Keeps vs Hims: Which hair loss treatments are better?

We break down price (and discounts), treatments, and service factors to help you decide: Hims vs Keeps

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Medically reviewed by:
Last updated: Nov 17th, 2024
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Keeps vs Hims

Photo by Innerbody Research

Hair loss is an issue that will touch most people’s lives at some point, even men who spend their middle-aged years with full heads of hair. As a result, many of our readers have written to us asking about hair loss treatments. Over the years, we’ve evaluated every major company in this space and every treatment that’s shown even a glimmer of hope, from medications and devices to complex surgeries.

Two of the most prominent names in hair loss treatment are Keeps and Hims. So, we decided to create this analysis comparing Keeps vs Hims head-to-head across many factors and treatment options. How do they stack up? Who offers the best prices, and for what treatments? Which company and treatment will emerge as your solution?

Based on our testing and analysis, we highly recommend both providers, but we’ll suggest one over the other in different circumstances. In most cases, for financial and practical reasons, we recommend Hims as the better choice for men seeking effective hair loss treatments in 2024.

But there are some exceptions. Let’s drill down into specific aspects of the service experience and hair loss treatment paths that Keeps and Hims offer to compare and further differentiate. This way, you can decide which one should win your business.

2024 Winner

For the majority of men right now, Hims is the better choice thanks to an expanding lineup of treatment options that hit the mark in effectiveness, price, and practicality.

In all but a couple specific circumstances, Hims has eclipsed Keeps; for the first time in years, this face-off is lopsided in Hims’ favor. For serious hair treatments, you’ll want to pursue prescription services, which means you should head straight to the Hims website. (You can’t get prescription Hims products anywhere else.) If you know you only want OTC hair care products, then Hims’ store on Amazon may serve you quite well since it’s sometimes less expensive for such products and also gives you nice flexibility in how frequently you receive them when you subscribe.

Table of Contents

In this Review

Why you should trust us

At Innerbody Research, we extensively test each health service we review, including Keeps and Hims. All told, our team has spent over 1,200 hours testing and researching the products and services of both Keeps and Hims and their chief competitors, poring over scientific studies looking into the safety and efficacy of their treatments, and speaking with customers and professionals about their experiences.

Not only have members of our team tried these products for themselves, but many have also continued to use one or more. We’ve also collected before and after examples of two prominent treatment paths that we’ll discuss below. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy. We’ll continue to monitor developments from both companies and their competitors to keep this article up-to-date.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions to live healthier lifestyles.

Keeps vs Hims at a glance

Before we dive deeper, this handy chart gives you a quick summary of how these rivals compare.

KeepsHims
Treatment optionsWinner
CostWinner
Medical CareWinner
BundlesWinner
Customer ServiceWinner
PrivacyDrawDraw

How we evaluated Keeps and Hims

Keeps and Hims are similar companies in terms of their respective approaches to hair loss. Perhaps the biggest difference between them is that Keeps’ telemedical offerings are less expansive; Hims covers a broader range of health and wellness issues like skin care and weight loss. Keeps has expanded to include some of the men’s sexual health treatments Hims has long offered, but it can’t compete for pricing or variety in those expansion areas at this time. Hims has also been more aggressive in growing its treatment options, including innovative medicine combinations to combat hair loss or address both hair loss and aspects of men’s sexual wellness simultaneously.

For the most part, we confined our evaluation to each company’s hair loss approach, but we also made concessions where some of Hims’ products or services could clearly augment certain hair loss treatments. Specifically, we looked at cost, available treatments, quality of medical care, and customer service and convenience.

Let’s take a quick look at each criterion, and we’ll expound on these points even more as we get further down the page.

Available treatments and effectiveness

Winner: Hims

While there’s a lot of crossover between Keeps and Hims for the most common hair loss treatments, like oral finasteride, topical minoxidil, and shampoo and conditioner, Hims has continued to innovate in its hair loss offerings, while Keeps has largely lagged behind. Keeps still offers a thickening pomade for hair styling and a prescription shampoo fortified with ketoconazole, neither of which Hims offers. But that’s where the advantage for Keeps stops.

