Head to head
Testosterone against DHEA
A hormone with a 5,246 man randomised cardiovascular trial behind it and a precursor hormone repeatedly tested in randomised trials with mostly unimpressive results outside two specific populations. DHEA is sold over the counter in the United States, which is the main reason it is compared with testosterone at all.
Column A
TestosteroneTestosterone, the principal androgen
The best-evidenced hormone on this site. A 5,246-man randomised trial settled the cardiovascular question, and 36 randomised trials in 8,480 women cover the half of the population nobody talks about.
Column B
DHEADehydroepiandrosterone, adrenal androgen precursor
The hormone whose decline with age is the most-cited reason to supplement it, tested repeatedly in randomised trials, and mostly unimpressive outside two specific populations.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| Attribute | Testosterone | DHEA |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hormone | Hormone |
| FDA status | FDA-approved for male hypogonadism in multiple formulations. Schedule III controlled substance in the United States. No testosterone product is approved for women in the United States, which is a documented gap rather than a judgement on the evidence. | Sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. Separately, prasterone is an FDA-approved prescription vaginal insert for moderate to severe dyspareunia due to menopausal vulvar and vaginal atrophy. It is banned in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency. |
| Half-life | Free testosterone itself clears in minutes to hours. What determines dosing is the ester: cypionate and enanthate run roughly eight days, propionate under a day, and undecanoate several weeks. The ester pages cover what that means in practice. | Short for DHEA itself, a few hours. The sulphate form circulates far longer, around 10 to 20 hours, and is what laboratories usually measure. |
| Molecular weight | 288.4 Da. A steroid, not a peptide. | 288.4 Da. A steroid, not a peptide. |
| Mechanism | A 19-carbon steroid synthesised from cholesterol, mainly in the Leydig cells of the testis under luteinising hormone control, and in smaller amounts by the ovary and adrenal in women. It acts directly on the androgen receptor, a nuclear receptor that binds DNA and alters transcription. Two conversions matter clinically: 5-alpha-reductase converts it to dihydrotestosterone, a more potent androgen responsible for much of the effect on scalp hair and prostate, and aromatase converts it to oestradiol, which is responsible for much of its effect on bone, mood and libido in men. Exogenous testosterone suppresses luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone through negative feedback, which is why it reduces sperm production and testicular size. | A 19-carbon steroid produced mainly by the adrenal cortex, circulating largely as the sulphate DHEA-S. It has weak direct androgen receptor activity and acts mostly as a precursor, converted in peripheral tissues into testosterone and then oestradiol. That peripheral conversion is the whole story and the whole problem: how much any individual converts, and into which hormone, depends on the enzyme activity of their tissues, so the same oral dose produces very different hormonal exposure in different people, and in women it raises testosterone substantially more than in men. The locally applied vaginal product works by converting to active hormones within the tissue itself with limited systemic exposure, which is a different intervention from swallowing it. |
| Human studies cited | 2 | 0 |
| Legal status, US | FDA-approved, prescription only | Sold as a supplement |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Testosterone and DHEA?
Testosterone: The best-evidenced hormone on this site. A 5,246-man randomised trial settled the cardiovascular question, and 36 randomised trials in 8,480 women cover the half of the population nobody talks about. DHEA: The hormone whose decline with age is the most-cited reason to supplement it, tested repeatedly in randomised trials, and mostly unimpressive outside two specific populations.
Which has stronger research evidence, Testosterone or DHEA?
This database does not grade compounds. It counts what was run in people: 2 of the 5 studies cited on the Testosterone profile were human work, against 0 of 1 for DHEA. Those counts are of our own citation lists and understate any larger literature, and neither is a recommendation.
Are Testosterone and DHEA FDA-approved?
Testosterone: FDA-approved for male hypogonadism in multiple formulations. Schedule III controlled substance in the United States. No testosterone product is approved for women in the United States, which is a documented gap rather than a judgement on the evidence.. DHEA: Sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. Separately, prasterone is an FDA-approved prescription vaginal insert for moderate to severe dyspareunia due to menopausal vulvar and vaginal atrophy. It is banned in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page sets two published records side by side. It is educational, it is not medical advice, and it contains no dosing protocols or recommendations for personal use.