If you’re like me, you’re always looking to see how you can save money. And unfortunately, prescription drug prices are only continuing to rise. Add on surging rates of inflation and needing medication becomes only a greater strain on finances.
When I would check out the prices of prescription drugs at my local pharmacy, I was shocked when I saw how high they were. Even with insurance, prescription drugs can be pricey. But thankfully, there are many options for prescription discounts to help save money.
I already knew about the prescription discount card company, GoodRx, which offers coupons for various prescription drugs, because I had previously used it to save money. But my doctor told me about another company that offers discounts on prescription drugs: SingleCare, a free savings card that sometimes offers even better prices.
How do SingleCare prescription prices stack up against GoodRx?
While GoodRx may be a household name when it comes to discounts on prescription drugs, SingleCare is the second largest and second most popular service after GoodRx.
SingleCare claims to offer discounts on more than 10,000 generic and brand-name drugs and can help you save up to 80% on some medications.
For example, to manage my high blood pressure, my doctor prescribed lisinopril which would cost $43.49 if I paid for it with cash. With GoodRx, it cost $14.45. With SingleCare’s discount card at my local CVS, the lowest cost of the drug would cost only $13.90. That’s approximately a 68% discount as compared to the cash price! Because I have to take this medication daily, just imagine the savings over the span of a whole year. Plus, my whole family uses the SingleCare discount card for their medications, which leads to even more significant savings.
Here’s a breakdown of how SingleCare’s prices on the most commonly prescribed medications measure up against GoodRx.
| Medication | Lowest Price with SingleCare* | Lowest Price with GoodRx* | Retail Price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metformin HCL (500 mg; 60 tablets) | $8.60 | $12.29 | $19.99 |
| Levothyroxine (25 mcg; 30 tablets) | $2.72 | $8.51 | $11.99 |
| Amlodipine (5 mg; 90 tablets) | $26.47 | $32.18 | $123.99 |
| Losartan Potassium (25 mg; 90 tablets) | $27.34 | $38.13 | $115.99 |
| Lisinopril (5 mg; 90 tablets) | $13.90 | $14.45 | $43.49 |
| Furosemide (40 mg; 30 tablets) | $2.92 | $8.28 | $11.99 |
*The SingleCare and GoodRx prices displayed are sourced from both companies’ websites on 5/1/2023 for a CVS, 11101
SingleCare beats out GoodRx a lot, offering more reasonable prices on the top 200 most prescribed medications in the U.S. According to SingleCare’s website, the reason for this is that while other discount cards like GoodRx aggregate prices from pharmacy benefit managers, SingleCare leverages direct relationships with pharmacies — which translates to more and better savings for consumers like me.
How does using a discount prescription card work with insurance?
With the right discount prescription card, your cost for prescription drugs can be even lower than your insurance copay! It’s always worth checking to see what your savings would be with a discount prescription card, whether or not you have insurance. Prescription discount cards like SingleCare don’t take the place of insurance nor can they be combined with insurance; you can only use either or. But even if you don’t have insurance, using a discount prescription card is your best bet to take advantage of big savings.
Depending on the drug, SingleCare’s prices might be better or worse than GoodRx or your insurance copay. So while prices vary on a by-drug basis, it always pays to compare prices and check to find the one that gives you the most savings for a specific drug.
Participating pharmacies for SingleCare vs GoodRx
Where SingleCare and GoodRx differ the most is that you can use GoodRx’s discount at more participating pharmacies than SingleCare. SingleCare works with 35,000 participating pharmacies as compared to GoodRx’s 70,000. However, both are accepted at all major pharmacies, including Costco, CVS, Kroger, Publix, Rite Aid, Safeway, Walgreens, Meijer, and Walmart.
Honestly, as long as I can use SingleCare’s discount card at Walgreens and CVS, which are the pharmacies my family predominantly uses, it works for me.
Plus, at the end of the day, what’s more important to me is my savings, so I’d rather use SingleCare knowing I’m getting the best price for my prescription medications. Besides, SingleCare is accepted at all of the major pharmacies that you’re likely to go to. And the 35,000 pharmacies it participates with make up most of the U.S. market. So, it’s not really an upper hand for GoodRx anyway.
Even more savings with SingleCare’s free membership
While both SingleCare and GoodRx are free to use, GoodRx offers a premium membership for programs for future savings on prescription medications for an additional cost ranging from $5.99 for individual members to $9.99 per month for family members and pets. SingleCare, in contrast, is free to use.
Although you don’t need to have an account to use SingleCare coupons, with a SingleCare membership, you can enjoy bonus savings. All you need to do is create an account on their site, and you will immediately receive a $3 off coupon to use with your next eligible prescription just for signing up. And even better, as you use your SingleCare card to save on prescription drugs, you can earn more bonus savings to use on future prescription drug purchases for even more savings!
Let’s put this into perspective. Last winter, my husband suffered from a bad bout of bronchitis. He was prescribed a course of amoxicillin by our doctor. Amoxicillin’s retail price is typically around $15. With just a SingleCare discount coupon at Walgreens (my husband gets his prescriptions from Walgreens), the price came down to $7.82. But thanks to my SingleCare membership, we got an extra $3 off the already discounted price, bringing my husband’s cost down to only $4.82!
The SingleCare prices discussed are sourced from the company’s website on 12/12/22 for a Walgreens, 11101.
Bottom line
While GoodRx is accepted by more pharmacies than SingleCare, in terms of savings, SingleCare seems to come out on top for almost every medication I searched for, offering significantly lower prices than GoodRx. Plus, at least where I live here in New York City, SingleCare works in most pharmacies, so I feel I still have more than enough to choose from.
For my family’s needs, SingleCare is the clear winner, enabling me to enjoy significant savings on prescription medications that would otherwise really become a strain on my family’s finances.
How to start saving on prescription medications using SingleCare
Saving money on prescriptions using SingleCare is pretty straightforward. To get started, all you need to do is search for your prescription on SingleCare’s user-friendly site or free app to access a coupon, free of charge for your discounted prescription medication. Then you simply show this coupon to your pharmacist to apply the discount and start saving!
