Men's health costs: TRT, erectile dysfunction and hair loss prices

What men pay for privately

Three groups of treatment make up most private men's health spending in the UK. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is sold as a monthly plan by online clinics. Prices fetched on 22 October 2026 ran from £59.99 a month for oral treatment at Manual to £169 a month for injections or gel at Voy and Numan. Blood tests, a first consultation and injection kit come on top.

Erectile dysfunction medicines are the second group. Sildenafil, tadalafil and their branded versions Viagra and Cialis are all prescription medicines, with one exception. Viagra Connect, a 50 mg sildenafil tablet, has been a pharmacy medicine since the MHRA reclassified it on 28 November 2017. You buy it after a pharmacist asks a set of questions.

Hair loss is the third group. Finasteride 1 mg tablets and minoxidil foam or solution are the two treatments the NHS names for male pattern baldness. Both are paid for privately in nearly every case.

What the NHS covers

The NHS website states you can get sildenafil on prescription for erectile dysfunction. In England each item costs £9.90. Tadalafil is prescription only and the NHS limits it to men with a specific condition, such as multiple sclerosis or a spinal cord injury. Outside those conditions you pay the full cost on a private prescription.

Testosterone is a prescription-only controlled drug. NHS treatment starts with a GP blood test and a specialist referral once two morning samples confirm a low level. The NHS hair loss page says finasteride and minoxidil "are not all available on the NHS, so can be expensive if you have to pay".

Where the savings are

The gap between generic and branded medicines is the main saving. Dr Fox (GPhC 1124326) listed four generic sildenafil 50 mg tablets at £3.50 and four Viagra 50 mg tablets at £29.40 on the same day. Four Viagra Connect tablets cost £16.00 to £22.99 depending on the pharmacy, so a prescription for generic sildenafil is cheaper than the pharmacy-only product once the fee is paid.

Tadalafil follows the same pattern. Dr Fox listed 28 tadalafil 5 mg tablets at £17.00 and 28 Cialis 5 mg tablets at £66.59. For hair loss, 28 generic finasteride tablets cost £10.00 against £42.40 for Propecia.

For TRT the saving comes from reading what each monthly price includes. Some plans bundle monitoring blood tests and follow-up reviews. Others charge £49.95 to £149 a test on top. The guides in this hub set out each figure with the page it came from.

The Dose Club does not sell, prescribe or dispense medicines. Questions about whether a treatment suits you go to your GP, prescriber or pharmacist.