Research · Cost study
The program-cost study, published in full
Every monthly figure on this site comes from the same arithmetic, applied to a dated record. This page reports that record as a study: how many programs sit in each cohort, which are complete enough to compare within a formulation, which totals are withheld and why, and the exact rows behind every number.
How to reproduce this study
The study is generated from the same records the HTML pages and the markdown editions read. It is not a second dataset and nothing here is typed by hand: a corrected price flows into these rows when the record is corrected. The CSV below is the exact row set behind every figure on this page, including each record’s own source URL and check date.
Record check dates: 2026-10-23 (6 records); 2026-10-26 (11 records)
Correcting a common ten-week shortcut
A $199 charge every 10 weeks is not $199 ÷ 2.5 = $79.60 a month. Ten weeks is 70 days, not two and a half months: the correct monthly equivalent is $199 × 365.25 ÷ 12 ÷ 70 = $86.53. The shortcut understates the month by about 8.0%, not by a fifth. The $79.60 figure appears nowhere in the record, and this example is a worked fixture rather than a claim about any provider.
Cohorts and sample sizes
n = 17A single headline average across every program would blend a medication rate with a complete recurring bill and with a blank. The cohorts below keep those apart. An annualised recurring subtotal is the monthly figure × 12: a run rate on the recorded charge, not the cash a first-year buyer pays.
| Cohort | Sample | Comparison basis |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring, comparable (formulation named, interval verified, every fee priced)The only cohort in which a month-to-month comparison is meaningful: the formulation is named, the billing interval was read from the provider page, and every mandatory fee has a published amount. Even here, figures are reported within a formulation, never pooled across them. | 1 | Comparable within formulation — ranges reported below |
| Medication-only or subtotal (a required fee is unpriced)A published charge and interval exist, but at least one required fee carries no amount. The recurring subtotal excludes that fee and no total is published. | 6 | Count only — no blended cost range |
| Formulation not established (cannot be a comparator)A charge and interval exist but the source never named the formulation, so the record cannot be compared with an injectable or a topical. It is counted and left out of every cost range. | 2 | Count only — no blended cost range |
| Charge published without a billing intervalA charge exists but no billing interval was published, so no monthly figure is derived. A supply period is not a billing period. | 1 | Count only — no blended cost range |
| No charge publishedNo charge appears on the pages read. Recorded as not established, never as zero and never as the cheapest option. | 7 | Count only — no blended cost range |
Ranges are published within a formulation and only across the comparable cohort. No cohort here publishes a blended median across formulations, and every incomplete cohort reports a sample count rather than a cost.
By formulation
Formulation as recorded, never assumed| Formulation | Records | Comparable recurring | Monthly, low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formulation not established | 8 | 0 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld |
| Injectable | 7 | 0 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld |
| Topical | 2 | 1 | $199 | $199 | $199 |
A record whose source never named a formulation is reported as such rather than pushed into the injectable column. Monthly and annualised figures are computed only across the comparable rows of one formulation; medication-only and incomplete records are counted but excluded from every range, and a formulation with no comparable row shows withheld rather than a pooled estimate.
