Hims vs Keeps vs Ro: Honest Comparison (2026)

Full transparency before we start: we earn affiliate commissions from Hims, Keeps, and Ro. Hims pays us $50-100 per sign-up, Keeps $40-80, and Ro $50-120. You can verify this on our methodology page.

We're telling you this upfront because the alternative — pretending we're neutral while collecting commissions — is exactly the kind of thing that makes the internet worse. Our position: transparency is the better business model, and if you trust us because we show our work, you're more likely to come back.

So: here's our actual honest take.

What Are These Telehealth Platforms?

Hims, Keeps, and Ro are telehealth platforms. You fill out a medical intake form and upload photos of your hair. A licensed physician (or physician assistant, depending on state) reviews your case asynchronously and issues a prescription if clinically appropriate. Your medication arrives by mail, typically on a monthly subscription.

They all offer finasteride and minoxidil — the two FDA-approved treatments for male pattern hair loss. The differences are in product range, pricing, UX, and the details.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Pricing: What You Actually Pay

Hims

Hims finasteride: $30-44/month depending on the plan. Their topical finasteride + minoxidil combo spray runs $44-55/month. Minoxidil foam alone is around $30/month.

Hims frequently runs promotions for new subscribers — sometimes as low as $1 for the first month. The catch is that your regular subscription price kicks in at full rate afterwards, and cancellation requires navigating a few screens designed to keep you subscribed.

The honest downside on Hims pricing: They are consistently the most expensive option for equivalent medications. You pay a premium for the branding, app, and product range. If budget is your primary concern, Hims is not the best choice.

Keeps

Keeps finasteride: $22-35/month. Minoxidil: $25/month. Their combination kit (finasteride + minoxidil) runs around $35-40/month and is their most popular product.

Keeps pricing is straightforward and competitive. No first-month gimmicks that hide the real price. What you see in their pricing table is what you pay from month one.

The honest downside on Keeps: The platform feels more utilitarian. The app is functional but not polished. Customer service response times have been a recurring complaint in verified reviews. You get a solid product at a good price without much hand-holding.

Ro

Ro finasteride: $22-30/month. They also offer compounded topical finasteride + minoxidil formulations, which run higher ($40-60/month) but give you both drugs in one topical application.

Ro's strength is that it is part of a broader health platform (they offer weight loss, ED, mental health, and other categories). For some men, this makes it a one-stop shop for telehealth.

The honest downside on Ro: The free consultation has a $15 visit fee for some states and some service types — the "free consult" language isn't always accurate. Verify pricing in your state before signing up. Their hair loss focus is also less specialized than Keeps, which is exclusively a hair brand.

Product Range: Hims Leads, Others Are Adequate

Hims offers the widest product menu:

• Oral finasteride (generic)
• Topical finasteride alone
• Topical finasteride + minoxidil combo (their flagship for men concerned about systemic side effects)
• Oral minoxidil
• Topical minoxidil foam
• Ketoconazole shampoo
• Biotin gummies (skip these — limited evidence)
• Progress tracking photos via app

Keeps focuses on the essentials:

• Oral finasteride
• Topical minoxidil (foam and liquid)
• Combination kit
• Keeps-branded shampoo

No topical finasteride option as of early 2026, which matters if you want to avoid systemic drug exposure.

Ro offers:

• Oral finasteride
• Compounded topical finasteride + minoxidil (a real differentiator)
• Topical minoxidil

The compounded topical option from Ro is worth knowing about: instead of applying finasteride orally and minoxidil topically separately, you apply one combined topical solution daily. Some men strongly prefer this for adherence reasons.

UX and App Experience

Hims has invested heavily in its digital experience. The intake process is streamlined, the app allows you to message your provider, view your prescription history, and submit progress photos. Notifications and reminders are well-implemented. For men who want a polished consumer experience, Hims feels like a product; Keeps and Ro feel like a service.

Keeps is functional. The onboarding questionnaire covers the clinical essentials. The app does what you need — reorder, contact support, review your prescription. It does not try to be anything more.

Ro's platform is broader, which is both a strength and a distraction. If you are only there for hair loss, you will encounter a lot of prompts about other health categories you did not ask about.