Here’s a brief look at some of the recently added hair loss treatments in Hims’ catalog that you can’t get from Keeps:

  • Chewable oral finasteride, minoxidil, and multivitamin
  • Chewable oral minoxidil and multivitamin
  • Chewable finasteride, minoxidil, and tadalafil (for ED)
  • Custom topical sprays and serums with finasteride, minoxidil, ketoconazole, and biotin
  • Anti-dandruff shampoo

Those chewable hair loss treatments offer some outstanding potential, with the ability to combine an ED medication with an oral hair loss treatment that has been shown to induce sexual side effects in up to 3% of users.

Cost

Winner: Keeps, by a hair

For cost, we looked at more than just the price you see on the web page. We considered the cost per ounce of things like shampoo and conditioner and the time it would take to go through a bottle. Another factor was the availability of discounts. We also compared each company’s subscription options and how they might save you extra money when you sign up for larger or more frequent shipments.

In many cases, Keeps came out on top for cost, though never by a runaway margin. Keeps advertises a “one month free” deal for new subscriptions, but that doesn’t mean you pay $0 for the first month. Instead, it means you pay less per month over the course of your subscription, with the discount equal to one month’s price divided over the subscription length. However, hair loss treatments are typically things that you take for the foreseeable future, or for as long as you want to prevent future hair loss. So, after that first subscription discount dries up, you’re back to paying full price.

Still, many of those full prices are less than those offered by Hims, particularly when you choose extended subscriptions that bill quarterly, semiannually, or even yearly for some products.

Quality of medical care

Winner: Hims

We compared how the two companies provide initial and follow-up consultation services to evaluate the specific cause and stage of your hair loss and develop a comprehensive plan to fight back. Hims wins this category relatively easily thanks to unlimited free follow-up visits (Keeps follow-ups cost $5), as well as the company’s massive telehealth infrastructure that can address certain side effects of hair loss treatments with additional medicines.

Customer service and convenience

Winner: Hims

Whether it’s a fast turnaround for shipping or a friendly voice on the phone after a short wait, both companies excel at customer service. We found it vital to dig into the nuances of each company’s offerings, though, especially regarding the things that most customers will experience. That can include how intuitive a purchasing process is or how consistently a company updates you on shipping progress or informs you about new products and services.

With so many similarities between them, one small thing went a long way toward Keeps earning our preference: live chat. With Hims, if you have a question, you can search the support database, submit an email query, or make a phone call. You can also do each of those things with Keeps, but it offers the option of a live chat with a real person, too.

The major difference here is that Keeps’ prescription service isn’t available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia at this time. You can still get medication via Keeps if you live there, but you’d have to get your prescription from a different doctor and transfer that information into Keeps. So if you live in one of the following places, Hims provides much more convenient service:

  • Delaware
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • New Mexico
  • Puerto Rico
  • Washington D.C.
  • West Virginia

What are Keeps and Hims?

Keeps and Hims are both telemedicine providers — they offer convenient virtual doctor consultations with prescription and non-prescription treatments they can deliver straight to your door. Receiving that kind of specialized personal care without having to leave home is more popular now than it ever has been.

The process is simple. You provide information about your symptoms (hair loss in this case) and a bit about your medical history, current prescriptions, and other details. Then, a licensed and experienced medical doctor reviews your situation and determines whether you’re a candidate for specific treatments.

Keeps focuses almost exclusively on hair loss treatments for men at this time, with a few recently added services like ED medication and delay spray for premature ejaculation. In contrast, Hims offers an array of men’s telemedicine services for everything from hair loss and erectile dysfunction (ED) to skin care, weight management, and more. The additional services that Hims provides are what truly separates the two companies.

Men seeking answers for more than just male pattern baldness should turn to Hims. Since some hair loss treatments can negatively affect sexual health and mood, access to additional medication and even therapy might be helpful. Keeps can’t quite compete with Hims in terms of its medication variety or cost.

Who has the best prices, Keeps or Hims?

