Is There a Generic for Jardiance? Empagliflozin Cost, Availability & Alternatives

✓ Medically reviewed by  ·  Last reviewed: May 2026

Morgan Ellis

Pharmacy Researcher · 8 years experience

Pharmacy researcher with 8 years reviewing clinical drug information, generic formulation equivalence, and international pharmaceutical standards. Focuses on patient-facing accuracy in medication education.

Quick answer: Yes — Jardiance is a brand name for the molecule empagliflozin, so a true generic for Jardiance — generic empagliflozin — exists. In much of the world it has been produced for years by WHO-GMP-certified manufacturers and sold under many names; in the United States, patent protection kept an A-rated generic off the market far longer than usual, with generic entry only arriving in the mid-2020s. A generic contains the same active ingredient at the same strength and works the same way as brand Jardiance.

If you have looked at the cash price of Jardiance (empagliflozin) and wondered whether there is a cheaper version, you are asking one of the most common questions in type 2 diabetes care. Jardiance is one of the most-prescribed diabetes medicines in the world — and one of the most expensive brand-name tablets a person without insurance can be handed. This guide explains exactly what “generic Jardiance” means, when and where generic empagliflozin is available, whether a generic is truly equivalent, and how to think about cost.

What Is Jardiance, and What’s the Active Ingredient?

Jardiance is the brand name for empagliflozin, a medicine in the SGLT2 inhibitor class (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, sometimes called “gliflozins”). It is FDA-approved and marketed by the Boehringer Ingelheim–Eli Lilly alliance.

Empagliflozin works in the kidneys. Normally your kidneys filter glucose out of the blood and then reabsorb almost all of it back. Empagliflozin blocks the SGLT2 transporter responsible for that reabsorption, so a controlled amount of glucose is passed out in the urine instead. The result is lower blood glucose, a modest reduction in body weight, and a small drop in blood pressure — all without directly forcing insulin release, which is why empagliflozin on its own carries a low risk of hypoglycaemia.

The point worth internalising: the brand name on the box does not change the medicine inside it. “Jardiance,” “generic empagliflozin,” and empagliflozin sold under any other brand are the same molecule doing the same job.

Is There a Generic for Jardiance?

Yes — but availability depends heavily on where you are, because it is governed by patents, not by pharmacology.

In the United States

For years, brand Jardiance had no A-rated US generic. Empagliflozin was protected by a compound patent and a thicket of secondary patents, and generic manufacturers that filed to launch early were met with patent litigation. Under settlement agreements, generic empagliflozin (and its fixed-dose combinations) began clearing FDA review, with generic entry arriving in the mid-2020s rather than the decade earlier you might expect for such a widely used drug.

Because that timeline has been in motion recently, US availability and pricing are still settling. If you are in the US, it is worth asking your pharmacist directly whether an authorised generic empagliflozin is in stock and how its cash price compares — the answer is changing faster than most patients realise.

Internationally

Outside the US, the picture is simpler. Generic empagliflozin has been manufactured for years by WHO-GMP-certified manufacturers and is sold under a wide range of brand names worldwide. These generics are the same molecule at the same 10 mg and 25 mg strengths, produced in facilities audited to international Good Manufacturing Practice standards. This global generic market is the reason a medicine that costs several hundred dollars a month as a US brand can cost a fraction of that elsewhere.

At medsbase we stock empagliflozin and the empagliflozin-based combination Glyxambi (empagliflozin + linagliptin) — no prescription needed — sourced from WHO-GMP-certified manufacturing.

Generic vs Brand-Name Empagliflozin — Are They Really the Same?

This is the question that makes people nervous, and the answer is genuinely reassuring. A generic medicine must contain the identical active ingredient at the identical strength and must be bioequivalent — meaning it delivers the same amount of drug into your bloodstream, at the same rate, as the brand. Regulators require this to be demonstrated before a generic can be sold.

The only permitted differences are in the inactive parts: the tablet’s coating, colour, shape, or the fillers that hold it together. None of those affects how empagliflozin controls your blood sugar or protects your heart and kidneys.

How Much Does Jardiance Cost — Brand vs Generic?

Cost is almost always the reason people go looking for a generic in the first place. In the United States, the cash price of brand Jardiance frequently exceeds $600 for a 30-day supply — well over $7,000 a year for a once-daily tablet. Patients with good commercial insurance or a manufacturer savings card may pay far less at the counter, but the uninsured, the under-insured, and those in the Medicare “doughnut hole” often face the full sticker price.

