Enobosarm vs Oxandrolone
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
A drug that targets the testosterone switch in muscle, against an old steroid pill, both used to keep muscle. Only one of them is approved anywhere. Enobosarm's formal trials are recent. At 3 mg, it cut the lean mass lost on semaglutide by 71 percent in adults over 60.
- Enobosarm people
- 159
- Enobosarm nulls
- 1
- Oxandrolone people
- 0
- Oxandrolone nulls
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
1 completed trial, 159 people given it
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 human study where nobody was given it
First-hand reports are counted on each profile and never added together. This page sets two published records side by side. It does not pick a winner.
Column A
EnobosarmEnobosarm (ostarine, GTx-024, MK-2866)
The drug sold on the grey market as ostarine. In proper studies, 3 mg added to semaglutide cut muscle loss by 71 percent in adults over 60.
Column B
OxandroloneOxandrolone, oral 17-alpha-alkylated anabolic androgen
The steroid with the best medical record, from a place you would not guess. Badly burned children took it for up to two years, and it helped their bones and their growth.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| What we compare | Enobosarm | Oxandrolone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Muscle & Performance | Muscle & Performance |
| FDA status | Investigational; not approved for any use. SARMs are lab-made drugs that act like testosterone. Unapproved SARM products are illegal to sell as supplements. | Was FDA-approved as Oxandrin to help people regain weight lost after major surgery, long-term infection, severe injury and some other wasting conditions. A Schedule III controlled substance. The brand was discontinued in the United States, so today it mostly comes from compounding pharmacies or the grey market. |
| Half-life | ~24 hours (once-daily oral) | Roughly 9 hours, short for an androgen, which is why it is dosed once or twice daily rather than weekly. |
| Molecular weight | 389.3 Da | 306.4 Da. A steroid, not a peptide. |
| How it works | It switches on the androgen receptor mostly in muscle and bone. That helps build muscle protein, with less effect on the prostate and skin than testosterone. | Oxandrolone is a man-made steroid built from DHT, a strong form of testosterone. It has a small chemical change that lets it survive the liver and work as a pill. That same change is what makes this group of steroid pills hard on the liver. It attaches to the testosterone receptor, which tells muscle to build protein and hold on to protein. The body cannot turn it into estrogen. That is why people say it causes less water retention and less breast growth than testosterone. But that is not all good. In men, estrogen helps bones, mood and sex drive, so a steroid that cannot become estrogen takes those away. |
| Studies in people | 3 | 1 |
| Evidence | Moderate: 1 completed trial, 159 people given it | Preliminary: 1 human study where nobody was given it |
| Legal status, US | Investigational; SARMs are not legal supplement ingredients and are banned in sport (WADA) | Approved use exists; brand discontinued. Schedule III |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Enobosarm and Oxandrolone?
Enobosarm: The drug sold on the grey market as ostarine. In proper studies, 3 mg added to semaglutide cut muscle loss by 71 percent in adults over 60. Oxandrolone: The steroid with the best medical record, from a place you would not guess. Badly burned children took it for up to two years, and it helped their bones and their growth.
Which has stronger research evidence, Enobosarm or Oxandrolone?
Each compound gets a band worked out from facts we counted, with the math shown. Enobosarm is Moderate (1 completed trial, 159 people given it). Oxandrolone is Preliminary (1 human study where nobody was given it). That counts how much has been done in people. It does not rate whether either one works, and neither one is called the winner.
Are Enobosarm and Oxandrolone FDA-approved?
Enobosarm: Investigational; not approved for any use. SARMs are lab-made drugs that act like testosterone. Unapproved SARM products are illegal to sell as supplements.. Oxandrolone: Was FDA-approved as Oxandrin to help people regain weight lost after major surgery, long-term infection, severe injury and some other wasting conditions. A Schedule III controlled substance. The brand was discontinued in the United States, so today it mostly comes from compounding pharmacies or the grey market..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page puts two published records side by side. It is for learning, and it is not medical advice. When this site shows a dose, it is the dose a trial or a clinic actually used, or what people say they did, with the source attached. None of it tells you what to take.