Winner: Keeps

The cost of hair loss treatments is significant when you consider the nature of their efficacy: as long as you keep using them, they keep working. If you stop taking your finasteride or applying your minoxidil, you’ll quickly notice that regrowth stops and hair loss begins anew. So, being able to afford monthly or quarterly shipments of these treatments for years on end — uninterrupted — is critical.

When you compare Keeps’ and Hims’ prices, you’ll notice tremendous similarities. It takes a little simple math to discover that Keeps’ prices are almost always a little lower than Hims. In the years that we’ve been covering the companies, Keeps has actually lowered its prices. That said, there are a few products that Hims provides for less, and Hims’ medical consultations are always free, whereas Keeps charges $5 for followup consultations after your initial free intake.

Keeps only just started offering a combined topical finasteride and minoxidil solution, which has been in the Hims catalog for a couple of years. Hims currently has the better price for the combination, and its concentrations of each medication are slightly higher. It’s also delivered as a spray instead of a gel, which our testers find more convenient.

Hims also has more bundling options than Keeps does. Its prescription Hair Power Pack provides you with finasteride, minoxidil solution, thickening shampoo, and biotin gummies for a quarterly cost of $195, or $65/month. When purchased alone, those same treatments would cost $76/month. That’s a savings of over $130/year. Keeps lets you tack on its shampoo to an order of finasteride or minoxidil, but the process doesn’t provide added savings.

For a glance at the best possible monthly prices of either company’s products over the course of your first three months, check out the handy chart below. Bear in mind that some prices are only available with specific billing cycle options and that certain products are only available in 90-day supplies.

For more detailed price information, check out our complete Keeps and Hims reviews.

KeepsHimsRx Needed?
Finasteride 1mg$20$22
Minoxidil 5% Solution$9$15
Minoxidil 5% Foam$13$19
Topical Finasteride + Minoxidil gel/spray$60$39
Ketoconazole Shampoo 4 fl. oz.$10N/A
Thickening Shampoo 8 fl. oz.$8$19
Conditioner$8$22
Thickening Pomade$8N/A
Biotin GummiesN/A$16
Rx BundleN/A$65

Keeps vs Hims for topical minoxidil

Winner: Keeps

Minoxidil is generic for Rogaine, a thoroughly researched OTC hair loss treatment. Researchers actually discovered the hair-growing potential of minoxidil by accident while studying its effects on blood pressure. Minoxidil works, in part, by increasing blood flow to the scalp, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients to your hair follicles. Its complete mechanisms of action are still unknown.

Keeps Minoxidil

Photo by Innerbody Research

Minoxidil has become a considerable success — and an affordable option — in the fight against male pattern hair loss. It appeals to men for a few notable reasons:

  • Multiple studies illustrate its efficacy to some extent.
  • It’s inexpensive compared to other effective treatments like finasteride.
  • It poses few potential side effects, and the most common reactions are mild.
  • The topical form is available without a prescription, thanks to the lack of serious side effects.

As with most hair loss remedies, the sooner you begin your course of treatment, the better. You’ll want to stick with it to see results, as well; though it begins its work as soon as you start using it, minoxidil commonly takes a few months to show its effects. At that point, you should continue with regular treatment for as long as you want to keep your hair.

Both Keeps and Hims offer topical minoxidil at 5% strength, which studies show is more effective than the 2% strength for treating male pattern baldness. So, where should you buy your minoxidil?

Keeps and Hims both offer liquid and foam options for minoxidil. The foam is easier to apply and contains fewer ingredients that can irritate the scalp, so if you’re prone to contact dermatitis or have generally sensitive skin, the foam is the way to go. Keeps has lower prices than Hims for both the solution and the foam, and since their concentrations are identical, we recommend Keeps for minoxidil.

Keeps or Hims for oral minoxidil

Winner: Hims

Keeps and Hims both offer oral minoxidil by prescription, but the medication delivery is a little different. Keeps uses traditional tablets, whereas Hims uses chewables that contain both minoxidil and a small multivitamin complex.

