Prices shown are estimates only. Always verify with your pharmacy. Not medical advice. Full disclaimer

Brand vs. Generic Comparison

See exactly how much you save by switching from a brand-name drug to its generic equivalent — across every major pharmacy.

Select a Drug to Compare

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Enter a drug name above to compare brand vs. generic prices

We'll show you side-by-side prices at every major pharmacy and calculate your annual savings.

Annual Savings by Pharmacy

Pharmacy Generic/yr Brand/yr You Save/yr

🧮 Personalized Savings Calculator

—Generic cost
—Brand cost
—Total savings

Are Generic Drugs as Effective as Brand-Name?

Yes. The FDA requires generic drugs to have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as their brand-name counterparts. They must also meet the same standards for quality, purity, and potency.

Generic drugs typically cost 80–85% less than brand-name drugs. The lower price reflects the fact that generic manufacturers don't bear the cost of drug discovery and clinical trials — not a difference in quality.

In some cases, your doctor may specify "dispense as written" (DAW) for a brand drug due to narrow therapeutic index or formulation differences. Always consult your pharmacist or physician before switching.

Disclaimer: This tool compares estimated prices only. Always verify current prices with your pharmacy. This is not medical advice — consult your healthcare provider before making any medication changes. See our full disclaimer.

How Generic Drug Pricing Works

This tool matches each brand-name drug in our dataset with its FDA-approved generic equivalent (when one exists) and shows side-by-side pharmacy pricing so you can see the gap directly, rather than taking a general "generics are cheaper" claim on faith.

How FDA Generic Approval Works

Before a generic drug can be sold in the U.S., its manufacturer must file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the FDA showing the product is bioequivalent to the already-approved brand-name drug — same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration, delivered into the body within the same FDA-defined range as the original. The FDA does not require the generic maker to repeat the original clinical efficacy and safety trials, since those already established the drug works; the generic approval process instead confirms the copy performs the same way in the body.

Why Generics Typically Cost Less

Skipping the discovery and clinical-trial phase is the main reason generic manufacturing is cheaper than originating a new drug. Once a brand's patent and any FDA market-exclusivity period expire, multiple manufacturers can usually produce and sell the same generic, and that competition tends to push prices down further — often the more approved generic makers there are for a given drug, the lower the price tends to settle, though exact pricing still varies by pharmacy and by drug.

What "Dispense as Written" Means

In most states a pharmacist can automatically substitute an FDA-approved generic unless the prescriber marks the prescription "dispense as written" (DAW) or your state requires opt-in generic substitution. Doctors typically reserve DAW for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, where small differences in blood levels matter clinically, or when a patient has a documented reaction to a specific formulation. If your prescription says DAW, that's worth asking your doctor about directly rather than assuming it's an oversight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are generic drugs as effective as brand-name drugs?
The FDA requires a generic to contain the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as its brand-name counterpart, and to demonstrate that it delivers that active ingredient into the bloodstream in essentially the same way. A generic cannot be approved and sold in the U.S. without meeting that standard, which is why pharmacists can substitute one for the other in most states without contacting your prescriber.
Why is there a price difference if it's the same drug?
The price gap mostly reflects what each manufacturer had to spend to bring the drug to market, not a difference in the pill itself. The original brand-name maker funds years of discovery and clinical trials and holds patent/exclusivity protection to recoup that cost. Generic manufacturers don't repeat those trials — they demonstrate bioequivalence to the already-approved drug — so their costs, and typically their prices, are lower. Multiple generic makers competing for the same drug can push prices down further once exclusivity ends.
What does "bioequivalent" actually mean?
Bioequivalent means the generic version releases its active ingredient into a patient's bloodstream at a rate and extent that falls within the same FDA-defined range as the brand-name drug, based on pharmacokinetic testing. It does not mean every inactive ingredient (fillers, dyes, coatings) is identical — those can differ, which is occasionally why a patient reports a different experience with a generic even though the active medication is functioning equivalently.
Is the annual savings estimate exact?
No — treat it as directional. It's built from the pharmacy prices in our dataset multiplied by the refill count and years you enter, and pharmacy pricing changes over time and by location. Confirm the current price with your pharmacy before assuming the exact dollar figure shown here.
Should I ask my doctor before switching to a generic?
For most medications, pharmacists can substitute an FDA-approved generic automatically. But for a small number of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, or if your doctor has written "dispense as written," a switch may need their sign-off first. This tool doesn't know your specific prescription or medical history, so confirm any switch with your prescriber or pharmacist rather than relying on price data alone.
Does every brand-name drug have a generic available?
No. A generic can only exist once the brand's patent and any additional FDA exclusivity periods have expired, and a manufacturer has actually brought an approved generic to market. Newer or specialty brand-name drugs often have no generic yet — if this tool shows no generic match, that may be the reason rather than a gap in our dataset.