Botox vs the Other Neurotoxins, Explained Plainly
- We carry Botox and Jeuveau and both are $13 a unit, so which one you get is a clinical decision and never a money one.
- All six neurotoxins are the same botulinum toxin type A and they all work by the same mechanism, so the differences are onset, dosing and duration.
- Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau and Letybo all last about three to four months. Daxxify is the only one with data near six.
- Units are not interchangeable between brands, so 20 units of Botox is roughly 50 units of Dysport and 40 of Daxxify for the same frown lines.
- Xeomin is the one with no accessory protein, which makes it the usual choice when someone genuinely stops responding.
In this guide
- The part that is identical in all of them
- The comparison, in one table
- Botox
- Jeuveau
- Dysport
- Xeomin
- Daxxify
- Letybo
- Why units do not transfer between brands
- How to actually choose
- What we carry and what it costs
- Frequently asked questions
The Part That Is Identical in All of Them
Every one of these products is botulinum toxin type A. Not a different drug, not a different family, the same molecule doing the same job.
What it does is simple to describe. A muscle contracts because a nerve releases a chemical signal called acetylcholine at the point where the nerve meets the muscle. Botulinum toxin type A blocks that release, so the muscle gets no instruction and stays relaxed. The line on your skin softens because the muscle underneath it stopped folding it.
Nothing is frozen, nothing is paralysed permanently, and nothing is filled in. The effect ends when the nerve ending rebuilds its own machinery over the following few months.
So when people argue about which one is better, they are not really arguing about how it works. They are arguing about three things: how fast it starts, how many units it takes, and how long it lasts.
The Comparison, in One Table
| Product | What it really is | Onset | Typical duration | Frown line dose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botox | onabotulinumtoxinA, the original, approved for cosmetic use in 2002 | 3 to 5 days, peak at 10 to 14 | 3 to 4 months | 20 units |
| Jeuveau | prabotulinumtoxinA, built the same way as Botox, cosmetic only | 2 to 3 days, peak at 10 to 14 | 3 to 4 months | 20 units |
| Dysport | abobotulinumtoxinA, a smaller complex that spreads a little more | 2 to 3 days | 3 to 4 months | 50 units |
| Xeomin | incobotulinumtoxinA, the toxin alone with no accessory protein | 3 to 4 days | 3 to 4 months | 20 units |
| Daxxify | daxibotulinumtoxinA, held together by a peptide instead of albumin | 1 to 2 days | around 6 months in trials | 40 units |
| Letybo | letibotulinumtoxinA, approved in the United States in February 2024 | median 3 days | around 4 months, 127 days on average in trials | 20 units |
Read that table once and most of the internet's arguments disappear. Five of the six last about the same amount of time.
Botox
The full name is onabotulinumtoxinA, and it has been approved for cosmetic use in the United States since 2002. Two decades of data on the same formulation is a genuine advantage and not just marketing.
It comes as a 900 kilodalton complex, which means the active toxin travels surrounded by accessory proteins that protect it. Those accessory proteins are the thing Xeomin removes, and we will come back to that.
In practice Botox is predictable. It starts in three to five days, you see the real result at day ten to fourteen, and it holds for three to four months. It is approved for the widest range of uses of any of them, cosmetic and medical, which is why it is still the default for most injectors including us.
Best for
Almost everyone, and particularly anyone who wants the most studied option and the one with the longest track record on the areas outside the frown lines.
Jeuveau
Jeuveau is prabotulinumtoxinA, and the nickname it got stuck with is Newtox. It is built the same way as Botox, the same 900 kilodalton complex, and it doses one to one against Botox at 20 units for the frown lines.
The real difference is that Jeuveau is approved only for cosmetic use, specifically for the frown lines between your brows. It was designed for aesthetics and nothing else, and most people find it comes on a touch faster than Botox, often softening at two to three days.
Elsewhere Jeuveau is usually sold cheaper per unit than Botox, which is how a lot of practices use it. We price it the same, at $13 a unit, on purpose.
Best for
Anyone who wants a slightly quicker start, and anyone who has a wedding or an event in about ten days and needs the clock to move.
Dysport
Dysport is abobotulinumtoxinA, and it is the one with the genuinely different behaviour.
It is a smaller complex and it spreads a little further from the injection point. That is useful and unhelpful depending on where it goes. Across a broad forehead, a product that diffuses evenly can give a smoother result with fewer injection points. Near the eyes or the brow, where a millimetre of unwanted spread shows up as a dropped eyelid, that same property is a reason to be careful.
