Prescription Cost Calculator

How NHS prescription charges work in England

In England you pay a flat charge for every item on an NHS prescription. For 2025/26 that charge is £9.90 per item. The word "item" is important — it means each separate medicine, dressing or appliance, not each prescription form. So a single prescription form listing three medicines is charged at three items, costing £29.70, not £9.90. If you take several regular medications, those charges add up quickly, which is exactly why the NHS offers a flat-rate season ticket called a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC).

What a prepayment certificate covers

A PPC is a fixed-price pass that lets you collect unlimited NHS prescriptions in England for its duration without paying the £9.90 charge each time. There are two lengths:

• 3-month PPC — £32.05. Equivalent to about 3.24 items. Worth it once you expect more than three items over three months.
• 12-month PPC — £114.50. Equivalent to about 11.6 items. Worth it once you expect more than roughly eleven or twelve items across the year. It can be paid in ten monthly Direct Debit instalments.

Because the 12-month certificate works out at under £10 a month, anyone collecting two or more regular medicines almost always saves money with it. The certificate covers everything dispensed against an NHS prescription, so the more items you need, the more you save.

When the PPC is not worth it

If you only collect the occasional prescription — say one or two items across a whole year — paying per item is cheaper. Two items a year cost £19.80, far less than even the 3-month certificate. The break-even points are precise: 3.24 items for the quarterly pass and 11.57 items for the annual pass. Our calculator does this maths for you and shows the exact saving (or extra cost) for your usage.

Who gets free prescriptions

Many people in England never pay at all. Prescriptions are free if you are under 16, aged 16–18 in full-time education, 60 or over, pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months (with a valid exemption certificate), or have certain medical conditions or a low income. If you qualify for free prescriptions, you do not need a PPC. Check your eligibility on the NHS website.

Prescriptions outside England

The £9.90 charge and the PPC only exist in England. NHS prescriptions are completely free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you live in one of those nations you never pay a prescription charge and have no need for a certificate. This is one of the biggest differences in NHS services across the UK, and it is worth knowing if you move between nations.