ID NOW or Cepheid

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Our family practice groups are wanting to move from antigen testing to ID NOW or Cepheid GeneXpert Xpress. These are CLIA waived offices with CMA's and RN's performing the test. Manual entry into Epic, testing for Strep A, Flu, Covid and RSV.
What is your preferred platform and why?
Thanks
Kim

9 Replies

Jewell Billings

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 1:49PM

Cepheid. You can get a 4 module instrument and do 4 at a time. Easier test preparedness. I have used both and I believe Cepheid is a better choice.

Paulina Miczko

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 1:50PM

We currently use ID Nows in an outpatient area and decided not to implement into the Emergency Department and go with the Xpress instead. The ID NOW has a reagent warm up time where users need to wait 5 minutes before they can proceed with testing. If users leave the machine and come back to it later on, they may let it time out and they will need to start over. Also, we found a lot of user errors when transferring the reagent w/sample to the orange testing chamber. If you do not press hard enough, the same does not get dispensed to the testing chamber and will proceed with testing, but the user WILL receive an error. Cepheid just requires pipetting the sample into the testing chamber, and then placing it into the machine. We haven't gotten the Cepheids yet, but so far I do think it will be more foolproof. Hopefully!

Kayla Cooper

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 2:02PM

Cepheid! ID Now has too many parts, too many areas for pre-analytic errors.

Kat Martin

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 2:03PM

I have used both as a bench tech. Coming from the point of view of a bench tech, I'd definitely say the Cepheid. The incubation time on the ID NOW is just long enough that you can walk away and forget to add the sample before it times out. The Cepheid, you just add the sample and put it on the instrument. It does generally take longer to get a result on the Cepheid.
I did see that you can get a respiratory panel for the cepheid that includes Flu, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2, so one sample could be used. There are tons of other panels that you could add on later if needed.
Overall, I think Danaher produces a better product than Abbott.

Jo Win

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 2:07PM

cepheid

Alexandr Markevich

Thu Mar 12, 2026 at 2:23PM

Disclosure: the comparison analysis was performed early 2025 or late 2024, so it is possible something has changed.
hello Kim, currently we are working with Abbott's ID Now instruments for POC and Cepheid for Micro department, and recently we run a big market analysis including different vendors platforms comparison (including Cepheid, BioFire, Liat). After the detailed and thorough comparison, we decided to stay with ID Now. Few highlights for Abbott: the waiting time for reagent warm up is 3 minutes (solid) and only for Covid, Flu and RSV. Strep A no waiting time. You will get the result within 6-8 minutes from the start for positives, and around 12 minutes total for Negatives (time is priceless). Cepheid's result time was about 25-36 minutes (not sure if it is different right now). Abbott is very flexible, and we just requested as many units as we need to depends on the clinic size, so you can get 4 instruments, and run full panel at the same time. Size of the instrument is like a regular office desk phone. There is a way to reflex Covid to FluAB tests, so 1 swab only, no waiting time for the Flu AB. We did have some issues with the transferring cartridge, but it is an educational effort, and the design of cartridges is developed to make sure you obviously see when it is done right or not (the yellow pin). With ID Now you just need a "dry" swab inserted directly to the buffer chamber on the instrument, with Cepheid, I believe you need to put a swab to the collection tube with liquid, and then pipet the liquid to the cartridge. So, little bit more steps and consumables involved. Also, one of the biggest disadvantages for Cepheid was inability to order RSV only test, so if you have a baby or elderly patient and you suspect RSV , the only choice was to run a panel. Really not practical during RSV seasons. Lastly, get a quote for the reagents and all consumables and see the price differences. CPT codes are about the same reimbursement, but your expenses could be significantly different. I would also request a demo from both companies, and compare their customer service and sales rep performance. It is also valuable in long term business-to-business relationship, especially in the healthcare. My 25 cents for ID NOW :)

Michael Bishop

Fri Mar 13, 2026 at 7:51AM

I agree with Alexandr that the ID NOW is the better of the two choices. Two things I would like to add are that the ID NOW instrument holds the users' hands by having video instructions available on the instrument as the user is performing the test. This helps for those that perform testing occasionally. The other is that there is an FDA age restriction for ID NOW RSV testing for patients between the ages of 18-59 if this is a consideration for you.

Side gripe: Both companies would greatly benefit their customers by color coding the test kits. I know that as a bench tech I have grabbed the wrong pouch for testing simply because every test pouch is virtually identical between tests. These kits are expensive and more than likely become waste when the user becomes aware of the error after opening the kit.

Max Mauch

Tue Mar 17, 2026 at 10:07AM

ID NOW. Easy to train users, easy to use. No complaints from staff.

Angela Barbetta

Mon Mar 23, 2026 at 2:30PM

Something else to consider is that ID Now uses isothermic amplification which has been shown to be significantly less accurate when testing samples with lower viral loads. Additionally, if you are using the Cepheid Xpress, you should have the option to select the test on the 4plex (Flu A/B,Covid, RSV), it just depends on how you have the instrument set up. Our health system chose not to enable this function since they all tend to present with the same symptoms and is more helpful to the provider when the whole panel is performed. Lastly, the Xpress will indeed show you a video on how to set up the cartridge when starting a test. The interface if very user friendly, especially for non-lab people.

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ID NOW or Cepheid