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This comparative review of SingleCare vs. GoodRx is sponsored by SingleCare. All research, opinions and evaluations are the property of Finance Superhero LLC, are expressly provided for informational and entertainment purposes, and do not constitute professional financial, legal or medical advice. You should ALWAYS seek the advice of your doctor or other medical professionals before making any health-related decisions.
Today, almost everything is negotiable, from the car purchase you’ve been eyeing to the pair of jeans on the rack at your favorite retailer. Savvy buyers know this, and they shop around to compare prices and get the best possible price before they complete purchases big and small.
Did you know you can also do this with your prescription medications? It’s true—and no, we’re not just talking about asking your doctor to prescribe generic medications or a shorter course of medication for short-term ailments.
Companies like SingleCare and GoodRx are making it possible to save money on prescription medications. But how does it work? Just how much money can you save? And when you compare SingleCare vs. GoodRx, which company is better?
In this post, we’re going to break down how you can save money on prescription medications using a pharmacy discount card, provide a detailed review to help you choose between SingleCare and GoodRx, and breakdown the costs of several widely-used medications using both SingleCare and GoodRx.
What is a pharmacy discount card and how does it work?
A pharmacy discount card, also known as a prescription discount card, is a free card that can help you save money on prescription medications. How does it work? It’s simple:
- A pharmacy discount card allows you to benefit from pre-negotiated price discounts on a variety of medications.
- Some discount card providers partner with PBMs, or pharmacy benefit managers, to reduce prices, while other providers partner directly with pharmacies to do the same.
- A pharmacy discount card may be used if you don’t have insurance, or it may also be used in place of insurance; unfortunately, it cannot be used in conjunction with insurance.
Here is an example: Let’s say you are picking up a prescription, and your insurance plan requires a $15 co-pay. You ask the pharmacist to check the price on your prescription with your prescription discount card, and the price comes back at only $10. In this case, using your card is a significant financial win!
To recap:
- A prescription discount card may help you save money on prescription medications.
- You can use a prescription discount card in place of your insurance, or you can use it if you don’t have any insurance at all.
- A prescription discount card isn’t guaranteed to help you save money vs. using your insurance, so you need to ask your pharmacist to compare prices for you.
Comparing SingleCare and GoodRx
SingleCare and GoodRx both offer pharmacy discount cards, and as we outlined above, these cards can help users save money on prescription medications. Despite their similarities, there are fact-based differences between SingleCare and GoodRx.
Price Negotiation: SingleCare vs. GoodRx
Both SingleCare and GoodRx negotiate discounted rates on many prescription medications and pass on savings to their users. However, their negotiation methods are different in ways we believe are important.
SingleCare negotiates prices directly with national pharmacy partners. Unlike competitors, SingleCare has partnerships and direct contracts with the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, including CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens., SingleCare is able to deliver consistently low prices as a result.
GoodRx, on the other hand, does not negotiate directly with pharmacies. This makes their prices vulnerable to fluctuations because they rely upon a partner for pricing.
Our take: SingleCare has the upper hand when it comes to negotiating prices.
Plan Costs: SingleCare vs. GoodRx
While SingleCare and GoodRx both help card holders save money on many prescription medications, their available plans are different.
The GoodRx Gold plan is a monthly membership program that provides discounts on prescription drugs and healthcare services for individuals at a cost of $5.99 per month. A GoodRx family plan is also available for $9.99 per month, and it allows plan holders to add up to five family members to their plan – including children, parents, and pets.
According to the GoodRx website, both GoodRx Gold options provide access to over 1,000 prescription medications for under $10 per month.
SingleCare, on the other hand, does not offer paid membership plans at this time. They offer their best discounts for free.
Our take: SingleCare is a much more budget-friendly option that can help you avoid paying for yet another membership that you don’t use (like that gym membership you have planning to cancel for months). Being asked to spend money in order to save money should usually be met with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Prescription Costs: SingleCare vs. GoodRx
When it comes to a comparison of prescription costs, comparing prices of SingleCare and GoodRx can be a lot like comparing apples to oranges. For this reason, we highly recommend that prospective users consider the costs of their unique prescription medications before determining which provider may help them save more money.
