Hims Review: Genuinely Cheap Generics and an A+ Rating — Alongside 4,318 Complaints and a Federal Lawsuit

What Is Hims?

Hims is the men's arm of Hims & Hers Inc., a publicly traded telehealth company operating from San Francisco with a BBB-listed start date of 30 December 2013. It covers hair loss, sexual health, weight loss, mental health, skincare and hormones, selling everything on recurring subscription.

Its strongest offering is the least glamorous. Oral finasteride 1mg runs around $25/month and topical minoxidil 5% around $20/month — FDA-approved generics for hair loss at prices that are genuinely competitive, with quarterly and annual billing reducing the per-month cost further by roughly 15 to 40%. Across the catalogue, typical pricing runs $25 to $195 a month by category. Weight loss is the exception at the other end: branded GLP-1s run north of $1,100 a month.

On corporate credentials Hims scores well. It is BBB accredited and holds an A+ rating, has traded since 2013, is subject to public-company reporting, and dispenses mostly FDA-approved medication through regulated channels. That is a materially different risk profile from the eight-month-old LLCs with mail-forwarding addresses that populate much of this market.

Two things sit against that, and both are substantial. The same BBB profile that shows an A+ rating also records 4,318 complaints over three years with 1,255 closed in the last twelve months — and the theme is remarkably consistent. And in June 2025, Novo Nordisk terminated its Wegovy collaboration with Hims & Hers, stating publicly that the company had 'failed to adhere to the law, which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs under the false guise of personalisation' and was 'disseminating deceptive marketing that puts patient safety at risk'. Hims & Hers shares fell around a third on the announcement.

Services & Pricing

Prices are as reported across independent pricing analyses in August 2026; Hims' own pages blocked our requests, so confirm at checkout. Quarterly and annual billing cuts per-month costs by roughly 15–40%, but note that longer billing terms are charged as larger single payments — a BBB complainant describes a 'bulk $384 renewal' arriving without prior notification. The most important budgeting point is the one complainants raise repeatedly: check whether a separate membership fee is being added. One customer describes being charged $149 twice and being told the second was 'my monthly membership fee', which they say was never disclosed.

FDA-Approved, Compounded, and the Novo Nordisk Dispute

Most of what Hims sells is FDA-approved generic medication — finasteride, minoxidil, sildenafil, tadalafil — dispensed through regulated pharmacies. That is the core of its value and it is a genuinely strong regulatory position compared with compounded-only competitors.

Weight loss is the exception and the source of its most serious reputational problem. Hims sells both branded GLP-1s at cash prices above $1,100/month and compounded semaglutide products.

The dispute is worth setting out precisely, because it goes to how compounded GLP-1s are being sold across this entire market. Compounding a drug that is in shortage is permitted; mass-producing copies of an approved drug once the shortage ends is not. Providers have relied on a 'personalisation' argument — that a compounded product tailored to an individual patient falls outside the prohibition. In June 2025 Novo Nordisk terminated its collaboration with Hims & Hers, alleging the company was engaged in 'illegal mass compounding' and selling compounded drugs 'under the false guise of personalisation', with 'deceptive marketing that puts patient safety at risk'.

These are allegations made by a commercial counterparty in a public dispute, not findings by a court or regulator, and Hims has rejected the characterisation. We report them because they are on the record, were made by the manufacturer of the drug in question, and describe a practice that is widespread rather than unique to Hims. If you are buying compounded semaglutide from anyone, this is the legal argument the product rests on — and it is contested.

Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and have not been evaluated for safety, efficacy or manufacturing quality, whoever sells them.

The Consultation Process

Eligibility

• •Hims serves adult men across the US, with specific eligibility determined by clinician review of your online intake for each service. Most services do not require lab work.
• •Finasteride is for men only and must not be handled by anyone pregnant or who may become pregnant, as it can cause birth defects. It can cause sexual side effects including reduced libido and erectile dysfunction, which persist after stopping in a minority of users, and it lowers PSA readings — tell any clinician ordering a PSA test that you take it.
• •PDE5 inhibitors for ED are absolutely contraindicated with nitrates, including recreational 'poppers', where the combination can cause a life-threatening fall in blood pressure. They require caution with alpha-blockers and in significant cardiovascular disease.
• •GLP-1 medicines are contraindicated with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2, and in pregnancy. Common side effects are gastrointestinal.
• •Mental health services delivered asynchronously are not appropriate for crisis care. If you are in crisis in the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
• •Erectile dysfunction and low libido can be early markers of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or hormonal disorder. Treating the symptom through an online form without assessing the cause can delay a diagnosis that matters more.

Clinicians, Testing & Pharmacy

Shipping & Support Services

Discreet recurring shipping is included in subscription pricing and is generally not a source of complaint — Hims' fulfilment operates at scale and works. The complaints concern what is being shipped and billed rather than whether it arrives. One complainant describes a renewal being 'charged and shipped' more than four months after their cancellation was acknowledged in writing.

