AlignerCo Review: Better Than Invisalign and SmileDirectClub?

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Historically, the only way to transform your smile was to get braces or Invisalign from your dentist, but that’s no longer the case. Today, by delivering treatment directly to your home, clear aligner brands like AlignerCo are designed to make achieving your ideal smile more affordable and convenient than traditional options.

AlignerCo has built their name on incredibly budget-friendly treatment — one that’s cheaper than their at-home aligner competitors and far more affordable than in-office options like Invisalign. But when it comes to dental treatment, price isn’t the only factor to consider. In this review, we’ll provide the essential info you need to decide whether they’re the right fit for you.

What is AlignerCo?

AlignerCo is a teeth-straightening treatment that creates customized clear aligners to treat mild misalignments, then mails them to your home. They’re one of several remote aligner brands, like Byte and SmileDirectClub, that straighten teeth without any trips to the dentist’s office.

What really sets AlignerCo apart are their incredibly affordable prices, which are much lower than the industry average. But that doesn’t mean you’ll get a cheap product — plenty of customers have voiced their satisfaction with AlignerCo’s treatment.

The price of AlignerCo is already among the lowest on the market at $995, but they also provide convenient financing plans for their treatment.

Like other home aligner treatments, AlignerCo is designed for mild and moderate cases of crowding and spacing. They can also treat certain cases of more complex misalignments, but this depends on the specific condition. If your condition is severe or involves difficult tooth and jaw movements, you might look at in-office treatments like Invisalign instead.

You can get started with AlignerCo in six simple steps

Here’s a brief overview of how AlignerCo treatment typically goes, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

1. You’ll purchase an impression kit, use it to make molds of your teeth, then send it back.
2. AlignerCo’s dental team will use them to determine if you’re a good candidate for treatment and, if so, create a treatment plan.
3. They’ll send you a treatment preview that shows how your teeth will move every step of the way. If it looks good, you’ll sign off.
4. They’ll produce your aligners and mail them to your home.
5. You’ll wear them for 20–22 hours per day (or ten hours if you choose their NightOnly plan).
6. Over several months, your teeth will gradually migrate to their new positions.

For an in-depth walkthrough on the company’s startup procedures, complete with photos, see our guide to getting started with AlignerCo.

Before you commit, visit your dentist.

AlignerCo has their own dental team, but no one knows your teeth like your regular dentist. We recommend visiting them for an exam and X-rays before beginning any clear aligner treatment. They’ll let you know if you have any cavities, gingivitis, or under-the-surface issues to address beforehand.

And that’s not the only thing you should do. Read over our seven-step checklist on preparing for at-home teeth straightening.

The Best Clear Aligners For Your Budget?

$995

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If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable clear aligner service, AlignerCo is tough to beat. At $995, their price point is around half of the industry average. Plus, they sometimes run sales that push the price even lower.

AlignerCo is currently offering a special promotion that reduces the cost of treatment by $150, bringing it to just $845. That’s a lower price than any at-home aligner service we've reviewed currently offers.

Our Review of AlignerCo

AlignerCo takes the #5 spot on our home aligner rankings, scoring 4.21/5 based on our five review criteria: scope of treatment, affordability, convenience, appearance, and customer experience.

As one of the most affordable clear aligner options available, we think AlignerCo is an excellent choice for bargain hunters and budget keepers alike. They may not offer all the bells & whistles that some other providers do, but they’ve still delivered quality results for many people.

With that said, we always recommend examining both sides of the coin before jumping into treatment. We’ve spent a lot of time researching their products, reading customer reviews, and talking to AlignerCo representatives, and we’ve distilled our findings into a simple pros and cons list:

Scope of Treatment

AlignerCo offers affordable treatment that can fit into the schedule of many busy adults. But the big question you have to ask is will it meet your orthodontic needs? That all depends on the complexity of your misalignment.

AlignerCo is meant to make cosmetic changes to the smile, not typically ones with a major impact on oral health.

