ZipHealth Reviews

The act of getting a prescription can be somewhat of a beast — one that feeds hungrily on your time. Unless you have an existing script with remaining refills, you can expect to spend at least a few hours coordinating your schedule, traveling to your appointment, waiting to see the doctor, and then waiting some more for the pharmacy to fill your order. And that's under the best circumstances.

It's no surprise that so many people are seeking a more convenient alternative, namely online pharmacies like ZipHealth. Founded in 2018, ZipHealth came to life around the same time as Hims, Hers, and Ro but lacks the same brand recognition as the two telehealth giants. So, to help familiarize you with ZipHealth, we’ve thoroughly researched its offerings and examined where it stands in the online pharmacy space.

In our ZipHealth review, we break down all of the company's key qualities, including our own customer experience, so you understand how it measures against not only its closest competitors but also the traditional prescription experience.

We tried ZipHealth ourselves, ordering from the brand and interacting with its team. Though it isn’t perfect, we found ZipHealth to be a worthy contributor to the growing online pharmacy space. It provides a lower-cost, no-commitment alternative to larger telehealth brands like Hims, Hers, and Ro. Its startup process is one of the simplest and most efficient we've experienced. We appreciate that prices were transparently displayed even before we registered. Then, after signing up, we were able to arrange and complete a clinician consultation in a blink, and the shipping was surprisingly fast, even with standard USPS Ground Advantage. On the downside, ZipHealth is currently available in only 45 states. Also, although it appears to center its catalog on the best-supported medications in their respective treatment categories, the company’s prescription variety is quite small compared to other online pharmacies, so ZipHealth won’t be able to accommodate all prescription medication users.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

Our ZipHealth review builds on the hundreds of research hours we've put into scoping the telehealth and online pharmacy space. Our familiarity with competitors like Hims, Hers, Ro, and Strut has given us a firm foundation from which to evaluate ZipHealth's place in the market. Our assessments here also stem from the literature on subjects such as sexual health, hair loss, and weight loss, so we can assess ZipHealth's offerings in terms of their efficacy and scientific backing. What's more, we ourselves have purchased prescriptions from ZipHealth and interacted with its support channels, allowing us to report from a firsthand perspective about the customer experience.

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy and will continue to be monitored for updates by our editorial team.

Our overall assessment of ZipHealth centered on five criteria that are likely to influence your decision to use and/or remain with the service:

• Availability: Can you even get ZipHealth medications delivered to your state?
• Treatments: Does ZipHealth have the kind of medication you need, and is it effective?
• Cost: How budget-friendly is ZipHealth compared to the alternatives?
• Ease and efficiency: How fast and effortless is it to get started and receive your medication?
• Customer support: If you need help, how easy is it to get?

Here's how ZipHealth performed in each category:

Availability

Our rating here results from some semi-complex arithmetic, as is always the case when critiquing a telemedical platform. It involves complex weighted assessments based on sheer geographic availability and also the extent to which ZipHealth's prescription offerings are allowed within those regions.

ZipHealth isn't perfect — for one thing, it isn't available in all parts of the United States. But it is available in 45 states plus the District of Columbia. (The places that aren't licensed with ZipHealth are Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Carolina.) By contrast, Hims, Hers, and Ro deliver to all 50 states plus D.C. However, ZipZipHealth includes Puerto Rico as an additional shipping territory, which is something those other competitors don't do. Some ZipHealth prescriptions aren't eligible for shipment in 26 regions of the country.

ZipHealth's availability isn't the worst in the online pharmacy space — for example, Nurx delivers to just 35 states — but it's low enough to be significant. According to The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the five states excluded from ZipHealth's shipping regions accounted for more than 183.85 million prescription drug fulfillments at pharmacies in 2019 and greater than 4.39 million by mail order, and either value represents a sizable market to be left out of ZipHealth's consumer audience.1 2

State-by-state availability is subject to change because licenses must be renewed every year.3 Should we see ZipHealth increase or decrease its availability in the future, our rating will increase or decrease accordingly.

Treatments

ZipHealth's treatment variety amounts to 19 medications across four prescription classes — women, men, sexual health, and general health — and ten disease categories. In contrast, Strut Health has 36 prescriptions across eight categories for both men and women, and Hims/Hers carries upwards of 50 prescription and nonprescription products. In most cases, ZipHealth deals in just one variety of each medication (e.g., oral finasteride but not topical), so the choices are slim in that regard, too.

