An ultrasound machine uses high-frequency sound waves and a transducer (probe) to produce real-time images of organs, blood flow, and soft tissue, with no radiation.
Ultrasound machine cost ranges from roughly $4,000 for a refurbished handheld unit to over $200,000 for a new premium cart-based system, depending on type, transducers, and features.
Ultrasound is one of the most versatile and widely used imaging tools, found in OB/GYN, cardiology, vascular, emergency, and point-of-care settings. This guide breaks down what an ultrasound machine costs, the types and transducers, the leading brands, and how to decide between new and refurbished.
What Is an Ultrasound Machine?
An ultrasound machine sends high-frequency sound waves into the body through a transducer, then captures the echoes that bounce back to build a real-time image. Because it uses sound instead of radiation, ultrasound is safe for pregnancy and repeat exams. Doppler ultrasound adds the ability to visualize and measure blood flow. Image quality depends on the system, the transducer, and the software.
What Is an Ultrasound Machine Used For?
- OB/GYN: pregnancy and women’s health imaging
- Cardiology (echo): heart structure and function
- Vascular: blood flow and Doppler studies
- Point-of-care (POCUS) & emergency: rapid bedside assessment
- Musculoskeletal & general: joints, abdomen, and guided procedures
What Types of Ultrasound Machine Are There?
Handheld / Point-of-Care
Pocket and tablet-sized units for bedside and field use. Lowest cost and most portable.
Portable / Compact
Laptop-style systems balancing image quality and mobility, popular in clinics and POCUS.
Cart-Based / Premium
Full-featured console systems for hospitals and specialty imaging, with the best image quality and the widest transducer support.
Ultrasound Transducers (Probes) Explained
The transducer, or probe, is the part that touches the patient and largely determines what you can image. Common types include:
- Linear array: high-frequency imaging of shallow structures like vessels and MSK
- Curved (convex) array: deeper abdominal and OB imaging
- Phased array: cardiac (echo) imaging through narrow windows
- Endocavitary: transvaginal and transrectal exams
Each transducer adds meaningfully to system cost, so probe selection matters. We also offer ultrasound probe repair to extend the life of your existing transducers.
How Much Does an Ultrasound Machine Cost?
Ultrasound machine cost is driven by type, transducers, and condition. Typical price ranges are:
| Ultrasound Type | Refurbished | New |
|---|---|---|
| Handheld / point-of-care | $4,000 – $12,000 | $9,000 – $18,000 |
| Portable / compact | $15,000 – $40,000 | $35,000 – $70,000 |
| Cart-based / premium | $30,000 – $90,000 | $90,000 – $200,000 |
Each transducer adds to the total, and a certified refurbished ultrasound typically saves 40 to 60 per cent versus new. Browse ultrasound machines for sale »
Ultrasound Systems We Carry
Medical Outfitters carries new and certified refurbished Fujifilm ultrasound systems across every type:
- Fujifilm Arietta (cart-based): the premium Arietta 850 and Arietta 650
- Fujifilm Sonosite (portable / POCUS): the Sonosite Edge II and Sonosite M-Turbo
- Fujifilm Lisendo (cardiovascular): the Lisendo 880
You may also encounter GE, Philips, Samsung, Canon, and Mindray ultrasound systems on the used market. Our team can help you source and compare these as well.
Should You Buy a New or Refurbished Ultrasound Machine?
A new ultrasound offers the latest imaging software and a full manufacturer warranty. A certified refurbished ultrasound delivers comparable diagnostic performance for far less, fully inspected and warrantied. Because ultrasound platforms are durable and transducers can be added later, refurbished systems are an excellent value for clinics and POCUS programs. Refurbished typically saves 40 to 60 percent versus new.
What Does Ultrasound Service and Probe Repair Involve?
Transducers are the most failure-prone and expensive part of an ultrasound system. Medical Outfitters provides ultrasound service, parts, and probe repair to keep your systems running and control cost. Learn about our service and repair options »
How to Choose the Right Ultrasound Machine
Match the system and transducers to your specialty, setting, and budget. Key takeaways:
- Handheld for bedside POCUS and field use
- Portable for clinics needing quality plus mobility
- Cart-based / premium for hospitals and specialty imaging
- Match transducers to your exams (linear, curved, phased, endocavitary)
- Refurbished for 40–60% savings with comparable performance
Sonogram, Sonography or Ultrasonography: Do They Mean the Same?
Yes, and it matters when you compare quotes, because different suppliers list the same equipment under different words.