Still, even small dental shifts can make it easier to care for your teeth. According to AlignerCo’s website, their clear aligners can typically address the following issues:

• Crowding: Where the teeth are too close together, or in some cases, even overlap each other. Most mild-to-moderate cases of crowding fall into AlignerCo’s scope of treatment.
• Spacing: When the teeth are too far apart, often causing crowding in other teeth. Mild-to-moderate gaps are typically 3mm wide or less. AlignerCo says they can close many gaps, “but it depends on the cause of the gaps.”
• Mild-to-Moderate Overbite or Overjet: When the upper front teeth extend beyond the lower ones (overbite) or protrude outward (overjet). In mild-to-moderate cases, this should be purely dental — not involving the jaw.
• Limited Underbite: When the lower front teeth overlap the upper ones. AlignerCo says “sometimes simple cases can be treated.”
• Crossbite: This is when some upper teeth sit inside the lower ones. Only certain mild cases of crossbite are suitable for AlignerCo treatment.

It’s common for at-home aligner companies to focus on the front 6–8 teeth. In most cases, this is where AlignerCo focuses their treatment, but sometimes, they can move other teeth depending on the nature of the misalignment.

That’s all pretty standard for at-home clear aligner treatments, but it doesn’t measure up to traditional treatments like braces or Invisalign, which can handle even severe cases.

But the big question is: Will AlignerCo work for your smile?

You can spend days researching AlignerCo and its results, poring over customer reviews, and comparing yourself to the before photos. The only way to know if you’re a candidate, though, is to purchase and complete their impression kit.

This process can feel a bit intimidating, but AlignerCo offers solid instructions, and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials, too. You’ll ship off your completed impressions, and their dental experts will review them. If you’re a candidate, they’ll offer treatment. If you aren’t, they’ll let you know and you can start investigating other options instead.

You’ll submit regular photo progress reports to your assigned dentist/orthodontist to help your treatment stay on track.

When you order AlignerCo treatment, their clinical team will design your aligners using 3D teeth modeling software. Then, a licensed dentist (though not necessarily an orthodontist) will review your case, approve you for treatment, and develop your aligner plan.

During your treatment, you’ll upload photos of your teeth to their AlignerTracker app every 14 days so that their team can monitor your progress and make adjustments to your wear schedule (if necessary). That oversight is more frequent than some other at-home aligner services. SmileDirectClub, for instance, only requires virtual check-ins every 90 days, while Byte doesn’t require them at all, unless you have certain conditions.

However, it’s not as intensive as the in-person oversight you’ll receive during Invisalign or ClearCorrect treatment. During office visits around every 4–10 weeks, your dentist or orthodontist will have a chance to examine your teeth, change up your wear schedule, or make adjustments to your aligners, keeping you on track.

AlignerCo uses plastics from RaintreeEssix to manufacture their aligners.

Quality materials mean quality products. AlignerCo creates durable aligners using materials from Essix, whose premium plastics have been a staple in the clear aligner industry since 2005. They aren’t quite as established in the home aligner game as other manufacturers like Align Technology, but by all accounts, Essix still makes quality products.

AlignerCo boasts care from professionals and products made from quality materials, so they’re a solid option for anyone with a milder misalignment. However, they can’t match the power of in-office options.

Affordability

Historically, the high price tag for braces and Invisalign has made in-person treatment a significant investment.

Companies like AlignerCo, which cut out the expense of office visits, somewhat remedy that concern by providing much more affordable treatment options. All at-home aligners easily beat Invisalign’s average price of $3,000–$8,000, and AlignerCo takes affordability a step further.

AlignerCo’s $995 sticker price beats most other at-home services by several hundred dollars, and Invisalign by a few thousand.

On average, home aligner treatment is $1,500–$2,000, which is already more affordable than traditional orthodontics. But AlignerCo’s prices are hundreds lower than even their at-home aligner peers.

Daytime Treatment: $995

NightOnly Treatment: $1,195

Those prices include the cost of your impression kit ($75 sold separately, but often on sale for $40!) and your first set of aftercare retainers, which other companies sell for around $99.

That’s a whole lot more manageable than the cost of Invisalign, ClearCorrect, or other aligners that require in-person care. A dentist’s time costs money, and office visits every few weeks can add up to thousands more in the long run.

To make aligner costs more manageable, AlignerCo offers two different financing options.

Can’t pay all at once? No worries. AlignerCo gives you two ways to break that lump sum into bite-sized chunks: SmileFlex and SmileFlex Easy.

If you choose AlignerCo’s NightOnly treatment, here’s how it looks:

If you do the math, you’ll notice that you’ll end up paying slightly more with the SmileFlex Easy and NightFlex Easy plans, so it’s best to pay one lump sum or choose SmileFlex/NightFlex if you can swing it.