ZipHealth's small catalog is the company's greatest weakness because it means you have a lower chance of finding the medication you need, or at least want. If you experience side effects from sildenafil but have had more success with vardenafil, for example, you'd be disappointed to see that ZipHealth carries only sildenafil and tadalafil, and you'd have to go with a different company like Hims to get the erectile dysfunction prescription you'd rather have.

On the other hand, ZipHealth does offer treatments in some areas that its competitors don’t. Need a prescription for, say, a yeast infection, a migraine, or asthma? Hims, Hers, Ro, and Strut don’t have it, but ZipHealth does.

Also, ZipHealth's narrow variety may have a slight upside because fewer choices can also mean easier choosing. The available products all appear to be the most commonly prescribed and widely studied treatments for their respective classes (e.g., oseltamivir for flu, semaglutide for weight loss), so at least you can be certain you're shopping for some of the best possible medications.4 5

Cost

ZipHealth has probably the best overall prices we've seen from an online pharmacy. On the granular level, you’ll find one or two competitors with the edge in some treatment costs depending on the purchase quantity (e.g., 30 versus 60 doses), but the broad picture shows a definite budget-friendly alternative to bigger-name brands. This chart presents a side-by-side comparison of the lowest per-dose prices in parallel treatment categories — erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation (PE), hair loss, and herpes — between ZipHealth, Strut, Hims, Hers, and Ro:

The table is reductive since the values don't account for price ranges (e.g., with ZipHealth, the smallest bottle size of finasteride goes up to $0.97 a pop, which is higher than Strut, Hims, Hers, and Ro), but it clearly shows how much you can save if you select the right prescription options.

Here’s a fine place to mention that ZipHealth doesn’t accept insurance or payment through an HSA/FSA. Of course, neither do Hims, Hers, Strut Health, and Ro, so ZipHealth is still generally the best option for low-cost meds outside of a brick-and-mortar purchase with a prescription coverage plan.

Ease and efficiency

Ease and efficiency refer to a few things, and ZipHealth excels in them all:

The few tenth points we cut from our rating are due to relative shipping speeds. To be clear, we should note that ZipHealth's standard shipping window is perfectly good and comparable to, say, Hims and Hers, but there are competitors — namely Ro — that get prescriptions to your doorstep in less time.

Customer support

ZipHealth's customer support is a three-channel affair: telephone, email, and an AI chatbot. We tried out the email and the chatbot and got very different results.

The email support, in our experience, is terrific. At around 2 p.m., we used ZipHealth's inquiry form to ask whether the company accepts insurance or HSA/FSA for payment. Just two hours later, the answer was in our inbox. Often, customer support emails take a day or two to arrive, and even ZipHealth disclaims a 48-hour turnaround, so seeing such a speedy response was heartening. Plus, the response itself directly answered our question — no prevaricating or dodgy wording at all — which isn't something that all customer support agents do. The majority of ZipHealth's 6.8 customer support rating is due to its responsive email channel.

Conversely, the AI chatbot is no viable way to get in touch with an agent. It's just a glorified search tool and a poor one at that. All it does is draw from pages in ZipHealth's knowledge hub, which isn't all that well developed at this time. Unless your inquiry pertains to one of the frequently asked questions featured on the ZipHealth site, you'll have a chore trying to get your answer via the chat widget.

We wish ZipHealth's chat function were more like Hims'. Though it isn't the easiest support channel to locate, the Hims chat support at least connects you to knowledgeable representatives who can personalize assistance to your specific needs.

ZipHealth is a U.S.-based online pharmacy that sells FDA-approved prescription medications. It’s a LegitScript-certified business, which means a third party has verified it as a legal, safe, and transparent telemedicine company.

You don’t need an existing prescription to use ZipHealth; the startup process involves a consultation that verifies your eligibility for a particular medication.

ZipHealth’s medical team consists of two pharmacists and one medical doctor; all of them are licensed in Florida, where the actual pharmacy portion of the business is registered. The pharmacy itself was licensed in 2018 and is up for renewal in 2025. (To ZipHealth's credit, all of this information is transparently presented on its About Us page and elsewhere on the site. We've verified the information to be accurate and that each medical team member is a proper medical practitioner.)

