Flu shot cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 6 hospitals list a cash price for flu shot, standard dose, preservative-free, for age 6 months and older: from $16.20 to $103.34, with a median of $29.35. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center and 1 other hospital — $13.15 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $52.25 at 16 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 4 cities for code 90656, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 0.5 Ml Dosage Im Usage | $16.20 | $36.00 | $12.96–$512.54 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton lowest Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 0.5 Ml Dosage Im Usage | $16.20 | $36.00 | $20.76–$475.07 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 FLU VACCINE TS 2025-26(6MOS UP)(PF) 45 MCG(15MCG X3)/0.5 ML IM SYRINGE | $22.53 | $50.06 | $17.84–$512.54 | 55% | — source file |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 0.5 Ml Dosage Im Use | $25.00 | $25.00 | $12.98–$50.42 | — | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 FLU VACC TS2025-26 (36 MOS UP)(PF)45 MCG (15 MCG X3)/0.5 ML IM SYRINGE | $33.62 | $74.71 | $20.76–$475.07 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 FLU VACC TS2025-26 (36 MOS UP)(PF)45 MCG (15 MCG X3)/0.5 ML IM SYRINGE | $33.62 | $74.71 | $19.77–$512.54 | 55% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 FLU VACCINE TS 2025-26(6MOS UP)(PF) 45 MCG(15MCG X | $33.69 | $48.13 | $16.85–$530.75 | 30% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 FLU VACCINE TS 2025-26(6MOS UP)(PF) 45 MCG(15MCG X | $33.69 | $48.13 | $16.85–$48.62 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Pbb Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im U | $103.34 | $147.63 | $0.01–$147.63 | 30% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Pbb Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im U | $103.34 | $147.63 | $18.14–$147.63 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Pbb Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im U | $103.34 | $147.63 | $19.11–$530.75 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 PR Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im Use | $104.55 | $149.36 | $19.26–$149.36 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 PR Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im Use | $104.57 | $149.39 | $19.11–$530.75 | 30% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 PR Iiv3 Vacc Preservative Free 6mo and Up Im Use | $104.57 | $149.39 | $18.14–$149.39 | 30% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $16.20, median $29.35, highest $103.34 — a 6.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $29.35. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 6 of 6 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
A standard-dose flu shot protects against the influenza strains expected in the coming season, and the formula changes every year. This code is the preservative-free version given to most people.
What the price covers
The price is for the vaccine dose. Giving the shot is usually a separate line (code 90471 for the first vaccine of the visit); Medicare bills use G0008 instead.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 90656 ($37.72). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MAFLU VACCINE TS 2025-26(6MOS UP)(PF) 45 MCG(15MCG X | $0.01 | file |