Lifeforce Vs. Function Health: A Complete Side-By-Side Review

Most of the time, our approach to healthcare involves waiting for a problem to pop up before making an appointment with a doctor to treat whatever ailment is going on. Lifeforce and Function Health offer a much more proactive and preventive approach to healthcare through on-demand labs and ongoing clinical support.

While neither is a replacement or substitute for primary physician care, both are good options when you want to examine your biomarkers on your own and take steps to improve your overall well-being

Comparing Lifeforce Against Function Health:

Overview:	Lifeforce	Function Health
Base Testing Price	$599 (basic diagnostic)	$499 (basic diagnostic)
Ongoing Membership	$149/month with quarterly blood work	N/A; basic diagnostic and followup labs (1) renews annually
Testing Method	At home or at Quest Diagnostics, one appointment	Quest Diagnostics, two appointments
Work-up	One blood draw (several vials)	One blood draw (10-12 vials); second blood draw (10-12 vials) plus urine test
Available Panels	50+ biomarkers (basic diagnostic); optional panels for metabolic, cardiovascular, heavy metals, and brain protection	100+ biomarkers (basic diagnostic); optional panels for multi-cancer detection, food allergies, bone health, environmental toxins, genetic heart risks, extended heart/metabolic, extended hormone, extended thyroid, extended vitamin/nutrients, infections, MTHFR gene, pregnancy, STIs, autoimmunity
FSA/HSA Eligible	Yes, for reimbursement	Yes, for reimbursement
Best For	Those wanting insight into their general health for optimization and who seek personalized plans to improve energy, focus, and a healthy aging process	Those seeking deep insight into known or suspected health concerns, including autoimmune disease, cancer risk, and other genetic markers

On the surface, Lifeforce and Function Health both provide comprehensive testing, personalized insights, and a focus on prevention. But there are considerable differences in cost, testing panels, early detection and support that could make one a better fit than the other, depending on your health situation.

A little about me: I’m 49 years old with some chronic health issues, namely autoimmune disease and menopause. I’m not exactly a paragon of health, and likely never will be, but there is certainly room for improvement regardless. I’ll take you along on my journey with both services so you can see which one might meet your needs the best.

My Experience With Lifeforce

Signing up for Lifeforce was a pretty simple process. That said, the service claims that it can be done in 20 minutes but I’m here to tell you that, unless you’re super healthy and don’t have much of a medical history to mention, it’s likely going to take a lot longer.

It was 141 questions long.

It’s essentially like setting up a complete medical history with a new doctor. If you’re anything like me, with past and ongoing health conditions, past surgeries, and a family history of random stuff, you should allow at least an hour for completion.

(Note: You can save and exit to pick up where you left off in the questionnaire.)

Once I set up my account and did the medical onboarding, I scheduled my blood draw. 

The great thing about Lifeforce is that you can choose to have a phlebotomist come directly to your house. The appointments are a two-hour window, but I received texts that kept me updated on their estimated arrival and their actual arrival.

You can totally opt to do your labs at a physical location if you prefer, but between travel and waiting room time, it just makes a lot more sense to have them come to you.

Lifeforce labs are one-and-done, meaning you only get blood drawn once, with several vials being taken at a time. (As you’ll read on later, Function Health bloodwork is a two-step process.)

My lab results were in my Lifeforce dashboard just five days later:

The basic panel was more extensive than what I typically get at my doctor’s office, and it included things like testosterone and DHEA-sulfate, both of which are tests I’ve never had done.

Most of what I saw in my lab report was unsurprising. It caught my usual thyroid issues (all of which were out whack), along with my consistently-high liver enzymes.

The one thing to note about Lifeforce test results is that there is a difference between “normal” and “optimal” range. My results showed that 62% of my labs were in an optimal range, while 11% were normal, but not optimal—meaning that they can stand to be improved.

(As an aside, 24 markers were out of range, with 15% being too high and 9% being too low.)

After my lab results were in, I was able to schedule a telehealth followup appointment with a clinician over Zoom for suggested treatment, supplements and dietary suggestions, and a solid plan to build a path toward better health.

This is not a replacement for regular doctor visits, especially given my chronic health issues, but I feel like it’s a wise course of action for anyone who wants to improve their overall wellness.

Pros & Cons of Lifeforce

Depending on your personal situation and health concerns, you’ll want to consider the pros and cons of Lifeforce before signing up for a membership to make sure that it’s going to meet your needs and expectations.

Lifeforce Pros:

• Provides testing for more than 50 biomarkers (hormones, vitamins, metabolic function, inflammation), with additional panels (at an extra cost) for cardiovascular health, heavy metals, and brain function.
• If you’d rather have your blood drawn at home, you can schedule a phlebotomist to come to you at the most convenient time.
• Only one blood draw (of several vials) is required.
• The online dashboard tracks everything related to your results, suggested care, appointments, and progress in a very clear and easy to navigate manner.
• If you want to share your lab results with your primary care doctor, you can download them as a PDF.
• Offers lifestyle, supplement, and discounted prescription recommendations  tailored to your health needs.
• Ongoing membership includes new labs every three months (quarterly) with followup telehealth visits..
• A membership account integrates with wearable health monitors that include Fitbit, Oura, Garmin, Whoop and Withings.
• The cost is eligible for HSA or FSA reimbursement if that’s an option for you.

Lifeforce Cons:

• The monthly membership is $149 per month, which is not covered by insurance.
• The standard lab panel is nowhere near as extensive as Function Health (100+ biomarkers).
• Cannot replace having a primary care provider, especially if you have diagnosed or suspected chronic conditions.
• At-home blood draws may not be available in all areas.

My Experience With Function Health

The basic panel at Function Health ran $499, which included more than 100 biomarkers, and testing would span two appointments, versus the one I did for Lifeforce. 