The company itself is registered in Delaware, and the registered business address is for an operation called Harvard Business Services (HBS). HBS is a "Delaware formations specialist," which means it facilitates the creation of Delaware corporations or LLCs — commercial entities that are formally based in Delaware but can conduct their business throughout the country. ZipHealth's Delaware corporation status is nothing unusual; in fact, more than 1 million U.S. businesses are registered in The First State because of its business-friendly laws, particularly regarding tax liability and legal protections.6 7

ZipHealth’s brand reputation

Online, ZipHealth boasts quite a strong reputation on Trustpilot, a widely used consumer-review website. It bears verified status and a 4.6-star rating (out of 5) based on more than 3,100 reviews — "Excellent" by Trustpilot's standards and higher than consumer ratings for Hims, Ro, and Strut Health.

At this writing, 93% of the reviewers on ZipHealth's Trustpilot profile have given either 4- or 5-star ratings, extolling qualities such as the company's speedy service, responsive customer service, and prescription efficacy.

Among the negative reviews, most of the complaints concern prospective customers either not being approved for prescriptions or existing customers experiencing no effect from the medications they received. The first type of complaint seems to relate to a misunderstanding about telemedicine policies that are in place to protect both consumers and the company. The second is a more valid complaint, but it's also an issue that's bound to arise because medications don't always work for everyone. Our own product testing contradicts the claim that ZipHealth's medications are "fake," as do the majority of testimonials posted on ZipHealth's Trustpilot profile. It's worth noting, too, that you'll find similar complaints on Hims', Ro's, and Strut Health's profiles.

ZipHealth also has a profile with the Better Business Bureau, but the page currently has only four customer reviews. The customer rating is fairly high at 3.75 stars, but we feel the review sample size is too small to draw meaningful insights from them at this time.

ZipHealth is for adults seeking low-cost prescription medications through a convenient home-delivery route. Specifically, it sells medications for:

Because of its low prices, ZipHealth could be a decent alternative to the traditional prescription route for people without insurance. That’s especially the case when you account for common costs surrounding the prescription process, such as seeing a doctor to write the prescription. (We discuss those costs in greater detail in a later section, “Alternatives to Ziphealth.”)

Who should look elsewhere?

If you meet any of the following exclusion criteria, then ZipHealth isn't for you:

ZipHealth offers 19 prescription treatments across ten disease categories. The catalog is small even without comparing it to competitors like Strut Health (36 prescriptions) and Hims/Hers (more than 50 prescriptions).

In the following sections, we discuss each treatment category and the associated prescriptions, along with the price points and any relevant scientific research. (Note: Only some ZipHealth prescriptions are available as both one-time purchases and subscriptions, and few prescriptions net subscription discounts.)

Erectile dysfunction (ED)

ZipHealth offers three options for men experiencing ED: as-needed sildenafil, as-needed tadalafil, and daily tadalafil. All come exclusively in tablet form. The two as-needed prescriptions are available in four quantities — eight, 16, 24, and 32 tablets — while daily tadalafil comes in a one- or two-month supply (30 and 60 tablets, respectively).

The per-dose pricing for ZipHealth’s as-needed ED medications works out like this:

And the per-dosing prices for daily tadalafil are:

The prices you see above are lower than what you can get from Hims for comparable doses and quantities. For example, at Hims, eight as-needed sildenafil tablets cost $4 per dose ($0.25 more than ZipHealth,) and six as-needed tadalafil are $7.50 per dose ($1.50 more than ZipHealth after adjusting for quantity). However, Strut Health does have the edge with sildenafil 25mg ($1.60 per dose versus ZipHealth’s $2).

Subscriptions of ZipHealth’s as-needed ED medications are delivered every one, two, or three months, except for the 32-tablet quantity, which is available in just two- and three-month intervals. For the daily tadalafil, the delivery interval corresponds to your quantity.

