Six fee traps

A usable price comparison needs the exact product, supply period and payment obligation. A weekly headline, a monthly subscription and a prepaid package do not describe the same purchase.

The six structures below help organize a quote. The earlier provider examples retain their September 18, 2026 prices; the dated addition checks two further billing models and explains what remains unresolved.

1. The membership that renews higher

The commonest by a distance. A $39 introductory membership renews at $99. Eden advertises $99 semaglutide; the real recurring figure is about $198.

2. The fee billed beside the medication

Two charges presented as one number. Hims & Hers quotes $199 for the compounded injection and bills $39 membership alongside it — $238, every month.

3. The fee that buys no medication at all

Ro charges $149 a month for the membership; medication is separate. Stated plainly, and it still catches people who read "$39 first month" as a drug price.

4. The cheap tier that is a different product

"From $179" at Henry Meds is sublingual. "From $79" at Hims is an oral kit. Both are real products. Neither is the weekly injection in the next column of your comparison.

5. The price that climbs with the dose

Many programmes re-price at each rung of the ladder, so your bill rises exactly as the treatment starts working — and staying put to manage side effects feels like paying the same for less. Flat-rate programmes such as Coreage Rx hold one price from 2.5 mg to 15 mg.

6. The insured price quoted at cash payers

The $25-a-month figures in several companies’ marketing describe an insured patient after approval. If you are paying cash, that number is not about you.

The written-quote check

1. What is the charge on my second statement?
2. Is a membership or platform fee billed separately, and what does it renew at?
3. Which formulation does the advertised price refer to?
4. Does the price change when my dose changes?
5. Calculate the total for a defined supply period using verified recurring charges, and include the commitment and cancellation rules. Do not automatically multiply a four-week or introductory figure by twelve.

We have run that arithmetic across the whole board — see cheapest right now and where the traps are.

October 15 update: the billing model belongs to the product

The Contour Health review is a useful example of why a site-wide subscription paragraph is not enough. Its weight-loss FAQ explicitly describes buying medication by the vial without auto-refills, while its hair-loss FAQ describes quarterly renewals. Applying the hair-loss subscription price or deadline to a GLP-1 vial would create a false comparison.

For Contour, obtain the actual vial total, intended supply duration and reorder process. A starting weekly figure is not a guaranteed calendar-month bill. The general terms say purchased products are nonrefundable, so the absence of automatic renewals does not promise a refund for an order already placed.

The Healis review records another unit problem. Its selected semaglutide three-month offer shows $297 billed today, expressed as $99 per month; the tirzepatide selection shows $357, or $119 per month. Those equivalents are not monthly installments. The banner calls this a first-plan promotion, so obtain the next renewal amount instead of guessing from a crossed-out comparison price.

Healis also has two different seventy-two-hour rules: advance notice before renewal, and a limited initial refund window when no subscription services have been received. Its offer FAQ advertises a fourteen-day unopened-product return, while the general policy restricts prescription returns. Ask which written terms govern the exact purchase and retain the answer.

The practical record is short: exact medication and formulation, supply quantity, charge now, charge next, full commitment, cancellation cutoff and refund trigger. Have the clinician determine the treatment separately. The price examples in this addition were checked on October 15; the older rankings and provider figures above were not re-researched.