Is vardenafil the same as Levitra?

Yes: vardenafil is the active ingredient in Levitra, the brand whose European marketing authorisation is held by Bayer (EMA — Levitra). A generic vardenafil tablet contains the same medicine without the brand name. In Australia the brand and the generic are not in the same position (ARTG search):

  • The Levitra brand is not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), the list of medicines approved for supply in Australia.
  • Generic vardenafil is on the register: Vardenafil Apotex and APO-Vardenafil, as 5, 10 and 20 mg tablets, registered on 26 March 2018.

Registration belongs to a product, not to a molecule. A product that is not listed in the ARTG is not approved for supply in Australia and has not been reviewed by the TGA for safety or quality (TGA, February 2024). Vardenafil is also a prescription-only medicine here — see do you need a prescription.

When is vardenafil used instead of sildenafil?

Vardenafil is an alternative to sildenafil, not a stronger version of it. It is one of the four PDE5 inhibitors available in Australia — avanafil, vardenafil, sildenafil and tadalafil (healthdirect). Like sildenafil, it lets more blood flow into the penis, and it only helps an erection happen when you are sexually stimulated (EMA). What differs between the two is the detail on each label:

  • vardenafil's usual dose is 10 mg, taken 25 to 60 minutes before sex; sildenafil's is 50 mg, taken about an hour before;
  • both are taken as needed, and neither more than once a day;
  • their common side effects are the same kind — headache, flushing, a blocked nose, indigestion.

The studies behind vardenafil's European approval compared it with a placebo (a dummy tablet), not with sildenafil, so there is no basis for calling either one better. If sildenafil has not suited you — it did not work well enough, or its side effects bothered you — ask your GP whether another PDE5 inhibitor, vardenafil included, is worth trying.

How much vardenafil to take: 10 mg or 20 mg

The usual dose is 10 mg, taken about 25 to 60 minutes before sex; the maximum is 20 mg, once a day (Levitra product information, EMA). The label's rules:

  • Start at 10 mg, taken as needed. Depending on how well it works and how you tolerate it, the dose can be raised to 20 mg — the maximum — or lowered to 5 mg.
  • Take it no more than once a day.
  • Swallow one tablet with a glass of water. You can take it with or without food, but preferably not after a heavy or high-fat meal, which may delay the effect.
  • It only works with sexual stimulation.
  • Do not drink grapefruit juice with it; alcohol can make erection difficulties worse.
  • A 5 mg starting dose should be considered for men with mild or moderate liver problems or severe kidney problems, men over 65 may tolerate 20 mg less well, and the dose may need adjusting if you take certain other medicines.

Only 10 mg and 20 mg tablets are sold here — there is no 5 mg tablet in our price tables. A 20 mg tablet is already the maximum dose; which strength suits you is for your GP to decide.

How long does vardenafil take to work, and how long does it last?

With sexual stimulation, an erection is possible from about 25 minutes up to four to five hours after the tablet — which is why the label says to take it 25 to 60 minutes before sex (Levitra package leaflet, EMA).

That is a window in which the medicine can help, not an erection that lasts for hours: without arousal, nothing happens. A heavy or high-fat meal can push the start later. An erection that will not go down (priapism) needs medical help straight away.

Do you need a prescription for vardenafil in Australia?

Yes. In Australia you need a prescription for erectile dysfunction medicines, vardenafil included, and a doctor assesses you first (healthdirect). None of them is sold over the counter, and a pharmacy needs a prescription to supply vardenafil.

Your GP checks your heart and every medicine you take — the two things that decide whether vardenafil is safe for you (see who must not take it).

Can you take vardenafil with sildenafil or tadalafil?

No. Never combine vardenafil with another erectile dysfunction medicine — not with sildenafil (the medicine in Viagra and Kamagra), tadalafil (Cialis), avanafil, an injection such as alprostadil, or a second vardenafil tablet on the same day. The label says not to use it combined with any other treatment for erectile dysfunction: those combinations have not been studied for safety (EMA).

