Compared · Superdrug Health Clinic and Online Doctor
Superdrug sells blood tests two ways: single tests and short health checks through its high-street Health Clinics, and finger-prick kits through Superdrug Online Doctor. Both are fine for one question. If your question is "why do I feel like this?" or "what is my actual risk?", the answer usually needs 70 to 230 markers read together, and that is a different product. Full disclosure: some TrueVitals blood draws happen inside Superdrug Health Clinics, because our laboratory partner uses their nurses. So this is not a hit piece. It is an explanation of what each is for.
Venous draw at 103 UK clinics (some of them Superdrug clinics) or at home. Full written report within 48 hours of the lab receiving your sample.
Last reviewed 16 September 2026
The short answer
Use Superdrug when you know exactly which one thing you want checked and you want it cheaply: a cholesterol result, a vitamin D level, an STI screen, a single thyroid test. Use a comprehensive panel when you do not know what is wrong, when you want your risk measured properly rather than guessed at, or when you want a report that explains what the numbers mean together. The draw may even happen in the same Superdrug clinic; the difference is what gets tested and what you get back.
Side by side
| Superdrug Health Clinic | Superdrug Online Doctor kit | TrueVitals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Single tests and short health checks, booked in a store clinic | Finger-prick kit posted to you, sample posted back | One of three panels: 74, 114 or 230 biomarkers |
| Sample | Venous draw by a nurse | Finger-prick, self-collected | Venous draw by a registered phlebotomist, clinic or at home |
| Markers | Typically 1 to 10 per test | Typically 1 to 20 per kit | 74 (Advanced), 114 (Ultimate), 230 (Signature) |
| ApoB, Lp(a), fasting insulin, cystatin C | Not offered | Not offered | ApoB in all; the rest in Ultimate and Signature |
| Full thyroid with antibodies, full iron studies, complete hormones | Partial, as separate tests | Partial, as separate kits | Included |
| Results | Results with brief GP comments via Online Doctor | Same | Written report explaining every marker in context, reviewed by a medical professional, with a dashboard that tracks change over time |
| Turnaround | A few days | A few days after posting | Report within 48 hours of the lab receiving your sample; Signature around 12 working days |
| Locations | Selected Superdrug stores | Anywhere by post | 103 clinics including some Superdrug Health Clinics, or at home anywhere |
| Price | Roughly £30 to £200 depending on the test | Roughly £30 to £150 | £269, £349 or £799, plus £19 clinic or £39 at-home draw (Signature includes the draw) |
Superdrug's menu and prices change; figures are approximate from public pricing in 2026. Check their site before you book. Everything in the TrueVitals column is from the published panel contents.
Why it matters
A single result is only useful if you already know it is the right question. Most people who feel tired buy a vitamin D test because that is what Google suggested, and get a normal result, and are no wiser. The actual answer was ferritin at 18, or a TSH creeping up, or a fasting insulin that says the weight gain is metabolic, and none of those were on the test. Buying the second test and the third costs more than a panel and still misses the interaction: low iron looks worse with low B12, a thyroid drift explains why the iron is not helping, an inflated ferritin from inflammation hides a real iron deficiency underneath. A panel reads them together once. Always tired and tests come back normal?
Superdrug is right for
A cholesterol recheck after starting a statin. A vitamin D level after a winter of supplements. An STI screen. A single thyroid test your GP asked you to repeat. Cheap, quick, and the right tool.
A panel is right for
Tiredness, weight gain, low mood, brain fog, a family history of heart disease or diabetes, or a baseline before a GLP-1, HRT or TRT. The question is "what is going on?" and one marker cannot answer it.
The report
Superdrug returns results with short comments. A TrueVitals report explains each marker, connects the patterns across systems, tells you what to fix first and which results to take to your GP. See a sample report.
Which panel
Most people start here
Advanced
74 biomarkers · £269
Full thyroid with antibodies, ApoB and full lipids, hs-CRP, HbA1c, full iron studies, vitamin D, B12, folate, core hormones, liver, kidney, electrolytes. Roughly what ten separate Superdrug tests would cover, read together.
View AdvancedUltimate
114 biomarkers · £349
Adds fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, Lp(a), cystatin C, complete hormones, tumour markers and urinalysis. For risk, weight, hormones and anyone on a GLP-1.
View UltimateSignature
230 biomarkers · £799
Processed by Randox and collected at a Randox clinic with physical measurements. Extended cardiovascular, autoimmune, digestive and neurological screening. Draw included.
View SignatureClinic draw £19. At-home £39. Fast from 10pm the night before. Pay monthly available. No GP referral.
Honest comparison
TrueVitals does not run its own clinics. Our laboratory partner, Nationwide Pathology, works with a network of independent clinics and, in several cities, with Superdrug Health Clinics, whose nurses take venous samples for a range of providers. If you book with us in Chester, Ellesmere Port, Liverpool, Speke, Durham or Inverness, your draw may be in a Superdrug store. The tube goes to a UKAS-accredited laboratory for 74 to 230 markers rather than to Superdrug's own menu, and the report comes from us. Same chair, different test. Find your nearest clinic.
If you only need one marker, Superdrug will do it for a fraction of our price and we would tell you to go there. If you have bought three of their tests in the last year and still do not know why you feel the way you do, that is the moment a panel makes sense. How every UK provider compares.
FAQs
Yes, two ways: Superdrug Health Clinics in selected stores take venous samples for single tests and short health checks, and Superdrug Online Doctor sells finger-prick kits by post. Both cover a limited menu of individual markers rather than a comprehensive panel.
Sometimes. In a few cities our laboratory partner uses Superdrug Health Clinic nurses for the draw. The sample is sent to a UKAS-accredited lab for the TrueVitals panel and the report comes from TrueVitals. Your booking confirmation shows the clinic.
For one test, much cheaper. For the range of markers in an Advanced panel, buying them individually from Superdrug would cost considerably more and you would still not get them interpreted together. The right comparison is one question versus the whole picture.
For some markers, close enough. For others, including several hormones and anything affected by a small or haemolysed sample, a venous draw is more reliable and more repeatable, which matters when you want to compare results over time. Blood test accuracy explained.
It varies by product and changes over time; typically cholesterol, blood sugar, liver and kidney basics and a blood count, with some tests adding thyroid or vitamins. Check their current listing. None include ApoB, Lp(a), fasting insulin, cystatin C or a full hormone panel.
Advanced and Ultimate reports are delivered within 48 hours of the laboratory receiving your sample. Signature takes around 12 working days.
74 to 230 biomarkers in one venous draw, at 103 UK clinics or at home, with a written report within 48 hours that explains what the numbers mean together.
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