Oral minoxidil is actually the original form in which the drug was developed — as a medication for hypertension. Doctors still prescribe it for blood pressure today. In fact, it’s only FDA-approved as a blood pressure medication; dermatologists can only prescribe oral minoxidil for hair loss off-label.

So, if it’s not FDA-approved for hair loss, should you try it? In our opinion, oral minoxidil is one of the best ways you can go about treating hair loss. Dr. Scott Bukoski, dermatologist and member of our Review Board, agrees:

“In clinical practice, many of us have switched to oral minoxidil as our first choice for hair loss,” he says, “especially in men where the sexual side effects can create a lot of issues. Topical minoxidil can be just as effective as the oral form; however, the regular use of it can be difficult for people as well as the textural changes it can have on the hair and scalp."

All that said, if you have a heart condition that affects your blood pressure, or you take medicine that does, you might not be a candidate for oral minoxidil.

For everyone else, oral minoxidil represents an efficacy rate on par with or exceeding oral finasteride in trials. And it does so without the potential sexual and depressive side effects associated with finasteride.

Oral minoxidil appears to be just as effective as applying the 5% solution of minoxidil twice daily. However, the logistics of using minoxidil orally are definitely easier. You take one pill daily, and that’s it. There’s no mess to worry about, no second-guessing whether you applied it correctly, and no mandates about scheduling sleep or showers around treatment.

Here’s how the minoxidil offerings from Keeps and Hims differ:

Hims oral minoxidilKeeps oral minoxidil
Lowest cost per month$35$30
Medication formatChewableTablet
Additional active ingredientsBiotin: 2.5mg; Vitamin B5: 10mg; Vitamin B6: 2mg; Vitamin C: 100mgNone
Available doses3mg1.25mg or 2.5mg

Much of the successful research we’ve seen using oral minoxidil in men tends to provide 2.5-5mg daily. We’ve seen successful studies in women using 1.25mg. Given Hims’ higher dose and the inclusion of some multivitamin content for only $5 more than Keeps charges, it emerges as a clear winner here. That perspective is only reinforced by recent additions to Hims catalog, which include an oral chew containing finasteride, minoxidil, and tadalafil to help with ED.

Prescription oral finasteride: Keeps vs Hims

Winner: Hims

Keeps Finasteride

Photo by Innerbody Research

Generic for Propecia, finasteride is what’s known as a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. Normally, 5-alpha reductase allows your body to convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is the form of testosterone that fuels male pattern baldness. By reducing the presence of the enzyme that allows for the creation of DHT, finasteride effectively blocks one major component of male pattern baldness from the equation.

Some of the benefits of oral finasteride include:

  • Taking a pill requires less effort than applying a medication topically to your scalp.
  • Though more expensive than topical minoxidil, it’s still more affordable than other options like surgery.
  • May be safer than oral minoxidil for men with a cardiac history.
  • One study showed that oral finasteride by itself may be more effective than topical minoxidil by itself. Fortunately, these medications are safe to use together so you don’t have to choose one over the other.
  • Studies show that oral finasteride stops hair loss at the crown in four out of five men. Two-thirds of men with a receding hairline see their hair loss stop completely, while two-thirds of men altogether experience good hair regrowth.

So, what are the downsides, you ask? Finasteride does require a prescription, and the drug is known to have some unpleasant potential side effects. About 2-3% of men may experience lower sperm count, ED, decreased sex drive, and other concerns. Furthermore, some studies have suggested an increased risk of mood disorders and suicidality in susceptible patients young men taking finasteride for hair loss purposes.

Other important side effects and medication considerations should be discussed directly with your doctor. (just adding this because there are other considerations such as not donating blood while on the medication, risks of teratogenicity in pregnant females etc).

Keeps and Hims each offer 1mg tablets of finasteride in its prescriptions. A dose of 5mg is more widely studied in clinical trials, but these studies are specifically evaluating finasteride for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The most significant numbers regarding side effects and potential complications from long-term androgen deficiency come from studies evaluating the 5mg dose, which is not offered by Keeps or Hims. In general, the medical community suggests that the 1mg dose is usually safe for the vast majority of men.

