Sesame Care vs Winona
Side-by-side HRT telehealth comparison · Verified July 6, 2026
The short answer
Winona takes it: 8.4 vs 7.6, transparency grade B against B, from $54/mo (~$1,068 realistic first year). The edge: $0 consult + product-only pricing + largest HRT-specific review base. Sesame Care still makes sense for women who want FDA-approved (not compounded) generic HRT they can run through insurance at their own pharmacy, from a named clinician, with prices visible up front, and who are fine seeing whichever clinician they book rather than a dedicated menopause specialist.
| Sesame Care | Winona | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.6/10 | 8.4/10 |
| Transparency grade | B | B |
| Consult fee | Menopause care runs about $99/mo on Sesame's reported Menopause and HRT plan, or per-visit (about $99 to $125 a video visit) on the marketplace; optional Sesame Plus $10.99/mo or $99/year takes $10 off visits [Reported plan price; Plus verified July 2026] | $0, product-only pricing [Verified July 2026] |
| Monthly cost | From $99/mo | From $54/mo |
| Real first-year cost | Not verified | ~$1,068 |
| Bloodwork | Not required to prescribe; lab tests are available to order, and Sesame Plus includes one free lab per year ($65 value, for example testosterone, TSH, lipid panel) [Verified July 2026] | Not required [Reported] |
| Formats offered | oral, patch, gel, vaginal, cream | cream, oral, patch, vaginal |
| Insurance | No, cash pay | No, cash pay |
| States | All 50 states [Reported] | 48 states [Reported] |
| Trustpilot | Not surfaced | 4.7/5 · ~6,000 reviews |
| Visit Sesame Care | Visit Winona |
Sesame Care first-year math: We do not publish a single first-year figure for Sesame because its cheapest realistic path has two variable parts we could not verify this pass: a menopause video visit (about $99 to $125 [Reported]) plus generic estradiol filled at your own pharmacy (cheap, often a low copay on insurance, but the exact cash price was not shown to us). Optional Sesame Plus is $10.99/mo or $99/year [Verified]. The generic-at-your-pharmacy route is plausibly the cheapest cash HRT in this set, but we do not claim it as verified. Winona ($54/mo, all-inclusive) remains the cheapest fully-verified route.
Winona first-year math: Estrogen Body Cream with Progesterone at $89/mo × 12 = $1,068, all-inclusive (consults, follow-ups, shipping included). Cheapest-entry route: estrogen tablets $54/mo × 12 = $648.
Choose Sesame Care if
Women who want FDA-approved (not compounded) generic HRT they can run through insurance at their own pharmacy, from a named clinician, with prices visible up front, and who are fine seeing whichever clinician they book rather than a dedicated menopause specialist.
From $99/mo · Transparency B
Read full Sesame Care review →Choose Winona if
Women who want compounded bioidentical HRT with zero consult fees, published product pricing, and unlimited text follow-ups.
From $54/mo · Transparency B
Read full Winona review →Where both fall short
The honest part
Sesame Care
- Menopause is one of 120+ marketplace services, not a specialty: no dedicated menopause-specialist continuity, and you see whichever clinician you book [Verified July 2026]
- A minority of reviews describe surprise recurring charges and thin post-visit provider messaging [Reported]
- Trustpilot 4.7 and BBB A+ are platform-wide, not menopause-specific [Reported]
- The menopause visit price and generic drug cost were not shown to our verification pass; both carry [Reported] status [Reported]
Winona
- Site blocks bots (HTTP 500 on homepage); automated re-verification impossible without patchright [Verified July 2026]
- No corporate disclosure: founders and HQ not surfaced anywhere [Verified July 2026, absence]
- Subscription-cancellation confusion in reviews [Reported]
Go deeper
This is general information, not medical advice. Hormone therapy is prescription treatment. Whether either provider fits your health history is a decision for a licensed clinician. Facts on this page render from our provider data layer, verified July 6, 2026 where sites allow crawling; items marked [Reported] rest on third-party sources.