Botox vs Dysport vs Xeomin: how the neurotoxins compare

Botox is a brand name. Several other botulinum toxin type A products are approved in the United States for the same frown lines, and most med spas offer more than one. They work the same basic way, by blocking the nerve signal that tells a muscle to contract. They differ in how they are made, how they are dosed and how they are priced.

The brands

• Botox Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA), from Allergan. The first approved for cosmetic use.
• Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA), from Galderma.
• Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), from Merz. Its label describes it as made without accessory proteins.
• Jeuveau (prabotulinumtoxinA), from Evolus, approved for frown lines.
• Daxxify (daxibotulinumtoxinA), from Revance, approved for frown lines and made without human or animal-derived ingredients.

Units are not interchangeable

This is the most important point for price comparisons. Each product’s FDA label says its units are specific to that product and cannot be converted to another product’s units. The labeled dose for frown lines shows the difference:

• Botox Cosmetic: 20 units
• Xeomin: 20 units
• Jeuveau: 20 units
• Dysport: 50 units
• Daxxify: 40 units

So a Dysport unit is priced lower than a Botox unit, and that does not make a Dysport treatment cheaper. Studies, mostly in patients treated for movement disorders rather than wrinkles, have found roughly 2.5 to 3 Dysport units comparable to one Botox unit. Compare per-unit prices only within a brand, or ask each clinic for the total price of the same treatment.

Published prices by brand

Median per-unit prices that med spas publish on their own websites, by brand:

Botox

Dysport

Xeomin

Onset and duration

Results take a few days to appear, and wear off over a few months for most products. Botox’s label, for example, puts the effect on frown lines at approximately three to four months. In Daxxify’s pivotal trials, which its maker sponsored, frown lines stayed improved for a median of about six months. Its label gives no duration figure. How long a treatment lasts varies from person to person, so a longer-lasting product is worth comparing on cost per month as well as cost per visit.

Which one?

There is no single best brand. People switch for reasons such as how quickly results appear, how long they last for them, or price. A licensed provider can explain which products they stock and why. Our guide on how Botox units are priced covers per-unit and per-area pricing in more detail.