Proventil HFA vs. its authorized generic and generics

How to pay the least

Ask for the cash price

Generic albuterol

No pharmacy we check posts a price for it.

Ask your pharmacy for the cash price of generic albuterol.Find pharmacies near you
Ask one or two other pharmacies too. Cash prices for the same generic can differ a lot from store to store.

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

Compare every option

Brand nameProventil HFA

Authorized genericalbuterol

Regular genericalbuterol

What you’d pay

Not soldNo longer sold

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyOften less than Proventil HFA

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually the lowest

Same as Proventil HFA?

–

Same medicine

Same active ingredientFillers and dyes can differ

Brand nameNot sold

Proventil HFA itself isn’t sold as a prescription anymore. Its generic versions, if any, are in the other tabs.

See the authorized generic →

Authorized genericThe NDC to ask for

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

albuterol

Sold by

SandozMade by Kindeva Drug Delivery, the company behind Proventil HFA

NDC to ask for

90 mcginhaler
- 0781-7296-8511-digit: 00781-7296-85200 puffs per inhaler

Source: FDA, updated October 30, 2026

What to say at the pharmacy

“Before you fill my Proventil HFA, can you tell me what I’d pay for the brand, for the authorized generic from Sandoz (NDC 0781-7296-85), 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).

Proventil HFA itself isn’t sold anymore, so there’s no current brand label to compare. Here’s the authorized generic’s label.

Authorized generic package label from Sandoz — Authorized genericSandoz

See the ingredients

Active: albuterol sulfate 108 mcg

Inactive:

Alcohol
Norflurane
Oleic acid

Regular genericWho makes it

3 companies sell a generic of Proventil HFA 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.

CiplaInhalation liquid 90 mcg

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

90 mcg

Package NDC
Carton of 200 69097-142-60

Inactive ingredients: oleic acid, norflurane, alcohol
FDA label
Exelan PharmaceuticalsInhalation liquid 90 mcg

Made by Cipla

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

90 mcg

Package NDC
Carton of 200 76282-679-42

Inactive ingredients: oleic acid, norflurane, alcohol
FDA label
Hikma PharmaceuticalsInhaler 90 mcg

Made by Sandoz

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

90 mcg

Package NDC
Carton of 200 0054-0742-87

Inactive ingredients: alcohol, norflurane, oleic acid
FDA label

Package	NDC
Carton of 200	69097-142-60

Package	NDC
Carton of 200	76282-679-42

Package	NDC
Carton of 200	0054-0742-87

The FDA doesn’t rate Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Armstrong Pharmaceuticals, Lupin Pharmaceuticals and Padagis’s versions of albuterol a substitute for Proventil HFA, so a pharmacy can’t swap them in without your prescriber’s OK.

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

Tightening of the airways (bronchospasm)
Preventing airway tightening during exercise

What the FDA label says

Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Aerosol is indicated in adults and children 4 years of age and older for the treatment or prevention of bronchospasm with reversible obstructive airway disease and for the prevention of exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Source: the FDA label for Albuterol Sulfate (Sandoz Inc), December 16, 2025. Full label on DailyMed

Good to know

It may look different from Proventil HFA (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 change: confirm with the pharmacy before you fill. drugalt.com/drug/proventil-hfa/