How much does Botox cost?
Botox is priced by the unit, and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons puts the average cost of a botulinum toxin treatment at $435.
ASPS publishes $435 as the average, and says it moves with how advanced the fine lines are, how aggressively the areas are treated and therefore the amount of product used — plus the provider's expertise, the time required and geographic location.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Prices and results vary by person, by provider and by where you live, and only a licensed provider who has assessed you can tell you what is appropriate for you.
Botox cost by treatment area — in units, because that is how it is sold
A practice quotes you a price per unit. The label tells you how many units each area takes. Those two numbers multiply, and that is the arithmetic nobody does for you on a price page.
| Treatment area | Labelled dose | Your area price |
|---|---|---|
| Frown lines (glabellar lines) | 20 units | 20 × the per-unit price you are quoted |
| Crow's feet (lateral canthal lines) | 24 units | 24 × the per-unit price you are quoted |
| Forehead lines | 20 units | 20 × the per-unit price you are quoted |
| All three areas together | 64 units | 64 × the per-unit price you are quoted |
Sources: BOTOX Cosmetic (Allergan), BOTOX Cosmetic prescribing information
How much does Botox cost per unit?
Practices set that themselves and it moves by market, so there is no national figure we are prepared to print. What the table above gives you is the thing a per-unit price is useless without: the number of units the area actually takes. Ask for the per-unit price and the unit count in the same breath — a low per-unit price on a high unit count is not a deal.
What a year of it costs, not what a visit costs
Botox is not a one-off purchase and the honest budget is annual. Cleveland Clinic puts the average duration at about three to four months with retreatment recommended at that point, and BOTOX Cosmetic describes a schedule of at least three treatments a year, spaced at least 90 days apart. Three treatments at the ASPS average of $435 is the shape of the annual number — and that is our arithmetic on their figures, not a published annual price.
Sources: Cleveland Clinic, BOTOX Cosmetic (Allergan), American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Ask what a year costs, not what today costs. The retreatment interval is on the label; the annual figure is the one that decides whether you can afford it.
Forehead, masseter, underarms — why those quotes look so different
- Different areas carry different labelled doses. The frown lines and forehead lines are 20 units each and crow's feet is 24, per BOTOX Cosmetic.
- ASPS names the amount of product used as one of the things its $435 average moves on — so a larger or more heavily treated area is a bigger number for exactly the reason you would expect.
- ASPS also names provider expertise, the time required and geographic location.
- Areas outside the three above are not in the cosmetic labelling we are citing, and we are not going to publish unit counts for uses we cannot source. Ask the injector directly.
What to bring to the consultation
- The per-unit price, in writing.
- The unit count they plan to use, per area, in writing.
- The retreatment interval they recommend, so you can multiply it into a year.
- Who is injecting, and what their licence is.
The duration half of the budget question is on its own page: how long Botox lasts, and how often it is repeated.
Price follows the injector. These are the med spas AI assistants name when people ask — measured across US metros, and no place on the list can be bought.
- Most recommended med spas in Orlando, FL
- Most recommended med spas in San Antonio, TX
- Most recommended med spas in Jacksonville, FL
- Most recommended med spas in Fort Worth, TX
- Most recommended med spas in Nashville, TN
- Most recommended med spas in Columbus, OH
- Most recommended med spas in Indianapolis, IN
- Most recommended med spas in Minneapolis, MN
Not your city? See every metro we measure.
Questions people ask next
- How many units of Botox do I need?
- The FDA-labelled doses for BOTOX Cosmetic are 20 units for frown lines, 24 for crow's feet and 20 for forehead lines, or 64 for all three. What is appropriate for you is a decision for a licensed injector, not for a web page.
- Why is the ASPS average so different from the price I was quoted?
- ASPS says its average moves with how much product is used, the provider's expertise, the time required and geographic location. Treat the ASPS figure as a reference point for judging a quote rather than as the quote.
- Does insurance cover cosmetic Botox?
- Cosmetic treatment is not medical treatment, and this page is about the cosmetic use only. Anything about medical coverage is a question for your plan and your physician.
Written for patients by Most Recommended Med Spas, which measures which med spas AI assistants actually recommend in 26 U.S. metros. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.