Generic empagliflozin changes that maths completely. Because the molecule is off-patent in most of the world, WHO-GMP-certified generics are typically priced at a small fraction of the US brand cash price. Rather than quote a figure that will date quickly, we keep current pricing on the empagliflozin product page and across the wider diabetes range.

If cost is your main driver, it is also worth comparing empagliflozin against the other well-evidenced options in our guide to the best diabetes medications, and reading how it stacks up head-to-head in Jardiance vs Metformin and Jardiance vs Farxiga.

Empagliflozin Dosing — How It’s Taken

Empagliflozin is refreshingly simple to take:

• Starting dose: 10 mg once daily.
• Maximum dose: 25 mg once daily, if additional glucose control is needed and it is tolerated.
• Timing: once each morning, with or without food.

Taking it in the morning is deliberate — because empagliflozin increases urination, an evening dose is more likely to disturb sleep. The 10 mg and 25 mg strengths are the same whether the tablet says Jardiance or “empagliflozin” on the foil.

What Empagliflozin Treats (Beyond Blood Sugar)

Empagliflozin earned its place in modern guidelines not just for lowering HbA1c but for a run of landmark cardiovascular and kidney trials. These benefits belong to the molecule, so they apply equally to a quality generic:

• EMPA-REG OUTCOME (2015): in people with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, empagliflozin reduced cardiovascular death and heart-failure hospitalisation.
• EMPEROR-Reduced (2020): benefit in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction — in patients with and without diabetes.
• EMPEROR-Preserved (2021): the first clear demonstration of benefit in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a group that had few effective options.
• EMPA-KIDNEY (2022–2023): slowed progression of chronic kidney disease and reduced cardiovascular death across a broad range of patients.

Those data are why empagliflozin is now recommended for many people with heart failure or chronic kidney disease even independently of their diabetes status.

Empagliflozin Combination Tablets

Empagliflozin is also sold in fixed-dose combinations that reduce pill burden:

• Empagliflozin + linagliptin (brand Glyxambi) — pairs the SGLT2 inhibitor with a DPP-4 inhibitor. Available at medsbase as Glyxambi.
• Empagliflozin + metformin (brand Synjardy) — combines empagliflozin with first-line metformin.
• Empagliflozin + linagliptin + metformin (brand Trijardy XR) — a triple combination for people who need all three mechanisms.

As with the single-ingredient tablet, generic versions of these combinations contain the same actives at the same strengths.

Side Effects & Safety Monitoring

Whether you take brand or generic empagliflozin, the safety profile — and the sensible precautions — are identical:

• Genital yeast infections are the most common side effect, because excreting glucose in the urine feeds yeast. Good hygiene reduces the risk; infections are usually easy to treat.
• Urinary tract infections can occur for the same reason.
• Dehydration and low blood pressure — empagliflozin is a mild diuretic. Stay hydrated, and be cautious if you also take water tablets.
• Euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis is rare but serious: ketoacidosis can occur even when blood sugar looks near-normal. Follow “sick-day rules” — pause SGLT2 inhibitors during acute illness, dehydration, fasting, or around surgery, and seek care if you feel unwell with nausea, vomiting or breathlessness.
• Fournier’s gangrene is a very rare but medically urgent infection of the genital/perineal area — seek immediate care for severe pain, redness or swelling there with fever.

Sensible monitoring means checking kidney function before starting and periodically afterwards, staying alert to hydration, and knowing your sick-day rules. This is a medicine that rewards being taken thoughtfully — which is exactly why we pair convenient access with clear safety information rather than treating it as a vending-machine purchase.

Other SGLT2 Inhibitors & Alternatives

Empagliflozin is not the only gliflozin, and it is not the only way to lower blood sugar. Closely related SGLT2 inhibitors include:

• Forxiga / Farxiga (dapagliflozin) — the SGLT2 inhibitor with the strongest heart-failure and kidney dataset of its own.
• Invokana (canagliflozin) — an earlier gliflozin with its own cardiovascular and renal evidence.
• Steglatro (ertugliflozin) — often the lowest-cost brand in the class.

