Actonel vs. its authorized generic and generics

Strength How many

How to pay the least

From

$33.70 for 30 tablets

Generic risedronate with the free Team Cuban Card, at pharmacies that take it. Pick the strength on your label above for its own price.

Get the free Team Cuban Card. It costs nothing to sign up.See the price and get the card
At a pharmacy that takes it, show the card and ask for generic risedronate.Find a pharmacy that takes it

Rather have it mailed? From $36.79 for 30 tablets delivered ($31.54 plus $5.25 shipping) from Cost Plus Drugs. Make a free account, then have your prescription sent there.

Open Cost Plus Drugs

A regular generic has the same active ingredient as Actonel, and the FDA requires it to work the same way.

Compare every option

Brand nameActonel

Authorized genericrisedronate

Regular genericrisedronate

What you’d pay

At least$2,450for 30 tablets; pharmacies pay this

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually among the lowest

From$33.70for 30 tablets at Team Cuban Card

Same as Actonel?

The original

Same medicine

Same active ingredientFillers and dyes can differ

Brand nameNo maker’s card

We didn’t find a savings card or cash price from Actonel’s maker. Ask the pharmacy for Actonel’s cash price. With insurance, ask what your plan charges.

Authorized genericThe NDC to ask for

The same medicine as Actonel, without the brand name. Give the pharmacy its NDC to get it.

risedronate

Sold by

Mylan Pharmaceuticals

Your strength

NDC to ask for

35 mgtablet
- 59762-0405-411-digit: 59762-0405-044 tablets per dose pack
150 mgtablet
- 59762-0406-111-digit: 59762-0406-011 tablet per dose pack

Source: FDA, updated October 30, 2026

What to say at the pharmacy

“Before you fill my Actonel, can you tell me what I’d pay for the brand, for the authorized generic from Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and for a regular generic?”

Paying cash? Ask for each one’s cash price. With insurance, ask what your plan charges for each.

Brand and authorized generic labels

Official labels and ingredient lists from DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine).

35 mg tablet

Same active and inactive ingredients as Actonel.

Authorized generic package label from Mylan Pharmaceuticals — Authorized genericMylan Pharmaceuticals

See the ingredients

Active: risedronate sodium hemipentahydrate 30.1 mg · risedronate sodium monohydrate 4.9 mg

Inactive, on both labels:

Microcrystalline cellulose
Crospovidone
Ferric oxide red
Ferric oxide yellow
Hydroxypropyl cellulose
Hypromelloses
Lactose monohydrate
Magnesium stearate
Polyethylene glycol
Silicon dioxide
Titanium dioxide

150 mg tablet

Same active and inactive ingredients as Actonel.

See the ingredients

Active: risedronate sodium hemipentahydrate 129 mg · risedronate sodium monohydrate 21 mg

Inactive, on both labels:

Microcrystalline cellulose
Crospovidone
FD&C Blue No. 2
Hydroxypropyl cellulose
Hypromelloses
Magnesium stearate
Polyethylene glycol
Silicon dioxide
Titanium dioxide

Regular genericWhere to buy it

Pharmacies’ own cash prices for generic risedronate, lowest first.

Pick up in storeDelivered

Delivered: Cost Plus Drugs from $31.54for 30 tablets5 mg $31.54 · 150 mg $339.65Plus $5.25 shipping
Pick up in store: Team Cuban Card from $33.70for 30 tablets5 mg $42.58 · 35 mg $33.70 · 150 mg $324.88Free card · Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer and many local pharmaciesFind a pharmacy that takes it
Delivered: Amazon Pharmacy from $53.60for 30 tablets5 mg $53.60 · 30 mg $1,254.80Prime members only · $139 a year · Free delivery · Prime price: limits on some medicines if you're over 65 or have Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE
Pick up in store: Costco $55.79for 3 tablets150 mgMembers only · $65 a yearFind the nearest store
Delivered: Costco $55.79for 3 tablets150 mgMembers only · $65 a year · Plus shipping
Pick up in store: Sam's Club See its pricePlus members only · $120 a yearFind the nearest store

From each pharmacy’s own site, read November 2, 2026. Confirm the price before you fill.

About these prices

Prices change, can differ by store and state, and may depend on the strength and how many you take. With insurance, ask what your plan charges; it can be less.

Regular genericWho makes it

5 companies sell a generic of Actonel that the FDA rates a substitute. A pharmacy fills whichever one it stocks. To get a certain maker, ask for it by name; most pharmacies can order it in a day or two.

