Order Total Protein Blood Test (Serum) from JustLabs for $5 ($23 all-in for a single-test order: $5 + one $18 lab & physician order fee per order). Price includes lab processing at Quest Diagnostics. No insurance required.
Total protein is the combined amount of albumin and globulins in your blood. A low level can reflect liver or kidney disease, poor nutrition or malabsorption, while a high level can point to chronic infection, inflammation or a condition that overproduces antibody proteins.
Your blood carries two main families of protein. Albumin, made by the liver, keeps fluid inside the blood vessels and carries hormones, vitamins and medicines. Globulins, made partly by the liver and partly by the immune system, include the antibodies that fight infection. Total protein is the sum of the two.
Because it combines both, total protein moves for different reasons in each direction. It falls when the liver makes less protein, when the kidneys or gut lose it, or when nutrition is poor. It rises when the immune system makes more globulin, as with some chronic infections and inflammatory conditions, or when a single clone of plasma cells overproduces one antibody protein, as in multiple myeloma.
Total protein is already part of the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) and the Hepatic Function Panel on JustLabs. Those panels also measure albumin, which is what lets a clinician work out the globulin level and the albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio; this single test cannot. Ordering total protein alone makes sense for re-checking a previous result or following it over time as your clinician advised.
An abnormal total protein is a starting point, not a diagnosis. Follow-up often includes albumin and serum protein electrophoresis.
Price
$5
All-in
$23
incl. $18 lab & physician fee
Results
1-4 business days
Fasting
Not Required
What's Measured
What This Test Measures
This test measures the total concentration of protein in your blood serum, which is mostly albumin plus globulins. Quest notes that total protein is useful in evaluating nutritional status, liver disease, protein-losing kidney and gastrointestinal diseases, and that elevated levels may be seen with monoclonal gammopathies, autoimmune hepatitis and inflammation. It does not report albumin or globulin separately.
Who Should Consider This Test
People re-checking a total protein that came back high or low; people whose clinician wants it followed over time; and people with swelling, unexplained weight loss, fatigue or other symptoms being evaluated together with other tests. For a first check, the CMP is usually better because it includes albumin and globulin as well.
Health Insights
Conditions Screened
Related Symptoms
When to Get Tested
Any time of day; Quest does not require fasting for this test. For a re-check, use the interval your clinician suggests and keep your usual eating and drinking routine so results are comparable.
No fasting needed. How to prepare for your blood test →
Understanding Your Results
A result within the lab's reference range is reassuring for this marker; Quest's directory lists 6.1-8.1 g/dL for adults aged 20 and over. A low total protein can be a sign of liver disease, kidney disease, malnutrition, or a malabsorption condition such as celiac disease or Crohn's disease. A high total protein can be seen with chronic infections such as HIV or viral hepatitis, inflammation, autoimmune hepatitis, or monoclonal gammopathies such as multiple myeloma. Because total protein mixes albumin and globulins, a clinician usually looks at albumin and the A/G ratio next, and may order serum protein electrophoresis. JustLabs results are informational; review them with a clinician.
What to Expect
After placing your order, we send it straight to Quest Diagnostics — there is no consent form to sign and no partner email to wait for. Your requisition is usually ready to download from your dashboard within about an hour, and you can book your blood draw at any Quest Diagnostics location.
The blood draw typically takes just a few minutes. Results are usually available within 1-4 business days and will appear in your secure JustLabs dashboard.
Our results include reference ranges and easy-to-understand indicators showing whether your values are within normal limits.
How much does the Total Protein test cost?
The Total Protein test costs $5 at JustLabs — $23 all-in, since the $18 lab & physician order fee is charged once per order, however many tests you add. The price is fixed before your blood draw; no insurance or doctor visit needed.
| Option | Price | Order all-in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Protein at JustLabsDrawn at Quest Diagnostics | $5 | $23 | Includes the one $18 fee, charged once per order |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Hospital cash price: $120–$200
$5
+ $18 order fee · $23 all-inOne $18 fee per order covers your Quest blood draw and the independent physician order, however many tests you add.
- Results in 1-4 business days
- No fasting required
- Physician order included
No insurance needed · HSA/FSA eligible
- Physician-ordered
- CLIA-certified Quest lab
- Drawn at Quest Diagnostics
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