Malaria pills: the drugs, the dates and the tablet count
Pick the country, the drug and the days in the risk area: the calculator counts the tablets from the start date to the last dose and prices them.
Atovaquone-proguanil for 14 days in Kenya
23 tablets
about $33 at pharmacy cost (NADAC 2026-10-21), before the pharmacy fee
| CDC for this country | Prescription medicine for the areas listed |
| Drugs CDC lists here | Atovaquone-proguanil, Doxycycline, Mefloquine, Tafenoquine |
| Start and stop | daily, from 2 days before to 7 days after the risk area |
Adult regimens of the CDC Yellow Book. Children, pregnancy and G6PD status change the choice: a prescriber decides.
| Drug | Tablets | Per tablet | Pharmacy cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atovaquone-proguanil | 23 | $1.45 | $33 |
| Doxycycline | 44 | $0.12 | $5 |
| Mefloquine | 8 | $3.73 | $30 |
| Tafenoquine | 12 | not published | not published |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Method and sources · CDC pages read October 24, 2026
Malaria has no vaccine for travelers; it is prevented with prescription tablets, taken before, during and after the stay in a risk area, plus bite prevention. CDC's destination pages advise prescription medicine for 84 countries and name, for each, the drugs that work there. Six exist. Atovaquone-proguanil and doxycycline are daily tablets started 1 to 2 days before; the first is stopped 7 days after leaving, the second 4 weeks after. Mefloquine is weekly, started at least 2 weeks before and continued 4 weeks after. Chloroquine, weekly too, works only where the parasite is not resistant, which CDC lists for 10 countries. Primaquine and tafenoquine need a G6PD blood test first. For two weeks in a risk area, an adult takes 23 atovaquone-proguanil tablets, about $33 at the price pharmacies paid on October 21, 2026, or 44 doxycycline tablets, about $5; the pharmacy then adds its margin and dispensing fee.
The drugs side by side
The table shows the adult tablet count for stays of one, two and four weeks in a risk area, counting the doses before arrival and after leaving, with the cost at the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost, the weekly survey of what US retail pharmacies pay. The shelf price is higher; insurance often covers these drugs.
| Drug | Start, stop | 1 week | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atovaquone-proguanil | daily, 1 to 2 days before, 7 days after | 16 tablets, $23 | 23 tablets, $33 | 37 tablets, $54 |
| Doxycycline | daily, 1 to 2 days before, 4 weeks after | 37 tablets, $4 | 44 tablets, $5 | 58 tablets, $7 |
| Mefloquine | weekly, 2 weeks before, 4 weeks after | 7 tablets, $26 | 8 tablets, $30 | 10 tablets, $37 |
| Chloroquine | weekly, 1 to 2 weeks before, 4 weeks after | 7 tablets, $46 | 8 tablets, $53 | 10 tablets, $66 |
| Primaquine | daily, 1 to 2 days before, 7 days after | 32 tablets, $63 | 46 tablets, $90 | 74 tablets, $145 |
Tafenoquine is not in the table because no NADAC price is published for it. It is taken as a loading dose on three days before travel, then weekly, and one last dose in the week after leaving.
How a prescriber chooses
CDC's Yellow Book names the factors: drug resistance at the destination, the length of the trip, the traveler's other conditions, allergies and medicines, possible side effects, and cost. Atovaquone-proguanil suits short trips and late departures, since it starts two days ahead and stops a week after. Doxycycline is the cheapest per tablet but continues four weeks after the trip and makes the skin sensitive to sun; it is not given to children under 8 or in pregnancy. Mefloquine, weekly, suits long stays and is the option CDC names for pregnancy in areas with chloroquine resistance, but it is not given to people with depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis or seizures, and it must start two weeks ahead. Chloroquine is only for the 10 countries where CDC lists it, such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Primaquine is used mainly where Plasmodium vivax dominates, after a G6PD test.
Tablets for a safari in Tanzania
Atovaquone-proguanil for 10 days in Tanzania
19 tablets
| CDC for this country | Prescription medicine for the areas listed |
| Drugs CDC lists here | Atovaquone-proguanil, Doxycycline, Mefloquine, Tafenoquine |
| Start and stop | daily, from 2 days before to 7 days after the risk area |
Why the weeks after the trip count
The parasite spends its first days in the liver before reaching the blood. Most drugs act on the blood stage only, so they must keep running long enough to catch parasites that were in the liver when the traveler left: four weeks for doxycycline, mefloquine and chloroquine. Atovaquone-proguanil and primaquine also act on the liver stage, which is why seven days are enough. Stopping early is one of the commonest reasons for malaria in travelers who took tablets. In the count above, the days after the trip often add more tablets than the stay itself for doxycycline.
What the prescription costs
Malaria tablets need a prescription. At a travel visit, it is usually part of the consultation; one health department lists a malaria prescription fee of $20, medication not included, and another a separate malaria consult. The drug itself is bought at a pharmacy. The NADAC figures above are what pharmacies pay, so the price at the counter can be several times higher for brand drugs and close to it for generic doxycycline; insurance plans and discount programs change it again.
Tablets and bites together
Tablets are one half of malaria prevention; the other is avoiding the Anopheles mosquitoes that bite mostly between dusk and dawn. Repellent on exposed skin, long sleeves and trousers in the evening, rooms with screens or air conditioning, and a bed net treated with insecticide where rooms are open all reduce the number of bites, and with them the chance that a parasite slips past the drug. Buying the full course before leaving is the usual advice, since drugs sold in some countries may be of poor quality or counterfeit, and a regimen interrupted halfway protects poorly. A traveler who loses tablets or has side effects during the trip should see a doctor there rather than stop, and switching to another drug follows rules a clinician sets.
Fever after the trip
No drug is 100 percent effective. CDC's Yellow Book says symptoms can appear as early as 7 days after a bite and as late as several months after, and asks travelers with fever to seek medical care at once, report their travel, and be tested for malaria even if they took their tablets. Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum can become severe within a day. About 2,000 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, almost all in returning travelers.
The malaria by country page lists the areas and drugs for every country, and the trip cost page adds the tablets to the vaccines.