- Ultrasound machine The equipment
- Sonogram machine Same equipment. A sonogram is the image the machine produces
- Sonography machine Same equipment. Sonography is the practice of performing the scan
- Ultrasonography machine Same equipment again, the formal clinical term
- Diagnostic ultrasound machine and medical ultrasound machine are the same thing, used to separate clinical systems from industrial or veterinary listings
- Ultrasound scanning machine appears in some listings too, and ultrasound scanning machine price means the same as ultrasound machine cost
So sonogram machine cost, sonography machine price and ultrasonography machine cost are all the same question as ultrasound machine cost, and the ranges in the table above answer all of them. What actually changes the number is the transducer set, not the word used in the listing.
What Affects the Price of an Ultrasound Machine?
Two systems of the same class and the same age can be tens of thousands apart. These are the things that move an ultrasound machine price, roughly in order of impact.
- Transducers The single biggest factor after the class of system. Probes carry much of the value and a machine quoted with two is not comparable to the same machine quoted with five
- Class of system Handheld, portable and cart-based premium are three different price brackets before anything else
- Licensed software Cardiac packages, elastography, contrast imaging, advanced vascular and 3D or 4D are usually licensed separately and do not always transfer with a used system
- Beamformer and channel count Drives image quality and how well the system handles difficult patients
- Age and platform support Whether the manufacturer still supplies parts and software matters more than the year of manufacture
- Condition of the probes Not the console. Probes are handled all day and they are what fails
Our guide to ultrasound probe types, faults and repair covers how to test one properly, including the air scan that reveals element dropout.
What Types of Ultrasound Transducer Are There?
The probe decides what the machine can actually image. Frequency and footprint set the trade-off between depth and resolution: higher frequency gives finer detail but does not penetrate as far.
- Curvilinear (convex) Abdominal, obstetric, general. Wide deep field of view
- Linear Vascular, musculoskeletal, small parts, nerve blocks. High frequency, shallow, very high resolution
- Phased array (sector) Cardiac. Small footprint to fit between ribs
- Endocavity Transvaginal and transrectal work
- Transesophageal Cardiac imaging from inside the oesophagus
- 3D and 4D volume probes Obstetric and specialist imaging
Doppler and Imaging Modes: What Do You Actually Need?
Doppler ultrasound measures movement, principally blood flow, by reading the frequency shift of the returning signal. It is the feature most often assumed to be included and most often licensed separately.
- B-mode The standard grey scale image
- M-mode Motion over time along one line, used in cardiac
- Colour Doppler Flow direction and velocity overlaid on the image
- Power Doppler More sensitive to slow flow, no direction information
- Pulsed and continuous wave Doppler Quantitative velocity measurement
- Elastography Tissue stiffness, used in liver and breast work
- Contrast enhanced ultrasound Requires both a licence and an agent
Confirm in writing which modes are licensed on the specific system you are quoted, not which the platform supports. The NIBIB explainer on ultrasound covers the physics plainly, and the RadiologyInfo page on general ultrasound is published by the ACR and RSNA.
What Does It Cost to Run an Ultrasound Machine?
Ultrasound is the cheapest major modality to own. There is no magnet, no cryogen, no X-ray tube and no shielded room. But it is not free to run, and the recurring cost sits almost entirely in the probes.
- Probe repair and replacement The dominant cost. Probes are dropped, cables fail and elements drop out
- Service contract Priced against the platform and its age
- Consumables Gel, probe covers, disinfectant and print media
- Cleaning and disinfection compliance Using an agent that is not on the manufacturer approved list is a common cause of probe damage, and it voids cover
- Annual QA Recurring, and expected under accreditation
The AIUM official statements are the reference on cleaning and transducer care. Repairing a probe is usually far cheaper than replacing it, and testing it properly before spending anything is the step most often skipped. That is work we do as part of service and repairs.
What Is Included in an Ultrasound Machine Price?
Before you purchase an ultrasound machine, compare what is actually in the two quotes. The gap between a cheap one and an expensive one is usually scope rather than the machine. Compare these line by line.
- Which transducers, and how many Named, with frequency ranges
- Licensed software packages Cardiac, vascular, elastography, 3D or 4D. Confirm they transfer
- Cart, printer and peripherals Sometimes separate on used systems
- Warranty term And specifically whether probes are covered, because that is what fails
- Applications training Especially on cardiac and elastography
- DICOM connectivity Whether it will actually talk to your PACS
- Delivery and setup
Siting is the easy part on ultrasound. There is no shielding, no special power and no structural work, which is why an ultrasound room is a fraction of the cost of an MRI or CT installation. We handle delivery and logistics including to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
How Much Does a Used Ultrasound Machine Cost?