• •FDA-approved generics at genuinely low prices — finasteride ~$25/mo, topical minoxidil ~$20/mo
• •BBB accredited since February 2018 with an A+ rating
• •Publicly traded, with public-company reporting obligations
• •Trading since December 2013 — a long operating record
• •Broad catalogue across hair, sexual health, weight, mental health, skincare and hormones
• •Quarterly and annual billing reduces per-month cost by roughly 15–40%
• •Both compounded and branded GLP-1 options available
• •Self-service cancellation available through the account subscriptions section
• •Discreet, reliable fulfilment at scale

Fees, Cancellation & Refunds

Insurance & HSA/FSA

Pros & Cons

Who Hims May Be Best For

• •Men wanting cheap, FDA-approved generic finasteride, minoxidil or ED medication with minimal friction
• •Anyone who values buying from a large, publicly traded, long-established company over a small one
• •People who will set a calendar reminder and cancel through the correct channel when they are done
• •Patients wanting several unrelated concerns handled on one platform

Limitations

• •The FTC lawsuit filed on 29 July 2026 is now the most important thing to know about this company, and it goes to the same subscription machinery the complaint record already pointed at. Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California with California and Utah joining on a 2-0 Commission vote, it alleges that Hims 'fails to clearly disclose that it charges consumers for prescriptions almost immediately after they submit an intake form, despite telling consumers that they will be able to consult with a medical provider'; that 'Hims does not give most consumers a consultation with a provider'; that consumers are consequently 'unknowingly… charged for and subscribed to a prescription treatment without having a chance to review or approve it'; that the company 'fails to clearly and conspicuously inform consumers when their prescriptions will be refilled each month'; and that it 'shared consumers' sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms such as Meta and Snap despite promising to protect patient privacy'. Hims denies wrongdoing, and the FTC's own notice states it files a complaint when it has 'reason to believe' the law is being violated and that 'the case will be decided by the court'. These are allegations, not findings — but they are the considered position of a federal regulator after a roughly three-year investigation, and they align closely with what 4,318 BBB complainants were already describing.
• •The A+ rating and the 4,318 complaints are both real, and understanding how they coexist is the key to this review. BBB ratings weight whether a business responds to and resolves complaints, not just how many it receives. Hims engages with its complaints, which earns the A+. It also generates them at a rate that, even allowing for its enormous scale, points at a systemic problem — and that problem is almost entirely subscription billing.
• •The specific failure described by complainants is serious. A cancellation acknowledged in writing in March, followed by a renewal charged and shipped in July, is not a customer misunderstanding a deadline. Neither is a bulk $384 renewal arriving without prior notification, or a $149 charge described as a membership fee the customer says was never disclosed. Combined with a policy of no refunds once processed and non-refundable consultations, the consequence of the system failing lands entirely on the customer.
• •Two practical defences are worth knowing. First, if you signed up through the iOS or Android app, cancelling inside your Hims account does not stop the billing — you must cancel through the app store. That single fact probably explains a share of the complaints. Second, the 48-hour rule means cancelling on the day of renewal is too late; do it a week early.
• •The Novo Nordisk dispute deserves weight but also proportion. Novo's allegations — illegal mass compounding and deceptive marketing under a false guise of personalisation — are the manufacturer's characterisation in a commercial breakup, not a regulatory finding, and Hims rejects them. But they were made publicly by the company that makes the drug, they cost Hims roughly a third of its market value in a day, and they describe a legal theory that the entire compounded-GLP-1 industry currently relies on. Anyone buying compounded semaglutide anywhere should understand that the 'personalisation' argument is contested.
• •In fairness, the core proposition remains good. Finasteride at $25 and minoxidil at $20 are FDA-approved generics at fair prices from a company that has been trading since 2013 and will still exist next year. If you buy those, cancel through the right channel when you are finished, and stay away from the $1,100 cash GLP-1 tier without first checking your insurance, Hims is a perfectly reasonable choice.

Alternatives to Consider

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Verdict

Hims sells something genuinely worth buying and surrounds it with something genuinely worth avoiding. Finasteride at around $25 a month and topical minoxidil at around $20 are FDA-approved generics at fair prices from a company that has traded since 2013, is publicly listed, is BBB accredited and holds an A+ rating. For straightforward hair loss or ED treatment, that is a sound, low-risk purchase and the reason this still rates above the middle of our range.

The subscription machinery is the problem. 4,318 BBB complaints in three years — 1,255 closed in the last twelve months alone — cluster almost entirely on billing that does not stop. A customer whose written cancellation was acknowledged in March and who was charged and shipped a renewal in July is not a story about deadlines. Neither is a bulk $384 renewal with no notification, or a $149 charge described afterwards as an undisclosed membership fee. And with no refunds once an order is processed and non-refundable consultations, there is little way back.

Two things will protect you, and they are worth more than any rating. If you subscribed through the App Store or Play Store, cancel there — cancelling in your Hims account will not stop it. And cancel a week before renewal, not the day before, because the deadline is 48 hours.

The Novo Nordisk termination is the other thing a 2026 reader should know. In June 2025 the manufacturer of Wegovy publicly ended its partnership with Hims & Hers, alleging illegal mass compounding and deceptive marketing under a false guise of personalisation, and the shares fell about a third. Those are one company's allegations in a commercial dispute, not adjudicated findings, and Hims disputes them — but they go to the legal foundation the entire compounded-GLP-1 industry stands on.

And then there is the lawsuit. On 29 July 2026 the FTC, California and Utah sued the company over precisely the practices this review was already critical of — charging before a consultation, hiding the cancel button, failing to disclose refill dates — plus an allegation that it shared users' health information with Meta and Snap. Hims denies it and a court will decide. But when a federal regulator concludes after three years of investigation that the billing complaints are worth suing over, that is a different order of evidence from a BBB file, and it is why this rating has come down.

We rate Hims 2.9 out of 5. Buy the cheap generics, avoid the $1,100 cash GLP-1 tier without checking your insurance first, cancel through the correct channel well ahead of renewal, and check your statements. If you would rather have published pricing across the whole catalogue, Ro does that and rates higher with us.

This review is informational only and is not medical advice. Finasteride, PDE5 inhibitors and GLP-1 medicines all carry real contraindications and side effects — speak to a licensed clinician about whether a treatment is appropriate for you before starting, changing or stopping it.