It also comes on fast, often in two to three days, and it lasts the usual three to four months.
The unit count is where everyone gets confused. Dysport units are smaller, so the frown line dose is 50 units rather than 20. If you ever see a price per unit for Dysport that looks like a third of everyone else's, that is why, and it is not a discount.
Best for
Larger forehead areas, strong frown lines, and people who want to see something happening quickly.
Xeomin
Xeomin is incobotulinumtoxinA, and it is the interesting one.
It is the toxin on its own, with the accessory proteins stripped out, which is why injectors call it the naked toxin. It doses one to one against Botox at 20 units for the frown lines and it lasts about the same three to four months.
Why does the stripping matter? The accessory proteins are the part of the molecule your immune system is most likely to notice, and noticing it is what leads to the neutralising antibodies behind true toxin resistance. Because Xeomin carries none of them, it is the product most often used when someone genuinely stops responding to Botox, and there is published work showing people resistant to complex containing toxins responding to it.
It also does not need to be refrigerated before it is mixed, which matters more to a clinic's storage than to you.
Best for
Anyone who has genuinely stopped responding to a full dose of another toxin, and anyone who has been treated frequently for many years and wants to lower that risk.
Daxxify
Daxxify is daxibotulinumtoxinA, and it is the only one on this list with a real claim to lasting longer.
The trick is in what holds it together. The other products use human serum albumin as a stabiliser, and Daxxify uses a synthetic peptide instead. That peptide helps the toxin stay where it was put and bind more effectively, and in trials the median duration came out around six months with some people reporting longer.
It also starts quickly, often in one to two days.
The frown line dose is 40 units, so again the units are not comparable to Botox. It is usually the most expensive option, it is newer so there is less long term data, and relaxing a muscle for six months is not automatically what you want. If a result sits wrong, you are living with it for twice as long.
Best for
Experienced patients who already know exactly what dose and placement they like and are tired of coming back four times a year.
Letybo
Letybo is letibotulinumtoxinA, and it is the newest arrival. The United States approved it in February 2024 for the frown lines, although it has been used widely in Korea and Europe for years.
It doses one to one against Botox at 20 units, the median onset in its trials was three days, and the average duration was 127 days, which is a little over four months.
Nothing about it is dramatic, which is roughly the point. It is a well studied toxin that behaves like Botox, and it exists mostly to create price competition. If you are reading a comparison article that only covers four or five products, it was written before Letybo got here.
Best for
Nothing specific yet. It is a credible alternative rather than a reason to switch.
Why Units Do Not Transfer Between Brands
This is the single most useful thing to understand before you shop on price, so it is worth a minute.
A unit is not a measure of volume, it is a measure of biological activity, and each manufacturer defines its own. So one unit of Dysport is not one unit of Botox, and the labels say so explicitly.
For the same frown lines you need roughly:
- 20 units of Botox
- 20 units of Jeuveau
- 20 units of Xeomin
- 20 units of Letybo
- 50 units of Dysport
- 40 units of Daxxify
Which means an advertisement for $4 a unit is not three times cheaper than $13 a unit if the product needs two and a half times the units. Always compare the price of treating the area, not the price of a unit, and ask which product the number refers to.
This is also why we price Botox per unit rather than per area. Area pricing hides the unit count entirely, and the unit count is the one number that tells you whether you were properly treated.
How to Actually Choose
Honestly, the brand is somewhere around fourth on the list of things that decide your result.
What matters more, in order, is who injects you, how many units go in, exactly where they go, and only then which product was in the syringe. A well dosed Botox treatment from someone who injects faces every day beats a poorly dosed anything.
That said, here is the short version of when a brand genuinely is the answer.
- You want the most studied and most predictable option, so Botox.
- You have an event in ten days and want it moving sooner, so Jeuveau or Dysport.
- You have a broad forehead and want even softening, so Dysport.
- A full dose of something genuinely did nothing at all, so Xeomin.
- You know your dose cold and want twice the gap between visits, so Daxxify.
- Everything else, so whatever your injector uses well.
One more thing worth saying plainly. If a result faded early, switching brands is usually the wrong first move, because the far more common cause is simply not enough units. We went through all of that in why Botox wears off faster for some people.
What We Carry and What It Costs
We carry Botox and Jeuveau, and both are $13 a unit.