The source rows
One row per prescription TRT record| Program | Formulation | Charge as billed | Interval | Known first payment | Known monthly | Annualised recurring | One-time fee | Total status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlynMDSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Blokes (Joi + Blokes)Source | Injectable | $149/mo billed quarterly | Calendar month | Withheld | $149 | $1,788 | Withheld | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Defy MedicalSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Fountain TRTSource | Topical | From $199/mo, published as a flat all-inclusive monthly fee | Calendar month | $199 | $199 | $2,388 | Withheld | Recurring subtotal shown; known one-time fee listed separately | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Hims & HersSource | Injectable | Compounded injectable from $79/mo, medication only | Calendar month | Withheld | $79 | $948 | Withheld | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Hone HealthSource | Injectable | Injectable from $28/mo, medication rate, plus a required membership | Calendar month | Withheld | $28 | $336 | Withheld | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| KeepsSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $49 | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 23, 2026 |
| LifeMDSource | Injectable | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Male ExcelSource | Topical | $132/mo cream, 60-day supply billed every other calendar month | Calendar month | Withheld | $231 | $2,772 | $99 | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Marek HealthSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $299 | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Maximus (Maximus Tribe)Source | Injectable | $199.99/mo on the one-month plan | Calendar month | Withheld | $199.99 | $2,399.88 | Withheld | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Peter MD (Peter Uncaged)Source | Injectable | $139/mo on the one-month plan | Calendar month | Withheld | $139 | $1,668 | Withheld | Total withheld — a required fee is unpriced | Oct 26, 2026 |
| ReformHRTSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 23, 2026 |
| RegenX HealthSource | Formulation not established | No monthly charge published | Not established | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no charge published | Oct 23, 2026 |
| RexMDSource | Formulation not established | $250–$299/mo subscription including medication | Calendar month | $349 | $250 | $3,000 | $99 | Total withheld — formulation not established | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Taurus MedsSource | Formulation not established | $149/mo, plus a $49 initial test and consultation | Calendar month | Withheld | $149 | $1,788 | $49 | Total withheld — formulation not established | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Titan TRTSource | Injectable | $159 for a 30-day supply | Not established | $159 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Total withheld — no billing interval | Oct 23, 2026 |
Limitations
- A published price is not a quote. A program can re-price after an intake, and a dose change can change the charge.
- A total is withheld where any mandatory fee has no published amount or a charge has no billing interval. It is never filled with zero.
- The annualised figure is a run rate on the recorded charge. It is not first-year cash, no quarterly or annual payment schedule is inferred, and it assumes the recorded rate continues unchanged.
- This study makes no claim about historical price movements. The record keeps each field’s check date; it does not publish a price-change series.
- Nothing here is clinical evidence or a recommendation. It compares published prices and billing terms only.
Cite this study
TRT Buyer Guide, "Testosterone therapy program cost study, 2026 edition," Open Water RX LLC. Records read 2026-10-23 (6 records); 2026-10-26 (11 records); span 2026-10-23 to 2026-10-26. Sample: 17 prescription testosterone replacement records, of which 1 are complete enough for a comparable recurring figure. https://trtbuyerguide.com/research/program-costs
Reproduce a figure with its record’s own check date and the billing interval attached. A derived monthly figure must be called derived.
Arithmetic fixtures
11 of 11 passingThese fixtures test the conversion, not a provider. A failing fixture blocks a release: it means the arithmetic changed without the record changing with it.
| Fixture | Known charges | All-in | Expected known | Expected all-in | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $195 every 28 days | $211.98 | $211.98 | $211.98 | $211.98 | Pass |
| $280 every 28 days | $304.38 | $304.38 | $304.38 | $304.38 | Pass |
| $140 every 30 days | $142.04 | $142.04 | $142.04 | $142.04 | Pass |
| $280 per month | $280.00 | $280.00 | $280.00 | $280.00 | Pass |
| $100/mo plus a $240 annual fee | $120.00 | $120.00 | $120.00 | $120.00 | Pass |
| $280 every 28 days plus a $199 annual fee | $320.96 | $320.96 | $320.96 | $320.96 | Pass |
| $280 per month plus an unpriced lab panel | $280.00 | withheld | $280.00 | withheld | Pass |
| $199 every 70 days | $86.53 | $86.53 | $86.53 | $86.53 | Pass |
| $220 every 84 days | $79.72 | $79.72 | $79.72 | $79.72 | Pass |
| $300 per insertion, every 90 days | $101.46 | $101.46 | $101.46 | $101.46 | Pass |
| $150 quarterly lab panel | $50.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 | $50.00 | Pass |
Records read Oct 26, 2026, with every field carrying its own check date and later re-checks dated to the pass that made them.