Insurance might cover part of AlignerCo’s price, but it depends on your plan.

Some insurance companies refuse to cover at-home aligner treatment, while others are more open to it. So using insurance for AlignerCo is a matter of checking with your specific provider. Some aligner brands, like Byte and SmileDirectClub, will perform this check for you, but AlignerCo doesn’t, so unfortunately, you’re on your own.

Just know that most plans only cover a percentage of orthodontic treatment, and they usually have limits on age or lifetime spending. So, even if you do receive coverage, you’ll probably still have to pay some.

If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you can also potentially use them to help pay for AlignerCo. Check with your account administrator for details.

You’ll get one set of retainers for free, but you’ll need to purchase replacements after that.

Once you’ve achieved your dream smile, you’ll want to do whatever you can to maintain it. Industry-wide wisdom recommends wearing a nightly retainer indefinitely after treatment so that your pearly whites stay in position.

AlignerCo generously includes your first set of retainers (upper and lower) in your aligner package. You’ll need to replace them about every six months, so an aligner company’s cost of aftercare retainers is something to seriously consider before getting started, since this will be an ongoing expense.

That’s why AlignerCo started their Smile Protection Plan. For $680, (though sometimes on sale for $549) you’ll receive eight retainers total, making them $85 each — lower than most competitors. AlignerCo’s retainers go for $215 individually, so the protection plan is a wise choice.

But it isn’t just that you’ll receive discounted retainers, you will also get some peace of mind.

You won’t need to worry about staying on top of your retainer reorders. Instead, AlignerCo will mail you all of them at once, so you will always have your next set ready to go. This way, if you lose one, you won’t have to wait for them to manufacture a new one, which can take some time, potentially allowing your teeth to start shifting back.

SmileDirectClub does not currently offer any package deals for their retainers, so you would need to spend about $250 per year on retainers indefinitely. And the Byte Protection Plan costs $749 for five years. If you choose an in-office option, your dentist might offer Hawley or fixed retainers, which cost more up front, but last much longer.

Convenience

We all lead busy lives, and when your schedule is packed full, monthly office visits aren’t likely how you’d choose to spend your precious free time.

By shipping aligners directly to your home, companies like AlignerCo do away with the frequent office visits, so you can use that time you would have spent in the patient chair to see a friend, wrap up a big work project, go on a date, take a nap, or anything else. In our view, AlignerCo is more convenient than Invisalign or braces, but compared to other top-rated home aligner products, we consider it just average.

AlignerCo offers fewer startup options than other leading brands.

The first step can be the most difficult part of at-home clear aligner treatment, and to get started with AlignerCo, there’s only one option.

We mentioned the impression kit earlier, but how does it work? AlignerCo will send you a special putty in the mail and it’s your job to mix it, bite down, and create a mold of your teeth. Sounds simple enough.

But, as many customers find out, it’s easier said than done. AlignerCo anticipated this stumbling block and offers video chat support where a customer support rep will walk you through the entire process. But despite the company’s forethought, customers across the industry still find it tricky to capture perfect impressions and sometimes need to try it multiple times.

From impressions to full aligner kit, you can expect to wait around five weeks.

You nailed the impression kit, packed it up, and sent everything back. Once they receive your impressions, AlignerCo will take around two weeks to create and send a smile projection — a 3D rendering of your post-treatment smile. If it looks good, let them know that you’d like to continue with treatment (although there’s no obligation at this point).

After you approve the plan and pay for your aligners, they will arrive on your doorstep in about three more weeks. So, if there are no hitches in the process, and you respond to your treatment plan right away, you’ll kick off your aligner treatment around five weeks after returning your impressions. That’s pretty similar to other clear aligner options, both at-home and in-office.

Start to finish, AlignerCo says their treatment takes an average of 4–6 months.

The most significant factor in determining your overall treatment length is your condition severity. More complicated cases simply take longer to correct. AlignerCo claims that their average treatment time is between four and six months, depending on your condition.

This is assuming, of course, that you follow your prescribed treatment guidelines and consistently wear your aligners for 22 hours per day (or ten hours for the NightOnly plan). Fail to stick to AlignerCo’s wear instructions and your treatment will likely take longer.

Most at-home aligner brands’ treatment plans last around six months, so AlignerCo falls right around the industry average. Since in-office aligners like Invisalign typically correct more severe misalignments, they often take 12–24 months to achieve final results.