That said, we feel compelled to list a few caveats.
First, when checking prices, it’s important to make sure you understand the total cost of your prescription on a per unit basis.
For example, we researched the price of Adderral XR 30 mg, a common ADD/ADHD medication. GoodRx listed its price for 30 pills at $42.53 with their free coupon (which doesn’t require a Gold membership) and $39.28 with a Gold membership. (If a user were to only require one prescription pick-up per month, it’s worth noting that a Gold membership would actually lead to a net savings loss in this scenario.)
SingleCare listed its price for the same quantity of pills at $42.36, which is still pennies cheaper than the “free coupon cost” from GoodRx and a few dollars cheaper than the GoodRx Gold member cost, when the monthly member fee is factored in.
Second, it is important to note that both SingleCare and GoodRx negotiate different prices with participating pharmacies. Both SingleCare and GoodRx partner with many nationally-recognized pharmacies, but their prices may vary from pharmacy to pharmacy.
For example, in our area in the Chicago suburbs, we found four pharmacies offering 30 capsules of Adderral XR 30 mg for under $50 through SingleCare and five participating pharmacies offering the same quantity for under $50 through GoodRx. However, the best price was available from two local pharmacies using SingleCare, while the equivalent best price was only available from one pharmacy using GoodRx.
We surveyed pricing for ten common prescription medications and shared each result below:
| Medication | GoodRx Price/Price With Gold Membership | SingleCare Price |
| Phentermine | $4.23 / $10.22 | $7.61 |
| Prednisone | $2.83 / $8.82 | $3.00 |
| Fluconazole | $3.92 / $9.92 | $5.09 |
| Cyanocobalamin | $10.34 / $16.33 | $3.51 |
| Eliquis | $481.98 / $487.97 | $440.97 |
| Xarelto | $477.29 / $483.28 | $428.19 |
| Amoxicillin | Free | $5.06 |
| Benzonatate | $6.00 / $11.99 | $9.07 |
| Alprazolam | $6.25 / $12.24 | $9.61 |
| Lisinopril | Free / $5.99 | $4.00 |
In 9 out of the 10 cases above, SingleCare offered the lowest price. (Note: We listed both Good Rx prices using a free coupon and pricing which accounts for monthly Gold plan fees of $5.99 when comparing numbers, as this membership cost does factor into overall net pricing.)
Our take: Comparing the cost of every prescription from both SingleCare and GoodRx is outside of the scope of this review. That said, SingleCare offers a dynamic pairing of low prices from multiple pharmacies that GoodRx couldn’t match in our review.
Third Party Reviews: SingleCare vs. GoodRx
When we review services for both personal and professional purposes, we turn to TrustPilot, a respected name in the review industry. Their platform is open to all users, features personal stories and anecdotes to accompany a traditional “star” rating scale, and promotes transparency.
As the screenshot image shows above, SingleCare has a “Great” rating based on average of four stars from 774 reviews. This data is also accompanied by in-depth reviews which can be read here.
GoodRx has a rating of “Average” based on a three star average from 27 reviews, per the data we captured in the screenshot image above. A noticeable concern in this data is the 41% of users who rated their GoodRx experience as “Bad.” You can take a complete look at the GoodRx Trustpilot ratings here.
Our take: Trustpilot indicates that SingleCare is better regarded among its users compared to GoodRx.
Final Word: SingleCare is Better Than GoodRx
While we must admit that pharmacy discount card savings benefits will always vary on a case by case basis, in our analysis SingleCare offered better pricing, price stability, and pharmacy flexibility.
Furthermore, we found the SingleCare website to be more sleek and responsive during testing, and while this is a user preference, it’s worth noting that we’re not the only ones who found this to be true.
Overall, we recommend SingleCare to anyone in search of a pharmacy savings card. It is free to sign-up, easy to use, and it just may help you save money on your prescription medications.
Editor’s note: For more information about SingleCare, check out our comprehensive review.
