How Much Does Toenail Removal Cost?
The honest answer depends on which of two procedures you are actually getting, and the cheaper one is frequently the more expensive choice.
Nobody publishes a single price for this, and the ones you find online are usually either a marketing number or an average across procedures that are not the same procedure. That is genuinely frustrating when you are in pain and trying to work out whether you can afford to deal with it this month.
So rather than invent a figure, this page explains what actually drives the bill, where the money goes, why the temporary version often costs more in the end, and exactly what to ask so you can get a real number for your own foot before you commit to anything. It applies whether you are insured or paying cash.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Timothy Horak and Julia Shauger, board-certified podiatric specialists serving Homewood, South Chicago Heights & Mokena. Last reviewed August 2026.
The short answer
A partial nail removal in a podiatry office is typically a few hundred dollars self-pay, with the permanent version costing more than the temporary one, plus an office visit charge on top. With insurance it is usually covered as medically necessary, and what you pay depends almost entirely on your deductible. The number that matters is your number: ask for a written estimate quoting 11730 or 11750, and ask whether the office visit is billed separately.
Two Different Procedures Get Called the Same Thing
This is the distinction that decides both the price and whether the problem comes back, and it is routinely not explained.
Temporary: nail avulsion
Commonly billed as CPT 11730
- The offending nail or a strip of it is lifted out under local anesthetic
- The nail root is left intact, so the nail regrows over 6 to 12 months
- Cheaper on the day and quicker to heal
- If your nail shape caused the problem, it will very likely recur
Permanent: with matrixectomy
Commonly billed as CPT 11750
- The same strip is removed and the root beneath it is destroyed, usually with phenol
- That strip does not regrow, so the recurrence rate is much lower
- Costs more on the day and drains for a few weeks longer
- The nail ends up slightly narrower, which most people never notice
The arithmetic people miss: if you have had the same nail treated once already, choosing the cheaper temporary procedure a second time means paying twice for something that has a good chance of returning a third time. For a nail that keeps becoming ingrown, the permanent procedure is usually the lower total cost as well as the better outcome. Ask which one you are being booked for.
What Moves the Number
| Factor | How it affects cost | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Which procedure | A simple avulsion is less than a permanent removal with matrix destruction | Permanent costs more on the day and less over five years if the nail recurs |
| One border or two | Treating both sides of the same nail is more than treating one | Ask which is being done. Both borders is common and changes the estimate |
| The office visit | A first appointment usually carries an evaluation charge alongside the procedure | The line item that most often makes a bill larger than the quoted procedure price |
| Where it is done | A podiatry office is far cheaper than urgent care, which is far cheaper than an emergency room | An emergency room will often treat the infection and not fix the nail |
| Whether it is infected | An infected nail may add a culture, antibiotics, and an extra follow-up visit | Dealing with it before it is infected is genuinely cheaper |
| Your insurance status | An unmet deductible means you pay the full contracted rate | In January this catches people out. Late in the plan year it is often cheaper |
How to Get a Real Number Before You Book
Five minutes of phone calls will give you a figure far more accurate than anything you will read online, including this page.
If you have insurance
- Call the number on your card and ask what is covered for codes 11730 and 11750
- Ask how much of your deductible is left this plan year
- Ask the practice whether they are in network for your specific plan, not just your insurer
- Ask whether a referral is required
- Ask whether the office visit is billed on top of the procedure
If you are paying cash
- Ask for a written good faith estimate. Uninsured and self-pay patients are generally entitled to one for scheduled care
- Ask whether there is a self-pay rate, which is often lower than the billed charge
- Ask whether the estimate includes the visit, the procedure, dressings and follow-up
- Ask about payment plans. Most practices have them and few advertise them
- Ask what the permanent option adds, so you can compare properly
Where You Go Changes the Price a Lot
| Setting | Relative cost | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Podiatry office | Lowest | Definitive treatment, permanent option available same visit |
| Primary care | Low | Often antibiotics and a referral rather than the procedure |
| Urgent care | Moderate | May do a simple avulsion. Permanent correction often not offered |
| Emergency room | Highest by a wide margin | Drainage and antibiotics. You will usually still need the procedure |
One important exception to all of that. If there is redness spreading up the foot, fever, a rapidly worsening infection, or you have diabetes and the toe is infected, go to urgent or emergency care the same day. That is the one situation where cost is the wrong thing to be optimizing.
Do Not Do the Cheap Version at Home
It is worth saying plainly, because the alternative to a bill is often a pair of nail clippers at midnight. Digging out a nail corner at home creates a wound in a warm, moist, bacteria-rich place, usually leaves the offending spike behind, and frequently turns a straightforward procedure into an infected one that costs considerably more to fix.