ApotexAll 2 strengths

Has lactose · Has a dye: FD&C Blue No. 2

Product page on apotex.com

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

35 mg Orange, round, 7 mm, marked “APO / RIS / 35”

Package NDC
Carton of 4 60505-3165-0
Carton of 12 60505-3165-2

150 mg Blue, round, 9 mm, marked “APO / RIS / 150”

Package NDC
Carton of 1 60505-3097-2
Carton of 3 60505-3097-4

Inactive ingredients: crospovidone (120 .mu.m), ferric oxide red, ferric oxide yellow, hydroxypropyl cellulose (1600000 wamw), hypromellose, magnesium stearate, polyethylene glycol 8000, titanium dioxide, anhydrous lactose, silicon dioxide, FD&C Blue No. 2, sodium phosphate, monobasic, monohydrate, sodium phosphate, dibasic form
FDA label
Aurobindo Pharma150 mg

Has a dye: FD&C Blue No. 2

Product page on aurobindousa.com

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

150 mg Blue, round, 9 mm, marked “Z / 43”

Package NDC
Carton of 1 65862-870-11
Carton of 3 65862-870-03

Inactive ingredients: silicon dioxide, crospovidone (120 .mu.m), FD&C Blue No. 2, hydroxypropyl cellulose (1600000 wamw), hypromellose 2910 (6 mpa.s), magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol 400, polyethylene glycol 8000, titanium dioxide
FDA label
Macleods Pharmaceuticals5 mg, 35 mg

Has lactose

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

5 mg Yellow, round, 5 mm, marked “CL90”

Package NDC
Carton of 30 33342-107-06
Container of 30 33342-107-07
Container of 2000 33342-107-49

35 mg Orange, round, 10 mm, marked “CL92”

Package NDC
Carton of 4 33342-109-37
Carton of 12 33342-109-50

Inactive ingredients: crospovidone, ferric oxide yellow, anhydrous lactose, magnesium stearate, cellulose, microcrystalline, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, hypromelloses, polyethylene glycol, hydroxypropyl cellulose (1600000 wamw), ferric oxide red
FDA label
Sun Pharmaceutical IndustriesAll 2 strengths

Has a dye: FD&C Blue No. 2

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

35 mg Brown, round, 11 mm, marked “S / 668”

Package NDC
Carton of 4 47335-668-68
Carton of 12 47335-668-62

150 mg Blue, round, 10 mm, marked “S / 928”

Package NDC
Carton of 1 47335-928-60
Carton of 3 47335-928-67

Inactive ingredients: mannitol, microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose, starch, corn, silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide, polyethylene glycol, talc, ferric oxide yellow, ferric oxide red, FD&C Blue No. 2
FDA label
Teva Pharmaceuticals5 mg, 30 mg, 35 mg

Has lactose · Has dyes: D&C Yellow No. 10, FD&C Yellow No. 6

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

5 mg Yellow, round, 9 mm, marked “TEVA / 7390”

Package NDC
Bottle of 30 0093-3099-56

30 mg White, round, 9 mm, marked “TEVA / 7391”

Package NDC
Bottle of 30 0093-3100-56

35 mg Orange, round, 9 mm, marked “TEVA / 7389”

Package NDC
Carton of 4 0093-3098-44
Carton of 12 0093-3098-29

Inactive ingredients: silicon dioxide, starch, corn, hypromellose 2910 (3 mpa.s), hypromellose 2910 (5 mpa.s), lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, polyethylene glycol 400, sodium stearyl fumarate, titanium dioxide, D&C Yellow No. 10, ferric oxide yellow, polysorbate 80, FD&C Yellow No. 6, ferric oxide red
FDA label

Package	NDC
Carton of 4	60505-3165-0
Carton of 12	60505-3165-2

Package	NDC
Carton of 1	60505-3097-2
Carton of 3	60505-3097-4

Package	NDC
Carton of 1	65862-870-11
Carton of 3	65862-870-03

Package	NDC
Carton of 30	33342-107-06
Container of 30	33342-107-07
Container of 2000	33342-107-49

Package	NDC
Carton of 4	33342-109-37
Carton of 12	33342-109-50

Package	NDC
Carton of 4	47335-668-68
Carton of 12	47335-668-62

Package	NDC
Carton of 1	47335-928-60
Carton of 3	47335-928-67

Package	NDC
Bottle of 30	0093-3099-56

Package	NDC
Bottle of 30	0093-3100-56

Package	NDC
Carton of 4	0093-3098-44
Carton of 12	0093-3098-29

Who sells it: FDA and Medicaid records, updated weekly. Each maker’s page, card and program is from its own site.

What it’s used for

What the FDA label says

ACTONEL is a bisphosphonate indicated for:

Treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis
Treatment to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis
Treatment and prevention of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis
Treatment of Paget’s disease

Limitations of Use

Optimal duration of use has not been determined. For patients at low-risk for fracture, consider drug discontinuation after 3 to 5 years of use.

Source: the FDA label for Actonel (Allergan, Inc.), February 4, 2026. Full label on DailyMed

Good to know

It may look different from Actonel (color, shape, or markings). That’s normal for an authorized generic.
If your prescription says “dispense as written,” the pharmacy needs your prescriber’s OK to give you the authorized generic.
Cash prices can differ a lot from one pharmacy to the next, so it can pay to ask two. With insurance, what you pay depends on your plan.
If your pharmacy doesn’t stock it, they can often order it within a day or two.
Don’t stop or change a medicine without talking to your pharmacist or prescriber.

Prices checked November 2, 2026. Prices change: confirm with the pharmacy before you fill. drugalt.com/drug/actonel/