The $0.22 pill and the $10 dose
ED medication went generic years ago. The prices didn't follow — unless you know which door to walk through. Every legitimate channel, priced per dose and per month, fine print included.
Generic sildenafil, as-needed — the markup exhibit#
| Channel | Price | Fine print | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Plus Drugs | $0.22/tab · $11.94/30 delivered (100 mg) | bring your own prescription; $5.25 shipping per order | listed price · 2026-09-09 source |
| Retail + GoodRx coupon | $0.39–0.99/tab (Sam's $11.81 → CVS $29.77 per 30) | zip- and pharmacy-dependent | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Amazon Pharmacy | $0.57/tab with Prime | RxPass ($5/mo flat) covers sildenafil; not CA/WA | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Friday Plans | ≤$1.99/tab any strength (87¢ promo) | TINA.org documented a possible hidden fee gating the promo price — treat with caution until checkout-tested | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Rex MD (LifeMD) | 20 mg $2 · 50/100 mg $6 per dose | consult free; all sales final | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Lemonaid | 20 mg $2/pill · $20 per 10-pill shipment | $25 one-time consult covers 12 refills, then monthly shipments. The advertised "starting at $2/pill" names no strength anywhere on the sildenafil page; Lemonaid's own comparison table is the only place that attaches it to a dose, and the dose is 20 mg — below the 50 mg most starting doses use. Rex MD prices the same gap at $2 for 20 mg against $6 for 50 mg, so read this as the 20 mg column, not a 50 mg price. Lemonaid also contradicts itself on fulfilment: the sildenafil page says the prescription goes to your local pharmacy and you pay the pharmacy, while the comparison table lists this row as Lemonaid mail order with free delivery. | reported · 2026-09-13 source |
| BlueChew | 45 mg chew $3.53–5.00/dose ($30/6 → $120/34) | compounded chewable (not FDA-approved as formulated); consult included; cancel anytime | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Hims | from ~$4–6/dose; "starting at $22/mo" on long plans | $5 processing fee per shipment; cheapest rates need annual prepay; tiers behind intake | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Ro (Roman) | 25 mg $4 · 50 mg $6 · 100 mg $10 per dose | official per-dose pricing page; $35 minimum order on promo plans | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
Daily tadalafil — the same molecule, $11 to $1,045 a month#
| Channel | Price | Fine print | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Plus Drugs | $11.22/month delivered (5 mg × 30) | the cash floor for the daily molecule | listed price · 2026-09-09 source |
| Retail + GoodRx coupon | ~$9–19/month | zip-dependent | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Amazon Pharmacy | ~$13.40–14.80/month with Prime | tadalafil NOT on RxPass | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Hims | $79/mo monthly → ~$49 quarterly → ~$32 annual | site floor "$24/mo"; plan-length tiers behind intake | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Rex MD | $2/dose ≈ $60/month | daily 2.5/5 mg | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| BlueChew DailyTAD | $100/mo monthly · $66.67/mo quarterly (9 mg chew + vitamins) | compounded | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Ro Daily Rise gummy | $89/mo · $69/mo on 3-month (tadalafil 7 mg) | compounded gummy; Ro's daily 5 mg tab lists $8/dose — monthly effective pending our audit | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Brand Cialis 5 mg | ~$296 (Amazon) – $433 (avg retail) per month | brand reference; Hims brand path $958–1,045/mo | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
Brand reference#
| Channel | Price | Fine print | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viagra 100 mg | $58–140/tab retail (Amazon $58.13; Ro $90/dose) | GoodRx avg retail ~$2,950/30 (50 mg) | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Cialis | 5 mg ~$9.88–14.45/tab (Ro $20/dose; 10/20 mg $80) | brand premium vs $0.20 generic tadalafil | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
Provider dossiers#
One dossier per ED provider: what it sells, its trust file read at the source, flags on file, and who it is actually for.