Despite charging an extra $2/month for oral finasteride tablets, Hims gets the win here for the diversity of its oral finasteride offering, which includes a combination chew with finasteride, minoxidil, and a multivitamin, as well as a different chew with finasteride, minoxidil, and tadalafil (for ED).

Topical finasteride options from Keeps and Hims

Winner: Hims

Hims used to be alone in offering a topical finasteride spray that combined it with a 6% minoxidil solution. For men who are fearful regarding oral finasteride’s side effects, this may be a way to still reap some of finasteride’s benefits. Keeps recently added a similar combination to its catalog that contains a 5% minoxidil solution rather than the 6% offered by Hims. It’s also available as a gel or foam and not a spray, which makes it a little less convenient.

Studies continue to come out regarding topical finasteride use, but some small early studies suggest that it may have similar effects as oral finasteride with fewer side effects. In fact, one study showed nearly identical results to oral finasteride in several key parameters with less than 1/100th the plasma concentration. That means you can get just as much efficacy from the topical application without anywhere near as potent a risk for sexual side effects.

It is a mystery why Hims uses 6% minoxidil in this spray as opposed to the 5% concentration it uses in its foam and solution. One study from 2021 looking at a 10% minoxidil solution reports significant adverse reactions compared to the 5% baseline. Whether 6% is enough to increase the incidence of those side effects is unlikely, but it’s worth noting the difference.

Hims has also expanded its catalog to include more customizable sprays and serums that can contain topical finasteride, minoxidil, ketoconazole, or biotin. These added options also offer varying concentrations of their ingredients, depending on the results of your doctor’s consultation. This level of custom treatment control gives Hims the win in this category.

Keeps vs Hims for bundling hair loss treatments

Winner: Hims

Many men who want a single potent treatment opt for oral finasteride by itself because it’s effective and requires less effort than topical applications. But men who can tolerate taking both oral finasteride and topical or oral minoxidil will experience the highest probability of success.

Hims Power Pack

Photo by Innerbody Research

The most comprehensive bundle that Keeps offers contains oral finasteride and topical minoxidil, and for many men, that’s a great place to start. You can even choose whether you want the minoxidil in foam or solution form for the package. Hims also has a package that contains oral finasteride with topical minoxidil, but it only comes with minoxidil in solution form. As we mentioned earlier, some men may find that their skin is a bit too sensitive for the solution, and they should go with Keeps if they want a combo with these two products in it.

Hims still holds an advantage if you want a larger package, however, thanks to an additional pair of bundles. One bundle is the prescription-based Hair Power Pack at $65/month:

  • Finasteride 1mg
  • Minoxidil solution
  • Thickening shampoo
  • Biotin gummies

The other bundle leaves out the prescription finasteride and costs $37/month.

Supportive hair loss products

Proper hair care is an integral part of the fight against male pattern baldness. You can’t keep the hair you’ve got or even dream of growing more if the products you use regularly strip your hair of the nutrients it needs to thrive. Fortunately, both Keeps and Hims offer shampoos, conditioners, and styling products capable of cleaning and caring for your scalp and your hair simultaneously.

Shampoo - Hims vs Keeps

Winner: Keeps

Both Keeps and Hims avoid ingredients like sulfates, which are harsh and counterproductive for men trying to regrow hair.

Keeps 2% ketoconazole shampoo is a prescription-strength antifungal shampoo. Technically, it isn’t designed to fight hair loss; it’s designed to fight dandruff. Most dandruff results from an oversensitivity to Malassezia globosa, an otherwise harmless yeast that feeds on your hair’s natural oils. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; you have no more control over your sensitivity to this yeast than you do a sensitivity to pollen or pet dander.

The ketoconazole shampoo helps rid your scalp of yeast, resulting in less irritation and flaking, so your follicles can breathe and get to work.

