Lisinopril vs. Losartan: Cost Comparison

As of July 2026, generic lisinopril starts at $3.50 a month and generic losartan at $4.50, per BetterBuyRx's verified pricing, a one-dollar difference between the most-prescribed ACE inhibitor and the most-prescribed ARB in America. If you're comparing these drugs on cost, the honest headline is that there's almost nothing to compare: both are among the cheapest prescriptions sold. The interesting differences are in the details: source coverage, card pricing, and the clinical reason people switch.

Side-by-side verified prices (July 2026, 30-day supply)

Lisinopril drew 19 quoting sources, the most of any drug in our snapshot, versus losartan's 15. Compare live: lisinopril prices · losartan prices.

Reading the table like a pharmacist

Two patterns worth noticing:

1. The cheapest source flips by drug. Blink Health owns lisinopril's floor ($3.50) but is losartan's *most expensive* top-five source ($7.70). Costco is losartan's floor ($4.50). If a household fills both drugs, the cheapest strategy may be two different pharmacies, or one convenient counter at a cost of roughly $1 to $3/month total. That's the recurring theme of how to save money on prescriptions: networks price per drug, not per pharmacy reputation.
2. Amazon RxPass prices them identically ($5.00) because both sit on its flat-rate generic list, a simplification some people happily pay a small premium for.

The cough that drives the switch

Clinically, the classic reason a prescriber moves someone from lisinopril to losartan is the persistent dry cough that ACE inhibitors cause in a meaningful minority of patients, a known effect described in lisinopril's MedlinePlus entry. ARBs like losartan rarely cause it. The cost angle: at July 2026 prices, that switch costs about $12 more per year at each drug's floor. If a cough is affecting your adherence, cost is no reason to avoid the conversation with your prescriber.

The switch also shouldn't be feared on quality grounds; both are mature generics from many manufacturers under the same FDA standards.

Pricing the whole blood pressure regimen

Most hypertension treatment involves 2 to 3 agents. From the same July 2026 snapshot: amlodipine from $3.50, hydrochlorothiazide from $3.80, plus either drug here: a full three-drug regimen can run $11 to $13/month cash at floor prices, or modestly more consolidated at one counter with the free BetterBuyRx card. See the high blood pressure condition page for the complete class, and warehouse club pharmacy for why Costco keeps showing up in these tables.