Sildenafil, tadalafil, and tadalafil daily are all effective interventions against ED, but there are some key characteristics that differentiate them. Here’s what you should know to choose between your options:

ZipHealth’s ED medications are mostly the same ones provided by Strut Health, except with the addition of tadalafil daily and a higher price point for sildenafil 25mg. Ro also limits its options to sildenafil and tadalafil but with a few alternative routes of administration (e.g., gummies and a chewable sildenafil/tadalafil hybrid), as well as branded versions alongside the generic. Of course, generic prescriptions have the same active ingredients as their branded counterparts, so the inclusion of branded ED meds in a catalog isn’t all that significant from a consumer standpoint.

Hims is the only competitor in this review whose catalog includes avanafil (Stendra) and vardenafil, which are similar to sildenafil but with lower side effect profiles.13 14

Premature ejaculation (PE)

The only PE treatment that ZipHealth has at this time is sertraline 25mg. It costs $18 for 30 tablets ($0.60 per dose) and $45 for 90 tablets ($0.50 per dose). No subscription option appears to be available, but the prices here are significantly lower than what you get from competitors such as:

• Hims: a three-month supply for $72, equivalent to $24 per month ($0.80 per dose)
• Ro: a one-month supply for $24 ($0.80 per dose)
• Strut Health: a one-month supply for $30 or a three-month supply for $75, equivalent to $25 per month ($1 and $0.83 per dose, respectively)

Sertraline is the generic name for Zoloft, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). SSRIs are antidepressants, so sertraline's use as a PE medication is off-label, but it’s common. In a 2019 review of clinical sertraline trials, the researchers found the drug to have increased subjects' time to ejaculation and overall sexual satisfaction to a significant degree.15 It may, however, induce several unpleasant side effects, including but not limited to nausea, vomiting, weight changes, and excessive sweating.16

Strut Health also limits its PE treatments to sertraline, but Hims and Ro each have a second option. At Hims, you’ll also find paroxetine, another SSRI, but with fewer side effects.17 At Ro, the alternative is Roman Swipes, a topical anesthetic wipe that delays ejaculation by dulling the sensation in the penis.

Hair loss

Hair loss is another category in which ZipHealth offers just one treatment: oral finasteride (generic Propecia). The dosage is 1mg daily, which is the standard for male-pattern hair loss.18 ZipHealth sells it in four quantities, with a 10% discount on subscriptions. This table illustrates total and per-dose costs (prices are rounded up to the nearest cent):

If you subscribe, your delivery intervals correspond with the quantity you choose: one, three, six, and 12 months, respectively.

Although the 30-tablet quantity is more expensive than competitors, you start to see savings potential from the 90-tablet mark onward. At 90 tablets, the per-dose cost matches Ro, the runner-up for cost in the hair loss category; at higher quantities, the costs are easily lower than Ro’s.

But is finasteride the best treatment for hair loss? It depends on what risks you're willing to accept. A 2014 pilot study found that a 1mg dose effectively regrew hair in nearly 60% of subjects who took it,19 but the regrowth can come at the expense of erectile function, libido, semen volume, and mental health.20 21 You'll want to carefully consider the side effects and spend much of your ZipHealth consultation asking your assigned medical provider questions to make sure finasteride is appropriate for you. Or you’ll want to turn your attention to a treatment with a less alarming side effect profile, like minoxidil — which ZipHealth doesn’t offer, but Hims, Ro, and Strut Health do.

By the way, finasteride is primarily aimed at treating male-pattern baldness, and ZipHealth classifies it under its Men section, but it may have some utility for women. At least one 2020 review concluded that finasteride “could be considered an alternative treatment option for [female-pattern hair loss],” although questions of efficacy and systemic side effects remain to be conclusively answered.22 However, bear in mind that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant shouldn’t so much as touch finasteride tablets (especially broken or crushed tablets) because the medicine can be absorbed through the skin and cause birth defects in male babies.20

Weight loss

ZipHealth's one treatment for weight loss is injectable compounded semaglutide. (Compounded means the pharmacy puts it together using the same active ingredients as manufacturers.) A one-month supply from ZipHealth starts at $149 for the lowest (0.25mg) dose; it's four doses, so you're looking at $37.25 per dose. That is, it costs a fraction of the amount you'd pay through Hims ($199 per month equivalent at its lowest). No subscription option is available.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic, the diabetes medication often prescribed off-label to help people lose weight. It promotes weight loss by helping you feel sated more easily, feel fuller longer after eating, and control your blood sugar.23 Costs can run upwards of $1,400 per month, so the prices you see from Hims and especially ZipHealth are staggeringly low.24

Semaglutide is available as an oral medication, too, but you'd have to go with one of ZipHealth's competitors — like Henry Meds — to get it.

