Our Panel of Experts
Tod Cooperman, MD
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Dr. Tod Cooperman is a noted researcher, writer, and speaker on consumer healthcare issues.
Gabriel Levitt, MA
President and Co-Founder
Mr. Levitt oversees all business operations, development and research. He is a public advocate for prescription drug affordability.
Shivam Patel, PharmD, BSPS, RPh
Director of Pharmacy Verification and Information
Dr. Patel provides expert knowledge regarding safe pharmacy practice, quality assurance, drug safety, and patient access to affordable medication.
Do you need a prescription get Viagra? How about substituting a Viagra prescription for the generic?
Below, PharmacyChecker fills you in on men's most asked questions regarding obtaining Viagra online.
Can I fill a prescription for Viagra with a generic instead?
Yes, if you are prescribed Viagra and wish to shop locally or internationally, you can opt to fill the prescription with a generic instead. The generic version of Viagra, sildenafil, is now available in the United States. Sildenafil is covered by the majority of Medicare and insurance plans, but comparing prices among local pharmacies and Canadian or international online pharmacies is always recommended. Cash prices may be cheaper than using insurance.
Brand Viagra vs. Generic Sildenafil
Viagra can be very expensive—as much as $75 per pill—and often not covered by insurance. As a result, Americans are looking elsewhere. Generic Viagra (sildenafil citrate) is legally manufactured and available in other countries, including Canada and India, and can be purchased from online pharmacies. With that said, if you choose to switch to an international source or a generic alternative, it is best to let your healthcare provider know, particularly if you experience any change in your condition.
Keep in mind that even in the U.S. generic medications are not the exact same as their brand counterparts. They have the same active pharmaceutical ingredients and have been deemed therapeutically equivalent, but they may contain different inactive ingredients.
Find Viagra (sildenafil) Prescription Savings
Currently in the United States, the average retail price of 6 tablets of 100 mg brand-name Viagra is a whopping $78.20 per pill. Using PharmacyChecker.com, you can find Viagra 100 mg for as low as $6.15 per pill! The generic Sildenafil 100 mg can be found just $0.41 per pill!
If you choose to buy generic, that's over 99% savings off the brand-name Viagra price in the U.S.
Patients can also find U.S. pharmacy discount coupons for Viagra. Just scroll to the bottom of the Viagra Page or Sildenafil Page and type your ZIP Code into the "Find Prices at U.S. Local Pharmacies" box. Follow the prompts to obtain your discount.
Buying Viagra (sildenafil) Online
To protect yourself from rogue online pharmacies, it's best to stick with an online pharmacy that has been verified by PharmacyChecker.com, so you know that the medicine is genuine and dispensed from licensed pharmacies and pharmacists. The drug price comparisons of verified online pharmacies on PharmacyChecker.com are clearly marked as brand or generic.
PharmacyChecker standards prohibit pharmacies in our program from substituting a generic for a brand without the consent of the customer when dispensing a prescription internationally, unless the pharmacy is required to by law. Information regarding processing and dispensing of prescriptions is provided by each pharmacy. After selecting an online pharmacy, you can access the pharmacy's website by clicking on the pharmacy's logo. This will direct you to their website.
There is a lot to consider before buying Viagra online. First, be aware that Viagra is known to be one of the most counterfeited medications sold online so don't be fooled by rogue online pharmacies that offer brand name Viagra. These sites typically won't require your prescription and are not verified by PharmacyChecker.com or other organizations. A peer-reviewed study and independent research proved that online pharmacies that are not credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com, or other credentialing groups, are more likely to sell counterfeit Viagra, including fakes with dangerous ingredients.
You may be interested in reading a former Ask PC answer "Generic Viagra: is it legitimate? Why don't all pharmacies you verify offer it?" to learn more.
We've also blogged about generic Viagra on the PharmacyChecker Blog.
How can I get Viagra without a prescription?
Short answer: You cannot buy Viagra without a prescription in the United States, but you can soon if you live in or are visiting the United Kingdom.
Buying Viagra in the United States
U.S. patients must have a prescription to obtain Viagra at local pharmacies.
Viagra can be prohibitively expensive here in the United States. At this time, there is now a generic version available in the U.S. so this can help with costs.
Don't Buy Viagra from Websites that are Not Verified
Many people buy erectile dysfunction pills, such as Viagra, without a prescription over the Internet. This is incredibly dangerous. Viagra is known to be one of the most counterfeited medications sold online so don't be fooled by rogue online pharmacies that offer brand-name Viagra. The best way to avoid that is to obtain a valid prescription and only order through PharmacyChecker-verified websites.
Ordering Viagra from International Online Pharmacies
In a peer-reviewed study, all Viagra ordered from online pharmacies credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com was found to be the exact same as the Viagra sold in a U.S. pharmacy.
You can find brand-name and generic Viagra at much lower prices from verified international online pharmacies. These pharmacies require that you provide a valid prescription for both the generic and brand version.
