Private Label Surrogacy vs Circle Surrogacy: fees, surrogate pay, escrow and model

Who is Circle Surrogacy and who is Private Label Surrogacy?

This page is written by Private Label Surrogacy, one of the two agencies it compares. Every statement about Circle Surrogacy is verified from Circle Surrogacy's own public materials as of [date checked], and the page is reviewed by counsel before it is published.

The two agencies run on different models. This page sets the published facts side by side so you can check them. It does not rank the two.

Circle Surrogacy is a Boston-based national surrogacy agency founded in 1995 and licensed in New York. Founding year, ownership and license status to be verified from its own public pages and public records, and dated. Circle Surrogacy publishes program tiers, including a fixed-cost option, and surrogate compensation on its site. PLS does not offer a fixed-cost program; its Assured tier, at $62,500, offers unlimited rematches instead. Confirm Assured tier terms with Nancy.

Private Label Surrogacy is a boutique agency in Northbrook, Illinois, founded in 2017 by Nancy Block, RN. Nancy spent 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and personally runs matching. PLS uses independent licensed escrow only, employs no attorneys or psychologists by design, and has every surrogate's records read by a physician.

A bracketed cell means we have not yet verified that answer. It does not mean Circle Surrogacy falls short. Ask them directly.

How do the published fees compare?

Circle Surrogacy publishes program tiers on its site, including a fixed-cost option. The price of each tier, what each includes and excludes, the conditions attached, and when each part is due: [from the agency's public page, with URL and date].

PLS's program fee is $47,500. It is paid $22,500 at signing, $20,000 at surrogate acceptance and $5,000 at medical clearance. An Assured tier at $62,500 adds priority matching, unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed. Third-party costs (legal, escrow, psychological evaluation, background check, insurance review, travel and monitoring) are listed separately and total $15,300 to $29,000.

Agencies include different things in their fees. Check three points:

1. What the fee covers. Is screening inside the fee, or billed as a third-party cost?
2. When it is paid. A fee staged to milestones keeps less of your money with the agency before work is done.
3. What happens if the journey changes. Rematch and refund terms can be worth more than the difference in the headline fee.

The agency fee is a minority of the total. A whole journey typically costs $150,000 to $210,000 all in, driven by surrogate compensation, insurance and clinic fees.

How does surrogate compensation compare?

Circle Surrogacy publishes surrogate compensation on its site. Its base compensation and itemized package: [from the agency's public page, with URL and date].

Compare the total package first, then the base. Two agencies with the same base can differ by thousands of dollars once allowances are added.

At PLS, the typical total package is roughly $68,000 to $78,000. First-time base compensation is $60,000 (proposed, up from $55,000), and experienced surrogates receive $65,000 to $70,000. The package adds a $300 monthly allowance, $500 at medication start, $1,000 at transfer, $5,000 for twins or $10,000 for triplets, $750 for maternity clothing ($1,000 for multiples), $200 per week for pumping, $90 per week for housekeeping from 32 weeks, lost wages for the surrogate and her partner, and extended life insurance up to $750,000. All figures: confirm with Nancy.

PLS surrogates also receive mental-health support and at least six nutrition consults across the journey with Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC.

Who holds the money: escrow at each agency

What Circle Surrogacy publishes about who holds client funds and how escrow is administered: [from the agency's public page, with URL and date].

At PLS, you fund an independent licensed escrow agent: $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start. You may choose your own escrow company. PLS has always used independent licensed escrow and has never held client funds.

Ask every agency three questions:

1. Who holds surrogate compensation and expense funds: an independent licensed escrow agent, or the agency or a company tied to it?
2. Can we see the escrow agent's license and a sample statement?
3. May we choose our own escrow company?

The Surro Connections collapse in late 2025, followed by a federal indictment in August 2026, and the SEAM escrow failure, which involved more than $16 million, are why this question comes first. See how escrow works and how to vet a surrogacy agency's finances.

Who screens surrogates and how?

How Circle Surrogacy screens surrogate candidates, and who reviews their medical records: [from the agency's public page, with URL and date].

Every PLS surrogate completes seven steps before you see her profile: application, interview, records review by Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, background check, insurance review, psychological evaluation by an independent licensed professional, and clinic medical screening.

Dr. Silverberg, an anesthesiologist with more than 30 years of practice and many obstetric and gynecologic cases, reads every candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary that goes to your fertility clinic. The PLS agency agreement defines this as review by a board-certified physician.

To apply, a PLS surrogate must be 21 to 43, a US citizen or permanent resident, with a BMI under 33, at least one healthy full-term pregnancy, and currently parenting. She must not smoke, receive government assistance or currently take antidepressants, and she must have a stable home.

Licensing, ownership and size

Illinois does not license surrogacy agencies. Pending review by counsel. New York does, and PLS is applying. Circle Surrogacy is licensed in New York. License status to be verified from New York State records and dated.

Circle Surrogacy's ownership, including any investor ownership, and its size: [from the agency's public page or public records, dated].

PLS is founder-run. Nancy Block, RN, runs matching and has made more than 2,500 matches across her career. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, is Executive Director. Two case managers, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, both former surrogates, carry every active match. Jan Telman Berman manages national and international cycles. PLS works with 14 partner fertility centers. Since 2017, PLS has completed more than 100 journeys and more than 60 births.

When Circle Surrogacy may be the better fit, and when PLS may be

Circle Surrogacy may suit you better if:

• You want a fixed-cost program, which Circle Surrogacy lists among its program tiers.
• You need an agency licensed in New York today; Circle Surrogacy is licensed there and PLS is applying.
• You have narrow criteria and want a national agency's surrogate pool.

PLS may suit you better if:

• You want a physician to read your surrogate's records before you see her profile.
• You want independent licensed escrow and independent attorneys and psychologists.
• You want the founder running your match and a named case manager with a capped caseload.

Where PLS may not fit: PLS offers no fixed price for the whole journey; the Assured tier, at $62,500, covers rematches and the agency fee, not every journey cost. PLS has no in-house legal services, by design. The wait from signing to surrogate introduction is about 9 months today, with a target of 6 or fewer.

Ask both agencies the same ten questions:

1. Who holds our money, and can we see the escrow agent's license?
2. May we choose our own escrow company?
3. Who reads the surrogate's records before we see her profile?
4. Does our clinic receive a written medical summary?
5. Are the psychologist and both attorneys independent of you?
6. How many active matches does each case manager carry?
7. What is your wait from signing to introduction, and from what date?
8. What does the fee cover, and when is each part due?
9. What happens to the fee if a match ends or a transfer fails?
10. May we speak with a recent parent and a surrogate who has delivered?

For the wider picture, see boutique vs national surrogacy agencies and Illinois surrogacy agencies compared. To ask Nancy these questions directly, book a consultation.

Sources

• Circle Surrogacy public website. [URLs and dates checked to be added.]
• New York State agency license records. [Date checked.]
• SEEDS, Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy, member directory. [Date checked.]
• [News reporting and court filings on the Surro Connections and SEAM collapses: outlet or court, date.]
• Private Label Surrogacy fee schedule, compensation schedule and screening process.