Genital herpes and cold sores

For herpes and cold sores, ZipHealth has three commonly prescribed medications:

• Valacyclovir 500mg: available for episodic treatment in quantities of six, 12, and 18 (one, two, and three outbreaks, respectively), as well as a 90-count quantity for suppressive/preventive treatment
• Famciclovir 500mg: available for episodic treatment in a four-count quantity
• Acyclovir 400mg: available for episodic treatment in quantities of 12, 24, and 36 (one, two, and three outbreaks, respectively), as well as a 180-count quantity for suppressive/preventive treatment

And the pricing looks like this:

No subscription options are available.

We'll compare ZipHealth's cost of suppressive valacyclovir (a once-a-day treatment) to Ro's, which boasts a good price. With Ro, you get a month's worth of medication for $29, but ZipHealth gives you three months' worth for less than double. The per-dose costs break down to around $0.97 with Ro and just $0.67 with ZipHealth.

What's more, this is one category in which ZipHealth offers more variety than its competitors, which exclusively carry valacyclovir. So, if you want a valacyclovir alternative, ZipHealth is the pharmacy to use. Acyclovir may have fallen out of favor because of its low absorption rate, but famciclovir is even more bioavailable than valacyclovir and may be preferable for people who prefer to take fewer doses.25

Urinary tract infection (UTI)

ZipHealth's UTI treatment is nitrofurantoin. Although nitrofurantoin can cause several serious side effects, potentially even a life-threatening condition called agranulocytosis,26 it’s one of the most effective treatments for UTI.27

At ZipHealth, you get ten tablets of nitrofurantoin at a 100mg dose for $20. No subscription option is available. In the competitive landscape we've presented in this review, ZipHealth stands alone in offering a prescription UTI medication, so there's no comparison — at least among the main competitors we’ve discussed.

You can, however, find a good selection of UTI meds through Wisp, which specializes in sexual and reproductive telehealth. Learn more about Wisp in our full review.

Yeast infection

For a yeast infection, ZipHealth offers fluconazole, described in a 2010 research article as the "most commonly used antifungal agent for [the] prevention and treatment of candidiasis [the yeast behind the infection] because of its efficacy and low toxicity and cost to patients."28

A dose is one tablet, and one tablet costs $12 through ZipHealth. And elsewhere? Well, it's not available through any of the competitors we've discussed in this review. The closest we get is Hers' miconazole ($19), an over-the-counter product that demonstrated 5-6% less efficacy than fluconazole in a 1990 clinical trial.29 The efficacy disparity may not be clinically significant, but still, ZipHealth is effectively offering you slightly more potential effectiveness at a lower price point.

Migraine

ZipHealth stands alone in this review for migraine treatments, too (although Hers does offer prescription refills for migraine medications, which you can pick up at your local pharmacy). Not only that, but ZipHealth offers three choices, each as either a one-time purchase or a subscription (no discount on subscriptions).

One is sumatriptan (50mg and 100mg). One-time purchases come in quantities of nine, 18, 27, and 36 tablets, with the 100mg dosage also being available in a 54-tablet quantity. As a subscription, the 50mg dosage is for 18 and 54 tablets, whereas the 100mg dosage is for 27 and 54 tablets. All subscriptions are delivered every three months. Here's how the pricing works out for the sumatriptan:

The second option is zolmitriptan (2.5mg and 5mg). As one-time purchases, the 2.5mg dosage comes in quantities of six and 12 tablets, and the 5mg dosage in quantities of three, six, 12, and 18. As subscriptions, the 2.5mg dosage is either 18 or 36 tablets, and the 5mg dosage is nine, 18, 36, or 54 tablets. Again, all subscriptions are delivered every three months. The pricing for zolmitriptan goes like this:

The third and final option is rizatriptan, which is available in just a 10mg dosage. One-time purchases come in quantities of 12, 24, and 36 tablets. A subscription comes in a 36-tablet quantity exclusively. As with the other migraine meds, there's a three-month delivery interval for subscriptions. Here's one more pricing table for you:

