What testosterone costs at a pharmacy in Canada

Formulary prices

A formulary price is what a public drug plan pays for the product, before the pharmacy's mark-up and fee. It is the best public anchor for what a product costs, because it is published and dated. The Ontario Drug Benefit e-formulary, version 2.17, and the Alberta Drug Benefit List, read 8 October 2026, give:

Saskatchewan's formulary gives the same $34.88 for the cypionate vial, recorded on the testosterone cypionate page from an earlier read. Newfoundland and Labrador prices at the manufacturer list price plus a 9 percent inventory allowance, which is $38.02 for the same vial. Quebec's RAMQ search shows AndroGel, Taro-Testosterone Gel, Testim, the cypionate and enanthate vials and the 40 mg capsule as covered but prints no prices. British Columbia covers the injectable vial through PharmaCare Special Authority; its formulary search did not return a price. Which plans cover which products, and for whom, is on the drug plan coverage page.

Cash prices at the counter

Canadian pharmacies do not post prescription prices, and no chain publishes a price list. The only Canadian survey found is TeleTest's, built from phone inquiries, with prices accessed 1 February 2026 and the pages last updated 9 June 2026 (vials) and 26 February 2026 (gel). The company itself says the figures "are estimates based on publicly available data and may vary by location, dosage, and pharmacy." They are recorded here as that: a survey on a date, not a price anyone is promised.

The pump size for the gel figures is not stated in the survey. At the Ontario formulary price, one 5 g packet of AndroGel a day is about $410 for 90 days before mark-up and fees, against about $35 to $55 for three months of cypionate at the monograph dose of 200 mg every two weeks, which is why the form prescribed matters more to the bill than the pharmacy chosen. What online services charge for the same medication, with their own fees, is in the costs comparison.

Dispensing fees and mark-ups by province

The dispensing fee is the pharmacy's charge for filling the prescription; the mark-up is a percentage on the drug cost. Public plans cap what they reimburse, and a pharmacy may charge a cash patient more than the plan maximum. The figures below are the plan caps, with their dates.

For cash patients, a 2024 benefits-industry sheet lists chain averages of $4.32 to $4.37 at Costco, $10.40 to $11.82 at Shoppers Drug Mart, $11.25 at Rexall in BC and up to $16.20 at independents in Manitoba. One online provider in the dataset states a dispensing fee of $11.99 per prescription; what each publishes is in the costs table.

Needles, syringes and sharps containers

On 8 October 2026 a Toronto medical supply retailer listed a box of 100 BD 3 mL Luer-Lok syringes with needles at $36.99, and another listed sharps containers at $11.95 to $24.95. The Health Products Stewardship Association states that its programs are free for consumers and that a free sharps container can be picked up at participating pharmacies in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec and Prince Edward Island; it states that Alberta has no stewardship regulation for consumer health products. Quebec's own page describes free containers at community pharmacies. Some providers charge for injection supplies and some do not; the figure, where published, is in the costs table under injection supplies.

Refills and part-fills for a controlled drug

Testosterone is item 23(40) of Schedule IV to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Since 1 October 2026 it is governed by the Controlled Substances Regulations, which replaced Part G of the Food and Drug Regulations. The Ontario College of Pharmacists' fact sheet on refills, version 3.0 of October 2026, states that refills may be authorized for controlled drugs when the record shows the number of refills and, if specified, the interval between them, that any prescription may be dispensed as a part-fill, and that where an interval is specified the next fill may be dispensed once it has elapsed. The regulations also let a pharmacist extend an existing prescription for up to two years after receiving it; the College's page of 2 October 2026 adds that only the practitioner's original prescription can be renewed and that a pharmacist cannot initiate one. Who may write the prescription in the first place is on the who can prescribe testosterone page, and the legal status of the drug is on the is TRT legal page.

Common questions

How much does a vial of testosterone cost in Canada?

The Ontario Drug Benefit and Alberta formularies list Taro-Testosterone Cypionate 100 mg/mL at $34.88 per 10 mL vial, and Hikma testosterone enanthate 200 mg/mL at $35.59 per 5 mL vial, read 8 October 2026. A cash-paying patient also pays the pharmacy mark-up and dispensing fee. TeleTest's survey of phone quotes, last updated 9 June 2026, found the cypionate vial at $32.99 at Costco, $44.17 at Walmart, $49.49 at Rexall and $52.79 at Shoppers Drug Mart, fee included. Prices vary by store.

How much is 3 months of testosterone in Canada?

It depends on the dose and the form. At the Canadian cypionate monograph dose of 200 mg every two weeks, a 10 mL vial (1,000 mg) covers about five injections, or ten weeks, so three months needs a little more than one vial: roughly $35 to $55 for the medication at the prices above, plus one or two dispensing fees. Gel costs more: the Ontario formulary prices a 5 g AndroGel packet at $4.51, which at one packet a day is about $410 for 90 days before mark-up and fees, and TeleTest's survey put a 1 percent gel pump at $84.49 to $132.99.

Is testosterone cheaper at Costco?

In the one published Canadian survey, yes. TeleTest's phone inquiries, accessed 1 February 2026 and last updated 9 June 2026, found the lowest cypionate vial price and the lowest dispensing fee at Costco ($28.50 plus $4.49). A 2024 benefits-industry sheet lists average Costco dispensing fees of $4.32 to $4.37 against $10.40 to $11.82 at Shoppers Drug Mart. Canadian pharmacies do not publish prescription prices, so these are quotes, not list prices, and they change.

What is a dispensing fee and how much is it?

The pharmacy's charge for filling a prescription, separate from the drug cost. Public plans cap what they reimburse: Ontario Drug Benefit $8.83 ($13.25 rural), BC PharmaCare $11.00, Alberta $12.35 from 1 October 2026, Saskatchewan $11.85 (2021 figure), Manitoba up to $30 for provincial programs, Quebec $10.03 (2021 figure), Nova Scotia $12.39, PEI $12.36, New Brunswick up to $11.00. A cash-paying patient pays whatever the pharmacy charges, which ranged from about $4 at Costco to over $16 at some independents in the 2024 sheet. One online provider states a dispensing fee of $11.99.

Can a testosterone prescription have refills?

Yes. Testosterone is a controlled drug, and the Controlled Substances Regulations in force from 1 October 2026 allow refills when the prescriber writes the number of refills and, if specified, the interval; any prescription may be part-filled. The Ontario College of Pharmacists' fact sheet of October 2026 confirms this and adds that a pharmacist may extend or adapt an existing controlled-substance prescription within two years of receiving it, but cannot write a new one.

How much do needles and syringes cost?

A box of 100 BD 3 mL Luer-Lok syringes with needles listed at $36.99 at a Toronto medical supply retailer on 8 October 2026, and sharps containers at $11.95 to $24.95 at another. Health Products Stewardship Association programs in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec and Prince Edward Island supply free sharps containers through pharmacies; Alberta has no such program. Some providers charge for supplies and some do not; the costs table records what each publishes.