Dysport
Dysport's protein wrapper comes in a range of sizes, so the bundles are not all the same weight. The lighter molecules can travel farther in the skin. Remember, Dysport Diffuses!
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Dysport vs Botox
Dysport spreads a little wider from each injection point. That helps across a broad forehead, and it is exactly what you do not want right above the brow. Botox stays inside one small muscle more easily. It also has the longer track record and more approved areas. Most people cannot tell the two results apart, and the injector matters more than the brand on the vial.
At a glance
| The difference | Dysport | Botox |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Lower per unit, similar per visit | Higher per unit, similar per visit |
Botox
Botox's protein wrapper is uniform — every bundle is the same weight. Botox is a heavy protein and tends to stay exactly where it's injected. Remember, Botox stays in a little Box!
Side by side
The differences that matter
What you actually do
Dysport
Several small shots, one visit
Your injector marks each muscle that folds the skin and injects it. How many shots you get depends on how many areas you are treating, not on the brand. Frown lines alone are five. Most visits cover more than one area, so the real number is usually higher. About ten minutes, and most people do not need numbing.
Botox
Several small shots, one visit
The same technique and the same visit. Botox is approved for more areas, so a Botox visit more often treats several at once.
What you will see
Dysport
Frown lines soften
The muscle that pulls your brows together stops squeezing, so the crease flattens. Deep lines that are already etched in fade but do not disappear.
Botox
Frown lines soften
The same effect, from the same protein. Botox is also widely used for crow's feet, forehead lines and neck bands.
More photographs
Dysport
Dysport's protein wrapper comes in a range of sizes, so the bundles are not all the same weight. The lighter molecules can travel farther in the skin. Remember, Dysport Diffuses!
Conditions treated
Botox
Hyperhidrosis
A grid of small injections that block the nerve signal reaching the sweat glands in that patch of skin. It starts working within a few days to a week and lasts several months before it needs repeating. Underarm injections are well tolerated; palms and soles hurt more and are usually done with numbing, and palm injections can cause temporary weakness of grip. It is an approved medical treatment for severe underarm sweating, not a cosmetic one, and insurance often covers it once antiperspirants have been tried and documented.
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Rosacea
Very small amounts injected into the surface of the skin, not the muscle, to reduce flushing and background redness. Early studies are encouraging and dermatologists do use it for stubborn flushing. It is off-label for rosacea, it is not usually covered, and it wears off in a few months.
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Wrinkles and Fine Lines
The reliable treatment for lines caused by movement — frown lines, forehead lines and crow's feet. It relaxes the muscle that folds the crease, so the line softens over about two weeks and returns as the effect wears off at three to four months. It does nothing for lines that are already there at rest, and nothing for sagging.
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How fast it kicks in
Dysport
2 to 3 days
The maker's own trials put the middle of the range at two to three days.
Botox
2 to 4 days
Roughly the same window.
How long it lasts
Dysport
About 3 to 4 months
In one head-to-head forehead study, Dysport held full effect about two weeks longer.
Botox
About 3 to 4 months
Same range. Strong muscles and small doses both shorten it.
How much it spreads
Dysport
Spreads more
Helpful across a wide forehead. Less helpful right above the brow, where spread is how you end up with a droopy eyelid.
Botox
Stays put a little better
Easier to keep inside one small muscle.
The downside
Dysport
Not for a cow's milk allergy
Dysport may contain traces of cow's milk protein, so it is off the table if you are allergic to it.
Botox
No milk protein
Botox has no such restriction.
What it costs
Dysport
Lower per unit, similar per visit
You need about two and a half times as many units, so the cheaper unit price mostly cancels out.
Botox
Higher per unit, similar per visit
Measured in bigger units, so the number on the quote looks smaller for the same treatment.
The at-home or drugstore version
Dysport
None
There is no over-the-counter Dysport.
Botox
None
There is no over-the-counter Botox.
Who tends to be happy with it
Dysport
- Best for — Frown lines, especially with a wide or strong forehead.
- The mindset — You want the wider spread working for you, not against you.
Botox
- Best for — Small areas, and anywhere close to the eyebrow.
- The mindset — You want the longest track record.
Where the spread difference comes from
Dysport
Dysport does tend to cover a wider patch from each injection point. Injectors use that: a wider spread is an advantage across a broad forehead, and a disadvantage right above the brow.
Why "cheaper per unit" is not cheaper
Dysport
So a clinic advertising Dysport at a third of the per-unit price is not offering a discount. It is quoting a smaller unit. Once you multiply out, the two visits usually land close together.
Related
Botox
- Lip flip vs lip filler
- Botox
- Hyperhidrosis
The fine print
Dysport
In the United States, Dysport has one approved cosmetic use. It is for moderate to severe frown lines between the brows, in adults under 65. Dysport was first approved in the US in April 2009.
Botox
Botox Cosmetic is approved for four facial areas. Frown lines between the brows, crow's feet, forehead lines and the vertical neck bands called platysma bands, which were added in October 2024.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Dysport vs Botox — what is the difference?
Both deliver the same active protein and do the same job. The practical differences are small: Dysport is measured in smaller units, so you need about two and a half times as many for the same treatment, and it may hold on about two weeks longer. Most people cannot tell the results apart.