If you don’t want to wear your aligners constantly, AlignerCo offers a nighttime-only plan.

If you’re a constant snacker or have to talk a lot for work, the prospect of wearing your aligners for 22+ hours per day might seem daunting. With the AlignerCo NightOnly plan, you only need to wear them for 10+ hours instead, typically overnight.

Compared to their all-day treatment, NightOnly costs slightly more ($1,195) and takes longer. But if you want to avoid wearing your aligners to work, school, out with friends, or anywhere else, that extra money and time might be worth it.

Appearance

If you cringe at the thought of sporting highly visible brackets and wires to a special occasion or in everyday life, you’re not alone. Most adults opt for more discreet options when choosing a teeth alignment treatment, and this is where clear aligners excel, since they’re much less noticeable than braces. For this reason, all clear aligners products score well on appearance in our rankings, and AlignerCo is no exception.

That said, clear aligners aren’t all identical. They’re all made from transparent, BPA-free plastic, but each brand looks slightly different due to variations in materials and manufacturing processes.

AlignerCo uses smooth, transparent plastic for their aligners.

Their aligners are certainly crystal clear, but does this mean they’re the best looking? It depends on your personal preferences. Smooth, translucent aligners can be somewhat reflective, which some customers might think makes their teeth look artificially shiny. Other companies use textured, “frosted” plastic in their aligners. This might seem counterintuitive, but your teeth naturally have matte surfaces, so we think this texture better mimics their appearance.

That said, appearance is a subjective category because it relies on your unique likes and tastes. Some people prefer textured aligners, while others like the way translucent ones make their teeth gleam.

AlignerCo trims their aligners to match your gum line.

There are two ways to cut an aligner: scalloped to the gumline or straight across the top. Straight-cut aligners slightly cover your gums and this overlap can be visible in close quarters. Aligners that are trimmed to your gums won’t have this overlap, so in our opinion, they’re a little more discreet.

AlignerCo doesn’t add any attachments to your aligners.

Invisalign and ClearCorrect can add elastics and affix small attachments to your teeth surfaces to help their aligners make more complex dental shifts. While incredibly useful, these attachments also make your aligners more noticeable.

AlignerCo doesn’t use any supplementary attachments, so their aligners are slightly less powerful than in-office brands, but they’re also more discreet.

With AlignerCo’s NightOnly plan, you won’t even need to wear your aligners in public.

Remember the nighttime treatment option? Go that route and no one will ever notice your aligners because you’ll never wear them out during the day. Just pop them in after dinner, then remove them as part of your morning routine.

You should take out your aligners before eating and drinking to avoid stains.

All clear aligners are susceptible to stains from food and beverages — that’s why it’s important to remove them before eating or drinking anything other than plain water. AlignerCo’s aligners are reasonably resistant to staining, although we certainly wouldn’t recommend drinking coffee or red wine with your aligners in.

Customer Experience

Dental treatment is expensive, and you only have one set of teeth. So it’s important to feel confident and secure in your treatment provider. You want to be sure that they will care for you and have your back if anything goes wrong. We think AlignerCo provides somewhat helpful and accessible support, although some of their at-home competitors offer more comprehensive warranties, and it’s tough to replicate the personalized hands-on care of in-office options.

AlignerCo’s customer support appears attentive and responsive most of the time, but can be hit-or-miss.

AlignerCo’s support representatives are available by phone from 9am–9pm, seven days a week, and by email or webchat anytime. And AlignerCo says that they’ll respond to email inquiries within 24 hours. Having trouble with your impression kit? They also offer video chat support to guide you through the process.

Many customers praise AlignerCo’s support team. However, some have expressed frustrations with delayed response times from customer service representatives, saying it took a lot of back and forth with service representatives to get a straight answer.

Our own experiences with AlignerCo’s customer service were similar. Even though their representatives respond almost immediately via webchat, we found it difficult to get straightforward answers to certain questions. That said, we know every experience is different, and those could simply be isolated incidents.

AlignerCo doesn’t offer refunds once you’ve started treatment.

If you submit your teeth impressions and AlignerCo determines that you’re not a good candidate for treatment, they’ll refund the kit’s cost and any money you pre-paid for your aligners. If you confirm your treatment plan and then change your mind, you’ll need to cancel your order in 24–48 hours. But after you’ve been approved and begin treatment, they don’t provide refunds.

