Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is one of the more cost-confusing areas of UK men's health. Headline prices vary widely between providers, and "monthly cost" sometimes hides ongoing monitoring fees that only appear later. This guide sets out a clear cost framework: what different UK providers charge, what's included at each step, and the questions to ask before starting.
TRT is prescription-only in the UK and is initiated only after biochemical confirmation of hypogonadism. That regulatory backdrop shapes every cost point below: you're not just paying for a vial or a tube of gel, you're paying for the clinician time, laboratory work and ongoing safety oversight that responsible prescribing requires.
How UK TRT providers compare on price
TRT is prescription-only in the UK and is initiated only after biochemical confirmation of hypogonadism, reflected in the BNF entry for testosterone. Once that's established, headline pricing between providers varies more than most men expect, and the monthly figure on a homepage rarely tells the whole story. Here's how a few well-known UK online providers publish their pricing, alongside Farmeci's own approach.
| Provider | Typical monthly cost | What's typically included |
|---|---|---|
| Farmeci | Confirmed at consultation | Pharmacist-led review, formulation matched to your bloods, monitoring bundled into the programme rather than billed as a separate add-on |
| Numan | From £79/month, plus a £74.50 diagnosis assessment | Treatment, clinician support and monitoring venous blood tests; a standalone venous blood test is billed separately if needed |
| Manual | From £59.99/month (oral), from £100/month (topical), from £110/month (injectable) | Medication, doctor follow-ups and ongoing specialist support; the company states there are no hidden costs for reviews or repeat blood tests |
| Leger Clinic | Roughly £95–124/month (billed as an annual package) | Medication and clinician oversight bundled into a yearly plan |
Provider prices as published at the time of writing (August 2026) and can change; always confirm current pricing and exactly what's included directly with the provider before comparing. Sources: Numan and Numan's help centre, Manual's TRT pricing page, Leger Clinic's pricing page.
The lowest headline number is not always the lowest year. A £59.99/month plan that bills every repeat blood test separately can end up costing more over 12 months than a programme that bundles monitoring in from the start. That's the comparison worth doing before you sign up anywhere, including with Farmeci.
What's included in a private UK TRT programme
A properly run private TRT programme is not a single transaction. It is, broadly, three components: an initial workup, a regular medication supply, and an ongoing monitoring schedule. Each has its own cost, and you should expect any reputable clinic to break them out clearly.
Initial consultation and baseline workup
Before any prescription is issued, a clinician will take a full medical history, assess your symptoms, and arrange baseline bloods. A typical UK workup includes early-morning total testosterone (often repeated on two separate days), free testosterone or sex hormone binding globulin, luteinising hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, full blood count, haematocrit, lipids, liver function, and a PSA where age-appropriate. Some clinicians also include oestradiol, fasting glucose and HbA1c.
Cost for this stage commonly falls in the £150–400 region. The variation reflects whether the clinic uses a venesection service, a private lab, or finger-prick home kits, and whether the consultation is bundled in.
Treatment options and what they cost
Once a diagnosis of hypogonadism is established and treatment is agreed, the recurring monthly fee usually covers the medication, the prescription, dispensing, and a routine clinical check-in. Private programmes typically sit in a £75–250 monthly band, and the formulation you and your clinician choose is one of the biggest drivers of where you land in that range.
- Topical gel. Applied daily (Testogel and Tostran are common UK brands). Steady day-to-day dosing, and treatment can be paused or adjusted quickly if needed. Topical TRT is one of the more commonly chosen routes for men starting therapy for this reason.
- Short-acting injections. Testosterone enantate or Sustanon, typically given every 1-3 weeks, either self-administered or at a clinic. Levels can fluctuate more between doses than with a daily gel.
- Long-acting injections. Nebido is dosed roughly every 10-14 weeks once you're stabilised, which suits men who prefer fewer appointments, though the interval means it takes longer to adjust the dose if it needs changing.
Beyond formulation, two other factors move the monthly figure: how often you see a clinician (monthly reviews tend to cost more than quarterly ones), and whether monitoring bloods are bundled into the fee or billed separately.
It's worth pausing on that last point. The headline monthly figure on a provider's website is not always the full picture. A £75/month programme that bills monitoring bloods separately at £80–120 per round can work out higher over a year than a £180/month programme that includes them, which is exactly the comparison the provider table above is meant to make easier.
Ongoing monitoring
Monitoring is not an optional extra. UK guidance is clear that men on TRT should have periodic checks of testosterone level, haematocrit (because TRT can raise red cell mass and viscosity), PSA, and a clinical symptom review. Most UK clinicians follow a 3-month, 6-month, then 6–12-monthly pattern.