Is Dysport the same thing as Botox?
Not the same product, but the same active ingredient. Different companies make them, and each is measured in its own units.
Does Dysport spread further than Botox?
Yes, Dysport tends to cover a wider patch from each injection point, and injectors use that. It is an advantage across a broad forehead and a disadvantage right above the brow, where spread is how you end up with a heavy or droopy lid. The reason usually given for it is wrong, though. It is not that Dysport is a smaller molecule wrapped in lighter helper proteins, because those wrappers fall apart within a minute of mixing and the active protein is the same size in both. The dose, the dilution and where the needle goes do most of the work.
Which one is cheaper?
Per unit, Dysport. Per visit, they usually land close together, because Dysport units are smaller and you need more of them. Ask any clinic what the whole treatment costs.
Does Dysport work faster?
A little, maybe. Both start working in about two to four days. In one head-to-head study of crow's feet, both worked by day 2 and Dysport was ahead at days 4 and 6. The gap is a day or two, not a week.
Which one lasts longer?
Both run about three to four months. In one forehead study, Dysport held full effect about two weeks longer. Your dose and your muscle strength matter more than the brand.
Can I switch from Botox to Dysport?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Your injector has to redo the dose maths, because the units are different sizes. Tell them what you had last time and how long it lasted.
Can you use Dysport if you are allergic to milk?
No. Dysport may contain traces of cow's milk protein, and a milk allergy is listed on the label as a reason not to use it. Botox has no milk protein. Mention any food allergy before you are injected.
Is there an at-home or drugstore version?
No. Creams sold as "needle-free Botox" contain peptides such as acetyl hexapeptide-8, not botulinum toxin. The toxin is a large protein that has to reach nerve endings inside a muscle, and the outer layer of skin blocks anything that size. Those peptides mostly stay in that outer layer and do not relax a muscle.
Is Dysport approved for crow's feet and forehead lines?
No. In the United States, the only approved cosmetic use for Dysport is the frown lines between the brows, in adults under 65. Botox Cosmetic is approved for four areas: frown lines, crow's feet, forehead lines and neck bands. Injectors do use Dysport elsewhere, which is legal and common, but the FDA has not reviewed it for those areas.
Safety to keep in mind
Approved doses are set per area, in each product's own units. Dysport is 50 units for frown lines, given as five injections of 10 units. Botox Cosmetic is 20 units for frown lines, 24 units for crow's feet and 40 units for forehead lines treated together with frown lines.
Units are not interchangeable between brands, as a matter of the label. Each label states that its units apply to that product only and cannot be converted to any other botulinum toxin. This is a labelling rule, not just a convention.
Using either product outside its approved areas is legal and common. Injectors treat Dysport patients in the forehead and crow's feet routinely. That use has not been reviewed by the FDA, so the safety and effectiveness data behind it is thinner than for the approved areas.
Both carry a boxed warning about the toxin spreading beyond the injection site. Reported effects include swallowing and breathing trouble. These have mostly been reported in children treated for muscle spasticity at much higher doses, not at cosmetic doses.
- Bennek J, Rudowitz L, Kerscher M. Diffusion Characteristics of LetibotulinumtoxinA, OnabotulinumtoxinA, and AbobotulinumtoxinA and its Impact on Muscle Relaxation: A Randomized Split-Face Clinical Trial. Dermatology and Therapy, 2025. doi:10.1007/s13555-025-01458-3 — 30 adults, each treated with a third product on one side and either Botox or Dysport on the other. Botox and Dysport were never compared on the same face, so this trial cannot tell you how the two compare to each other.
- Trindade de Almeida AR, et al. Pilot study comparing the diffusion of two formulations of botulinum toxin type A in patients with forehead hyperhidrosis. Dermatologic Surgery, 2007. PubMed 17241413 — opposite sides of the forehead, sweat mapped, Dysport given at 2.5, 3 and 4 times the Botox dose. The area covered grew with the dose ratio.
- Eisele KH, et al. Studies on the dissociation of botulinum neurotoxin type A complexes. Toxicon, 2011. ScienceDirect — the helper protein complex comes apart with a half-life under a minute above pH 7, and mixing the powder already leaves most of the toxin free.
- Comparing the clinical attributes of abobotulinumtoxinA and onabotulinumtoxinA using a contralateral frontalis model. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011. PubMed 21968665 — 20 adults, opposite sides of the forehead, 2.5 to 1 dosing. Median full effect 103 days for Dysport against 87 days for Botox.
- Nettar KD, et al. An internally controlled, double-blind comparison of the efficacy of onabotulinumtoxinA and abobotulinumtoxinA. Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, 2012. PubMed 22183059 — 90 adults, crow's feet, 3 to 1 dosing. Both worked by day 2; Dysport was ahead at days 4 and 6.
- Field M, et al. Botulinum neurotoxin formulations: overcoming the confusion. PMC5988049
- Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA) US prescribing information. FDA label
- Botox Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) US prescribing information. FDA label
- Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 in Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Skin Permeability and Efficacy. PMC12193160
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Botulinum toxin cost