Last Updated on September 1, 2026
If you’re comparing Sunnyside Med and Oar Health, you’ve probably already decided that naltrexone is worth considering. The bigger question is what support you want to come with it.
Both programs make it possible to get naltrexone online without going through a traditional doctor’s office. But getting the prescription is only one part of treatment. One analysis of pharmacy claims found that many people prescribed naltrexone for alcohol dependence stopped taking it within the first several months (Kranzler et al., 2008).
That makes the support around the medication worth paying attention to. Oar Health and Sunnyside Med both offer ongoing support, but they take different approaches: Sunnyside Med puts more of the behavioral side of changing your drinking into the program itself.
Sunnyside Med: Best Overall Online Naltrexone Program
Sunnyside Med is a comprehensive online naltrexone program for people who want to cut back or quit drinking. Rather than stopping at the prescription, it combines naltrexone with coaching, drink tracking, community, and ongoing clinical care.
The program includes:
- Naltrexone prescribed by a licensed clinician
- Human coaching via text seven days a week
- Weekly group Zoom calls and a private member community
- Drink tracking, weekly goal-setting, and progress analytics
- Medication reminders, adherence tools, and ongoing access to the clinical care team
Sunnyside Med also prescribes compounded naltrexone with Vitamin B6. The B6 is included with the aim of making early side effects like nausea easier to manage, although it shouldn’t be presented as a guarantee that someone won’t experience naltrexone side effects.
The larger difference is how much of the program is designed around staying engaged. According to Sunnyside Med’s internal member data, 78% of active members achieved a meaningful reduction in drinking over 12 weeks. Members who engage with the full program are also 2.5 times more likely to be still taking their medication at month four than less-engaged members. Individual results vary.
One member described why that extra layer mattered to them: “I’ve had success using naltrexone in the past, but I believe I fell short because I didn’t have the tools to change the behaviors that led me to drink.”
Sunnyside Med costs $99 a month when billed quarterly, plus a one-time $50 intake fee. It’s HSA/FSA eligible, doesn’t require insurance, and is available in all 50 states.
It’s also built around harm reduction rather than abstinence alone. You can use the program to drink less, take a longer break, or quit completely. That flexibility makes it a particularly good fit for someone who wants to change their drinking without signing onto an all-or-nothing approach.
Who Should Choose Sunnyside Med
Sunnyside Med makes the most sense if you want naltrexone to be part of a larger plan for changing your drinking. That might be especially useful if you’ve tried to cut back before and had trouble sticking with it, or if you know that getting a prescription won’t automatically change the habits around when, why, or how much you drink.
It’s also a good fit if you want some accountability without an abstinence-only approach. The app gives you a place to track your drinking and medication, while coaching, weekly calls, and the member community are there when you want more support.
You also don’t have to decide at the outset that you’re quitting alcohol completely. Sunnyside Med supports goals ranging from drinking less to taking an extended break or quitting, and those goals can change over time.
If you want a program that combines medication with practical tools for changing your drinking, Sunnyside Med offers considerably more around the prescription than a medication-centered telehealth service.
Oar Health: A More Medication-Focused Option
Oar Health is another fully online option for people interested in using naltrexone to drink less or quit. The process starts with an online assessment, which is reviewed by a licensed healthcare professional. If naltrexone is appropriate, the medication is prescribed and shipped directly to you.
Oar describes its program as medication-assisted recovery and offers ongoing support and individualized treatment. It also partners with outside organizations including Moderation Management and SMART Recovery, giving members options if they want additional peer or behavioral support.
Compared with Sunnyside Med, however, the program itself is more centered on medication. It doesn’t bundle naltrexone with the same combination of drink tracking, seven-day-a-week coaching, weekly group calls, medication adherence tools, and an in-app community.
Oar supports both moderation and sobriety, and its treatment costs are HSA/FSA eligible. Pricing varies by plan length, so it’s worth checking the current rate before enrolling.
Who Should Choose Oar Health
Oar Health makes sense if your main priority is straightforward access to naltrexone and you don’t particularly want a behavior-change program built around it.
That could be a good fit if you’ve taken naltrexone before and already know what works for you, or if you have another source of support and mainly need a convenient way to access medication. Oar may also appeal to someone who simply prefers a lighter-touch program.
Both Oar Health and Sunnyside Med are private, online options that support moderation as well as sobriety. The more useful question isn’t which one makes naltrexone easier to access. It’s how much you want your provider to help with everything that happens in conjunction with the medication.
