Optimale vs Arc TRT: an honest comparison now Optimale is part of Voy

Optimale is one of the names men mention most when they ask me which UK TRT clinic to go with. It's also a clinic I know from the inside, so I owe you a disclosure before anything else.

Before you read on: my connection to Optimale

I was previously Medical Director at Optimale. I don't work there now, I have no financial interest in it, and I run a competing clinic. I've tried to be fair, and everything below about Optimale and Voy comes from their own websites or from the CQC register, not from my time there. Read their site too and make up your own mind.

Optimale TRT: the short answer

Is Optimale still a TRT clinic? Yes, but it's no longer independent. Voy publishes a page headed "Optimale is now Voy", and Voy's terms of sale list Optimale Ltd as a subsidiary of Menwell Limited, the company that trades as Voy. Optimale's own site was still online when I checked, but it blocked our requests, so I've used Voy's published prices as the current reference. How much does Optimale TRT cost? On Voy's pricing, the at-home blood test is £33.95, the enhanced test is from £49.95, a doctor consultation is £79.95 and treatment runs from £99 a month with monitoring bloods included. Is Optimale legit? Yes. Its Southampton clinic was registered with the CQC in 2022, and Voy's men's health lead is Dr Jeff Foster. The Southampton location was archived from the CQC register in February 2026 as the service moved under Voy.

Arc TRT is a smaller, doctor-led clinic where testosterone therapy is the core service. Below I've set out where we differ, and I've linked to our full Voy comparison, because a comparison with Optimale today is largely a comparison with Voy.

At a glance

• Ownership: Optimale Ltd is a subsidiary of Menwell Limited, which trades as Voy. Arc TRT is an independent clinic run by Arc Clinics UK Ltd
• Clinical lead: Voy, Dr Jeff Foster (Director of Men's Health), with Dr Earim Chaudry as Chief Medical Officer. Arc, me (Dr Chris Airey), with Dr Lauren Airey as Medical Director
• Model: Voy is a broad health platform covering TRT, weight loss, menopause, hair loss and skin. Arc is TRT-led, with weight loss, hair loss and DNA testing built around testosterone treatment
• Cost (Voy's published prices): £33.95 initial test, enhanced test from £49.95, consultation £79.95, plans from £99 a month
• Arc cost: £45 initial test, £110 enhanced test, £99 consultation (currently reduced from £150), plans from £159 a month, or an £89 membership with medication charged as you go. Full details on our pricing page
• CQC: Optimale Southampton Clinic archived in February 2026. Menwell Limited registered in June 2025. Arc TRT is CQC-registered
• Trustpilot (checked 18 October 2026): Optimale 3.8 from 1,028 reviews, Voy 4.7 from 28,001, Arc 4.8 from 45. Arc is also reviewed on Doctify

What's actually happened to Optimale

Optimale started in 2017. According to Voy's page, it was founded by two brothers with testosterone deficiency who couldn't get treatment on the NHS, and it grew into one of the better-known TRT-only clinics in the UK. The men who chose it tended to like that it was focused: testosterone, bloods, injections, nothing else.

That has changed. Voy, the platform that grew out of Manual, now publishes a page headed "Optimale is now Voy: Your TRT treatment continued". It tells Optimale patients that their clinicians, medication and blood test monitoring stay in place, that they'll get a Voy account showing their medication, dose, results and appointments, and that an app is coming. Voy's terms of sale list Optimale Ltd (company number 10878576) among the subsidiaries of Menwell Limited. No date for the change is given on either page.

The regulator's register tells the same story from the other side. The CQC location "Optimale Southampton Clinic", run by Optimale Ltd, was archived on 27 February 2026, which the CQC explains means it's no longer part of a provider's registration. Menwell Limited's own location, described as remote clinical advice, was registered on 12 June 2025.

None of that is a criticism. Consolidation happens, and Voy is a serious, well-resourced operation. But if you're searching for "Optimale TRT" expecting a small specialist clinic, you should know that you'd be joining a large multi-category platform. That's the real difference between Optimale today and Arc.

