Anua vs Medicube: PDRN Serums, Toner Pads and Prices Compared

Anua vs Medicube: the short answer

Pick Anua if you want stated percentages, such as 10% niacinamide and 4% tranexamic acid, and labels with no fragrance, essential oils or denatured alcohol. Pick Medicube if you want PDRN listed higher on the label for less money, a peptide serum, or a spicule booster aimed at the look of pores.

Anua and Medicube are both Korean skincare brands, and their serums and toner pads sit within a few dollars of each other. This label-and-data comparison covers eight products, four per brand, priced from $22 to $30 on September 29, 2026. Nothing here was tested hands-on: every price, ingredient list and result comes from anua.com and medicube.us.

The split is disclosure against intensity. Anua prints percentages, and none of its four products lists fragrance, limonene, essential oils or denatured alcohol. Medicube lists PDRN eighth in its pink serum, adds five peptides, and prints more result numbers, mostly without sample sizes. Two of its four products list fragrance, limonene or denatured alcohol.

Choose this if

• Choose Anua if you want to know how much of the main actives you are getting. Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum states 10% niacinamide, 4% tranexamic acid and 2% arbutin, and the Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad prints 77% heartleaf extract in its ingredient list.
• Choose Medicube if PDRN is why you are shopping. PDRN Pink Peptide Serum lists sodium DNA (PDRN) 8th of 40 ingredients, against 21st of 34 in Anua's PDRN serum, and it cost $24 against $30 on September 29.
• Choose Anua if fragrance, essential oils or denatured alcohol bother your skin. None of its four products lists any of them.

Who makes Anua and Medicube?

Anua was launched in 2019 by The Founders, Inc., a brand incubator in Seoul, and Medicube is the flagship brand of APR Corp., a Seoul company founded in 2014 by Kim Byung-hoon and listed on South Korea's Kospi since 2024. The two are separate companies, and both sell in the US through their own stores plus Amazon.

The Founders is led by co-CEOs Seonhyeong Lee and Changju Lee. Anua entered the US through Amazon in 2022, and GCI Magazine reported in December 2024 that it was rolling out to all 1,500 Ulta Beauty stores. In a June 1, 2026 press release, Anua reported more than $500 million in global retail sales in 2025, a brand figure. Besides anua.com and Ulta Beauty, it sells through Amazon and TikTok Shop.

Which serum is better, Anua or Medicube?

Anua's Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum is the only one of the four serums that states active percentages, while Medicube's two serums cost the same or less per ounce on September 29. Anua markets the niacinamide serum for the look of dullness, dark spots and enlarged pores, and its PDRN serum for hydration. Medicube pitches its PDRN serum at fine lines and brightening, and the Exosome Shot at pores, radiance and texture.

Anua lists niacinamide third and tranexamic acid fourth, then arbutin 8th and alpha-arbutin 10th, plus five plant oils and ceramide NP. The page shows a "Clinically Tested" badge but no result numbers, and Anua directs SPF 30 or higher during the day.

Niacinamide has independent research at a lower strength. A 2005 split-face study of 50 women found that 5% niacinamide improved the appearance of aging facial skin, including fine lines, hyperpigmented spots and sallowness, over 12 weeks. That is ingredient research, not a test of any serum here.

Medicube's PDRN Pink Peptide Serum adds five peptides, listed 34th to 38th, including copper tripeptide-1 and acetyl hexapeptide-8. Medicube cites South Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety dual functionality for fine lines and brightening, and says the pink color comes from vitamin B12. This is the Salmon DNA PDRN version; a Rose PDRN version, the only one labeled vegan, has a different formula.

The Zero Exosome Shot 2000 is the MILD strength of a spicule serum. Hydrolyzed sponge, 11th on the list, supplies micro-sized, needle-shaped spicules, and Medicube says tingling is expected. Lactobacillus extracellular vesicles, which Medicube calls Lacto Exosome, sit 17th. The STRONG (7500) and INTENSE (25000) versions were $24 and $26.

What each brand's own testing reports

Neither brand publishes full study details. For the PDRN serum, Anua reports temporary hydration and moisture plumping up 8.93% and temporary deep skin hydration up 24.64% after one use. These are brand-reported without published study details: no sample size, method or lab.

The only sample size among the eight products is on Medicube's Exosome Shot page: a 20-person survey by the Global Institute of Dermatological Science, run August 24 to September 21, 2022, in which 100% said it felt like receiving professional care. That is a consumer self-assessment. The page's self-test figures, such as pore visibility down 21.1%, pore area down 15.3% and radiance up 51.7%, come with no sample size or method and do not say which strength was tested. For the PDRN serum, Medicube claims visible improvements in as little as two weeks, also without a sample size.

How does PDRN compare in Anua and Medicube serums?

Medicube's PDRN Pink Peptide Serum lists PDRN far higher than Anua's PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum, 8th of 40 against 21st of 34, and neither brand prints a PDRN percentage. Both list PDRN as sodium DNA and tie it to salmon: Anua states its sodium DNA is derived from salmon DNA, and Medicube names this version Salmon DNA PDRN. Ingredient order shows rank, not dose, so neither label says how much PDRN is in the bottle.

Anua's serum leans on hyaluronic acid, with hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid 5th, in an emerald-tinted microcapsule format. The two lists also share five extracts: Melia azadirachta leaf and flower, Ocimum sanctum leaf, turmeric root and Corallina officinalis.

Which toner pad is better, Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad or Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0?

Anua's Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad uses a PHA and lists no denatured alcohol or essential oils, while Medicube's Zero Pore Pad 2.0 pairs lactic and salicylic acids with denatured alcohol 5th. Both hold 70 pads, and on September 29 they cost $0.33 and $0.34 per pad.

Anua's jar holds about twice the liquid for the same pad count, and its first three ingredients are heartleaf extract, water and gluconolactone. Medicube lists lactic acid fourth and salicylic acid ninth.

Anua reports pore volume down 27.27% after one week, and sebum down 44.74% and hydration up 87.36% after four weeks, brand-reported without published study details. Medicube says the look of pores was "confirmed through 2 weeks of human application test," and its self-test figures list sebum down 47.1% and "pore waste" down 87.3%, with no sample size or method. Our guide on how often to exfoliate covers how acid pads fit into a routine.

What do Anua's toner and Medicube's overnight mask add?

Anua's Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner is the lowest-cost product per ounce here, and Medicube's Collagen Night Wrapping Mask is the only overnight product. Neither has a match in the other brand's set.

The Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner costs $23 for 250 ml ($2.72 per ounce) or $34.50 for 500 ml ($2.04 per ounce). Anua states 77% heartleaf, though the ingredient list, which opens with Houttuynia cordata flower/leaf/stem water, prints no percentage. It adds seven hyaluronic acid forms, panthenol and centella asiatica extract, with no fragrance or denatured alcohol. Brand-reported results, without published study details: skin temperature down 14.52% and hydration up 97.52% after one use, and sebum down 49.55% after two weeks. Our best toners guide covers other options.

The Collagen Night Wrapping Mask costs $24 for 75 ml ($9.46 per ounce). It goes on as a thin layer at night, dries to a film and peels off. Polyvinyl alcohol, the film former, is 2nd on the list; it is not denatured alcohol. Niacinamide is 5th, ceramide NP 22nd and collagen extract 25th of 26, with no fragrance listed. The page shows clinical numbers, but its footnote credits them to a different Medicube mask, so none are credited to this one.

Which is cheaper, Anua or Medicube?

On September 29, 2026, Medicube's serums cost the same or less per ounce than Anua's, while Anua's clear pad was the cheaper pad by a cent, or by 11 cents against Medicube's regular price. Medicube's lower serum prices were markdowns.

At Medicube's regular prices, the PDRN serum works out to $25.63 per ounce, the Exosome Shot to $23.66 and the pad to $0.44. Anua's three-bottle price of $66 brings the niacinamide serum to $21.69 per ounce, and Medicube's pad 4-pack, $80 with a gift, comes to $0.29 per pad.

Anua's page text gives no size for the niacinamide serum, PDRN serum or clear pad, so those sizes come from the labels in the listing photos, as does the 75 ml for Medicube's mask. Sales change these numbers.

Which is better for sensitive skin, Anua or Medicube?

Anua, going by the labels: none of its four products lists fragrance, limonene, essential oils or denatured alcohol, while two of Medicube's four list at least one.

The PDRN Pink Peptide Serum page names fragrances in its "formulated without" list, yet the ingredient list includes Fragrance 20th, so go by the ingredient list. Its FAQ says the serum suits all skin types including sensitive. The Exosome Shot lists no fragrance, but Medicube's usage notes mention possible tingling, redness, itching and a heat sensation. Anua says its clear pad was clinically and dermatologist tested for sensitive skin. Patch-test any of the eight first.

What we would buy

• Stated percentages for the look of dullness and dark spots: Anua Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum.
• PDRN listed high, with peptides, if fragrance does not bother you: Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum.
• PDRN and hyaluronic acid with no fragrance listed: Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum.
• A booster aimed at the look of pores, if you are fine with tingling: Medicube Zero Exosome Shot 2000.
• Toner pads without denatured alcohol or essential oils: Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad.
• Toner pads with lactic and salicylic acid: Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0, at the sale price or in a multipack.
• A large, low-cost toner: Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner.
• An overnight peel-off mask: Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask, knowing its page publishes no results of its own.

Comparing Medicube with other brands? See Medicube vs Dr. Melaxin, Biodance vs Medicube and Mediheal vs Medicube, or our list of Korean skincare brands.

Sources

• Anua product pages and ingredient lists for Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner, Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum, PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum and Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad, anua.com, captured September 29, 2026
• Medicube product pages and ingredient lists for PDRN Pink Peptide Serum, Zero Pore Pad 2.0, Zero Exosome Shot 2000 and Collagen Night Wrapping Mask, medicube.us, captured September 29, 2026
• Anua press release naming its first global brand ambassador, June 1, 2026, PA Media press release hub, captured September 29, 2026
• GCI Magazine, report on Anua's rollout to every Ulta Beauty store, December 30, 2024, captured September 29, 2026
• Cosmetics Business, report on The Founders, captured September 29, 2026
• Bissett DL, Oblong JE, Berge CA. Niacinamide: a B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance. Dermatologic Surgery, 2005 (PMID 16029679)