A refurbished ultrasound machine generally runs 40 to 60 per cent below the new price of the same platform, and the refurbished columns in the table above are our current ranges. Ultrasound has an unusually healthy used market because the installed base is large and systems are not physically difficult to move.
Every ultrasound machine for sale on our site lists its configuration, and current ultrasound machines for sale are in the ultrasound machines category. If you are looking specifically for used ultrasound equipment for sale rather than a new system, tell us the caseload and the budget and we will tell you what is realistic in that range.
The caution specific to this modality: an old ultrasound machine quoted cheaply often comes with tired probes, and re-probing a system can approach the price of the system. Ask for the probe list, the age of each probe, and an air scan on the two you would use most. Our guide on where to buy a refurbished ultrasound machine covers the checks, and refurbished versus OEM certified explains what the words mean. If you are replacing rather than adding, we also buy used imaging equipment.
Which Ultrasound Manufacturer Should You Choose?
The market is broader than in MRI or CT, and the used market is correspondingly deep. GE, Philips, Siemens, Canon, Mindray, Samsung and Fujifilm all hold meaningful share, and probes are not interchangeable between them.
That last point is the one that costs people money. Transducers are specific to the platform, so switching manufacturer means replacing the entire probe set, not just the console. It is the strongest practical argument for staying on one platform once you have invested in probes.
Our range is Fujifilm, including the Sonosite point-of-care line. Handheld and portable: the Sonosite ZX, Sonosite M-Turbo and Sonosite Edge II. Compact and general imaging: the ARIETTA 50 and ARIETTA 65. Shared service and premium: the Arietta 650 DeepInsight, Arietta 750 DeepInsight and Arietta 850 DeepInsight. Cardiac: the Lisendo 880. Everything currently available is in the ultrasound machines category.
Which Ultrasound Machine Suits Which Specialty?
Buy for the caseload, not for the brochure. The probe set and the licensed modes matter far more than the badge.
- General and abdominal A general purpose ultrasound machine with curvilinear plus linear probes and colour Doppler, on a compact or shared-service cart
- Obstetrics and gynaecology Curvilinear plus endocavity, often 3D or 4D
- Cardiology Phased array, full Doppler suite, cardiac package. This is a premium cart, not a compact
- Vascular Linear plus full Doppler including pulsed wave
- Musculoskeletal and sports medicine High frequency linear, often with a hockey stick probe
- Emergency and point of care Handheld or portable, ruggedness and boot time matter more than image refinement
- Anaesthesia and nerve blocks High frequency linear, needle visualisation software
- Veterinary Usually refurbished general systems, curvilinear plus linear
Ultrasound uses no ionising radiation, which is why it is the first line in obstetrics and much of point-of-care work. The FDA overview of ultrasound imaging covers the modality and its safety considerations, and the ACR radiology safety resources cover programme level practice. If you are weighing modalities rather than systems, our MRI versus CT comparison covers that decision.
If you want a system matched to your caseload rather than to a stock list, tell us what you scan and we will tell you what fits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does an ultrasound machine cost?
- An ultrasound machine costs about $4,000 for a refurbished handheld unit and up to $200,000 or more for a new premium cart-based system. A refurbished portable ultrasound typically runs $15,000 to $40,000, and each transducer adds to the total.
- What is the difference between handheld, portable, and cart-based ultrasound?
- Handheld units are pocket-sized for bedside use, portable systems are laptop-style for clinics and POCUS, and cart-based systems are full consoles for hospitals with the best image quality and transducer support.
- What are the types of ultrasound transducers (probes)?
- Common transducers include linear array for shallow structures, curved (convex) array for abdominal and OB, phased array for cardiac, and endocavitary probes for transvaginal or transrectal exams.
- What is a Doppler ultrasound?
- Doppler ultrasound is a mode that visualizes and measures blood flow, used for vascular, cardiac, and obstetric studies.
- Is a refurbished ultrasound machine worth it?
- Yes. A certified refurbished ultrasound saves 40 to 60 percent versus new with comparable diagnostic performance, provided it is fully inspected and backed by warranty.
- How much does a sonogram machine cost?
- The same as an ultrasound machine, because they are the same equipment. A sonogram is the image; the machine that produces it is an ultrasound machine. Refurbished handheld systems start around $4,000, portable systems from $15,000 and cart-based premium systems from $30,000.
- How much does a sonography machine cost?
- Sonography machine price follows the same ranges as ultrasound machine cost, because they are the same equipment under a different word. What moves the number inside a band is the transducer set and which software packages are licensed.