If you need refinements after you finish your treatment, you’ll have to pay extra.

Based on customer feedback we’ve gathered, those who follow their aligner wear guidelines typically see the desired results. However, if your smile doesn’t turn out as you expected, your only recourse is to request a re-evaluation for additional refinement aligners.

Many other at-home aligner companies will provide cover at least one refinement if you followed your wear schedule, but your results don’t match your original treatment preview. AlignerCo, however, does not. According to their return policy, each refinement costs an extra $200. Some customers report needing multiple refinements and paying $200 for each one.

AlignerCo doesn’t offer a lifetime guarantee on their results.

Byte and SmileDirectClub both put lifetime warranties on your new smile, so they’ll send you new aligners if your teeth ever shift out of place — as long as you wear and replace your aftercare retainers as directed. AlignerCo doesn’t have a similar guarantee, so if your teeth move in the future, you’ll need to begin a new treatment.

What are AlignerCo Customers Saying?

When we review a company like AlignerCo, our first move is to dig through customer reviews to understand common customer issues and desires.

Most customers have glowing reviews for AlignerCo. Many say it’s a great value for the price, praise the responsiveness of the customer support team, and love how easy the whole process is.

However, some reviewers were frustrated that their results didn’t match their treatment preview, and that AlignerCo made them pay $200 for a refinement — or multiple refinements. Others noted that AlignerCo’s customer support was responsive, but constantly trying to upsell them. Still, the positive reviews outweigh the negative ones.

Both of these customers sent us multiple videos covering their entire AlignerCo experiences, from unboxing to retainers. You can watch them all on our YouTube channel.

AlignerCo vs. Invisalign

One of the biggest differences between at-home clear aligners like AlignerCo and in-office ones like Invisalign is cost. Invisalign is, on average, about four times as expensive. That said, there’s another important difference to keep in mind: Invisalign can correct much more severe cases of misalignment than AlignerCo.

With Invisalign, you’ll receive hands-on care. This means your dentist can incorporate elastics and attachments into your treatment plan to provide better control and a higher range of tooth movement. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible with AlignerCo.

All in all, for severe cases of crowding, spacing, or bite issues, in-person care is unmatched. But if you’re simply looking to correct a mild-to-moderate dental misalignment, an affordable at-home provider like AlignerCo should be able to produce the results you’re after.

For an in-depth comparison, see our Invisalign vs. AlignerCo review.

AlignerCo vs. Other At-Home Clear Aligners

While AlignerCo is a reputable and affordable brand, there are a few other clear aligner options worth considering before settling on a provider. Let’s see how AlignerCo stacks up compared to some other top-ranked aligner treatments:

AlignerCo vs. Byte (Our #1-Ranked Provider)

Byte includes their HyperByte in the cost of their full aligner package. This high-frequency vibration device uses gentle micropulses that the company says can help provide a more comfortable aligner fit. Certain studies identified by our non-clinical team suggest that devices like this might also encourage faster dental shifts for some people — and Byte advertises average treatment plan lengths of 4–5 months.

Byte also offers a Byte-for-Life Guarantee, which protects your smile forever. If your teeth ever shift out of place, Byte will send you new aligners for free to realign them, as long as you’ve purchased new retainers once per year as advised.

Byte may cost a bit more than AlignerCo, but we think they make up for it with a better overall value.

AlignerCo vs. Candid

Candid differs from AlignerCo (and every other at-home aligner service) in that they use a hybrid at-home and in-person treatment model. After an initial in-person consultation and examination with a local dentist, you’ll check in virtually via their CandidMonitoring service every 14 days for the rest of your treatment. By keeping a local dentist involved for the entire treatment process, we think Candid offers a level of personalized care that sets them apart.

However, this level of involvement comes with a major trade-off: Candid treatment costs $3,500+, which is nearly four times more expensive than AlignerCo.

AlignerCo vs. SmileDirectClub

SmileDirectClub stands out as the largest and most established at-home clear aligner brand, having straightened over two million smiles so far. They also offer convenient retail locations called SmileShops where you can kick off treatment with a free teeth scan (instead of completing a DIY impression kit from home). SmileDirectClub is the only service that offers this perk.

AlignerCo isn’t quite as experienced or convenient as SmileDirectClub, but we still think that their significantly lower prices make them a worthy competitor. That said, if you like the idea of working with the most established brand in the industry, SmileDirectClub is worth considering.