The Custom-Formula Tracker — 2-in-1s, 3-in-1s, 4-in-1s#
The compounded blends are where composition transparency goes to die: some publish every milligram, some won't name their third ingredient until you've done the intake. We track what's actually in each formula, per dose, per dollar. All are compounded — none is FDA-reviewed as formulated.
| Formula | Blend | What's in it | Format | Price per dose | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlueChew MAX | 2-in-1 | sildenafil + tadalafil | chew | from $5.63/dose | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| BlueChew VMAX | 2-in-1 | vardenafil + tadalafil | chew | from $5.63/dose | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| BlueChew GOLD | 4-in-1 | sildenafil 70–110 mg + tadalafil 18–22 mg + apomorphine + oxytocin | sublingual | $7.30–18.28/dose (~$75–269/mo by count) | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Hims Hard Mints 3-in-1 | 3-in-1 | tadalafil + sildenafil + third ingredient unpublished | mint | ~$8/dose monthly ("from $2" on annual prepay) | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| Lemonaid Bliss | unpublished | ingredients not published pre-intake | sublingual | $8/dose | reported · 2026-09-13 source |
| Ro Sparks | 2-in-1 | sildenafil 55 mg + tadalafil 22 mg | sublingual tab | $12/dose flat ($48–120/mo by count) | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Rugiet Ready Rugiet | 3-in-1 | sildenafil + tadalafil + apomorphine | troche | $12.42–22.42/dose monthly ($149–269/mo tiers; promo floor ~$7.29) | reported · 2026-09-06 source |
| BlueChew DailyTAD | daily | tadalafil 9 mg + 7 vitamins | daily chew | $100/mo monthly · $66.67/mo quarterly | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
| Ro Daily Rise | daily | tadalafil 7 mg (gummy) | daily gummy | $89/mo · $69/mo on 3-month | listed price · 2026-09-06 source |
Composition-transparency rule: formulas that publish full ingredients and doses (Ro Sparks, BlueChew GOLD) get listed-price status; blends with unpublished ingredients stay flagged until an intake walk documents them.
ED cost wizard: four questions to your cheapest legitimate route →
Daily or as-needed? The crossover is 51 doses a month at pharmacy prices, 9 at subscription prices →
ED medication cost without insurance: every channel, per dose →
What is actually in a "4-in-1"? Every blend, its ingredients and doses →
Or go molecule by molecule: sildenafil cost per tablet (22 cents at the cash floor, $10 a dose on subscription) and tadalafil cost per month ($11 delivered generic against $100 chewable plans).
The fine print, collected#
- Lemonaid: $25 one-time consult (the only explicit consult fee; covers 12 refills); sildenafil $2/pill on recurring delivery, which its own comparison table prices at 20 mg — not at the 50 mg a "from $2" headline implies.
- Hims: $5 processing fee per shipment despite "free shipping"; cheapest advertised rates require annual prepay; cancel ≥48h before renewal; shipped orders final.
- Cost Plus: $5.25 shipping per order, no membership. Amazon: best prices assume Prime ($139/yr); RxPass excludes tadalafil, CA, WA.
- Ro: consult typically free; quarterly discounts imply monthly-billing premium; tadalafil "dosing minimums apply."
- Friday Plans: 60-day money-back guarantee, but TINA.org documented a possible hidden fee gating the advertised price.
- Rex MD: all sales final; renewals must be stopped before processing (12-hour window on some annual plans).
- Chewables/troches run ~5–20× tablet price per dose; every compounded product on this page is not FDA-approved as formulated.
How to read this market#
- Have a prescription? Cost Plus ($11.94/30 sildenafil, $11.22/30 daily tadalafil delivered) or Amazon with Prime end the price conversation.
- Need the prescriber? Lemonaid's $25 one-time consult plus $2/pill is the cheapest legitimate full-service path we found. A one-off telehealth visit plus a cheap pharmacy beats any subscription over time.
- Paying for format? Chews, mints, and troches run 5–20× tablet price per dose, and every one is a compounded product the FDA hasn't reviewed as formulated. That's a preference purchase — fine, but know it.
- Watch the plan-length trick. "From $2/dose" headlines usually require annual prepay; monthly billing runs 2–4× the headline.
ED beyond the pill: exercise, diet, sleep, and the natural options — graded and cited →
News & moves#
The ED telehealth pioneer survives under new ownership — still the only channel we track with an explicit one-time consult fee ($25, covers 12 refills) instead of a subscription.
The ED true-cost tables →All tracked news → · Subscribe to this beat (RSS) · Fed by a daily automated scan; entries publish only after primary-source verification.
How diet, exercise and sleep affect erectile function — the trial evidence →
Pricing journalism, not medical advice — ED medications have real contraindications (notably nitrates) that belong in a conversation with a clinician. No link on this page earns us a commission; rankings never bend — disclosure.