Cost Plus Drugs Review

Sunday, May 18th

2025 Online Pharmacy Reviews

Cost Plus Drugs

• Over 2,300 prescription medications, mostly generic
• $5+ standard shipping fee, $15+ for expedited delivery
• $5 pharmacy fee
• Some insurance accepted but not required
• "A+” rated by the BBB

Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs is an online pharmacy that aims to provide affordable prescription medications by cutting out middlemen and offering drugs at a transparent, low-cost pricing model. The company operates on a cost-plus model, meaning they sell medications at the actual manufacturer's cost plus a 15% markup and small service fees - with no insurance required.

In network for some insurers

While no insurance is required to use Cost Plus Drugs, some healthcare plans are in-network here. At the time of our review, that list included AffirmedRx, Archimedes, Capital Blue Cross, Drexi, FairosRx, Liviniti, MedOne, Network Health Plan, Oread Rx, PCA Rx, PharmPix, Rightway, RxPreferred, Scripius, SelectHealth, SGRX, SmithRx, TransparentRx, True Rx Health Strategists, TrueScripts, VIVIO, WellDyne, and other select prescription plans.

Reasonably competitive on price and availability

We'd heard some complaints that Cost Plus Drugs doesn't carry a broad-enough range of medications, so we were curious how available three of the most commonly-prescribed medications in the US would be. Here's what we found:

• Atorvastatin 40 mg, 30 tablets: $6.15. That's a higher cost than rival online pharmacies that offer a first-time discount, but extremely competitive for month-to-month pricing.
• Metformin 500 mg, 30 tablets: $5.32. That was more expensive than most in-store pharmacies, but still a great value.
• Levothyroxine 50 mcg, 30 tablets: $5.91. Of all three medications, this was probably the best deal, considering we found rivals selling it at a per-tablet price of $2.

So, our research indicates that as long as you're okay with the generic versions of name-brand medications, you shouldn't have trouble getting what you need through Cost Plus Drugs. That's the key to how this online pharmacy saves money: there was no Lipitor, Glucophage, or Synthroid available, though the site correctly identified the brands for each of those generic meds we looked up.

Pay attention to fees

And, as you figure out your costs, you'll need to keep Cost Plus Drugs' fees in mind. They charge a 15% markup (already reflected in the price) over what it costs them to get the medications, shipping fees starting at $5 for 1-2 prescriptions at standard speed and $15 for 1-4 prescriptions with expedited delivery, and possibly a $5 pharmacy fee (we say "possibly” because we found mentions of it on third-party websites but not on Cost Plus Drugs).

"A+” from the BBB all around

All medications offered by this online pharmacy will be filled by their partner, HealthDyne. Fortunately, they've got an "A+” from the Better Business Bureau, just like Cost Plus Drugs; despite both businesses having some complaints registered with the BBB over the last three years, that grade indicates that these companies are responding to those issues promptly and professionally.

OTCs are not part of this online pharmacy's mission

One obvious limitation here is that there are no over-the-counter medications you can add to your order. That surprised us, because there are plenty of generic OTC remedies that go well with prescription meds (like acetaminophen), but that's just not the focus of what Mark Cuban is aiming to accomplish with this pharmacy. We get that.

Lots of complaints

However, the biggest reason this online pharmacy winds up so low on our list is its feedback from customers. Across 70 reviews on Trustpilot, for example, more than half were a dismal 1-star rating; only 23% gave Cost Plus Drugs a perfect 5 stars. Some of the most common complaints were lengthy delays in getting prescriptions delivered, problems with internal communication (two different addresses for the company leading to prescriptions going missing), being sent the wrong meds, you get the idea. And that was just from comments left within a few weeks of our evaluation.

Not quite living up to the hype

We love what Mark Cuban was trying to do in theory, but in reality, Cost Plus Drugs isn't doing a great job. Sure, the generics are affordably-priced, but not so out-of-this-world cheap compared with other online pharmacies' costs that it would make it worth the hassle of potentially not getting your prescription for weeks. Until this company does a better job of getting people meds in a timely, accurate way, we can't give it any higher of a score.