- •Never cut a V in the middle of the nail. It does nothing. The problem is at the edge
- •Do not attempt any of this if you have diabetes, neuropathy, or poor circulation
- •Salt water soaks and keeping it clean are reasonable holding measures. Surgery on yourself is not
- •Spreading redness, pus, or a fever means it needs seeing today, not next payday
Want to know what the procedure is actually like? Start here. Nail Removal: When It Is Needed and What to Expect →
Booked in and wondering about recovery? The week-by-week version. Toenail Removal Recovery Timeline →
Specifically about the permanent procedure? Phenol matrixectomy has its own healing pattern. Phenol Matrixectomy Recovery →
Worried about how much it will hurt? The honest answer, hour by hour. Toenail Removal Pain Timeline →
Removal being suggested for fungus rather than an ingrown nail? That is a different decision entirely. Toenail Removal for Fungus →
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does toenail removal cost without insurance?
For a self-pay patient in a podiatry office, a partial nail removal commonly lands somewhere in the low hundreds of dollars, and a permanent removal that includes destroying the nail root usually costs more than the temporary version because it is a longer procedure with an added chemical or surgical step. On top of the procedure itself there is normally an office visit charge, particularly at a first appointment where the problem has to be examined and diagnosed, and there may be a small charge for dressings or a follow-up. Prices vary widely by region and by practice, so treat any published range as an orientation rather than a quote. The reliable way to get your actual number is to call and ask for a self-pay estimate, and if you are uninsured or not using insurance you are generally entitled to a written good faith estimate in advance under federal rules.
What is the difference between a temporary and a permanent toenail removal?
A temporary removal, which is a simple avulsion, lifts out the offending nail or a strip of it and leaves the nail root, called the matrix, intact. The nail then regrows over the following months, and if the reason it was ingrown in the first place was the shape of your nail, it commonly grows back into the same problem. A permanent removal takes out the same strip of nail and then destroys the matrix underneath it, most often with a chemical called phenol, so that strip does not regrow. The permanent version costs more on the day and takes slightly longer to heal, but for a nail that has already been ingrown more than once it is usually the cheaper option overall, because you are not paying for the same procedure repeatedly. Permanent removal of the whole nail is a bigger decision and is reserved for specific situations rather than routine ingrown nails.
Does insurance cover ingrown toenail surgery?
Usually yes, because this is a medically necessary procedure rather than a cosmetic one, especially when the nail is painful, infected, or recurrent. What varies is how much of it you pay. If you have not met your deductible for the year you may pay the full contracted rate, which can feel like having no coverage at all. If you have met it, you are typically looking at a copay or a percentage coinsurance. Two things are worth checking before you book: whether the practice is in network for your specific plan, since the same practice can be in network for one plan and not another from the same insurer, and whether your plan requires a referral. It is also worth asking whether the procedure and the office visit will be billed together or separately, because that affects what you owe on the day.
Is it cheaper to go to urgent care or the emergency room for an ingrown toenail?
The emergency room is almost always the most expensive way to deal with an ingrown toenail and often the least definitive, because an emergency department will typically drain an abscess and start antibiotics rather than perform a permanent correction, so you pay emergency prices and still need the procedure afterward. Urgent care sits in the middle: it is cheaper than an emergency room, many locations can perform a simple avulsion, but not all offer the permanent matrixectomy, so there is a real chance of paying for a temporary fix. A podiatry office is generally both the cheapest and the most definitive route for a routine ingrown nail, because the permanent procedure can be done at the same visit. The exception is genuine emergency territory: spreading redness up the foot, fever, or a rapidly worsening infection, particularly with diabetes, should go to urgent or emergency care the same day regardless of cost.
Can I get a price in advance?
Yes, and you should ask. If you are uninsured or choosing not to use insurance, federal No Surprises Act rules generally entitle you to a written good faith estimate of expected charges before scheduled care, and practices are used to providing them. If you are using insurance, call the number on your card and ask what your plan pays for the specific procedure codes, then call the practice and ask whether they are in network for that plan and what they estimate you will owe. The codes worth quoting are 11730 for a nail avulsion and 11750 for permanent removal of the nail with destruction of the nail matrix, plus an office visit code for the appointment itself. Ask specifically whether the office visit is billed in addition to the procedure, because that is the line item that most often makes a bill larger than expected.
Why did my ingrown toenail come back after I paid to have it removed?
Almost always because the procedure performed was a simple avulsion rather than a permanent one. If the nail root is left intact the nail regrows over roughly six to twelve months, and if the underlying cause was the curvature or width of your nail rather than a one-off bad trim, it regrows straight back into the same corner. That is not a complication or a mistake, it is what a temporary procedure does, but it is often not explained clearly at the time and people reasonably feel they paid for something that did not work. Permanent procedures have a much lower recurrence rate, and where recurrence does occur it usually reflects a small amount of matrix surviving at the very corner of the nail, which can be addressed. If you have had the same nail treated twice, the conversation to have at your next visit is about the permanent option rather than repeating the temporary one.
See a Podiatrist Near You
ASG Foot & Ankle has offices in Homewood, South Chicago Heights and Mokena. Our board-certified podiatrists accept most insurance. Find the office closest to you:
Ask Us for an Estimate First
Call and tell us whether you are using insurance or paying cash, and we will tell you what to expect before you come in. If your nail has been ingrown more than once, ask about the permanent procedure. It usually works out cheaper than doing the temporary one again.