- How much does an ultrasonography machine cost?
- Ultrasonography machine cost is the same question as ultrasound machine cost. Refurbished runs from about $4,000 for handheld to $90,000 for cart-based premium, and new from $9,000 to $200,000, depending on class, probes and licensed options.
- What affects the price of an ultrasound machine?
- The transducer set first, then the class of system, then licensed software packages such as cardiac, elastography and 3D or 4D. After that, beamformer and channel count, platform support status, and the condition of the probes rather than the console.
- How many transducers should an ultrasound machine come with?
- As many as your caseload needs, named in the quote with their frequency ranges. A machine quoted with two probes and the same machine quoted with five are not the same purchase, and probes carry much of the value of the system.
- What is the difference between a curvilinear and a linear probe?
- A curvilinear probe uses a lower frequency and a curved face to give a wide, deep field of view, which suits abdominal and obstetric work. A linear probe uses a higher frequency and a flat face for shallow, very high resolution imaging, which suits vascular, musculoskeletal and nerve block work.
- What is a Doppler ultrasound and is it included?
- Doppler measures movement, principally blood flow, from the frequency shift of the returning signal. Colour, power, pulsed wave and continuous wave are different Doppler modes. They are frequently licensed separately, so confirm in writing which modes are enabled on the specific system you are quoted.
- What does it cost to run an ultrasound machine?
- Ultrasound is the cheapest major modality to own, because there is no magnet, no cryogen and no shielded room. The recurring cost is dominated by probe repair and replacement, then the service contract, consumables such as gel and probe covers, and annual QA.
- How much does ultrasound probe repair cost?
- It depends on the fault and the probe. Repair is usually far cheaper than replacement, and many probes written off as failed are repairable. Test the probe properly, including an air scan for element dropout, before you spend anything either way.
- Does an ultrasound machine need a special room?
- No. There is no shielding, no special power and no structural work, which is why an ultrasound room costs a fraction of an MRI or CT installation. You need space, a power outlet, network connectivity for DICOM and somewhere to store probes safely.
- How much does a used ultrasound machine cost?
- A refurbished ultrasound machine generally runs 40 to 60 per cent below new on the same platform. The caution specific to ultrasound is that a cheap old machine often comes with tired probes, and re-probing a system can approach the price of the system itself.
- Where can I buy ultrasound equipment?
- From a supplier that services what it sells and quotes the probes as part of the system. Medical Outfitters is a medical imaging equipment supplier based in Miami, Florida. We sell new and refurbished ultrasound machines and repair probes with our own engineers across the United States, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
- Which ultrasound manufacturer is best?
- There is no single best. GE, Philips, Siemens, Canon, Mindray, Samsung and Fujifilm all hold meaningful share. The practical point is that transducers are not interchangeable between manufacturers, so switching platform means replacing the whole probe set, not just the console.
- What ultrasound machine do I need for cardiology?
- A phased array probe, the full Doppler suite including pulsed and continuous wave, and a licensed cardiac package. That is a premium cart rather than a compact system. The Fujifilm Lisendo 880 is the cardiac system in our range.
- What ultrasound machine is best for point of care?
- A handheld or portable system, where ruggedness, boot time and battery matter more than image refinement. The Sonosite ZX, M-Turbo and Edge II are the point-of-care systems we supply.
- Can you use ultrasound on animals?
- Yes. Veterinary practices generally buy refurbished general purpose systems with a curvilinear and a linear probe. The equipment is the same; the probe choice follows the species and the caseload.
- Is ultrasound safe?
- Ultrasound uses sound waves rather than ionising radiation, which is why it is first line in obstetrics and in much point-of-care work. Standard practice is to keep exposure as low as reasonably achievable and to scan only when clinically indicated.
- Do you service ultrasound machines you did not sell?
- Yes, and probe faults are the most common reason facilities call. Whether a probe is worth repairing or replacing depends on the fault, and testing it properly before you spend anything is the step most often skipped.
- Where can I find ultrasound machines for sale?
- Our current ultrasound machines for sale are listed with their configuration in the ultrasound machines category. Each listing shows the class of system, and we quote the probes with it rather than as an extra, because a console without the right transducers is not a working system.
- Can I buy a used ultrasound machine directly?
- Yes. We sell new and refurbished systems directly rather than broking them, and we service what we sell. If you want used ultrasound equipment for sale rather than a new system, tell us the caseload and the budget and we will tell you what is realistic in that range.
From handheld POCUS to premium cart-based systems, Medical Outfitters helps you spec, buy, or lease the right ultrasound, new or certified refurbished. Serving the US, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean.
