Online pharmacies in the UK 2026: a ranking built on verified facts
A ranking of UK pharmacies that sell medicines online or let you order NHS repeat prescriptions through their website or app, built only on facts from their own websites, an official NHS list and the App Store. "In register" means that the pharmacy that serves online orders appears in the NHS England Consolidated Pharmaceutical List published by the NHS Business Services Authority, the official list of pharmacies that dispense NHS prescriptions in England. The General Pharmaceutical Council register, where every pharmacy in Great Britain must be registered, refused our automated check, so the GPhC registration number on each card is taken from the pharmacy's own website. We also check whether the site names its legal entity with a Companies House number, offers advice from a pharmacist, takes prescription orders, delivers to the home, has free delivery above an order value, the number of its pharmacies, the year it started and the App Store rating of its app. Boots, Superdrug, Pharmacy2U, LloydsDirect and Asda are listed outside the ranking because their websites are closed to automated checks. Prices of medicines are not compared, and nothing here is medical advice. Compare Scores only within the UK. Places are not for sale.
| # | Company | Who it serves | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Well Pharmacy | 92 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | In register Legal entity Pharmacist Prescriptions Delivery Free delivery |
| 2 | Chemist4U | 91 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | In register Legal entity Pharmacist Prescriptions Delivery Free delivery |
| 3 | medino | 84 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | In register Legal entity Pharmacist Prescriptions Delivery Free delivery |
| 4 | NowPatient | 78 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not verified | In register Legal entity Pharmacist Prescriptions Delivery |
| 5 | Rowlands Pharmacy | 75 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Yes | Yes | In register Legal entity Prescriptions Delivery Free delivery |
| 6 | Day Lewis Pharmacy | 74 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Yes | No | In register Legal entity Prescriptions Delivery |
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Yes
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- A pharmacist can be consulted by phone, chat or e-mail
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
Details Visit site ↗ 95% backed by facts
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Yes
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- A pharmacist can be consulted by phone, chat or e-mail
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
Details Visit site ↗ 94% backed by facts
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Yes
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- A pharmacist can be consulted by phone, chat or e-mail
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
Details Visit site ↗ 84% backed by facts
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Yes
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- Not verified
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- A pharmacist can be consulted by phone, chat or e-mail
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
Details Visit site ↗ 78% backed by facts
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Not verified
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 76% backed by facts
-
- Listed in the official register
- Yes
- Legal entity and registration number shown
- Yes
- Pharmacist consultation
- Not verified
- Prescription medicines online
- Yes
- Free delivery from an order value
- No
Pros
- Listed in the official register of online pharmacies
- Prescription medicines can be ordered online
- Delivers medicines to your home
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Cons
- Delivery is free only under special conditions or never
Details Visit site ↗ 88% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Asda Pharmacy (site closed to automated checks, )
- Boots (site closed to automated checks, )
- LloydsDirect (site closed to automated checks, )
- Pharmacy2U (site closed to automated checks, )
- Superdrug Online Doctor & Pharmacy (site closed to automated checks, )
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
40%
Licence and register
The pharmacy is listed in the official national register of pharmacies allowed to sell medicines online or at a distance (for pharmacies based in another EU country, the register of that country), and its website names the legal entity behind it with an official registration number.
25%
Pharmacist and prescriptions
The website offers consultation by a pharmacist by phone, chat, e-mail or video at no extra charge, and prescription medicines can be ordered online in the way the country's law allows: an electronic prescription, a prescription sent in, or a reservation collected at a pharmacy with the prescription.
25%
Delivery and pick-up
Delivery of medicines to the customer's home, free delivery from a stated order value (free delivery only with a subscription, promo code or for selected products does not count), and the number of the pharmacy's own branches and partner points where online orders can be collected, as stated by the pharmacy.
10%
Track record
The year the pharmacy or its online service started, as stated on its own website, and the App Store rating of its app, weighted by the number of ratings.
How to buy medicines online safely
Check the register first
Before you order, find the pharmacy in the official register of the country's medicines or pharmacy regulator. Open the pharmacy's website from the register's link rather than from an advert or a message.
Look for the legal details
A real pharmacy names its operator, address, registration number and the authority that supervises it. Missing contact details, only a messenger account or a foreign address with no register entry are warning signs.
Prescription medicines need a prescription
A legal pharmacy asks for a valid prescription before dispensing prescription-only medicines. A site that sells them without one, or offers them after a short online questionnaire without a clinician, is not a safe source.
Ask a pharmacist
If you are unsure how to take a medicine or whether it can be combined with others you take, ask the pharmacy's pharmacist before you order. For symptoms, a diagnosis or a change of treatment, see a doctor.
Check delivery and storage
Find out how long delivery takes, whether medicines that need to be kept cool are shipped in cold packaging, and what happens if you are not at home. Check the package and the expiry date when it arrives.
Know the return rules
Medicines usually cannot be returned once they have left the pharmacy or the seal has been opened, for safety reasons. Read the pharmacy's terms before you order and report a wrong or damaged delivery straight away.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check that a UK online pharmacy is legal?
Medicines that are not on the general sale list may only be sold or supplied by a person lawfully running a retail pharmacy business, from premises that are a registered pharmacy, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist (regulation 220 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012). Pharmacy premises in Great Britain are entered in the register kept by the General Pharmaceutical Council (article 19 of the Pharmacy Order 2010). A legitimate site states the pharmacy's name, address and registration number, so you can look it up in the GPhC register before you order.
Can I buy prescription-only medicines online without a prescription?
No. A prescription only medicine may not be sold or supplied except in accordance with a prescription given by an appropriate practitioner: a doctor, dentist, supplementary prescriber, nurse independent prescriber or pharmacist independent prescriber, among others (regulation 214 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012). Online services that offer such medicines after a questionnaire do so through a prescriber who issues the prescription.
Should a UK online pharmacy show the EU common logo?
Only in Northern Ireland. Since 1 January 2021 online sellers based in England, Wales and Scotland no longer have to display the EU common logo (the Distance Selling Logo), and the MHRA no longer accepts new applications for it in Great Britain. Anyone in Northern Ireland selling medicines to the public online must still be registered with the MHRA and display the logo on every page offering medicines.
Why is a pharmacy's NHS listing used as the licence check?
Because it is an official list we could read. The NHS Business Services Authority publishes the list of pharmacies that dispense NHS prescriptions in England every quarter as open data, with each pharmacy's NHS code, owner and address. The GPhC register itself did not allow our automated check, so the GPhC number on each card comes from the pharmacy's own website.