If your clinic bills monitoring separately, you can typically expect:
- £60–120 per round of monitoring bloods, twice in the first year and then annually.
- A clinician review fee of £40–100 if not bundled into the monthly cost.
Across a full year, monitoring usually adds something in the region of £200–500 on top of the medication itself. Programmes that quote "from £49/month" without showing this annual picture are almost always excluding monitoring. Any TRT pathway that skips monitoring entirely should be treated with caution.
Why monitoring matters, and why it costs
The reason responsible TRT costs more than "the price of a vial" is that the medication has real physiological effects beyond raising testosterone. It can increase haematocrit (raising the risk of thrombotic events), affect the prostate, suppress endogenous production (impacting fertility), and influence cardiovascular markers. These are manageable risks in a monitored programme and unmanaged risks otherwise.
This is why UK regulators and prescribing guidance consistently link TRT prescribing to baseline bloods, follow-up bloods, and clinician review. The cost you see on a private programme reflects the time and laboratory infrastructure needed to keep treatment safe, not the medication alone. For broader context on the relationship between testosterone and overall health, our explainer on whether low testosterone causes hair loss and on whether TRT itself can cause hair loss walks through the wider picture clinicians take into account.
How fast can private TRT start?
Speed is one of the main reasons men choose a private online route in the first place. Most UK online providers can complete an initial online consultation within a few working days of booking, and several offer same-week appointments. A home blood test kit typically takes 3-5 working days to come back once your sample reaches the lab, and a clinician can usually review your results and, if TRT is appropriate, issue a prescription in that same review.
That said, "fast" should never mean "no bloods." A provider that skips baseline testing to get you started sooner has cut the one step that actually keeps TRT safe, not just quick. The comparison worth making is turnaround-to-diagnosis, not turnaround-to-prescription with no diagnosis behind it.
Privacy and discretion
For many men, discretion matters as much as cost. A private online TRT programme is typically run entirely through video or messaging consultations, so there's no need to sit in a waiting room or explain why you're there. Blood tests are usually done with an at-home finger-prick or venous kit you post back, rather than a visit to a phlebotomy clinic.
Medication is dispensed by post in plain, unmarked packaging, with delivery windows you can choose to fit around your schedule. Your records are held under standard UK clinical confidentiality rules, the same as any other prescription-only medicine, and are not shared with an employer or anyone else without your consent.
Will insurance cover any of it?
Most UK private medical insurance policies do not routinely cover TRT. Some policies may fund an initial endocrinology assessment if a referral pathway is followed and clinical hypogonadism is suspected, but ongoing TRT, particularly when the clinical picture sits in the "low-normal symptomatic" grey zone, is generally self-funded.
If you have insurance, it's worth contacting your provider before your initial consultation to understand exactly what they will and won't cover. Asking about specific codes for endocrine consultation and laboratory bloods will be more useful than asking "do you cover TRT?", which most call-centre staff will answer with a default no.
What to ask a clinic before signing up
Before starting any private TRT programme, ask the clinic to confirm in writing:
- What is included in the monthly fee: medication, prescription, dispensing, clinician contact?
- Are baseline and ongoing monitoring bloods bundled, or billed separately?
- How often will my blood tests be repeated, and what panels are included?
- Will I be reviewed by the same clinician, and how is dose titration handled?
- What is the realistic 12-month total cost, including monitoring?
- What happens if I want to pause or stop treatment: is there a notice period or off-boarding fee?
A reputable clinic will answer these without hesitation. If the answer to any of them is vague, particularly around monitoring, that itself tells you something about the programme. For a broader look at men's health topics that often come up around TRT decisions, our men's health hub brings related articles together in one place.
The cost of doing it the wrong way
The cheapest TRT is not always the safest TRT. Programmes that ship testosterone after a short online form with no bloods, or that skip ongoing monitoring entirely, can look attractive on price but carry real clinical risk. Self-sourcing testosterone from unregulated online vendors, outside any UK clinical oversight, sits in the same category. Whatever you save in fees, you pay in the absence of oversight on haematocrit, prostate, and cardiovascular markers.
Your clinician will advise based on your individual circumstances, including whether the symptoms and bloods support a diagnosis of hypogonadism in the first place. For many men presenting with fatigue, low mood or weight gain, the answer is not TRT at all. It's an investigation into sleep, lifestyle and other contributing factors before any treatment decision is made.