Clinical leadership

Dr Jeff Foster is Voy's Director of Men's Health and the doctor fronting its TRT service. He's a well-known UK men's health doctor and a co-author of the 2023 BSSM guidelines on testosterone deficiency. Dr Earim Chaudry is Voy's Chief Medical Officer and the CQC registered manager for Menwell Limited. I couldn't verify a current named medical director on Optimale's own site, so I'm treating Voy's leadership as the relevant one.

At Arc, I lead the clinical work, with Dr Lauren Airey as Medical Director. I've spent the bulk of my career on testosterone deficiency, including at Optimale and then as Medical Lead for Testosterone at Manual, and I hold a postgraduate diploma in endocrinology. Our clinical team spends its days on TRT and the conditions that travel with it.

Either way you get GMC-registered doctors. The choice is between a men's health lead inside a large platform and a small clinic where the doctors you read about are the ones reviewing your bloods.

Optimale pricing vs Arc TRT pricing

Here I have to be careful. Optimale's own cost guide (optimale.co.uk/trt-uk/cost-of-trt/) appears in search results with subscription prices from £59.99 a month depending on the medication, with blood tests and injection supplies charged separately. The page returned an error every time we tried to load it in October 2026, so I can't vouch for what it says today. Given that Optimale is now part of Voy, Voy's published prices are the ones I'd rely on, and they're what's in the table.

On entry price, Voy is cheaper, and I won't pretend otherwise. Our Essential plan is £159 against £99. What you're paying extra for at Arc is more scheduled blood tests and reviews in the first year, injection training and supplies in the price, and a small team that knows your case. Whether that's worth £60 a month depends on how much hands-on care you want. I've written more about what a monthly price should include in how much TRT costs in the UK.

How treatment is delivered

Both of us follow the same BSSM-based pathway: a morning blood test, a doctor review, a confirmatory venous test, a consultation, then treatment with follow-up bloods. The differences are in the detail.

Voy is online-first. Its how-it-works page lists injections two or three times a week, a daily topical or an oral tablet, a check-in around week five and blood tests at 3, 6 and 12 months, then every 6 months. Contact runs through your Voy account and, soon, its app. For Optimale patients, Voy says the same clinicians continue.

Arc TRT is smaller and more personal. We prescribe testosterone enanthate and cypionate where appropriate, and we build your protocol around your bloods, your symptoms and, if you want it, your DNA. You're more likely to speak to the same clinician each time, and our treatment coordinators are your single point of contact from start to finish. There's more on how we work on our personalised TRT page.

HCG, weight loss, hair loss and DNA

Voy's TRT pages don't list HCG at the time of writing. In our earlier Voy comparison I noted that Voy can prescribe it, so if fertility matters to you, ask them directly before you start. At Arc, HCG is built into the Enhanced and Comprehensive plans, and Comprehensive adds annual fertility monitoring.

Voy offers weight loss, hair loss and skin treatment as separate services on the same platform. At Arc, GLP-1 weight loss medication and hair loss prevention are managed by the same clinical team as your TRT, because excess body fat increases the conversion of testosterone to oestrogen and TRT can speed up male pattern hair loss in men who are predisposed. DNA testing for treatment response is optional, and few UK clinics offer it.

Monitoring and ongoing care

Voy includes monitoring bloods in its subscription, with tests at 3, 6 and 12 months and then every 6 months. Arc includes four blood tests and clinician reviews in year one, then two a year, on every plan from Essential upwards, and the Ultimate plan makes them unlimited. Both of us check the markers that matter: testosterone, oestradiol, haematocrit, PSA, and liver and kidney function.

The question to put to either of us is who reads those results and how quickly you can reach a doctor when something feels off. That's where a small clinic earns its fee, and where a big platform earns its convenience.

