRADE BPromisingThe expensive half of every scan, priced or notIf the clinic images, roughly a third of members will have an indeterminate finding. Ask who manages it, under what protocol, and who pays for the follow-up imaging and biopsies. A written answer separates clinics that have thought about their product from clinics that have sold half of it.
- 06
6. Total annual cost, including retests and follow-up
GRADE BPromisingThe membership fee is the floorGet the fee, the retest schedule, the per-test follow-up cost, and whether abnormal results generate charges. A recurring-revenue model interpreted by the party selling the follow-up is a structural conflict whether or not any clinician exploits it; the total cost makes it visible.
- 07
7. Conflicts — does the prescriber sell the product?
GRADE BPromisingSupplements, IVs and peptides sold by the party ordering the testsAsk whether the clinic profits from what it recommends and whether it will write a prescription you can fill elsewhere. Clinics that decline to sell you things, at least sometimes, are the ones whose recommendations carry weight.
- 08
8. Published limits — does the clinic say what its tests cannot do?
GRADE CEarlyCandour as a proxy for competenceA clinic that states the limits of its own tests — as Prenuvo does for its scan — is more trustworthy than one that guarantees outcomes. Any 'success rate', 'reversed ageing' or guaranteed result without a published controlled study is a red flag; when the UK's advertising regulator tested exactly that claim it required randomised trials and rejected everything short of them.
The scoring sheet
Score each clinic on eight criteria
| Criterion | Score 2 | Score 1 | Score 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician contact | Quarterly or better, named clinician, in writing | Two to three touchpoints a year | One annual review, or 'as needed' |
| Evidence share of menu | Core menu is mostly A-graded offerings | Mixed; imaging optional | Menu led by MRI, omics, peptides |
| Follow-through | Written plan and retest date per result; medication review included | Plan on request | Dashboard and a retest to buy |
| Credentials | Recognised-specialty board certification, verified | Recognised specialty, unverified | 'Longevity certified' only, or unnamed |
| Cascade management | Written protocol and included follow-up | Referral pathway named | 'We'll refer you' |
| Total annual cost | Line-priced; retests included | Package price with retest schedule | Package price; abnormal results billable |
| Conflicts | Sells nothing; prescriptions fillable elsewhere | Sells some products; disclosed | Sells the supplements, IVs and peptides it recommends |
| Published limits | States what tests cannot do | Silent | Guarantees, 'success rates', 'reversed ageing' |
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare different longevity clinics and programmes?
Score each on eight criteria, in writing: physician contact (frequency, duration, who); the evidence share of the core menu; follow-through on each result, including a medication review; verified board certification in a recognised specialty; a written protocol and price for incidental findings; total annual cost including retests; whether the prescriber sells the products; and whether the clinic publishes what its tests cannot do. The clinic with the plainest menu and the most contact usually scores highest.
What is the single most important thing to compare between longevity clinics?
How many times a year you will actually speak to a physician, and for how long. Structured, frequent contact is what the prevention trials tested; published cadences at premium tiers can be one annual review — a diagnostic event rather than a programme. Two clinics at the same price can differ more on this than on anything else.
How do I check a longevity clinic's evidence?
List its core offerings and grade each against the evidence ledger: blood-pressure and ApoB control, GLP-1 agonists, structured coaching, guideline screening, VO₂max and DEXA have outcome evidence; whole-body MRI, epigenetic age, CGM in non-diabetics, compounded peptides and IV therapy do not. The fraction with evidence is the clinic's score, and it ranges from most to almost none between clinics using identical language.
How do I verify a longevity doctor's credentials?
Ask which board certifies the physician you will see and look them up in that board's own directory — internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, endocrinology or geriatric medicine are the recognised specialties. A 'board certification' in longevity or anti-ageing medicine is issued by bodies that created the credential; a course certificate is education. Neither substitutes for the first.
What should I ask about the cost of a longevity programme?
The membership fee, the retest schedule, the per-test cost of follow-up, whether abnormal results generate charges, and who pays for the imaging and biopsies an incidental finding triggers. Line pricing with retests included scores highest; a package price where abnormal results are billable scores lowest, because it builds a conflict into the model.
What are the red flags when comparing clinics?
Any guaranteed outcome or 'reversed ageing' claim without a controlled study; supplements, IVs or peptides sold by the party ordering the tests; stem-cell or exosome offerings; compounded peptides with no lawful bulk source; human growth hormone for anti-ageing; pressure to decide in the consultation; pricing that exists only inside the room; and no named medical director licensed where you live. Any one of these outweighs a good score elsewhere.
Keep reading
- Longevity health clinics
The four-tier checklist the criteria draw on, and the credential and enforcement picture.
- How to choose the best longevity clinic package?
Unbundling the menu once you have chosen the clinic.
- Are longevity clinics worth the cost for lifespan extension?
What the fee buys toward a longer life.
- How to choose the best longevity clinic for me?
Matching the model to your situation before comparing clinics.
More in Longevity clinics
- What are the best longevity clinics for anti-aging?
Longevity clinic models ranked for anti-ageing on published evidence, physician contact and price: academic and hospital-based prevention clinics, physician-led longitudinal programmes, blood-panel subscriptions (Function Health, Superpower), concierge diagnostics (Human Longevity, Biograph), scan-led memberships (Neko, Prenuvo), hormone and peptide clinics — with a pharmacist's verdict on which model is worth joining.
- How to choose the best longevity clinic for me?
A ranked method for matching a longevity clinic to your situation: what you already have, what you actually need, what you will use, and what you can pay — with the clinic model that fits each profile, from a well person with a good GP to a high-risk patient with no primary care.
- Which longevity clinic offers the most comprehensive health optimization?
Longevity clinic models ranked on genuine comprehensiveness — coverage of the levers with outcome evidence (cardiovascular, metabolic, fitness, strength, sleep, smoking, screening, medication) rather than number of tests: physician-led programmes, academic clinics, blood-panel subscriptions, concierge memberships, scan-led clinics.
- What tests do top longevity clinics typically include?
The tests top longevity clinics include, ranked by evidence: standard and advanced blood work (ApoB, Lp(a), insulin, hs-CRP), coronary calcium and CT angiography, DEXA and VO₂max, guideline cancer screening, whole-body MRI, epigenetic clocks, CGM, genomics, microbiome, multi-cancer blood tests — with what each clinic tier includes and what primary care already covers.
- Are longevity clinics worth the cost for lifespan extension?
A pharmacist's verdict on whether longevity clinics are worth the cost for lifespan extension, tier by tier: what in a membership has mortality evidence (blood pressure, ApoB, smoking, GLP-1s, structured coaching), what has none (whole-body MRI, epigenetic age, peptides), what Cochrane found about health checks, and the price of the same evidence through primary care.
- What results can I expect from a longevity clinic?
The results a longevity clinic can realistically deliver, ranked by likelihood and evidence: blood pressure and ApoB at target, HbA1c and weight, VO₂max and strength, sleep, a cleaned-up medication list, screening on schedule — and the results it cannot deliver: reversed biological age, extended lifespan, a clean whole-body scan.