Hims does not offer a comparable prescription shampoo, but both Hims and Keeps offer a shampoo that contains topical saw palmetto. Saw palmetto performs well in some studies concerning hair loss, but most of those studies look at oral saw palmetto rather than the topical form seen in these shampoos. Keeps takes its ingredient list a little further here, adding caffeine, green tea, and biotin to its shampoo. Again, the evidence supporting the efficacy of these ingredients is thin at best, but the shampoo itself does a fine job cleaning and protecting your hair, so it won’t hurt as long as you don’t have any hypersensitivities to the ingredients.

Hims also recently released a new shampoo and conditioner pair that contains Biovolume 128, a patented form of Tilia tomentosa bud extract that was engineered by Normactive, a cosmetics research company. Anecdotal evidence supports its ability to make hair look thicker, but we couldn’t find clinical evidence to support these claims. Ironically, Tilia tomentosa is better known in scientific communities as a potential sedative or anxiolytic, which is the opposite of what you might expect from a product designed to enliven your hair.

Our testers found that the original Hims shampoo created a slightly nicer lather than either of Keeps’ offerings, and testers debated which thickening shampoo had the nicer scent (both smelled pleasant). Ultimately, two facts put Keeps ahead of Hims in the shampoo space:

  • Keeps has both prescription and non-prescription options for its shampoos.
  • The prescription option has clinical studies backing up its value.

Conditioner: Keeps or Hims?

Winner: Hims

A good conditioner nourishes your hair and protects it from damage. It should leave your hair feeling robust and voluminous but also manageable. Both Keeps and Hims have conditioners available that boast additives each company claims will help with hair loss. For Keeps, these additives are much the same as we saw in the shampoo: saw palmetto, biotin, green tea, and caffeine. Hims’ conditioner, however, utilizes a different ingredient: niacinamide.

Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B, but it acts as an antifungal agent when employed in a product like Hims conditioner. In fact, one study showed that the addition of a niacinamide cream to a skincare regimen was able to reduce dandruff symptoms by up to 75%.

While niacinamide doesn’t have the same robust clinical data as Keeps’ ketoconazole shampoo to combat dandruff, it's more than enough for many users to get the job done. That means you may be able to use Hims conditioner to eliminate an itchy, flaky scalp without the need for a prescription.

Both products cost $22 per bottle, but the inclusion of niacinamide in the Hims conditioner gives it the win.

Insider Tip: If you’re the type of guy who has never used a conditioner, we strongly encourage you to do so now that you’re pursuing hair loss treatments — especially if your plan includes minoxidil, which can cause an itchy scalp. Good conditioners like these can reduce scalp dryness.

Styling products

Winner: Keeps

Between the two companies, Keeps is the only one to offer styling products designed to make your hair appear thicker. Its Thickening Pomade is extremely well-priced compared to alternatives from popular companies like American Crew. And unlike many alternatives, Keeps’ pomade is free of gluten, ethanol, and propylene glycol. And like Keeps’ shampoo and conditioner, its pomade contains saw palmetto, biotin, green tea extract, and caffeine.

Supplements

Winner: Keeps

Biotin — a vital nutrient for hair, nail, and skin health — may not be something you can take as a supplement and expect to see meaningful results. Still, companies are more than willing to provide it, both topically and orally, in numerous products.

“There is insufficient evidence to suggest biotin as a true benefit for hair growth as a supplement. It has not undergone any typical rigors of randomized control trials,” Dr. Bukoski says. “Furthermore, it may lead to erroneous lab results in patients who take it near the time of bloodwork.”

Keeps recently introduced a daily multivitamin for hair loss support, but it’s not especially impressive. It contains a paltry amount of biotin, but it also delivers a decent dose of saw palmetto, which some studies suggest can help when taken orally. Still, its ingredient bill fails to compare with many competitors on the market. Hims offers biotin as a supplement in the form of a tasty daily gummy and as part of its Hair Hybrid chewables (also containing oral minoxidil on its own or in combination with oral finasteride).

The superior complexity of Keeps’ daily supplement gives it a bit of an edge here, even if neither of the company’s supplements are liable to move the needle for your hair loss journey.

Keeps vs Hims for good service

Winner: Hims

We think very highly of both of these at-home treatment providers. When it comes to the quality of service, there are several factors to consider.