The average retail price in the U.S. for 6 tablets of 100 mg brand-name Viagra is $439.20 — that's $73.20 per pill. Using PharmacyChecker.com, you can find Viagra 100 mg for as low as $6.14 per pill, a 92% discount!
Generic Viagra (sildenafil citrate) is legally manufactured and available in other countries, including Canada and India, and can be purchased from online pharmacies. If you choose to switch to a generic alternative, it is best to let your healthcare provider know, particularly if you experience any change in your condition.The generic Sildenafil 100 mg can be found just $0.27 per pill. If you choose to buy generic, that's over 99% savings off the brand-name Viagra price in the U.S.
Over-the-Counter Viagra
The Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the U.K. has announced that the 50 mg dose of Viagra will be reclassified from "prescription only" to a "pharmacy" medicine. This means people can expect to buy Viagra 50 mg (without prescription, just a pharmacist consultation) in U.K. pharmacies as early as Spring 2018.
U.K. and other international online pharmacies in the PharmacyChecker Verification Program must comply with our standards and policies, which detail that a consumer may not mail-order medication without a prescription if a prescription is required by their country of residence's drug regulation agency.
Generic Viagra (Ceforce) Made in India: What do I need to know?
Like Viagra, Cenforce is a drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Both Viagra and Cenforce contain the same active ingredient, sildenafil citrate. Cenforce is manufactured by Centurion Laboratories in India.
Currently, drug price comparisons for Cenforce are not available on PharmacyChecker.com. There are several other generics, such as Sildenafil, Revatio, Caverta, or Penegra, available through our verified online pharmacies.
If you order online from an Indian pharmacy, or other international online pharmacies, stick to those verified by the PharmacyChecker Verification Program. There are more problems with drug quality in India than in the U.S., but mostly with products sold to poorer Indian communities and countries. We verify the licenses of and inspect Indian pharmacies to make sure they meet our pharmacy practice standards, which include protocols for drug quality.
Order Generic Viagra Online
Viagra is known to be one of the most counterfeited medications sold online so don't be fooled by rogue online pharmacies that offer brand name Viagra. These sites typically won't require your prescription and are not verified by PharmacyChecker.com or other credible organizations. A peer-reviewed study showed that online pharmacies that are not credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com, or other credentialing groups, are more likely to sell counterfeit Viagra, including fakes with dangerous ingredients.
When paying out of pocket in the U.S., brand name Viagra is often $60 per 100 mg pill! The generic version is available at U.S. pharmacies for around $30 per pill. For an online generic version of Viagra, compare prices among verified online pharmacies on PharmacyChecker.com. The price is as low as 24 cents per 100 mg pill.
You may be interested in reading this blogpost: Buying Viagra Online — The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth So Help Me Pfizer.
For more about Indian drug quality and safety, you should read: Are Indian pharmacies really safe? The prices are so much lower!
Is generic Viagra even legitimate? Why don't all accredited pharmacies offer it?
Generic Viagra, sildenafil citrate, is legally manufactured and available for sale in other countries, even though a generic version is not available in U.S. pharmacies and won't be until late 2017. For example, it is lawfully available for sale in the United Kingdom (as noted in the Electronic Medicines Compendium here — a listing of medicines licensed for use in the UK).
You can buy generic Viagra online safely if you stick to websites credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com.
When paying out of pocket in the U.S., brand name Viagra is often $50 per 100mg pill! For an online generic version of Viagra, the price is as low as 39 cents per pill from India. If you prefer a brand name version, the lowest current price is $6.78 per pill from the United Kingdom.
What about quality? The pharmacies verified by PharmacyChecker.com are all licensed in the countries in which they dispense medication and the medication they sell is duly regulated in the countries of their manufacture. Consequently, the quality of generic Viagra dispensed to you from one of these pharmacies form the U.K. will be the same quality as what a person living in the UK would be dispensed. With that said, keep in mind that, even in the U.S., generic medications are not the exactly same as their brand counterparts but have the same active pharmaceutical ingredients and have been deemed therapeutically equivalent, but they may contain different inactive ingredients.
Be aware that Viagra is known to be one of the most counterfeited medications sold online so don't be fooled by rogue online pharmacies that offer brand name Viagra. These sites typically won't require your prescription and are not verified by PharmacyChecker.com or other organizations. A peer-reviewed study showed that online pharmacies that are not credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com, or other credentialing groups, are more likely to sell counterfeit Viagra, including fakes with dangerous ingredients.
The bottom line: generic Viagra is legally manufactured and available in other countries and can be purchased from online pharmacies. If you decide to do so, it's best to stick with an online pharmacy that has been verified by PharmacyChecker.com, so you know that the medicine is genuine and dispensed from licensed pharmacies. Be aware that it's technically illegal to import prescription medicine for personal use but consumers have not been prosecuted for doing so. If you chose to switch to a generic it may be best to let your healthcare provider know, particularly if you experience any change in your condition.
For more information, also see the blog article by PharmacyChecker.com's Gabriel Levitt entitled "Buying Viagra Online — The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth So Help Me Pfizer."