Sumatriptan, zolmitriptan, and rizatriptan are all one-tablet reactive treatments to be taken when a migraine starts, with relief onset occurring as early as 30 minutes. A 2001 meta-analysis found rizatriptan 10mg to be more effective than the others at resolving all migraine symptoms by the two-hour mark, though sumatriptan came in second and third place at 100mg and 50mg, respectively.30 All three meds may induce similar side effects, but sumatriptan may pose the least risk of the most common adverse events, followed by zolmitriptan and then rizatriptan, respectively.31 32 33

So, while rizatriptan could be more effective at treating migraine, you may have a better overall experience with sumatriptan or zolmitriptan. These are factors to keep in mind and discuss during your ZipHealth consultation.

Asthma

For asthma, ZipHealth has albuterol. Once more, ZipHealth is the only brand we've mentioned in this review that sells albuterol or any asthma medication, with Hers only able to offer refills you can fulfill at your local pharmacy. A single 90mcg inhaler (200 doses) costs $24.99, and a double-pack is $47.99 (no subscriptions). These prices are actually lower than what you can find at many brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

Albuterol belongs to a class of drugs called short-acting bronchodilators, which facilitate breathing in response to an asthma attack by relaxing and opening the lungs' airways. Cleveland Clinic describes the drug as the "most commonly prescribed inhaled medication."34 The most common side effects are shakiness and trembling in the extremities, while rarer and more serious adverse effects are similar to allergic reactions.35 You should discuss your risk for serious side effects during your ZipHealth consultation to determine your suitability for albuterol.

Flu

The final category in ZipHealth's catalog is flu medications, another one in which the company has no competition among the other online pharmacies we've mentioned.

The treatment option here is Tamiflu (oseltamivir) 75mg. You get ten tablets for $53, which is less than what you usually pay at brick-and-mortar stores. Like many other ZipHealth treatments, no subscriptions are available.

Tamiflu can be both a reactive and a preventive treatment. As a reactive treatment, Tamiflu is only for people who've experienced flu symptoms for less than two days, so ordering it online would prove useless if you've already begun to experience symptoms.36 Moreover, you should know that, in studies, Tamiflu has been found to reduce the length of flu symptoms by only 12-24 hours while introducing the potential for serious side effects such as nausea, vomiting, rashes, mental confusion, and allergic reactions.37 Keep all such considerations in mind when making your decision to use Tamiflu.

ZipHealth's startup process is similar to that of other online pharmacies.

It begins with choosing a treatment category (e.g., "Yeast infection," "Erectile dysfunction"). ZipHealth's site layout does make the initial selection step a little easier compared to competitors, as all of your options are neatly laid out just below the home page's top heading, and the header itself includes a search bar. In comparison, Hims, Hers, Ro, and Strut Health display their options through dropdown menus that require an extra step to view the options.

On selecting a treatment category, you're taken to another page on which you select the specific medication you want. In most categories, there's just one medication to choose from, but some categories (i.e., "Erectile dysfunction," "Genital herpes," and "Migraine") have more.

With your medication selected, you undertake ZipHealth's consultation. In most of regions where ZipHealth is available, the consultation amounts to a brief questionnaire about your health history, with an option to ask questions near the end. (Only in nine regions must you take a further step in consultation, but that comes later).

If your answers indicate eligibility for your chosen medication, you then choose your dosage and quantity and verify your identity by uploading a selfie before making your payment. When taking your selfie, you’re instructed to copy a specific pose so that ZipHealth can validate your photo. Finally, the prescribers review your order, authorize your prescription, dispense it, and ship it out.

Back to those nine regions, though, which are:

Current telemedicine laws in those parts of the country require an interface (i.e., a video call) with a clinician to authorize your prescription. After payment, you'll have to choose a time to have your video call. Depending on when you complete your order, you'll probably be able to arrange it for either the same day or the next day, although specific availability may depend on your location as well as circumstances on ZipHealth's end.

The call itself should be brief — no more than ten minutes, but probably more like two. During the call, a licensed clinician will verify details about your health history, perhaps ask you further questions, and ask whether you have any questions or concerns. And that's it. If the clinician determines you are indeed eligible for your chosen medication, they'll authorize your prescription and get the ball rolling toward dispensation and shipment.

