Head-to-head · Cost-Efficiency Index
Healthicare vs Royal Medical Center
Two GLP-1 programs on the bench, scored on the same six factors. Here's how their real cost of ownership compares — and which one we'd start with.
Healthicare
Shoppers who want every line item of the price shown before checkout, in 44 states.
Visit HealthicareRoyal Medical Center
Shoppers drawn to a low, bundled-fee headline price who are comfortable calling for the dose-specific breakdown.
Visit Royal Medical CenterThe verdict
Healthicare and Royal Medical Center tie on the Cost-Efficiency Index at 61/100, so neither wins outright on the numbers. For most shoppers we'd start with Healthicare (ranked #228, a hair above #235) — Shoppers who want every line item of the price shown before checkout, in 44 states. But Royal Medical Center is a genuine coin-flip alternative here.
Worth knowing either way: our overall #1 pick is CoreAge Rx (Cost-Efficiency Index 94/100 — the top of the ranking). See how it stacks up: CoreAge Rx vs Healthicare.
Factor by factor
Both providers scored on our six Cost-Efficiency Index factors. The stronger side on each row is marked in teal.
Normalized Cost/Month
Price Transparency
Nationwide Access
Formulation Options
Clinical Oversight
Contract Flexibility
Pricing, coverage & formulary
The disclosed facts behind the scores. Lower price wins its row (teal).
| Spec | Healthicare | Royal Medical Center |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-Efficiency Index | 61/100 | 61/100 |
| Semaglutide / mo | $174/mo (all doses, plus a separate fee, compounded) | $67/mo (starting dose, compounded) |
| Tirzepatide / mo | $264/mo (all doses, compounded) | Not disclosed |
| Semaglutide / yr (modeled) | $2,088 | $804 |
| Tirzepatide / yr (modeled) | $3,168 | — |
| Coverage | Coverage not published | Coverage not published |
| Oral / sublingual | No | No |
| Brand-name access | Yes | Compounded only |
| Rank here | #228 | #235 |
Healthicare
61/100Where the value is
- Every component of the price is itemized on-page — medication, consult, prep, shipping, platform fee, and service fee are each individually listed rather than bundled into one opaque number
- Named medical director (Dr. Jonah Mink, Beluga Health) and named compounding pharmacy (Jungle Jim's Pharmacy/F&F Pharmacies, Fairfield, OH) with phone numbers for both
- No membership fee, same medication price regardless of dose, and 'cancel anytime, no commitments'
The tradeoffs
- Explicitly excluded from 10 states — CA, NV, NJ, NC, TX, MA, MS, NH, WV, DE — due to the pharmacy's dispensing license
- Brand-name first-month pricing ($1,199.99+) is at or above cash retail; the compounded tier is the only competitive option
Royal Medical Center
61/100Where the value is
- Claims an all-inclusive bundled price covering labs, medication, physical, and MD consultation with no itemized add-ons, per its own homepage
- Real physical clinic address (Deerfield Beach, FL) rather than a purely virtual operation
- Dispenses through Belmar Pharma Solutions, a recognizable compounding pharmacy network
The tradeoffs
- The $67/mo figure's dose tier could not be verified — every deeper pricing/program page returned HTTP 403
- The named physician, 'Dr. Rodriguez,' has no full name, license number, or NPI published on the homepage
Assume any provider we list may compensate us — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes the Cost-Efficiency Index. Pricing, states and verification reflect each provider's public disclosures at last review; prices change — confirm on the provider's site. Not medical advice. See our disclosure.