GoodRx is an app for iOS and Android that promises to help you find the best prices on prescription drugs in your area. Here’s our GoodRx review.
What is GoodRx?
GoodRx is a mobile app available on iOS and Android. The app promises to help you get prescription drug prices on-the-go and view the cheapest prescription drugs in your area.
You can collect and compare prices for every FDA-approved prescription drug in America. So far, GoodRx has a collection of over 70,000 pharmacies that have been added to the app.
Ultimately, by using GoodRx regularly, you can save a significant amount of money on the cost of your prescription drugs.
In an introductory video explaining how GoodRx works, the company explains that “most people have no idea that drug prices vary. The exact same drug that’s $10 at this pharmacy is $150 at this one.”
With that in mind, GoodRx promises to identify low prices and discount coupons across the map.
How to Use GoodRx
Using GoodRx is straightforward. You enter the name of your drug into the app then watch as pricing information is displayed across your area:
Step 1) Type in your drug name (you typically only have to enter a few letters before the full name of the drug appears)
Step 2) View a list of pharmacies in your area along with their prices. You can view these pharmacies by list or by map view.
Step 3) Click Get Coupon to get coupons for each individual pharmacy and save even more money off the cost of your prescription drugs.
Step 4) Once you get to the pharmacy, show the pharmacist your GoodRx coupon
The service is totally free. It promises to save you money even if you have insurance – and it works for every member of your family (even pet medications).
Ultimately, using this system, GoodRx wants to help you stop paying too much for your prescriptions. The makers of GoodRx claim that the number one reason Americans don’t take their medications is because of cost.
To save even more money, you can request a free discount card from GoodRx. This savings card promises to give you access to discounts as much as 80% on most prescription drugs “at virtually every U.S. pharmacy.”
As evidence for their effectiveness, GoodRx features some savings on their homepage. Lipitor, for example, typically costs $80.10 (generic version), but a GoodRx coupon drops that price 87% all the way down to $10.63. There’s also a 15% savings on Cialis ($272.82 final cost), an 84% saving on Neurontin (generic, down to $12.42 final cost), and a 68% saving on Prilosec (generic, down to $9.89 final cost).
How to Download GoodRx
GoodRx is available for Android and iOS devices.
You can download the iOS app here for iPhone or iPad.
Or, download the Android app here.
How Does GoodRx Get Cheaper Drugs?
You may be wondering – how exactly does an app save you over 80% on select prescription drugs? Shouldn’t those drugs all cost pretty much the same price?
GoodRx explains their model at their official website. The most important thing to note is that US drug prices are neither fixed nor regulated. Pharmacies across the street from one another can have the same drug listed at over a $100 price difference.
Those who are uninsured can get a better price more easily. Insurance companies are pushing more costs onto patients. So even though your co-pay might only be $10 or $20, you’re still paying more than you could with GoodRx.
Ultimately, GoodRx wants to help you avoid the markup charged with medical insurance companies. It does this by collecting millions of prices and discounts from pharmacies, drug manufacturers, and “other sources”. The prices GoodRx advertises are based on “contractual agreements” they have with these organizations.
How Is It Free?
The other thing you’re probably wondering about GoodRx is how it’s free: if something is free, doesn’t that mean they’re just selling your information to advertisers?
Oddly enough, that’s not the case with GoodRx. They do not sell your personal health information to anyone, and they don’t require you to input any personal information in order to search drugs and receive discounts. You just open the app and away you go.
So how does GoodRx make money? It claims to make its money from advertisements on their site as well as referral fees:
“We make money from advertisements on our site and referral fees. This revenue enables us to continue to make the best, free product to help Americans afford the prescriptions they need.”
Should You Use GoodRx to Save Money on Prescription Drugs?
GoodRx is a free and helpful app for those who regularly need to buy prescription drugs. Even if you have insurance, you might find that GoodRx can find prices cheaper than your co-pays. If you don’t have insurance, then you have a greater freedom to enjoy GoodRx savings.
GoodRx is available for iOS and Android. They don’t sell your information to third parties and they make their money through contractual agreements with pharmacies, drug manufacturers, and other organizations (as well as ads on their site). As far as we can tell, GoodRx is a legitimate app with no obvious “catch” you need to be aware of.
