I confided in a colleague recently that I was running a male fertility website, and he DIED laughing!!! But here’s the real deal: there is NOTHING more important to most men than being able to have kids. I’ve already written about my experience going to a clinic in Austin.

Below I want to write the most comprehensive review of male fertility kits that I’ve personally tried and used. I share more about me below, and I’d love to hear from you! I’m at spermfreezing (at) gmail (dot) com.

Legacy vs. Fellow vs. Dadi vs. Yo vs. Sppare.me

I’ll break down each of their services, one by one, but here are the rankings you need to know:

#1. Legacy is the best option. They are the most credible, the highest-quality, the safest, and the most versatile option.

#2 Fellow is the second-best option. They provide a rigorous, high-quality semen analysis at an affordable rate, but don’t offer sperm freezing.

#3 Dadi is the third-best option. They provide a credible and comprehensive bundle of testing and freezing.

#4 Yo is the fourth-best option. They are a cost-effective option that is suitable for many men.

#5 Sppare.me is the fifth-best option. They are a good all-round service, but are consistently outmatched by at least one competitor on quality, price, and service.

Who should use these services?

In general, these services are perfect for men who fall into these categories:

1. Single men who want to make sure they can have healthy children in the future
2. Men in heterosexual relationships who are trying to conceive (TTC) now or will be TTC soon
3. Men in same-sex relationships who will use sperm with a surrogate
4. Men facing medical issues like cancer or work in high-risk jobs
5. Men planning on getting a vasectomy (or a vasectomy reversal)
6. Older men who have remarried and may be considering having kids again
7. Men who don’t have to pay for the service!

LGBTQ and sperm freezing?

Should gay men be freezing their sperm? ABSOLUTELY!!! If you’re going to use a surrogate, like I am planning to, then being able to test and freeze your sperm is extremely valuable.

The question is: how do you want to decide whose sperm to use? That’s a topic for another day and one that my partner and I have discussed a lot!!!

But ultimately you will be using IUI or IVF with the surrogate. If you can afford IVF, it’s great because then you can use ICSI to select the sperm, you can PGS (Pre-Genetic Screening) for the embryos to screen for the healthiest ones, and you can make sure that you’re using your best sperm.

Most importantly, STDs can affect your fertility! So don’t take any chances, especially if you’re sexually active.

Should transgender women freeze sperm?

Yes! Do it before you start HRT because these hormones will affect your fertility and block the production of sperm.

What I’ve learned is that if you stop HRT, MOST OF THE TIME you can start producing sperm again. What’s not known is how long you can be on HRT before that option is no longer available to you. So freeze your sperm while you can!

How do at-home male fertility services work?

This is what I love about al of these products!! You DON’T have to go to a clinic, you you DON’T have to deal with any judgmental looks, and you DON’T have to deal with the awkwardness of going to masturbate at a clinic. You can do it entirely at home!

Best of all, all these options are significantly cheaper than most fertility clinics I’ve seen. One doctor explained to me that fertility clinics make their money from IVF, so they just don’t care very much about performing a semen analysis. So they charge high rates for a service that’s very simple for them to perform.

What should I look for with at-home sperm testing or at-home sperm freezing?

Here are the factors that I think you should consider:

1. Price: You want to make sure you are paying $200 or less for a semen analysis, and $150/year or less for cryostorage. This is already a lot cheaper than clinics I’ve seen!
2. Speed: This is nice, but not critical for most men. How quickly can you get your results? Keep in mind you need to consider shipping time, return time, and then analysis time, so the whole process will probably take about a week.
3. Vials: If you’re freezing your sperm, how many vials are you freezing? Generally speaking, the more, the better, since it gives you more flexibility!
4. Tele-health: Can you speak to a doctor once you have your results? If so, is it an extra fee?
5. Storage: If you’re opting for cryostorage, are you getting single-site storage or multi-site storage? While risks are low across the board, if you’re freezing for multiple years, why take any risks? Pacific Fertility Center had a major meltdown a couple of years ago, as did University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
6. Post-thaw: Will they check to make sure your sperm froze well? The best services will do a “post thaw” check after 24 hours, where they thaw a tiny sample and make sure everything went well. I didn’t want to take any risks here, so I made sure I got this.
7. FSA/HSA & Insurance: Will you have to pay out of pocket or can this be reimbursed by someone else?

