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Ferritin Reference Calculator

Enter your serum ferritin and sex to see where it falls in the reference range.

How it is calculated

The tool compares one serum ferritin value in ng/mL (the same number as µg/L) with fixed cut-offs. Below 30 is labelled Low (possible deficiency). From 30 up to an upper limit is labelled Normal, and above the upper limit is labelled High. The upper limit is 300 ng/mL when sex is male and 200 ng/mL when sex is female. The value must be greater than zero. A value of exactly 30 counts as normal, and exactly the upper limit also counts as normal. There are no age bands, no separate range for children or pregnancy, and no other iron markers such as transferrin saturation or CRP. Laboratories use their own ranges, so the range printed on your lab report is the one that applies to you.

Worked example

A woman has a serum ferritin of 250 ng/mL. For the female setting the reference range shown is 30–200 ng/mL. The value is not below 30, so it is not Low. It is above the female upper limit of 200, so the label is High. The same 250 ng/mL entered as male falls under the 300 limit and is labelled Normal.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering the value in the wrong unit. Ferritin is in ng/mL (or µg/L, which is the same number); a value in pmol/L or nmol/L must be converted first.
  • Choosing the wrong sex. The upper limit is 100 ng/mL lower for female, so the same result can read Normal for male and High for female.
  • Treating Normal as proof of good iron status. This tool uses a lower limit of 30, and some clinicians consider symptoms with a ferritin a little above that worth investigating.
  • Reading High as iron overload. Ferritin also rises with infection, inflammation and liver problems, so a high value needs follow-up tests.
  • Comparing against another lab's range. The tool uses one fixed range, and your lab report may print different limits.

Sources

About this calculator

Ferritin is the body's main iron-storage protein, and a blood ferritin test is the most common way doctors gauge total iron stores. Reference ranges are sex-specific because menstruation lowers typical iron stores in women: this calculator treats 30–300 ng/mL as normal for men and 30–200 ng/mL for women, and flags anything under 30 ng/mL as low, though individual labs vary.

Low ferritin points toward iron-deficiency anemia, while high ferritin can signal iron overload conditions like hemochromatosis, or simply inflammation, since ferritin also rises as an acute-phase reactant. Physicians, hematologists, and dietitians use ferritin alongside other iron markers to interpret results — this calculator flags where a value falls relative to typical ranges, but it is not medical advice and doesn't replace a doctor's interpretation. Cut-offs differ by source: the WHO 2020 guideline uses below 15 ng/mL (µg/L) for iron deficiency in adults and below 12 in children, while some gastroenterology guidance uses 45 ng/mL; the 30 ng/mL used here sits between them.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Labels flip at hard edges, so a value close to a boundary deserves a second look rather than a verdict. A woman at exactly 30 ng/mL reads Normal here, and one unit lower would read Low. Ferritin also climbs during inflammation, and this tool sees no other markers, so a Normal label can sit beside a poor iron status. Take the result to your doctor with the lab's own range. Which unit does your lab report use: ng/mL, µg/L or pmol/L?

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