Ferritin Level Calculator

Ferritin's optimal range is different for women and men. Enter your result and sex to see whether it's low, optimal, or high — computed instantly in your browser, nothing sent anywhere.

Ferritin below 30 ng/mL indicates iron deficiency in anyone (NICE), and below 15 ng/mL means stores are depleted (WHO). Optimal is roughly 30–200 ng/mL for women and 30–300 ng/mL for men, the levels above which EASL guidance looks for iron overload. A result of 22 ng/mL can sit inside a lab's printed "normal" range for a woman and still be a real, fixable, low-normal finding.

NICE, WHO & EASL thresholds ng/mL Medically reviewed
Sex * required — ferritin thresholds differ by sex
Select a sex to enable the calculator — a sex-adjusted result can't be shown without it.
Select your sex, then enter your ferritin result. Everything is computed locally in your browser — no data leaves this page.

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Why sex changes the ferritin target

The calculation is a single number — but what counts as optimal, and what counts as an overload warning, differs by sex.

Deficiency thresholdSame for everyone
Below 30 ng/mL is a low result that indicates iron deficiency (NICE), and below 15 ng/mL means iron stores are depleted (WHO). Both apply the same way regardless of sex.
Upper thresholdSex-adjusted
EASL's 2022 haemochromatosis guideline looks for iron overload above 200 ng/mL in women and above 300 ng/mL in men, reflecting that men typically carry higher iron stores without menstrual iron loss. Above 1000 ng/mL is a risk factor for liver scarring in iron overload, for anyone. A high result does not by itself mean too much iron: what a high ferritin means covers the other causes and the test that comes next.

What your result means

These thresholds come from NICE, WHO and EASL guidance. A value inside your lab's own printed reference range can still fall in a flagged band here — that gap is the entire reason a sex-adjusted second read is useful.

CategoryWomen (ng/mL)Men (ng/mL)
LowBelow 30Below 30
Optimal30–20030–300
HighAbove 200 to 1000Above 300 to 1000
Very highAbove 1000Above 1000
"In range" doesn't mean optimal
Lab reference ranges are built wide, to catch disease rather than to flag suboptimal. Ferritin of 22 ng/mL is a common example: it often prints with no flag at all in a woman, yet by this guideline it's a low-normal result worth acting on, not a false alarm.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good ferritin level for females?
An optimal ferritin for women is roughly 30–200 ng/mL. Below 30 ng/mL is a low result even though many labs print a reference range starting well below that; under 15 ng/mL means iron stores are depleted (WHO). Above 200 ng/mL is the level EASL uses to look for iron overload in women, and above 1000 ng/mL warrants prompt medical evaluation.
How do you fix your ferritin level?
For low ferritin, the usual approach is oral iron repletion (such as ferrous bisglycinate, 25–50 mg elemental iron daily, taken on an empty stomach or with vitamin C, at least two hours away from calcium, tea, and coffee) for 3–6 months, since ferritin stores take that long to rebuild fully — retest around 3 months. For high ferritin, treatment targets the underlying cause (iron overload, inflammation, or liver stress) rather than the ferritin number directly, and needs a doctor's evaluation.
What level of ferritin is worrisome?
Below 15 ng/mL means iron stores are depleted (WHO), and below 30 ng/mL already indicates iron deficiency (NICE). On the high end, EASL looks for iron overload above 200 ng/mL in women and 300 ng/mL in men; above 1000 ng/mL is a risk factor for liver scarring and warrants prompt evaluation for iron overload, inflammation, or liver disease.

References & Guidelines

Note: This calculator is for informational purposes and does not replace medical advice. Ferritin can also rise as an acute-phase reactant during inflammation or infection, independent of iron status — interpret a high result together with your clinician and other iron-panel values.

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Low Ferritin GuideSymptoms, causes, and the full iron repletion protocol for confirmed deficiency. Low Ferritin + High CholesterolWhen both markers flag together, a single root cause often explains both. High TSH + Low FerritinThe thyroid-iron connection, and which to treat first. Vitamin D Level CheckerThe other common deficiency that hides inside a normal-looking lab range.