Short answer: Apollo Pharmacy edges Netmeds on 7review.one — 3.48 stars from 159 published reviews versus 3.45 from 140 — but the gap is 0.03 of a star, which is too small to be a real difference. For prescription medicine the thing worth checking is not the star average at all: it is whether the pharmacy asks for your prescription, shows a batch and expiry before dispatch, and gives you a named licence number.
Netmeds vs Apollo Pharmacy: the numbers
| Brand | Reviews | Average | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ | 2★ | 1★ | Positive (4–5★) | Negative (1–2★) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Pharmacy | 159 | 3.48 | 57 (35.8%) | 31 (19.5%) | 25 (15.7%) | 23 (14.5%) | 23 (14.5%) | 55.3% | 28.9% |
| Netmeds | 140 | 3.45 | 49 (35.0%) | 28 (20.0%) | 21 (15.0%) | 21 (15.0%) | 21 (15.0%) | 55% | 30% |
What about PharmEasy? We hold only 4 published reviews for PharmEasy, which is far too few to publish an average for. We would rather say “we do not know” than quote a number built on a handful of reviews. You can read what we do have and add your own.
Why star ratings are the wrong tool for a pharmacy
With a food or fashion order, a bad experience costs you money and an evening. With medicine, the failure modes are different in kind: the wrong strength, an expired batch, a cold-chain product that arrived warm, or a prescription-only drug dispensed without anyone checking the prescription. Those events are rare enough that they barely move a star average built from a few hundred reviews — and serious enough that the average is the wrong thing to be looking at.
Both pharmacies here draw a negative review from close to three customers in ten (28.9% and 30%), and in this category those reviews cluster around delivery delay and partial fulfilment rather than the medicine itself.
The checklist that actually protects you
- A real prescription upload step for scheduled drugs. If a site will sell you a Schedule H drug without one, that is a red flag no rating can offset.
- A named pharmacist and a drug licence number on the invoice or the site footer.
- Batch number and expiry visible before you pay, or at minimum on the invoice.
- A stated cold-chain policy if you are ordering insulin, vaccines or biologics.
- A returns route for wrong or damaged medicine that does not require you to have opened nothing.
Order a repeat prescription from a new pharmacy once, in a low-stakes month, before you depend on it for something you cannot be without.
How we calculated this
Every figure on this page comes from 299 published reviews held on 7review.one as of 25 August 2026 (IST): Apollo Pharmacy (159), Netmeds (140). We count only reviews with published status — pending and removed reviews are excluded. Averages are the arithmetic mean of the star value, rounded to two decimals. “Positive” means 4 or 5 stars; “negative” means 1 or 2 stars. We do not weight, curate or hand-pick reviews, and we publish the full star distribution rather than only the average, because the average alone hides how polarised a brand is.
Frequently asked questions
Is Netmeds or Apollo Pharmacy better for ordering medicine online in India?
On 7review.one, Apollo Pharmacy averages 3.48 stars from 159 published reviews and Netmeds averages 3.45 from 140. That is a 0.03-star gap, which is not a meaningful difference. Decide on which one stocks your specific medicine and delivers to your pincode reliably.
Are online pharmacies legal in India?
Yes. Online pharmacies operate under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and its rules, and a legitimate one will hold a retail drug licence, employ a registered pharmacist, and require a valid prescription for prescription-only medicines. A site that skips the prescription step for a Schedule H drug is not operating legitimately, whatever its rating says.
Is it safe to buy medicine online?
It is as safe as the specific pharmacy you use. The controllable risks are counterfeit stock, expired batches and broken cold chain. Check for a drug licence number, a named pharmacist, and a visible batch and expiry on the invoice. Photograph the strip on arrival before opening it — that is what makes a return claim work.
What percentage of online pharmacy reviews are negative?
On our data, 28.9% of Apollo Pharmacy reviews and 30% of Netmeds reviews are one or two stars. That is broadly in line with other Indian delivery categories and is driven mostly by delivery delay and partial orders.
Why do you not publish a PharmEasy rating?
Because we hold too few published reviews for it. Quoting an average from a handful of reviews is worse than quoting nothing — a single review can swing it by a full star. We publish the sample size next to every average precisely so you can judge this for yourself.
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