Optimale reviews vs Arc TRT reviews

When I checked on 18 October 2026, Optimale had a Trustpilot score of 3.8 from 1,028 reviews, Voy had 4.7 from 28,001 reviews and Arc TRT had 4.8 from 45 reviews. Arc patients also review us on Doctify, which verifies that each review comes from a patient of the clinic.

Three things to bear in mind. Optimale's reviews cover its years as an independent clinic, so they may not reflect the service under Voy. Voy's score covers the whole platform, not just TRT. And our numbers are small because we're small. Read widely on all three, and look for what men say a year or two into treatment rather than the week they started.

Who Optimale, now Voy, is probably better for

• Men who want the lowest published entry price for TRT
• Men who like a tech-led experience with an online account and an app
• Men who'd use other services on the same platform, such as weight loss or hair loss
• Existing Optimale patients who are happy with their care and don't want to move

Who Arc TRT is probably better for

• Men who were drawn to Optimale because it was a TRT-only clinic, and still want that focus
• Men who want more scheduled monitoring and doctor time in the first year
• Men who want HCG or fertility monitoring built into the plan
• Men who want weight loss or hair loss treatment managed by the same team as their TRT
• Men who'd rather deal with the same small team throughout

Optimale FAQs

Is Optimale now Voy?

Yes. Voy publishes a page titled "Optimale is now Voy", and its terms of sale list Optimale Ltd as a subsidiary of Menwell Limited, which trades as Voy. Existing Optimale patients are told their clinicians, medication and monitoring continue, with a Voy account and app added.

How much does Optimale TRT cost?

Optimale's own cost page wasn't accessible to us in October 2026. Voy, which Optimale is now part of, publishes a £33.95 initial test, an enhanced test from £49.95, a £79.95 consultation and plans from £99 a month with monitoring bloods included. Check the Voy site for the current figure for your medication.

Is Optimale CQC registered?

Optimale Southampton Clinic was archived from the CQC register on 27 February 2026. The CQC location for Menwell Limited, the company behind Voy, was registered on 12 June 2025. Arc TRT is CQC-registered; our location record is on the CQC website and linked from our footer.

Can I switch from Optimale to Arc TRT?

Yes. Our switch consultation is for men already on TRT elsewhere. Upload your recent bloods and current protocol, book a 60-minute video appointment with one of our doctors (there's a £75 deposit, credited to your first month), and if we're a good fit we take over your care without a gap in treatment.

Summing up

Optimale was a good TRT-only clinic, and I'm proud of the work done there. Today it's part of Voy, which is a credible, CQC-registered platform with strong clinical leadership and the lowest entry prices in the UK market. If you want scale, technology and a low monthly fee, you'll probably be well looked after.

Arc is the other way round. We're small, TRT is the whole business, and the doctors who founded the clinic are the ones treating you. We cost more each month, and in return you get more monitoring in year one, HCG and fertility monitoring built into the plans, and the treatments around TRT managed by the same team.

Don't let one article, including this one, decide it for you. Read both sites, read the reviews, check what's included in each price, and go with the clinic you'd be comfortable with for years.

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This article is for general information and reflects publicly available information about Optimale and Voy at the time of writing (October 2026). Dr Chris Airey was previously Medical Director at Optimale. Prices and offerings may change, so check both providers' websites directly before making a decision.

Sources: Voy, Optimale is now Voy; Voy, TRT terms of sale (Menwell Limited and subsidiaries); Voy, TRT how it works and pricing; CQC, Optimale Southampton Clinic; CQC, Menwell Limited; CQC, Arc TRT (CJA Medical); Trustpilot, Optimale, Voy and Arc TRT; Optimale, cost of TRT (not accessible when checked); Arc TRT pricing and testing pages. Checked October 2026.

Keep reading

For the complete picture, see our full guide to TRT in the UK, covering eligibility, blood test thresholds, NHS and private routes, costs and monitoring. For the detailed platform comparison, read Arc TRT vs Voy. If you're still working out whether any of this applies to you, start with the symptoms of low testosterone.