Shipping and Logistics

Hims: 2-4 days standard. Priority options available. Packaging is discreet and well-designed (if you care about that).

Keeps: 3-5 days standard. Packaging is plain and discreet. No frills.

Ro: 2-3 days — fastest of the three on average. They have a well-organized fulfillment operation that benefits from their scale.

All three platforms will automatically refill your prescription monthly. All three require you to proactively cancel — there is no "pause and reorder" model.

How Do These Platforms Handle Side Effects and Medical Oversight?

All three platforms prescribe finasteride only when clinically appropriate. They will not prescribe to men under 18, men with certain health conditions, or men with contraindications.

All three have licensed physicians reviewing intake forms. None have synchronous doctor-patient relationships — this is asynchronous telehealth, not a video call. If you have complex medical history, a traditional dermatology appointment is more appropriate.

On finasteride side effects: sexual side effects (reduced libido, erectile dysfunction) occur in approximately 2-4% of men based on clinical trial data. These are real, they are reported across all three platforms, and they deserve a direct conversation with a provider before starting. All three platforms discuss this in their intake flow, but the quality of that conversation varies.

If you experience sexual side effects, stopping finasteride typically resolves them within weeks. There is a small, contested literature on post-finasteride syndrome (persistent sexual dysfunction after stopping) — see our complete finasteride guide for the honest discussion of the evidence.

Progress Tracking

Hims has the best progress tracking feature — the app prompts you to submit standardized photos at intervals and lets you overlay them for comparison. Useful, since hair changes are subtle and gradual enough that unaided perception is unreliable.

Keeps allows photo uploads but the comparison feature is less developed.

Ro does not currently have a meaningful in-app progress tracking system.

Our Verdict

Choose Keeps if: You want the best value for oral finasteride and/or minoxidil with no frills. You are not interested in topical finasteride. You are comfortable managing your own expectations without an elaborate app.

Choose Hims if: You want the widest product range, especially topical finasteride (or topical combo). You value a polished app experience. You are willing to pay a moderate price premium for that.

Choose Ro if: You want the lowest base price for finasteride, you are interested in compounded topical finasteride + minoxidil, or you want one platform for multiple health categories.

The bottom line: All three are legitimate, physician-supervised platforms offering FDA-approved treatments. The differences matter at the margins. If you are newly starting treatment, we'd start with Keeps for the value, or Hims if you are specifically interested in topical finasteride to reduce systemic exposure.

For a deeper look at the medications themselves, read our finasteride guide and minoxidil rankings.

Sources

1. Kaufman KD, Olsen EA, Whiting D, et al. Finasteride in the treatment of men with androgenetic alopecia. Finasteride Male Pattern Hair Loss Study Group. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 1998;39(4):578-589. PMID: 9777765.
2. Olsen EA, Dunlap FE, Funicella T, et al. A randomized clinical trial of 5% topical minoxidil versus 2% topical minoxidil and placebo in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in men. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2002;47(3):377-385. PMID: 12196747.
3. Mella JM, Perret MC, Manzotti M, et al. Efficacy and safety of finasteride therapy for androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review. Archives of Dermatology. 2010;146(10):1141-1150. PMID: 20956647.
4. Hu R, Xu F, Han Y, et al. Comparison of finasteride and minoxidil alone and in combination in treating male androgenetic alopecia: evidence from a meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatology. 2021;157(11):1365-1367. PMID: 34613349.
5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) NDA approval, 1997; Minoxidil topical solution OTC approval, 1988. FDA Drug Approvals and Databases.
6. Hims Inc. Prescription hair loss treatment pricing. hims.com/hair-loss. Accessed March 2026.
7. Keeps Health. Finasteride and minoxidil subscription pricing. keeps.com. Accessed March 2026.
8. Ro Health. Roman hair loss treatment pricing. ro.co/hair. Accessed March 2026.

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Affiliate disclosure: We earn $40-80/signup from Keeps, $50-100/signup from Hims, and $50-120/signup from Ro. These commission rates do not influence our rankings. Our full methodology explains how we handle this.