Patient Guide · September 2026
If you're researching Botox for chronic migraine, you've probably noticed that almost nobody tells you what it costs - and the quotes that do exist are structured so differently that they are hard to compare.
Some clinics charge per unit. Some charge an injection fee per 100 units, or per area. Some sell you the vial. And whether your extended health plan covers the drug can change your out-of-pocket cost by more than a thousand dollars per treatment.
Unlike most uses of Botox, chronic migraine treatment follows a standardized, evidence-based protocol - typically 155 units injected across 31 sites, repeated every 12 weeks. That makes it one of the few Botox treatments where you can meaningfully compare total costs between providers. This guide is meant to help you do that.
In September 2026 we asked clinics across Victoria, Burnaby and Vancouver what they charge for migraine Botox - medical clinics, cosmetic clinics, and med spas. The honest picture:
Figures are from direct quotes provided by BC clinics and from prices published on clinic websites in September 2026. Not every clinic contacted would share pricing without a consultation. Prices change - confirm with any provider directly.
This is the single most useful thing to understand when comparing quotes.
BOTOX® Therapeutic is a prescription drug. When it is prescribed by a physician for chronic migraine, many extended health plans cover the cost of the drug itself, dispensed through a pharmacy in your name. What the clinic charges on top of that is the injection or treatment fee - the professional service of assessing you and performing the 31 injections.
A clinic quoting "$12 per unit" is bundling the drug and the service together into one out-of-pocket price. A clinic quoting an injection fee assumes the drug is arriving separately - usually through your insurance. The same treatment can therefore cost $1,860 at one clinic and a few hundred dollars at another, for reasons that have nothing to do with the treatment itself.
For context: neurologists also provide Botox for chronic migraine, with the assessment covered by MSP and injection fees typically in the range of $250 to $300. Referral wait times for headache specialists in BC are commonly long - often many months or more.
My injection fee for chronic migraine Botox is $250 per treatment. There is no consultation fee, and no referral is required.
When your extended health plan covers BOTOX® Therapeutic, the drug is billed through the pharmacy and the injection fee is typically your only out-of-pocket cost. If your plan does not cover the drug, you will know the full expected cost - drug and injection fee together - before deciding anything.
Often, yes - chronic migraine is one of the medical conditions for which BOTOX® Therapeutic is most commonly covered.
BOTOX® Therapeutic prescribed by a physician may be covered by many extended health plans when it is being used for an eligible medical condition. Coverage varies between insurers and individual plans, so it cannot be guaranteed. When a plan covers BOTOX® Therapeutic, it is generally covering the drug itself; the injection fee is separate, and is not always covered the same way.
If you have extended health benefits, my office works with a specialty pharmacy to coordinate the prescription and insurance process. You do not need to arrange a prescription through another doctor first - the assessment, the prescription, and the insurance coordination are all handled at my practice. Your expected coverage and out-of-pocket cost are reviewed before you decide whether to proceed.
Botox is approved for chronic migraine - generally defined as 15 or more headache days per month, with at least 8 of those being migraine days, for more than 3 months. It is a preventive treatment, not a rescue medication: the goal is fewer and less severe migraine days over time, with benefits that typically build over the first two or three treatment cycles.
Part of the assessment is confirming that chronic migraine is actually the right diagnosis, and that Botox is a sensible next step given what you have already tried. Where jaw clenching or neck and shoulder muscle tension feed the headache pattern, that is assessed at the same time - TMJ, migraine and neck pain often travel together, and treatment can be planned accordingly.
The protocol is repeated every 12 weeks - roughly four treatments per year. Your long-term cost therefore depends on the same two questions as a single treatment: what does each treatment cost you out of pocket, and is the drug covered?
For a patient whose plan covers the drug, a year of treatment at my practice is typically four injection fees. For a patient paying $10 to $12 per unit all-in elsewhere, a year can exceed $7,000. This is worth working out precisely before you start, and it is exactly what the consultation is for.
No. You can book a consultation for migraine Botox directly - a referral is not required. There is no consultation fee, and you will know the proposed treatment plan and expected cost before deciding whether to proceed.
Related reading: Botox for chronic migraine · What actually happens at your appointment · How chronic migraine is treated in Victoria & Burnaby · TMJ Botox cost in Victoria
Book a consultation and get an individualized answer - whether you meet criteria for chronic migraine treatment, what your plan is likely to cover, and your expected out-of-pocket cost, all before you decide anything.