That is deliberate. Jeuveau costs a practice less than Botox and nearly everyone sells it cheaper to match, which quietly turns the recommendation into a pricing conversation. Pricing them the same means when your nurse practitioner suggests one over the other, it is because of your face and your timeline and nothing else.
A typical frown line treatment is around 20 units, so about $260 either way. There is no membership fee, no facility fee and no consultation fee, and a touch up inside two weeks is $8 a unit rather than $13.
We do not currently offer Dysport, Xeomin, Daxxify or Letybo, which is why there is no price for them on this page. If you genuinely need a toxin with no accessory protein, we will tell you that at your consultation rather than talk you into something else.
If what you actually need is volume rather than muscle relaxation, that is a different product entirely. Dermal filler is $650 a syringe, the same price for every filler we carry, and most people who think they need more Botox in the lower face need filler. The full menu is on the injectables page, and if you are looking at several areas at once, facial balancing plans start at $1,950.
Gabrielle Radabaugh, APRN, FNP-C is an autonomous nurse practitioner and she injects at your home anywhere in Palm Beach County, including Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton. Botox and filler are in home Palm Beach County services only, not telehealth and not statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which neurotoxin lasts the longest?
Daxxify, and it is the only one with a real claim to it. Its trials showed a median duration around six months, against three to four months for Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau and Letybo. It uses a peptide stabiliser rather than albumin, which is what extends it. It is also the newest, the most expensive, and the one you live with longest if the result is not quite right.
Is Jeuveau the same as Botox?
Not identical, but very close. Both are botulinum toxin type A built as the same 900 kilodalton complex, both dose 20 units for the frown lines, and both last three to four months. Jeuveau is approved for cosmetic use only and tends to start a day or so faster. With us they are the same $13 a unit, so the choice is purely clinical.
Why is Dysport cheaper per unit?
Because Dysport units are smaller, not because the treatment is cheaper. The frown lines take about 50 units of Dysport against 20 units of Botox, so a lower price per unit is simply a different measuring stick. Compare what it costs to treat the area, and ask which product any advertised per unit price refers to.
What is the difference between Botox and Xeomin?
Xeomin is the toxin without the accessory proteins that surround it in Botox. They dose one to one at 20 units for the frown lines and last about the same. The accessory proteins are the part your immune system is most likely to react to, so Xeomin is the usual choice for someone who has genuinely stopped responding to another toxin.
Which neurotoxin works the fastest?
Daxxify is usually quickest at one to two days, with Dysport and Jeuveau close behind at two to three days, Letybo around three, and Botox at three to five. All of them reach their real peak at about day ten to fourteen regardless, so if you have an event, book two weeks ahead no matter which one you choose.
Can I switch from Botox to a different neurotoxin?
Yes, and plenty of people do. The important part is that your injector redoses for the new product rather than copying your old number across, because units are not interchangeable between brands. Bring your previous unit counts to the appointment, since the conversion is far more accurate when there is a real number to convert from.
What is Letybo and should I try it?
Letybo is letibotulinumtoxinA, approved in the United States in February 2024 for the frown lines and used widely in Korea and Europe before that. It doses one to one against Botox at 20 units, starts in about three days, and lasted an average of 127 days in trials. It is a credible alternative rather than an upgrade, and there is no clinical reason to switch to it from something that is working.
Is one neurotoxin safer than another?
They all carry the same category of risk and all of them are FDA approved, so safety comes down to dose, placement and who is injecting far more than brand. Dysport spreads slightly more, which is a placement consideration near the eyes rather than a safety difference. The thing that actually keeps you safe is a licensed clinician who injects faces regularly and who evaluates you in person first.
Which neurotoxin do you use, and what does it cost?
We carry Botox and Jeuveau and both are $13 a unit, priced per unit rather than per area, with no membership fee. A typical frown line treatment is around 20 units, so about $260, and a touch up within two weeks is $8 a unit. Everything is injected in your home anywhere in Palm Beach County by an autonomous nurse practitioner.
Does the brand matter more than the injector?
No, and it is not close. Who injects you, how many units they use and exactly where they place them decide almost all of your result, and the brand is a detail after that. The five products that last three to four months are far more alike than any marketing suggests.
Botox or Jeuveau, both $13 a unit, so the advice is about your face
Book your in home appointment → or text 561-216-7066 and ask which one fits your timeline. Injected by an autonomous nurse practitioner at your house, anywhere in Palm Beach County.