  • If one tablet does not work well enough, do not top it up with another medicine. Talk to your GP about the dose, or about switching.
  • Kamagra is sildenafil, so the same rule applies to it — see the Kamagra page.

Who must not take vardenafil

Do not take vardenafil if any of these apply to you (EMA, healthdirect):

  • you use nitrates — medicines for angina such as glyceryl trinitrate sprays or tablets — or a nitric oxide donor such as amyl nitrite;
  • you take riociguat (for high blood pressure in the lungs), or the HIV medicines ritonavir or indinavir;
  • you are over 75 and take the antifungal medicines ketoconazole or itraconazole;
  • you have a severe heart problem that makes sex inadvisable, or unstable angina;
  • you have had a stroke or heart attack in the last six months;
  • you have low blood pressure, severe liver disease, or kidney disease that needs dialysis;
  • you have a hereditary eye disease such as retinitis pigmentosa, or have ever lost vision from a blocked blood supply to the optic nerve (NAION);
  • you are allergic to vardenafil.

Tell your GP before you start if you take an alpha-blocker (for high blood pressure or an enlarged prostate), a medicine for an irregular heartbeat, or the antibiotics erythromycin or clarithromycin — the label lists them among the medicines that can cause problems with vardenafil.

Vardenafil side effects

The most common side effect is headache, which affects more than 1 in 10 men; dizziness, flushing, a blocked or runny nose and indigestion each affect up to 1 in 10 (Levitra package leaflet, EMA). They are the same kinds of side effect healthdirect lists for every erectile dysfunction medicine.

Get medical help straight away if you notice changes in your vision — stop taking vardenafil — or an erection that will not go down (priapism), sudden hearing loss, dizziness or fainting, or signs of an allergic reaction (healthdirect).

Vardenafil vs sildenafil vs tadalafil

They are medicines of the same kind that differ in dose, timing and how long each can work — not in which is "strongest".

MedicineOn the ARTG?Usual dose → maximumWhen to take itHow long it can work
Vardenafil (the medicine in Levitra)Yes, as generic 5, 10 and 20 mg — the Levitra brand is not10 mg → 20 mg, once a day at most25–60 minutes before sexFrom about 25 minutes up to 4–5 hours after the tablet
Sildenafil (Viagra)Yes — Viagra 25, 50 and 100 mg50 mg → 100 mg, once a day at mostAbout 1 hour before sex—
KamagraNo — it is sildenafil, not on the registerAs sildenafilAbout 1 hour before sex—
Tadalafil (Cialis)Yes — Cialis 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg10 mg → 20 mg on demand, or 5 mg once a dayAt least 30 minutes before (allow 1 hour the first time)Up to 36 hours

Sources: ARTG search, EMA (vardenafil), EMA (sildenafil), EMA (tadalafil), Cialis consumer medicine information.

  • Is vardenafil 20 mg stronger than sildenafil 100 mg? The numbers cannot be compared across medicines: 20 mg is vardenafil's maximum dose and 100 mg is sildenafil's. Neither is a stronger version of the other.
  • Tadalafil or vardenafil? Choose by how you want to use it. Tadalafil can work for up to 36 hours, or be taken at a low dose every day; vardenafil is taken before sex you can plan, with a window of four to five hours.
  • And avanafil? Avanafil (Spedra) is the fourth PDE5 inhibitor available in Australia. It is not sold here; your GP can tell you whether it suits you.

Sildenafil and tadalafil each have their own page on this site, under Viagra and Cialis. Our guide to choosing an ED tablet sets the options side by side.

How much does vardenafil cost?

The tables at the top of this page are the current prices, in Australian dollars, for every pack of 10 mg and 20 mg tablets we sell. The price per tablet falls as the pack gets bigger — compare the per-tablet column rather than the pack price. Prices are read live when the page loads.

Delivery in Australia

Orders ship from India or Hong Kong — there is no Australian warehouse and no shop to walk into, in Sydney or anywhere else. Express delivery takes 5–9 days and regular delivery 10–14 days, and shipping is free on orders from A$320. The details are on our delivery page.

Sources