KeepsHims
Doctor consultationFree; then $5 follow-upFree
Available in all 50 states
Shipping cost$5$5
Private and discreet

Keeps and Hims have reliable phone support with real human beings on the other end. They can field questions, provide you with in-depth product information, and more.

The ordering process is pretty seamless for each company, with multiple options to define the shipping and billing cycle that works best for you. The Hims website might be a little more challenging to navigate simply because the company covers so much medical territory.

Between the two companies, Keeps is much more transparent about its pricing. We regularly have to contact Hims with targeted questions to access specific price information for prescription products. But Keeps lays out its pricing in clear terms.

At the end of the day, though, Keeps hasn’t established itself in every U.S. state, with six states and the District of Columbia unable to access Keeps products. As a result of its superior availability, we give Hims the win here.

Respecting your privacy

Winner: Draw

When you consider working with a telemedicine service, it’s important to know whether it respects your privacy. This means:

  • Abiding by all HIPAA laws when applicable
  • Using discreet and nondescript packaging materials (what medications you take is nobody’s business but yours)
  • Not bombarding you with third-party offers or incessant emails of any kind

Our assessment of this factor: It’s a draw. Both Keeps and Hims respect your privacy and send shipments in boxes that are discreet and mostly nondescript. Keeps’ packaging contains the company’s red crown logo, but there’s not much chance of someone easily recognizing it.

Doctor consultations

Winner: Hims

Hims and Keeps both offer a free consultation initially, which is fantastic (others charge you for this consultation). Hims used to charge $5 for a consultation, and it’s excellent that it now offers this free of charge. Keeps’ initial consultation is free, but it costs $5 for follow-up consultations, whereas Hims’ follow-ups are always free. Both companies offer free unlimited messaging with a provider.

In some cases, the services of telemedicine providers aren’t yet available in all 50 states. This is the case with Keeps’ online doctor consultations, which means you wouldn’t be able to get a prescription from Keeps in a few states. However, you can still purchase over-the-counter treatments and fulfill an existing prescription from a doctor local to you.

Here’s a list of states and territories where Keeps can’t provide a telemedicine consultation:

  • Delaware
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • New Mexico
  • Puerto Rico
  • Washington D.C.
  • West Virginia

Hims is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, plus its finasteride and sildenafil are available in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

Both companies work exclusively with qualified, licensed U.S. physicians and abide by HIPAA laws to offer telemedicine. Each has outstanding ongoing support. In our view, the $5 follow-up fee from Keeps cancels out the generosity of the free messaging over time, and since Hims currently can fully serve all 50 states, it takes the win.

Shipping logistics

Winner: Hims

Hims offers free delivery while shipping with Keeps costs $5 per shipment, but Hims also assesses a $5 “processing fee” with each shipment. Essentially, these cancel each other out, so we’ve focused on other aspects of shipping than cost for this section. Both typically take 5-7 days to ship, though each company outperformed this estimate by a day or two in testing. Over the years we’ve tested either company, Hims has slightly outpaced Keeps for shipping speed. Hims wins this one by a hair.

Complementary care

Winner: Hims

Hims runs away with the win for complementary care. Keeps’ dedicated focus on hair loss has meant that, until very recently, it hasn’t offered any expanded telehealth features. Hims, on the other hand, is continuously expanding to provide new treatments and services in one place.

One of the most frightening side effects of finasteride — despite only affecting about 2% of users — is sexual dysfunction. The men who experience it report loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, inability to climax, and more. That’s where Hims ED treatments can come in. The company offers Viagra and its generic equivalent sildenafil, Cialis and its generic equivalent tadalafil, and Stendra.

In the Spring of 2024, Keeps began offering sexual health services, including prescriptions for tadalafil and sildenafil. But at this early stage, at least, pricing is not competitive; Hims has far better prices.

Hims also offers things like primary care, dermatology, and mental health services, including talk therapy and psychiatry. If you’re specifically concerned about the potential sexual side effects of finasteride or you want to have a single place where you can satisfy multiple telehealth needs, you might want to consider Hims over Keeps.

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Sources

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