GoodRx Prescription Discount Card Review

Is a GoodRx Discount Card Worth It?

Given the steep costs of seniors’ medications, prescription savings cards have become increasingly popular. With so many options out there, it’s hard to know which cards are actually worthwhile. GoodRx is one of the most widely used and available prescription savings cards. The company is likely partnered with pharmacies near you, making it an excellent choice for seniors across the country.

GoodRx offers two products: a free discount savings card and a monthly subscription called GoodRx Gold, which increases your savings. Their free discount card can save seniors up to 80 percent on their prescriptions. Savings like that really add up, considering the average senior aged 65 to 79 fills 20 prescriptions each year.1

How GoodRx Works

Think of GoodRx as a coupon for your pharmacy. It’s free and accepted at more than 70,000 pharmacies across the United States, including CVS and Costco. When you go to pay for your medication, simply hand the pharmacist your GoodRx card or show them the card on your phone, and they’ll apply the discount. Yes, it’s really that simple!

GoodRx’s widespread availability is one of our favorite things about the company. Other prescription discount cards like SingleCare are only available at 35,000 pharmacies nationwide, making GoodRx one of the most widely available options on the market.

If you’re wondering how GoodRx makes money, you aren’t alone. Here’s how it works:

1. GoodRx partners with pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) who negotiate discounted prescription prices directly with pharmacies.
2. You use your GoodRx discount card when purchasing a prescription.
3. The pharmacy stores the card in your account so that you can keep using GoodRx to save money at that pharmacy.
4. GoodRx earns a percentage of the purchase price or a fixed fee each time you use your card.

GoodRx also has a paid monthly subscription called GoodRx Gold. GoodRx Gold costs $9.99 per month for individuals and $19.99 per month for families. With this subscription, you gain access to better savings of up to 90 percent.

Whether you go with the free GoodRx card or a paid plan, GoodRx can help you save hundreds of dollars per year on your out-of-pocket prescription costs. Best of all, this company makes using the card very easy.

How Do I Sign Up for GoodRx?

With the free GoodRx program, there’s no sign-up required. We searched for medications on the app and website without giving out any of our personal information. That’s a big win if you’re concerned about privacy. Other companies, like America’s Pharmacy, require an email address to sign up or account login for the phone app.

Once you find the discount you’re looking for, GoodRx gives you a few ways to get the card: text, email, or print. And, if you use the GoodRx mobile app (which we’ll cover more below), you can just look up prescriptions on your phone and show the pharmacist the card on the app.

Seniors can also request a GoodRx card in the mail. You’ll have to give your full address and an email address to request the card, but it’s great for seniors who don’t use smartphones or just want a physical card in their wallet.

Signing Up for GoodRx Gold

You can sign up for GoodRx Gold on the GoodRx Gold website2 or in the GoodRx mobile app. When you sign up, you get a free 30-day trial. After that, the service costs $9.99 per month for individuals and $19.99 per month for families.

To sign up, you need to create a username and password and provide your full legal name, mailing address, and birthdate. Then, you’ll input your credit card or debit card details. After the trial ends, you’ll be automatically charged unless you cancel. This may be a red flag for users, as some companies make it hard to cancel service after a free trial. Fortunately, from what we found online, canceling a GoodRx Gold account is easy.

Searching For and Purchasing Medications with GoodRx

Finding medications and savings on GoodRx couldn’t be easier. For this part of our review, we used the GoodRx website. We were impressed with the amount of information GoodRx provides, including side effects, drug info, drug images, and more. Plus, we couldn’t believe how many discounted options were available.

For our test, we looked up Simvastatin, a popular cholesterol medication commonly prescribed to seniors. The average retail price is $24.68, but that depends entirely on the pharmacy. The search showed us seven nearby participating pharmacies. Our lowest price for this medication using the GoodRx free savings card was just $5.16 from AHF Pharmacy. With the GoodRx Gold plan, the price dropped to $2.50. Below is a look at the pricing for Simvastatin at our local pharmacies. (Note that prices may vary in your area.)

To redeem this discount using our free GoodRx card, we clicked on the “Get free coupon” button next to AHF Pharmacy's $5.16 deal. The coupon loaded on a new tab and looked like this:

GoodRx Coupon

Using the coupon is simple. Just show it to the pharmacist on your phone or hand over the printed coupon when you pick up the prescription. The pharmacist will enter the information listed on the card and give you the discounted price. Sometimes with GoodRx, you may want to visit a pharmacy that you don’t usually use because they offer a better discount than your normal pharmacy. In that case, make sure you have your doctor send the prescription to the right pharmacy.

GoodRx App

If you own a smartphone, you’ll want to check out the GoodRx mobile app. You don’t have to use the app to get a discount, but it’s easy to navigate, so we recommend giving it a go. It’s available for Apple and Android devices. For our review, we used the Android version from the Google Play store.

When we first downloaded the app, we were asked to sign up with our mobile phone number or email address. It also gave us the option to “skip for now,” which is what we did. We really liked that we didn’t have to sign up or give away our contact info. Signing up does have some perks, though; it gives you full access to all of the app’s features, like price tracking.

Our Favorite GoodRx App Features

Search for Medications

Finding prescriptions on the app is very straightforward. Just type in the name of the drug you’re looking for. We looked up a common blood pressure medication called nadolol. It gave us nine nearby options to choose from with savings up to 84 percent off the retail price.

Searching for medications on the GoodRx app

Pharmacy Locations

Switch between map and list view to see exactly where each pharmacy is located. On our Android device, we could click on the pharmacy and get directions via Google Maps. This is an excellent feature for seniors who use their smartphones for navigation.

Refill Reminders

You can easily set refill reminders within the GoodRx app. When you request a savings card, the app automatically logs the prescription you searched for and sets up a refill reminder. You can edit the reminder and choose how often it repeats. If you have a hard time remembering when to take your medications, this feature is a total lifesaver.

The GoodRx Refill Reminder is one of our favorite app features

Pill Identifier

We’ve all found an unidentified loose pill on the floor or in our purse at some point. Playing the guessing game and trying to figure out which medication it is can be frustrating and even risky. The GoodRx app has a pill identifier feature to make sure you can tell your pills apart. Just input details about the pill’s shape, color, and imprint to find out what it is. You’ll never have to worry about taking the wrong medication or double-dosing again!

Final Thoughts on GoodRx

During our hands-on experience with GoodRx, we found that the prescription discount card is about as easy to use as it gets. It’s a great choice for older adults without insurance or those with high out-of-pocket expenses on their medications. We do wish GoodRx was partnered with more big-name pharmacies, like Walgreens and Walmart. Still, with availability at 70,000 pharmacies across the country and discounts up to 90 percent (with GoodRx Gold), it’s worth considering before your next refill.