If your priority is weight loss rather than the heart-and-kidney profile of an SGLT2 inhibitor, a GLP-1 medicine may fit better — see our diabetes medication comparison for how the classes line up. The right choice depends on your HbA1c target, your heart and kidney health, your weight goals and, yes, your budget — a conversation worth having with a clinician who knows your history.

Where to Buy a Generic for Jardiance

At medsbase you can order a generic for Jardiance — empagliflozin — and its combinations from WHO-GMP-certified manufacturers, with no prescription needed and Worldwide Shipping. Every order is backed by our Reshipment Assurance Policy, and you can review the discreet, secure ways to pay in our payment guide.

How to Get the Most Value From a Generic for Jardiance

Choosing a generic for Jardiance is mostly about paying far less for exactly the same medicine — but a few simple habits help you get the best value without cutting corners on safety.

• Compare the per-tablet price, not just the pack price. A larger supply usually works out cheaper per dose, and empagliflozin is a long-term medicine you take every day — so the per-tablet cost is what really matters over a year.
• Buy on strength, not on the name. Whether the foil says Jardiance or “empagliflozin,” 10 mg is 10 mg and 25 mg is 25 mg. Match your prescribed strength and choose on price and manufacturing quality.
• Never split or skip doses to stretch a pack. Halving an SGLT2 tablet or taking it every other day to save money quietly undermines the blood-sugar, heart and kidney benefits that make empagliflozin worth taking in the first place.
• Insist on WHO-GMP-certified manufacturing. The price should fall when you switch to a generic — the quality standard should not. Reputable generic empagliflozin is made to the same international Good Manufacturing Practice standards as any brand.
• Keep your monitoring going. The savings are real, but so is the need for periodic kidney checks and sick-day awareness. Budget for the medicine and the routine check-ups that keep it safe.

Used this way, a generic for Jardiance delivers the full clinical value of empagliflozin — the same molecule, the same strengths, the same protective evidence — at a small fraction of the brand-name cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a generic for Jardiance?

Yes. Jardiance is a brand name for empagliflozin, and generic empagliflozin exists. It has been produced by WHO-GMP-certified manufacturers internationally for years; in the United States, patent protection delayed an A-rated generic until the mid-2020s.

Is generic empagliflozin as good as brand Jardiance?

Yes. A generic must contain the identical active ingredient at the identical strength and be bioequivalent to the brand — delivering the same amount of drug into your bloodstream at the same rate. The clinical effect is the same.

Why is Jardiance so expensive?

Brand Jardiance is protected by patents that limited competition, allowing a premium price. In the US the cash price frequently exceeds $600 for a 30-day supply. Generic empagliflozin, sold where patents have expired, costs a fraction of that.

Is empagliflozin the same as Jardiance?

Empagliflozin is the drug; Jardiance is one brand name for it. Every version of empagliflozin — brand or generic — is the same active molecule at the same 10 mg or 25 mg strength.

Does generic empagliflozin have the same heart and kidney benefits?

Yes. The cardiovascular, heart-failure and kidney benefits shown in trials such as EMPA-REG OUTCOME, EMPEROR and EMPA-KIDNEY belong to the empagliflozin molecule, so a bioequivalent generic delivers the same protective effects.

Can I switch from brand Jardiance to a generic?

Pharmacologically the switch is straightforward because it is the same drug at the same dose. As with any change to a chronic medication, it is sensible to let the clinician managing your diabetes know, so your monitoring stays on track.

Is Jardiance/empagliflozin FDA-approved?

Yes. Empagliflozin (Jardiance) is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and additionally to reduce cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, for heart failure, and for chronic kidney disease.

Do I need a prescription to buy empagliflozin from medsbase?

No prescription is needed to order through medsbase. That said, empagliflozin is a medicine that benefits from monitoring — baseline kidney function, hydration awareness and sick-day rules — so we recommend keeping a clinician involved in your ongoing diabetes care.

Written by Sophie Chen. Last updated: July 10, 2026. Reviewed for accuracy against published clinical trial evidence; drug availability and pricing vary by country and change over time.

Written by

Sophie Chen

Pharmaceutical Content Researcher · 8 years experience

Sophie Chen is a pharmaceutical content researcher with 8 years covering generic medication access and clinical pharmacology. She specialises in international regulatory frameworks, bioequivalence standards, and patient-facing education on therapeutic drug classes. She is not a clinician.