How Can You Buy Viagra (Sildenafil) at an Affordable Price?

Viagra was approved by the FDA in March of 1998. Over the ensuing two decades the drug made billions for Pfizer, the manufacturer. At last check, one Viagra pill could cost as much as $80. At that price it is hardly surprising that many men would be looking to buy Viagra (sildenafil) for less. In December, 2017, the drug became available generically at about half that cost. There are, however, even more affordable ways to access sildenafil, as this reader reports.

How to Buy Viagra (Sildenafil) for Less:

Q. You advised a reader that brand name Viagra (sildenafil), which costs $65 to $80/pill, is available from Greenstone as an authorized generic at half the price. It can also be obtained from legitimate Canadian pharmacies for $14 to $20/pill.

Generic sildenafil has been available in the U.S. at much lower cost. I have been getting sildenafil for $1.24/pill from a local warehouse club pharmacy. These 20 mg pills are probably generic Revatio. One pill is equal to 20 mg Viagra; two or three pills ($2.48 or $3.72) are approximately equal to a 40 or 60 mg Viagra. This medication is very affordable and works exactly as well as brand name Viagra.

What The Heck is Revatio (Sildenafil)?

A. Sildenafil is prescribed for erectile dysfunction as Viagra. It is also prescribed as Revatio to treat pulmonary hypertension, a rare but serious condition that can lead to heart failure. In other words, the active generic ingredient is the same whether it is prescribed as Viagra or Revatio.

Different Doses:

The dose is a little different, though.

According to the official prescribing information, the dose of Viagra is:

“For most patients, the recommended dose is 50 mg taken, as needed, approximately 1 hour before sexual activity. However, VIAGRA may be taken anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours before sexual activity.

“The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day.

“Based on effectiveness and toleration, the dose may be increased to a maximum recommended dose of 100 mg or decreased to 25 mg.”

Viagra comes in 25 mg, 50 mg, or 100 mg sildenafil citrate blue tablets.

Revatio Prescribing Information:

“The recommended dose of REVATIO is 5 mg or 20 mg three times a day. Administer REVATIO doses 4–6 hours apart.”

The white tablets come as 20 mg of sildenafil citrate.

Consumer Reports on “How to Get Generic Viagra”

In June of 2017 Consumer Reports noted:

“According to price-comparison website GoodRx.com, generic Revatio will cost you as little as $0.70 per pill, depending on where you fill your prescription. That’s compared with more than $50 per pill for Viagra.

“And while generic Revatio is available only in a 20-mg strength—Viagra comes in 25-, 50-, and 100-mg tabs—not to worry: Your doctor can prescribe the most appropriate equivalent dose. “The 5-mg difference between sildenafil and the lowest dose of Viagra could easily be made up by taking an extra half pill, if needed,” says Consumer Reports’ chief medical adviser, Marvin M. Lipman, M.D.”

If your doctor tries to save you money by writing a prescription for generic Revatio (sildenafil), you might end up with a very serious health condition in your permanent medical record. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a potentially life-threatening health condition. A future employer or life insurance company might view such a diagnosis as worrisome. Nonetheless, our reader was correct that this generic drug is quite affordable.

J.M. in North Carolina also reports big savings:

“My husband got a prescription from his doctor for Viagra, and had the same reaction as the writer about when he went to pick it up (over $350 with medicare and his supplement).

“Later a friend told him about the generic sildenafil and got a prescription for this and had it filled. With medicare and his supplement he got 30 pills for about $35 (in the US).”

A Word of Caution About Trying to Buy Viagra (Sildenafil) Online:

Over the years there have been reports of counterfeit Viagra being sold on the Internet. That’s hardly surprising. Many men would prefer not to visit a doctor to get a prescription for a pricey medicine. Men who think they can buy Viagra (sildenafil) online without a prescription are asking for trouble.

Arty in Washington shared this message on our website:

“I took some generic Viagra and all it did was make my feet swell up.”

H.F. in Virginia had a bad reaction to generic sildenafil:

“Generic sildenafil in being sold at a local pharmacy ( 20 mg tablets ) for $38.00 with no insurance. They require a prescription and the meds are from India. I took one and it did nothing for the ED situation but the next morning I was light headed, felt if I was running a temperature, and was seeing specks every where. My head felt as if it was twice its size. This lasted several minutes leaving me with a strange feeling for a while.”

It is possible to buy both brand name Viagra and generic sildenafil for a fraction of the price in the U.S. if purchased from a legitimate Canadian pharmacy. You will need a doctor’s prescription!

The brand name product is usually under $15 per pill. The generic sildenafil is generally under $10 a pill and some Canadian pharmacies sell if for under $5 per pill for 50 mg tablets.

How To Find Legit Canadian Pharmacies:

You may want to check out our Guide to Saving Money on Medicine for more information about legitimate Canadian pharmacies. Just because an online pharmacy says it is Canadian does not make it so.

You will also learn about authorized generics. This is a well-kept secret. These special generic drugs are supposed to be identical to the brand name pills. Greenstone’s sildenafil is an authorized generic version of Viagra. That’s hardly any surprise. Greenstone is a subsidiary of Pfizer, the brand-name maker of Viagra.

Sometimes authorized generics are made on the same exact production lines as the brand name products. Learn more about how to find these more trustworthy generic products in our Guide even if you are not interested in learning how to buy Viagra (sildenafil).