What metoprolol costs if you have no insurance

What metoprolol is used for

Metoprolol treats high blood pressure, angina and heart failure, says MedlinePlus, a National Library of Medicine health site. Angina is chest pain caused by poor blood flow to the heart. The medicine is also used to improve survival after a heart attack.

It belongs to a group called beta blockers. MedlinePlus says it works by relaxing blood vessels and slowing the heart rate. You need a prescription from a clinician, so ask what the visit costs before you book.

Two kinds, and why they are priced differently

Metoprolol comes in two forms of the salt. Metoprolol tartrate is the regular tablet, and MedlinePlus says it is taken once or twice a day. Metoprolol succinate is the extended-release form, which releases the medicine slowly, and it is taken once a day as a tablet or capsule.

A pharmacy does not swap one for the other. Your prescriber chooses the form, so a price comparison only helps within the form that you were prescribed.

What Medicare plans and their members spent per fill

Medicare data show what drug plans and their members spent on each drug during 2024. Because the totals include the pharmacy's fee for filling the prescription, they sit closer to a counter price than the pharmacy cost does. They are still not a cash price for you.

• Generic metoprolol tartrate averaged about $0.06 per tablet, or about $6.73 for each fill.
• Generic metoprolol succinate averaged about $0.18 per tablet, or about $14.15 for each fill.
• The brand-name extended-release tablet averaged about $1.45 per tablet, or about $132 for each fill.

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine collected cash prices in July 2020. It found an undiscounted cash price of $8.26 for 30 tablets of metoprolol tartrate 25 mg. For 30 tablets of metoprolol succinate 25 mg, the price was $26.36. Those are six-year-old prices, so use them as a rough guide only.

What pharmacies pay per tablet

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, runs a weekly survey called NADAC, which asks pharmacies what they pay for each drug. It leaves out the fee that pharmacies add, so it sets a floor under the counter price. The list below is from the week of October 21, 2026.

• Generic tartrate 25 mg cost pharmacies about $0.016 per tablet, or about 48 cents for 30 tablets.
• Generic tartrate 50 mg cost about $0.020 per tablet, or about 61 cents for 30 tablets.
• Generic succinate 25 mg cost about $0.053 per tablet, or about $1.59 for 30 tablets.
• Generic succinate 50 mg cost about $0.049 per tablet, or about $1.48 for 30 tablets.
• The brand-name 50 mg extended-release tablet cost about $1.39 per tablet, or about $42 for 30 tablets.

Your prescriber picks the strength and the number of tablets, and our monthly totals only show the size of the bill. The price per tablet changes little from one strength to the next, so a higher strength does not always cost much more.

Some pills combine metoprolol with a water pill called hydrochlorothiazide. The survey shows the generic 50 mg and 25 mg combination at about $0.88 per tablet. That is far more than plain metoprolol, so ask whether a combination pill is on your prescription and what it costs.

Why a tablet that costs pennies can cost several dollars

A pharmacy has costs beyond the pill, such as staff, rent and software. The Ohio Department of Medicaid ran a survey of 2,198 non-specialty pharmacies and published it in 2022. It found that the typical cost to dispense one prescription was about $9.46. That cost applies to a cheap pill and to an expensive one.

So for a very cheap medicine such as this one, the fee for filling it can be most of the price. That is why the 2020 study's $8.26 for tartrate is far above the cost of the tablets. It also means that a 90-day fill, when your prescriber allows it, can cost less per month than three 30-day fills. Ask the pharmacist about the price of each size.

Ways to pay less

Call a few pharmacies and ask each one for the cash price of your exact strength and form. Our guides on asking for the cash price and comparing prescription prices explain what to say, and our prescriptions guide covers more options.

Community health centers charge on a sliding scale, so the fee depends on your income and family size. Many also have on-site pharmacies with discounted drugs, says the Health Resources and Services Administration. Our community health centers guide shows how to look for one.

The pills are often the smaller part of the cost. Blood pressure checks and refills mean regular visits, and lab tests may be added. Some people cover all of that through direct primary care, which usually costs $50 to $200 a month, and you can look up a cash-pay doctor. Our overview of blood pressure and heart medicine costs lists other medicines in this group.

Please do not stop metoprolol on your own

Keep taking metoprolol even if you feel well, and do not stop without talking to your doctor, says MedlinePlus. It warns that stopping suddenly may cause serious heart problems. If cost is the reason you are thinking of skipping doses, please call your doctor or pharmacist first and tell them so.

MedlinePlus lists symptoms that need a call to your doctor right away or emergency care. They include shortness of breath, swelling in the hands, feet or legs, fainting, and a rapid, pounding or irregular heartbeat. If you have chest pain, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. This page can only give general facts, so please talk with your own clinician about your care.