CVS is a successful pharmacy chain with more than 10,000 locations throughout the United States. That said, CVS Health, the owner of CVS Pharmacy, made $268.7 billion in revenue in 2020.
If you’re wondering who the CVS competitors are and how much they’ve made, I’m going to tell you all about that and more, so keep reading to find out how the competition stacks up!
CVS Competitors
The top CVS competitors within the United States are Walgreens, Rite Aid, Kroger Pharmacy, and Walmart. CVS is the biggest pharmacy chain with over 10,000 locations nationwide and offers health services in many locations. However, CVS also sees competition from healthcare group competitors like UnitedHealth Group and Cigna.
Do you want to know more about the top 11 CVS competitors? For example, how much revenue do competitors make compared to CVS? Read on to learn all about it!
1. Walgreens
Walgreens Boots Alliance is the parent company that owns Walgreens. With that, Walgreens is a direct competitor to CVS for healthcare, mail-in, specialty pharmacy services, and retail items.
Also, Walgreens has more than 13,100 stores worldwide, with most being in the United States. However, it also operates in more than 11 countries.
Further, the United Kingdom is the biggest international market for the pharmacy chain, with over 2,300 stores!
In 2020, the revenue for Walgreens was $139.5 billion, with $88.6 billion being in prescription revenue, which isn’t quite as good as CVS, but it’s right up there.
2. Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain that competes with CVS, although it’s not found in nearly as many states as CVS.
That said, more than 2,400 Rite Aid locations spread out between 17 states in America, with California having the most stores (530 locations).
Additionally, Pennsylvania is second with 514 stores, and New York is third with more than 300 locations.
In 2020, Rite Aid’s revenue was $21.9 billion, with prescription revenue totaling $11.6 billion. Moreover, it’s a trusted go-to source for both prescriptions and healthcare products nationwide.
3. Walmart Pharmacy
Walmart Pharmacy is one of the biggest mass merchant stores with retail pharmacy locations in almost every store and is one of the top competitors to CVS.
In 2020, Walmart made $21.7 billion in prescription revenue and offers both specialty and mail-in prescription services.
Furthermore, Walmart is known for having a generic prescription program where you can get thousands of different medications for $4 or less!
4. Costco
Costco is a wholesale club that offers prescription services, and in 2020, Costco made an estimated $2.7 billion from prescription services.
On top of that, with more than 550 warehouse locations in the United States, it’s one of the top chains nationwide for prescriptions and health and wellness products.
5. Cigna (Express Scripts)
Cigna bought out Express Scripts in 2018 and is one of the leading mail-in and specialty pharmacies located throughout the United States.
In 2020, Cigna made $49.9 billion in prescription revenue, nearly 9% higher than in 2019!
Additionally, there are more than 49,000 Express Scripts locations nationwide, making it a highly popular pharmacy for those without insurance.
6. UnitedHealth Group (OptumRx)
OptumRx is an affiliate of UnitedHealth Group, and it’s a competitor to CVS in healthcare and pharmacy services.
Furthermore, UnitedHealth Group made an estimated $32.2 billion in prescription revenue in 2020, ranking it in the top four.
Also, UnitedHealth Group offers a mail-in and specialty pharmacy through OptumRx, to serve customers all over the country.
7. Kroger
Kroger is one of the most well-known grocery stores in the United States, and there are more than 2,200 Kroger pharmacy locations to serve customers.
Therefore, Kroger is a direct competitor to CVS.
Furthermore, it offers clinics inside some locations for healthcare services. Additionally, Kroger provides low-cost prescription medications through its prescription drug program.
In 2020, Kroger pharmacy made $15.1 billion in revenue from regular and specialty pharmacy services.
8. Publix
Publix is a supermarket chain located in several states and is often rated as number one for customer satisfaction for its supermarket pharmacy.
Additionally, over 90% of Publix supermarkets now have a pharmacy offering a low-cost prescription drug program where you can get 90-day supplies of common medicines for $7.50!
As you can see, it’s a direct competitor to CVS, with Publix making more than $4.1 billion in prescription revenue for 2020.
9. Albertsons
Albertsons is a supermarket chain with a pharmacy inside stores, and it’s one of the leading competitors to CVS in the United States.
Additionally, Albertsons offers customers low-cost prescription medications throughout its stores, making it an excellent option for lower-income individuals.
In 2020, Albertsons made an estimated prescription revenue of $5.2 billion, which is a significant amount of money considering it only has about 1,700 pharmacies nationwide.
10. H-E-B
H-E-B is a supermarket chain with over 300 pharmacy locations nationwide. Therefore, it’s one of the competitors of CVS when it comes to prescription services.
In 2020, H-E-B had a prescription revenue of $1.8 billion and ranked number one in the 13th edition of J.D. Power’s annual study of supermarket pharmacies, which was a first for H-E-B.
11. Humana Pharmacy Solutions
Humana Pharmacy Solutions is a competitor to CVS in the healthcare sector and pharmacy services, earning it $7.9 billion in prescription revenue for 2020!
Furthermore, Humana Pharmacy Solutions offers on-site pharmacy services. Also, you can get your prescriptions delivered right to your door!
To learn more about CVS, you can also see our posts on CVS’ competitive advantages, CVS’ mission statement, and why is CVS so expensive.