How much you overpay for the same actives
We compared 197 skincare products and found 349 cases where a cheaper product carries the same key active ingredientas a pricier one in the same category. Here’s what the markup actually costs you.
Added up across every pair we found, choosing the cheaper same-active option instead of the pricier one would save $8,703.
The biggest dupes
- The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from The OrdinarySave $171.00
- TruSkin Vitamin C Super Serum vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from TruSkinSave $167.00
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from CeraVeSave $162.01
- Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from TimelessSave $157.00
- Maelove The Glow Maker vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from MaeloveSave $149.00
- Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from Mad HippieSave $146.00
- Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from Paula's ChoiceSave $134.00
- Paula's Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from Paula's ChoiceSave $130.00
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA vs Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid TreatmentBoth have lactic acid · cheaper from The OrdinarySave $113.00
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution vs Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid TreatmentBoth have lactic acid · cheaper from The OrdinarySave $112.50
- CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin vs Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid TreatmentBoth have lactic acid · cheaper from CeraVeSave $106.00
- Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum vs SkinCeuticals C E FerulicBoth have ascorbic acid · cheaper from Drunk ElephantSave $104.00
Overpay by active ingredient
Which actives you’re most likely to overpay for, and the average gap between the cheaper and pricier option.
- niacinamide108 pairs · avg $16.27 saved
- salicylic acid92 pairs · avg $30.02 saved
- zinc oxide51 pairs · avg $16.16 saved
- ascorbic acid44 pairs · avg $49.52 saved
- pyrithione zinc14 pairs · avg $8.15 saved
- panthenol13 pairs · avg $22.46 saved
- lactic acid7 pairs · avg $68.79 saved
- colloidal oatmeal5 pairs · avg $16.81 saved
- titanium dioxide5 pairs · avg $17.41 saved
- urea4 pairs · avg $4.25 saved
- azelaic acid3 pairs · avg $22.01 saved
- adapalene1 pair · avg $16.01 saved
- benzoyl peroxide1 pair · avg $20.00 saved
- coal tar1 pair · avg $4.00 saved
How we did this
We compared products within the same category that share at least one key active ingredient and differ in price by at least $3, then measured the gap. A “dupe” means a cheaper product with the same key active — not an identical formula. See our full methodology and browse the curated picks on the dupes page. Free to cite with a link back to this page.