When I saw that there was an optional in-depth panel for autoimmunity, I jumped at the chance to have those tests done. I’ve had Hashimoto’s (autoimmune thyroid disease) for years, but as anyone with an autoimmune disease knows, when you have one, you’re likely to pick up others along the way. 

The autoimmunity panel added an additional $249 to the total price, but after getting my results, I have to say it was 100% worth it. (More on that later.) But there were many other additional panels I could have chosen, including cancer detection:

(As a former cancer patient, yes, I could have and maybe should have sprung for that one but at $899… well, I’ll take my chances for the moment.)

Function Health testing can only be completed at a physical Quest Diagnostics location; as of this writing, there is no at-home testing option available like there is with Lifeforce. 

Despite having an appointment at Quest, my first blood draw required sitting in the waiting room for an hour. This is what I looked like when I was finally free:

Luckily, my second (which included a urine test) was a lot faster, about 25 minutes all in, but compared to the testing process with Lifeforce, Function Health took a lot more time out of my day. 

Twice.

The results also took a lot longer to come in, but considering how much testing was done between the basic blood panel, urine testing, and the autoimmunity panel I tacked on, I wasn’t complaining. 

When my results came back, I was less than thrilled by a few things… namely my markers for anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (MCV) antibodies, which are a marker for rheumatoid arthritis. 

Basically, vimentin is a protein that’s found in the connective tissues of the body, but my body’s immune system has gone rogue and is like “Oh no, that protein’s gotta go,” so it’s making antibodies to fight it off. Which results in an inflammatory joint disease that’s potentially (eventually) debilitating. 

From a prognostic perspective, MCV antibodies are associated with more severe RA and greater radiographic damage, and that’s something I would not have known I was carting around, likely until some point much later in life, without having taken this test. 

Especially since their presence can detect RA even when cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) or rheumatoid factor (RF) antibodies are not present—which they aren’t, in my case. (As an aside, CCP and RF are negative in about 20% of RA cases.)

Like I mentioned earlier, the autoimmunity panel was 100% worth it and those were tests I was not able to get through Lifeforce. Am I happy about the results? Not necessarily. 

Am I happy to KNOW the results? Absolutely. This is early detection I would not have otherwise gotten.

And that’s the biggest difference between Function Health and Lifeforce. Where Lifeforce is great for general health optimization, planning, and maintenance, Function Health offers a lot more in terms of suspected or known health issues and genetic risk. 

Recently, they’ve added physical imaging to the tests offered: a basic full-body MRI ($499), MRI scan with spine coverage ($1,499), MRI with skeletal and neurological assessment ($,3,999), and a heart and lung CT scan for $349.

I didn’t spring for any of the other add-on testing panels or imagery, largely because I feel like my risk for most other things is relatively low. For me, the general health and autoimmunity were the biggest concerns.

But the fact that Function Health offers so many extensive panels AND imaging, that alone makes it worth it for anyone who suspects they have a chronic condition or is at a higher risk of developing one.

Especially if you’re someone with an autoimmune disease, I found the autoimmunity panel at Function Health to seriously be worth its weight in gold since so many autoimmune diseases share symptoms and you’re never quite sure whether you might be picking up a new one as time goes on. Where Lifeforce excels at health maintenance and improvement, Function Health promotes far better early detection.

Pros & Cons of Function Health

Function Health offers a lot in terms of lab work and even imaging, but it’s not perfect for every situation. I’ll share the pros and cons below so you can consider them for yourself before deciding.

Function Health Pros:

• The standard panel includes over 100 lab tests, which is far more than a typical annual physical, exploring organ, hormone, nutrient, metabolic, and cancer-signal biomarkers, along with a followup test (60+ labs) three to six months later.
• Offers a lot in the way of extended panels for multi-cancer detection, genetic cardiovascular risks, metabolic conditions, hormones, thyroid function, vitamin/nutrients, food allergies, bone health, environmental toxins, the MTHFR gene (mental health, potential for neural tube birth defects, nerve damage, cardiovascular disease), pregnancy, STIs, and autoimmunity (including lupus, Sjögren’s, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and others). 
• Advanced imaging (MRI or CT) is available at different price points based on the focus and depth.
• No monthly membership fee is required; the standard panel ($499) renews annually and you can order additional panels or imaging at any time (for whatever the tests cost).
• Like Lifeforce, Function Health’s dashboard tracks everything including test results, planned care, upcoming appointments, and overall progress, and it’s really easy to navigate.
• And just like Lifeforce, each test result expands to include an explanation about what it means.

Function Health Cons:

• Two in-person appointments at Quest Diagnostics are required to complete the full range of lab testing; the first is a blood draw (10-12 vials), the second is a blood draw (another 10-12 vials) along with a urine test.
• There is no option for at-home testing (as of this writing).
• While the $499 a year price tag is less expensive compared to Lifeforce, the additional panels (if you wish to purchase them), can add up quickly.
• Does not accept private insurance so everything is paid out of pocket, although HSA/FSA reimbursement is available.
• As with Lifeforce, Function Health is not a replacement for having a primary care provider.
• Although it offers imaging (MRI and CT), available facilities may be limited based on where you live, although those are always expanding.

The Final Verdict

After using both, I think that choosing between Lifeforce and Function Health really comes down to your priorities and health situation. 

If broad access to testing for early detection is most important to you, especially if you’re at risk for serious health conditions or already have some, Function Health delivers a lot more toward that, specifically. 

But if you’re someone who is already (at least) somewhat healthy and who wants to monitor quarterly labs while receiving structured coaching and treatment options that promote your long-term wellness, Lifeforce is ideal for that. 

Both platforms can help you get ahead of your health in different ways, but the best option is going to be the one that meets your needs, whatever they are.