Naltrexone Is Only Part of the Picture
Naltrexone has a substantial evidence base for treating alcohol use disorder. A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis of 118 clinical trials found that oral naltrexone improved several alcohol-related outcomes compared with placebo and supported it as a first-line medication for AUD (McPheeters et al., 2023).
But taking naltrexone doesn’t automatically change when you pour a drink, what situations make you want one, or what you do when an old routine starts creeping back in.
That’s where the difference between these programs becomes more relevant. Oar gives you access to medication and ongoing support, with the option to use outside resources such as Moderation Management or SMART Recovery. Sunnyside Med puts more of those behavior-change tools in one place.
That distinction won’t matter equally to everyone. If you already have a system that works for you, a more medication-focused program may be enough. If you want help tracking patterns, setting goals, staying consistent with medication, or getting support when things get difficult, Sunnyside Med has more of that infrastructure built in.
Side-by-Side Comparison: Sunnyside Med vs. Oar Health
| Sunnyside Med | Oar Health | |
| Medication | Naltrexone with Vitamin B6 | Naltrexone |
| Online clinical assessment | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing support | Yes | Yes |
| Human coaching | 7 days a week | Ongoing support available |
| Drink tracking and planning tools | Yes | Not a core program feature |
| Private member community | Yes | Support partnerships available |
| Medication and adherence tracking | Yes | Not a core program feature |
| Progress analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Supports moderation or sobriety | Yes | Yes |
| HSA/FSA eligible | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance required | No | No |
The overlap is significant: both programs make naltrexone available online, both support people who want to moderate or quit, and neither requires you to pursue an abstinence-only model.
The biggest difference is how much is built around the medication. Oar keeps the experience relatively streamlined. Sunnyside Med combines the prescription with a more extensive set of tools for tracking, accountability, coaching, and behavior change.
Which Program Should You Choose?
There isn’t much reason to make this decision based on naltrexone itself. Both programs offer the same active medication, and both make it possible to get treatment privately from home.
Instead, think about what you want the program to do after the medication arrives.
If you’ve tried to change your drinking before and struggled to make the change stick, Sunnyside Med offers more ways to stay engaged. You can track your drinking and medication, work with human coaches seven days a week, join weekly group calls, use the private community, and stay connected to the clinical team.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs every feature. The point is that they’re there when you do.
Co-founder Nick Allen describes Sunnyside Med’s goal as providing care earlier, before someone’s drinking has to reach a crisis point. “We’re building Sunnyside Med to provide proactive and preventive access to medication before alcohol becomes a massive negative part of your story,” he says.
According to Sunnyside Med’s internal member data, 78% of active members achieved a meaningful reduction in drinking over 12 weeks. Individual results vary.
If that combination of medication and ongoing behavior-change support sounds like what you’re looking for, you can learn more about Sunnyside Med and complete a short assessment to see if you’re eligible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Sunnyside Med vs. Oar Health
Is Sunnyside Med or Oar Health better?
It depends on what you want from the program. Oar Health is a good fit if you’re primarily interested in convenient access to naltrexone with a lighter-touch support model. For most people, Sunnyside Med may be a better fit if you want medication combined with coaching, drink tracking, group calls, community, and ongoing clinical support.
Do Sunnyside Med and Oar Health prescribe the same medication?
Both offer naltrexone, an FDA-approved medication for alcohol use disorder. Sunnyside Med offers compounded naltrexone with Vitamin B6, while Oar Health offers naltrexone without the added B6. Naltrexone is the active ingredient in both.
What does Sunnyside Med include beyond the prescription?
Sunnyside Med includes seven-day-a-week human coaching, drink and medication tracking, weekly group calls, a private community, progress analytics, and ongoing access to clinical care.
How much do Sunnyside Med and Oar Health cost?
Sunnyside Med costs $99 per month when billed quarterly, plus a one-time $50 intake fee. Oar Health’s price varies depending on the plan length you choose, so check its current pricing when you enroll. For a broader look at your options, see what online naltrexone treatment costs.
Do Sunnyside Med and Oar Health support moderation?
Yes. Both programs explicitly support people who want to drink less as well as people who want to quit completely.
Can I use my HSA or FSA for Sunnyside Med or Oar Health?
Yes. Both Sunnyside Med and Oar Health accept HSA/FSA funds for eligible treatment costs.
Naltrexone is a prescription medication. This content is educational and should not be taken as medical advice. A licensed clinician reviews every Sunnyside Med application.
