Measure testosterone yourself? Eli Health brings saliva test to CES

Anna Sandner

8.1.2026

Translation: machine translated

At CES 2026, Eli Health is presenting a saliva test that measures active testosterone and progesterone as an extension of its cortisol hormometer. The test is good for tracking, but not as a diagnostic tool.

Until now, it was only possible to determine testosterone levels at home using a urine or blood test. Now there is a simpler and, above all, more meaningful option. Eli Health is adding two more hormones to its cortisol hormometer: in future, users will also be able to measure testosterone and progesterone - in each case using a saliva test.

How the test works and what makes it different

A thin test strip is placed in the mouth for one minute to collect a saliva sample. The Eli app then scans the test kit with the smartphone camera. The result is available within around 20 minutes. The key difference to other test methods lies in what is measured: Saliva tests measure the free, biologically active testosterone - the hormone form that is directly active in the body and docks onto cell receptors. Blood tests, on the other hand, measure total testosterone, including testosterone bound to proteins, which the body cannot utilise directly. Urine tests, on the other hand, only measure hormone breakdown products and metabolites, not the active hormone itself - they therefore show how the body breaks down and excretes testosterone, but not the actual circulating levels.

From a scientific point of view, free testosterone correlates more strongly with physical symptoms than total testosterone, which is why saliva measurement can potentially be more meaningful for personal tracking.

The test also detects progesterone, a hormone that does not only affect women: progesterone is lipophilic (fat-soluble) and is easily measured via saliva, making the test relevant for both sexes.

A monitoring tool with realistic expectations

Testosterone actually influences energy, mood, bone density and muscle strength - in both men and women. Regular tracking could show how factors such as sleep, stress or training change hormone levels. However, such results should not be taken as self-diagnosis, but - as hormone expert Dr Andreas Walther recommends in an interview with Galaxus - should serve as a starting point for a medical consultation with a specialist.

Important restrictions: Tracking, not diagnosis

Self-test kits are controversial among specialists due to their susceptibility to errors. The Eli test is designed as a tracking tool for personal observation of hormonal trends over a certain period of time, not for medical diagnosis.

Psychotherapist and hormone expert Walther warns against premature self-diagnoses. He emphasises that it is not only the absolute test value that counts, but also the individual sensitivity of the androgen receptors - the binding sites for male hormones. «As long as you are above 20 nanomoles per litre, there is no need to talk about whether this is low», explains Walther. A single low test value is by no means a diagnosis for a medical deficiency.

Most importantly, testosterone supplements can cause serious side effects - from an increased risk of heart attack to fertility problems. This is precisely why self-experimentation should be avoided. In the interview, Walther also warns that many symptoms attributed to testosterone deficiency - tiredness, reduced energy - often have other causes, such as lack of sleep, stress or lack of exercise, and do not automatically disappear with higher testosterone levels.

Availability, cost and accuracy

Pre-orders for the new test kit are already available in the USA and Canada, with shipping scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. A single test costs 8.25 US dollars; alternatively, packages of 8 tests are available for 99 dollars. Availability for Germany and Switzerland has not yet been announced. Independently tested, the device achieves an accuracy of over 90 per cent compared to laboratory tests.

Anna Sandner

Senior Editor

Anna.Sandner@galaxus.de

Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.

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