First-order review · October 3, 2026
Pick the first cart for the question you actually have.
Friends ask me what to click the first time they open GoodLabs. The menu is long enough to waste the visit. I send four carts, and I tell them to pick one. A clinician writes the order. The draw is at Quest, LabCorp, or BioReference. The useful first appointment answers a single question. The code comes last: if that cart is their first paid order, JO20 takes 20% off. I do not start the note with it.
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01
Baseline
CBC, metabolic panel, and A1c. For a blank chart.
List $13
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02
Heart
Heart Health, including ApoB and Lp(a).
List $55
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03
Iron
Iron Status. Ferritin alone if you already know the rest.
List $60
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04
Thyroid and D
TSH and vitamin D. Add testosterone only if that is the question.
List $19
October 2026 list totals. A CBC, a metabolic panel, and an A1c add up to $13. Heart Health is already a panel at $55. Iron Status is $60. TSH plus vitamin D is $19. Checkout wins if a price moved.
01 · Baseline
Three ordinary tests when the chart is empty.
A CBC is $4. A metabolic panel is $5. Hemoglobin A1c is $4. Together that is $13. None of them is a personality. Together they say whether the common screen is even in range: blood counts, kidney and liver chemistries, glucose, electrolytes, and a 90-day sugar average.
This is the note I send to someone who changed jobs, lost the portal login, and cannot find a lab report from the last two years. I do not send it to someone whose clinic ran the same three tests this season. A lone CBC is allowed. It just does not tell you much by itself, and I say that before they stop at the cheapest tile.
If they already have a recent metabolic panel and only want the A1c, I tell them to buy the A1c. The $13 bundle is for an empty chart, not a badge.
02 · Heart
ApoB and Lp(a) are the reason this panel exists.
Heart Health is listed at $55 in October 2026. The reason I name it is ApoB and Lp(a), the markers a standard cholesterol line often skips. The person I send here already had a physical. The note said lipids were fine, and they still want the two numbers that were not on the page.
I tell them not to stack this on a 75-marker panel in the same cart until they have checked the wide panel’s contents. Paying twice for one tube is the easiest mistake on a long menu. If the wide panel already includes ApoB, the $55 panel is a second copy.
03 · Iron
Fatigue is not a ferritin result until you measure it.
Iron Status is $60. It is the broader iron set, and it adds B12, folate, and hs-CRP. Ferritin by itself is $9. I send the single test to someone who already knows the rest of the iron picture and is watching one number, often because they donate blood and were deferred, or because a clinician asked for a recheck. I send the $60 panel when fatigue, heavy periods, or a diet without much iron is the whole question and there are no recent labs.
What I will not do is tell them to buy iron pills from a blog. A low or high number is a reason to talk with a clinician. The cart gets them the number. It does not get them a treatment plan.
04 · Thyroid and D
TSH and vitamin D are a $19 question.
TSH is $5. Vitamin D, 25-hydroxy, is $14. The pair is $19. That is the cart for “my energy is off and I cannot find either number in the portal.” It is not a hormone workup, and I say that in the same text. Free and total testosterone is a separate $15 test. It belongs in the cart only when testosterone is the thing they asked about.
The failure mode is the open menu. People add testosterone, a thyroid antibody, and a cortisol because the tiles are next to each other. I tell them to close the tab and come back with one question. A $19 order you will read beats a $80 order you will screenshot and forget.
The wide exception
The 75-marker panel earns its price once, not as a habit.
Comprehensive men’s is $195. Comprehensive women’s is $185. I send this when someone has no recent labs and has told me they will actually read a long report. I do not send it as a habit, and I do not send it on top of the four carts above. After the wide panel, the next order is the single marker that moved.
If they ask about donating blood for free labs, I tell them to check the partner map. In some cities a donation includes one panel or two tests. A waitlist means that is not the first cart. Order the paid tests. Do not plan a Saturday around a center the site does not list.
GoodLabs Codes is not a clinic. A result that worries you goes to a clinician who knows your history. I will help you pick the tube. I will not tell you what the tube means for your health.
The appointment
What I tell them to do after they pick
- Put one cart into goodlabs.com. If a second tile is tempting, close it. You can order again.
- Bring an ID to Quest, LabCorp, or BioReference, whichever has an opening. Fast only if that order says to fast. The draw is a normal venous stick.
- Read the report when it posts. Many markers land inside a week. A few trail the rest. That is the lab, not a lost order. Save the PDF.
- If a value looks wrong, send it to your own clinician. Then recheck that marker later, not the whole menu.
JO20 takes 20% off that first paid order. I tell people to type it in, wait for the 20% line, and pay only if the line is there. The next order is list price. The code is a detail. The cart is the recommendation.
What goes wrong
Three ways a first order gets worse
They buy the wide panel and Heart Health together without checking for overlap. I ask them to open the biomarker list before the second panel goes in.
They add testosterone, a thyroid antibody, and a vitamin because the grid is right there. The report comes back as a wall of numbers and they ask me which one mattered. I should have made them name one question first. That is why the note above is short.
They ignore the fasting line on the order, then do not trust the glucose. If the cart says fast, fast. If it does not, eat normally. Do not invent a 12-hour fast for a ferritin.
Questions about the first cart
What belongs in a first GoodLabs order?
Match the cart to one question. A basic look with no recent labs is a CBC, a metabolic panel, and an A1c, about $13 at the October 2026 list. Heart risk that skipped ApoB is the Heart Health panel at $55. Fatigue that might be iron is Iron Status at $60, or ferritin alone at $9. Thyroid plus vitamin D is $19. JO20 takes 20% off a first paid order.
Is a CBC by itself useful?
It is a real test, listed at $4 in October 2026. By itself it answers a narrow question. Pair it with a metabolic panel and an A1c if you have not had labs in a long time.
What is in Heart Health?
The October 2026 list price is $55, and the panel includes ApoB and Lp(a). With JO20 on a first paid order the math is $44. Confirm the contents and the total at checkout.
Should the 75-biomarker panel be first?
Buy it when you have no recent labs and you will read a wide report. October 2026 list prices are $195 for the men’s panel and $185 for the women’s panel. JO20 makes a first paid order $156 and $148. If you already know the question, a smaller cart is easier to use.
What does JO20 change?
JO20 takes 20% off a first paid GoodLabs order. Enter it in the promo field and pay only after the discount line is on the summary. This page was updated October 3, 2026. Later orders are list price.
Where is the blood drawn?
At Quest, LabCorp, or BioReference, whichever the booking screen offers for your ZIP. It is a venous draw. A GoodLabs clinician writes the order.
Is this the company that runs the labs?
No. GoodLabs Codes is an independent review. Orders are placed on goodlabs.com. A purchase through a link on this page may earn a commission, and you do not pay extra.
Can a donation replace one of these carts?
In some cities, donating at a GoodLabs partner center can include one free panel or two individual tests. If your ZIP is waitlisted, order the paid cart and use JO20 on the first one. Eligibility rules for donation still apply.