You’ll notice I don’t care a lot about gimmicks, like having a video of your sperm, or having really nice graphics, or a beautiful brand.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: you want to find the company that places the most emphasis on quality. Because no matter how nice the website, how slick the kit, or how beautiful the instruction booklet you receive, at the end of the day what really matters is whether your sperm is safe, secure, and can be used in the future!!!

Why is Legacy the best option for at-home sperm testing and freezing? Review of Legacy’s male fertility kit

I wrote a really nice piece comparing Legacy vs Sppare.me and comparing Legacy vs. Dadi.

In general, I am a big fan of the company, I really like their team, and it is the most credible in the space. They were at Harvard, they have doctors on the team, they’re covered by insurance, etc. all of which are great signs.

I don’t think their brand is as slick as some other competitors, their price is not always the cheapest, but from their product it is clear to me that they place a premium on quality and security that made me want to work with them.

Why is Fellow the second best option for at-home sperm testing? Review of Fellow’s male fertility kit

I haven’t done a proper comparison of Fellow before, but in general I like what they’re doing. They don’t feel as “refined” as other companies in overall look and feel (probably because they are younger), but they are clearly focused on quality, have set up their own lab, and are clearly working with a lot of doctors and clinics which is a big plus in my book.

Why is Dadi the third-best option for at-home sperm testing and freezing? Review of Dadi’s male fertility kit

You can see how I compare Dadi vs. Sppare.me and how I compare Dadi vs. Legacy. In general, I think it’s a solid company that has invested a lot in brand and a kit, but one that I don’t trust as much in terms of overall quality compared to Fellow or Legacy.

I think the founder of a company has a BIG impact on how it turns out, and someone who previously founded a digital sticker company just doesn’t feel like the person I want to trust with my sperm. They have a lot of gimmicks like “two factor authentication” or showing videos of your sperm, and they have a fake review score on their website, which rubs me the wrong way (Fellow does the same).

That said, the service itself seems good, and at a reasonable price. It is still a better overall option than Sppare.me, providing a better service at lower cost.

Why is Yo Sperm the fourth-best option for at-home sperm testing? Review of Yo Sperm’s male fertility kit

I like what they’re trying to do here, by making a simple, at-home option for men to understand their sperm. And the $70 price point is attractive. But if you’re already investing in doing this, then why wouldn’t you pay a little more for a clinic-grade analysis, actually done at a clinic, and ideally freeze your sperm? You won’t get the level of precision with Yo Sperm that you would with the other male fertility companies, so ultimately they land at #4. You get what you pay for!

Why is Sppare.me the worst option for at-home sperm testing and freezing? Review of Sppare.me’s male fertility kit

I want to be clear that I don’t think Sppare.me is doing anything WRONG. Yes they have a lot of work to do on branding etc. and like Dadi, they don’t list their team on the website (which always makes me feel like they are hiding something!) BUT the product is good, the price point is reasonable, and the service overall seems reputable. The fact is though, they don’t have anything where they are more competitive than anyone else. I have no reason to pick them over any of the 4 other companies!

I HOPE THIS HELPS!!! I really enjoyed writing this and hope I’ll write more soon, but I would love more ideas and inspiration from y’all!!!

Learn more about who I am:

I grew up in a very normal, nuclear family in Texas. We’re not in a particularly liberal part of the state (my mom and dad voted for Trump) and I grew up in an environment that was not particularly accepting of men like me. I grew up enjoying ballet, cooking, and was fascinated by my mom’s jewelry. I knew from a very young age that I was not going to be the kind of MANLY MAN that my father wanted to be, particularly as I wasn’t really attracted to women, no matter how much I tried.

But being gay, which took me decades to come to terms with, doesn’t meant that you don’t care about being a dad!! I used to dream of having my own kids, I always wanted one boy and one girl, and it took a long time for me to find role models who had families of their own with their partners. Believe it or not, Tom Ford (from Austin) was a big inspiration for me to accept my own sexuality because he was so open about being gay.

Why I care about male fertility:

And so the real reason I’ve kept up this website, even though it’s really just been for fun, has been because this topic matters for so many men, including men like me. I think testing your sperm matters. I think freezing your sperm matters. I think KNOWING ABOUT your sperm matters!!!!

Thank you to those of you who have written in, to support my work, or even to offer to send me a kit to try out myself.

So today I want to write the most comprehensive comparison of male fertility companies that exist today. Here goes!!!!

Josh F. is a writer based in Austin, Texas. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his partner and writing about fertility! Reach him anytime at spermfreezing AT gmail DOT com.