One negative point of distinction with ZipHealth is that shipping isn’t free, whereas Hims, Hers, Ro, and Strut all include the shipping cost in their service.

The silver lining here is that standard shipping isn’t that much. It’s just $4.95 via USPS Ground Advantage (2-5 business days), so it doesn’t really offset the brand’s low prices to a significant degree. Also, consider that Hims and Hers add a $5 processing fee to purchases, which certainly does offset their free shipping policies.

If you want faster shipping, you can opt for FedEx 2 Day for $13.50 or FedEx Priority Overnight for $19.69. We think those are high enough to offset the low base prices.

For our testing, a member of our testing team ordered tadalafil daily 2.5mg. The initial questionnaire/consultation mostly centered around cardiovascular health and asked us to input our most recent blood pressure reading. That’s good, seeing as PDE5 inhibitors can interact with heart conditions. It also asked about the frequency of ED occurrence, which is helpful for determining one’s suitability for a particular dosage.

Because our order was heading to Kansas, we had to arrange a clinician interface before our medication could be authorized. According to our tester, it was an easy arrangement. They completed their order just past noon, so the available times were all for the following day, but they had their pick of time slots — from as early as 8 a.m. to as late as the early evening. They chose 10 a.m.

Helpfully, our tester then received instructions via email, which recommended testing their camera and microphone before the appointment and joining the call a few minutes before the time slot. They were even provided the name of their consulting clinician (a licensed nurse practitioner based in Tennessee — we checked).

When 10 a.m. rolled around on the following day, our tester had already followed the emailed instructions and was prepared to start the call — and so was the clinician. No wait, no hiccups.

The clinician primarily verified details from the questionnaire and went through some safety information relevant to tadalafil. Finally, they invited questions and comments, and then the consultation was over. Less than two minutes had passed from the time it began.

In a matter of minutes, our order dashboard showed that our medication had gone from “Order received” to “Prescription authorized” and then “Medicine dispensed.” Then, just about four hours later, it read “Order dispatched,” and our inbox had a tracking link for the delivery.

The only bump in the road to receiving our delivery was on USPS’s end. It was en route to arriving on Tuesday (three business days after shipment), but it encountered a delay in transit. We can hardly fault ZipHealth for that, and the delay was only by a day. By early afternoon on Wednesday, we had our order in hand.

As you can see, the packaging is very discreet. Even the sender’s line is just an abbreviation (“ZH”), so even the nosiest neighbors wouldn’t be able to discern what was in the mailer.

As for the medication itself, we’re happy to report that it is indeed genuine. The label indicates it was prescribed by the clinician we consulted with, and the imprint on the label reads “UNICHEM-Peach-Oval-U286,” which Drugs.com verifies to be tadalafil 2.5mg.41 Also, without getting into any indecorous details, we can confirm that our medication works.

A final thing worth mentioning: with our medication, ZipHealth included a pocket-size treatment guide that covers:

• What tadalafil is
• How to use and store it
• Contraindications
• Warnings and precautions
• Overdose protocol
• Recommended lifestyle modifications

Apart from being a nice touch, the guide should be a handy, quick reference for anyone who’s new to ED medications.

Throughout this review, we’ve discussed what we think are ZipHealth’s top competitors: Hims and Hers, Ro, and Strut Health. While ZipHealth wins out in price in a general sense, each of the three competitors may offer better price points for certain products at certain dosages and quantities. In hair loss, for example, Ro’s finasteride is just $0.67 per dose for a one-month supply, whereas ZipHealth’s per-dose cost at that level is $0.97. Likewise, Strut Health has sildenafil 25mg for as low as $1.60 per dose for 30 doses, and Hims has as-needed tadalafil for as low as $1.07 per dose — each lower than its ZipHealth counterpart.

Also, Hims, Hers, Ro, and Strut all have greater product variety than ZipHealth, offer free shipping, and may even deliver faster (e.g., free two-day shipping with Ro).

Apart from these other online pharmacies, another alternative is to go through the traditional prescription route. If you have an existing prescription with remaining refills, it could be as easy as logging in to your electronic health record (EHR) dashboard and requesting a refill, and you’ll often pay less than what you would even through ZipHealth. But if you don’t have an existing script, you’d have to account for other costs: