Mediheal vs Medicube: Toner Pads, Sheet Masks, and Cost Per Use

Mediheal vs Medicube: the short answer

Pick Mediheal if you want the lower price per pad and per sheet, or a toner pad with no denatured alcohol and no lactic or salicylic acid. Pick Medicube if you want an exfoliating pad aimed at blackheads and oil, or a PDRN serum and overnight gel mask backed by brand clinical figures.

Mediheal and Medicube are both Seoul skincare brands, and most people comparing them are choosing a toner pad first and a sheet mask second. Mediheal launched in 2009 and is best known for sheet masks. Medicube launched in 2016 and is best known for its Zero Pore Pad and PDRN Pink line.

We compared seven products using each brand's US product pages, full ingredient lists, and published test claims.

Choose this if

• Choose Mediheal if alcohol or acids in a daily pad bother your skin. The Madecassoside Blemish Pad lists no denatured alcohol, no fragrance, and no lactic or salicylic acid.
• Choose Medicube if blackheads and oil are your main concern. Zero Pore Pad 2.0 lists both lactic and salicylic acid, and Medicube reports a 44.93% reduction in the look of blackheads after 2 weeks.
• Choose Mediheal if you use sheet masks often. The N.M.F Ampoule Mask works out to $3.00 a sheet, about half the $5.99 Medicube charges for one PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask.

Who makes Mediheal and Medicube?

Mediheal is made by L&P Cosmetic, and Medicube is made by APR Corp., so the two brands come from separate Korean companies.

Kwon Oh-sub founded L&P Cosmetic in Seoul on April 22, 2009, and launched Mediheal the same year. Mediheal launched in the US in July 2019. According to Pulse by Maeil Business, Mediheal's total revenue reached 300 billion won in 2024, up 54 percent, and the brand has sold 3.1 billion mask packs in total. The same March 2025 report says the brand is expanding into Costco, Target, and Ulta.

Kim Byung-hoon founded APR Corp. in 2014, and APR launched Medicube as its flagship brand in 2016. APR, which also owns Aprilskin, went public on South Korea's Kospi in 2024 and reported 2025 revenue of KRW 1.53 trillion (USD 1.05 billion), 80% of it from overseas. Medicube reached Ulta in August 2025 and Target in April 2026, and CNBC reported a planned September 2026 Costco launch starting with Zero Pore Pad 2.0.

The two revenue figures cover different years and scopes. Full histories are on our Mediheal brand page and Medicube brand page, and Medicube's other common matchup is in our Medicube vs Dr. Melaxin comparison.

Mediheal Madecassoside Blemish Pad vs Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0

Mediheal's Madecassoside Blemish Pad is a niacinamide and centella pad, while Medicube's Zero Pore Pad 2.0 is an acid exfoliating pad.

Madecassoside Blemish Pad lists niacinamide fourth, well above madecassoside at 24th of 34. It also lists three centella asiatica extracts plus asiaticoside, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid. With madecassoside, those are the four compounds a 2014 overview of centella asiatica in dermatology names as the plant's main actives. That review covers small wounds, scars, and burns, so it does not show that a toner pad fades blemishes.

Zero Pore Pad 2.0 lists lactic acid fourth and salicylic acid ninth. The product page and the jar label list different sizes, so we compare it by pad count. If acid pads are new to you, see our guide on how often to exfoliate.

What each brand's testing reports

Neither brand says how many people were tested. A clinical or instrumental test measures skin with devices or trained graders, while a consumer self-assessment asks users to rate their own skin. Medicube labels its pad figures clinical and names the lab. Mediheal does not say how its figure was measured.

• Zero Pore Pad 2.0: after 2 weeks, a 44.93% reduction in the look of blackheads, 30.48% less excess oil, and a 7.28% reduction in pore appearance, clinically tested by P&K Skin Research Center.
• Madecassoside Blemish Pad: a 16.78% improvement in the look of blemishes and marks after 4 weeks, with no test type, lab, or sample size given.

These are brand-reported results without published study details.

Mediheal Collagen Ampoule Pad vs Medicube pads

Mediheal's Collagen Ampoule Pad is a collagen and peptide pad, while Medicube's Zero Pore Pad 2.0 is an exfoliating pad, so they do different jobs.

Collagen Ampoule Pad is listed first in Mediheal's US bestsellers. It costs $26.40 for 100 pads, and a 100-pad refill costs $20.00. The formula lists collagen extract 18th, then ceramide NP, milk protein extract, and five peptides. Four of them, acetyl hexapeptide-8, copper tripeptide-1, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, and palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, also appear in Medicube's PDRN Pink Peptide Serum and PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask. None of the three labels gives a percentage for them.

The pad lists no fragrance and no denatured alcohol, but it does list geranium, lavender, Roman chamomile, orange peel, and Juniperus mexicana oils. Mediheal reports a 0.95 ml improvement in sunken cheek elasticity after one use, with no method or sample size given.

Mediheal vs Medicube sheet masks

Mediheal's The N.M.F Ampoule Mask costs $3.00 per sheet and is worn for 10 to 20 minutes, while Medicube's PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask costs $5.99 per sheet and is worn for hours or overnight.

The N.M.F Ampoule Mask is number 2 in Mediheal's US bestsellers, and Mediheal calls it its upgraded N.M.F sheet mask. It lists eight forms of hyaluronic acid, ceramide NP, and squalane. Mediheal says it locks in moisture for up to 72 hours and is dermatologist tested, with no test method or sample size given.

PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask, sold as the Salmon PDRN Pink Collagen Jelly Gel Mask, lists sodium DNA, which Medicube labels as PDRN. Medicube's clinical test excerpt reports a 71.77% improvement in surface skin moisture, a 51.45% improvement in skin radiance, and a 37.88% reduction in pore area, with no sample size or test length given. The 4 pack costs $6.00 per sheet, a cent more than one mask at its sale price. This mask also appears in our Biodance vs Medicube comparison.

Where the Collagen Night Wrapping Mask fits

Medicube's Collagen Night Wrapping Mask is a gel from a tube that dries into a film overnight and peels off in the morning. It costs $24.00 for 75 ml and was not on sale. Polyvinyl alcohol, second on the list, forms the film, and the formula lists niacinamide fifth plus sodium hyaluronate, ceramide NP, and collagen extract, with no fragrance and no denatured alcohol. Its product page carries a clinical test section labeled as an excerpt from the gel mask's report, so those figures do not describe the wrapping mask.

Which is cheaper, Mediheal or Medicube?

Mediheal is cheaper than Medicube per pad and per sheet. Mediheal's pads cost $0.26 each and its N.M.F mask $3.00 a sheet. Medicube's Zero Pore Pad 2.0 costs $0.34 a pad even on sale, and its gel mask $5.99 a sheet.

Pads and masks are compared per use because several listings give no volume. For Zero Pore Pad 2.0, the 2 pack at $45 and the 4 pack at $80 bring it to about $0.32 and $0.29 per pad, still above Mediheal. Prices come from mediheal.com and medicube.us on September 17, 2026, when most Medicube items were on sale. Sales and sets change them.

Which is better for sensitive skin, Mediheal or Medicube?

For toner pads, Mediheal suits sensitive skin better than Medicube. Neither Mediheal pad lists fragrance or denatured alcohol, and Mediheal names sensitive skin for the Madecassoside Blemish Pad. Medicube's Zero Pore Pad 2.0 lists denatured alcohol fifth and two exfoliating acids. For masks, the answer depends on the product.

Both sheet masks list fragrance, so the Collagen Night Wrapping Mask is the one mask here without it. All three pads list plant oils, so read the full list if particular oils bother you. For the serum, we go by the ingredient list, which includes Fragrance. Patch-test whichever you choose.

Mediheal vs Medicube for firmness

Medicube publishes more firmness data than Mediheal, mostly for its PDRN Pink Peptide Serum, though neither brand gives sample sizes.

The PDRN Pink Peptide Serum costs $24.00 for 30 ml on sale. Its label states 1% PDRN (sodium DNA), listed 8th of 40, plus a five-type peptide complex, niacinamide, and hydrolyzed collagen. From testing by the Global Institute of Dermatological Sciences, Medicube reports skin firmness improvements after 2 weeks of 34.91% on the forehead, 26.67% on the cheeks, and 21.07% at the smile lines.

A 2026 narrative review in Cureus looked at PDRN for recovery after procedures such as laser resurfacing, chemical peels, and microneedling, and its authors list small sample sizes among the research's limits. It does not test a serum or mask like these.

Mediheal's only firmness-related figure is the Collagen Ampoule Pad's single-use cheek result. Collagen on a label and firmer-looking skin are two different things, as our guide on whether collagen creams work covers. No pad, mask, or serum lifts skin the way a procedure does. Firming skincare improves how firm skin looks, gradually.

What we would buy

• A daily pad without denatured alcohol or lactic and salicylic acid: Mediheal Madecassoside Blemish Pad.
• Blackheads and oily skin: Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0, if denatured alcohol does not bother you.
• The lowest cost per pad: Mediheal Collagen Ampoule Pad, bought as the $20.00 refill.
• Sheet masks on a budget: Mediheal The N.M.F Ampoule Mask, at $3.00 a sheet.
• An overnight mask with no fragrance listed: Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask.
• A firming serum with brand clinical figures: Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum, if fragrance does not bother you.

Sources

• Manufacturer product pages and ingredient lists for all seven products, mediheal.com and medicube.us, captured September 17, 2026
• Mediheal US blog, brand history post, and PR Newswire, Mediheal US launch announcement, 2019
• Pulse by Maeil Business, report on Mediheal revenue and US expansion, March 2025
• PR Newswire, APR Corp. 2025 annual revenue announcement
• CNBC, report on APR's US Costco launch, August 31, 2026
• APR Corp. corporate website, and Kim Byung-hoon (entrepreneur), Wikipedia
• Bylka W. et al., Centella asiatica in dermatology: an overview, Phytotherapy Research, 2014 (PMID 24399761)
• Flores Rodriguez JC et al., Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) in Post-procedure Recovery in Aesthetic Medicine: A Narrative Review, Cureus, 2026 (PMID 42299173)