Invisalign vs. AlignerCo: How They Actually Compare

The past few decades have brought us some astounding medical advancements, and teeth straightening treatments are no exception. When Invisalign introduced the first complete clear aligner system in 1997, it was a stunning achievement, rivaling braces in power, but without all the metal. But the evolution didn’t stop there.

As companies have sought ways to improve clear aligner treatment, some, like AlignerCo, have developed a way to complete the process entirely from home. Invisalign and AlignerCo’s aligners might look similar, but their treatment methods are actually quite different. In this review, we’ll dive into the details of how Invisalign and AlignerCo actually compare, so you can find the best option for your smile.

Company Overviews

Over two decades ago, a dental technology company called Align Technology developed the first mainstream clear aligner series, Invisalign, which commanded the market for nearly ten years. They quickly implemented an ambitious marketing campaign, partnered with dentists and orthodontists across the country, and had transformed 175,000 smiles by 2004. Today, Invisalign maintains its position atop the clear aligner industry. They currently partner with 100,000 dentists in 90 countries and have treated over 15 million patients.

If Invisalign is the industry stalwart, AlignerCo is one of the brash young upstarts. They just started selling aligners in 2019, but they’ve already turned plenty of heads with their astonishingly low prices. They’ve made it their goal to deliver quality home aligner treatment for less than anybody else, and so far, we think they’ve succeeded. While most home aligner treatments are more affordable than Invisalign, AlignerCo goes above and beyond.

At-Home vs. In-Office Treatment: The Pros and Cons

As we mentioned above, even though they both produce clear aligners, Invisalign and AlignerCo provide fairly different treatments. Invisalign is administered in-office by a dentist, while AlignerCo’s aligners are developed remotely by a licensed dentist or orthodontist and applied at home.

Which is better? The answer isn’t so straightforward. Each has its own unique advantages and drawbacks.

At-home and in-office aligners have both straightened millions of smiles, but which one you choose largely depends on your unique condition and situation. For example, an in-office brand might be a better fit for someone with a severe overbite. However, an at-home brand could be preferable for someone with a mild case of spacing and a tight budget.

Invisalign and AlignerCo each present their own unique treatments with specific nuances and perks. Let’s dig into the details to find out where each company excels.

Scope of Treatment Comparison

In our opinion, Invisalign and AlignerCo are two great aligner systems, and both have helped plenty of adults smile with confidence. But even though millions have used them to straighten their teeth, you’ll need to confirm that they can treat your case before diving in. While there is some overlap here, Invisalign has a much wider scope of treatment.

What Invisalign and AlignerCo Treat

Align Technology designed Invisalign as an alternative to braces, so they strove to get as close to the same treatment scope as possible. According to the company, their aligners have “​​demonstrated success in treating Class I, II, and III malocclusions,” including:

• Crowded teeth
• Gapped teeth
• Overbite
• Underbite
• Crossbite
• Open bite
• Snaggletooth
• Midline misalignment

As a fully remote treatment, AlignerCo is more limited. According to their website, they can typically address the following issues:

• Mild-to-moderate crowding
• Mild-to-moderate spacing
• Mild-to-moderate overbite or overjet
• Limited underbite
• Localized crossbite

Invisalign can tackle more complex cases in large part because it can incorporate attachments, which can improve orthodontic dental shifts. In addition to moving all the teeth, it can expand the arch and even alter jaw positioning. AlignerCo cannot utilize attachments and say they typically only move the frontmost 6–8 teeth in either arch.

What Invisalign and AlignerCo Customers Say

No aligner company has more customers standing behind it than Invisalign. They’ve straightened over 15 million smiles to date, and that translates into a lot of customer feedback. Many patients have shared theirs directly with us. Based on their reviews, there is little Invisalign can’t do. Users have shown us their results for everything from simple crowding to complex bite issues and midline misalignments. Almost across the board, they give the system 4 or 5 stars.

AlignerCo customers have shared their feedback with us. However, we don’t have many reviews for them. AlignerCo reviews do seem to support company claims, with most customers reporting they corrected cosmetic issues in the frontmost teeth.

Clinical Oversight

In-person care is a crucial part of Invisalign treatment. You’ll see your dentist or orthodontist at regular intervals, and they can add or adjust attachments, alter your treatment plan, or change your wear schedule to ensure the best results. If your case is complex, you’ll have an appointment once a month, but if it’s simple, it might be closer to every ten weeks.

AlignerCo has you check in every 14 days using the AlignerTracker app. You’ll upload photos for their team to review and check if your teeth are moving as planned. While this means there are eyes on your smile fairly often, we still don’t consider it as intensive as in-person check-ups.

Quality of Materials

Invisalign has a proprietary plastic called SmartTrack. It’s a multilayer thermoplastic polyurethane/copolyester blend that’s been demonstrated to be safe for human use. Invisalign and its plastic consistently perform well according to reviews of various studies and clinical data.

AlignerCo also uses trustworthy plastics. They get theirs from Raintree Essix, whose materials have been a staple in the clear aligner industry since 2005, meaning they have a long record of success behind them.

Affordability Comparison

One of the biggest reasons that adults opt for home aligner treatment over Invisalign is the cost. In many cases, home aligners are significantly cheaper. By eliminating the need for regular office visits, these companies can significantly reduce costs, making clear aligner treatment much more affordable. Invisalign can treat a much wider range of conditions, but AlignerCo will have a much lighter impact on your wallet.

Sticker Price

Even compared to other home aligner companies, AlignerCo is an incredibly affordable option. Their sticker price is just $995, and this price includes the cost of your impression kit and the first set of your aftercare retainers. All in all, AlignerCo is several hundred dollars lower than many other home aligners and thousands cheaper than Invisalign.

That said, Invisalign doesn’t have a set price. Instead, it changes based on a couple of variables, primarily your dentist and the severity of your condition. Your dentist’s time costs money, as does their office and equipment. Therefore, a severe condition that requires many office visits will end up costing more money. But even at its most affordable, Invisalign is still pricier than home aligners.

The cost of Invisalign is typically between $3,000 and $8,000. Unique circumstances might cause the price to fall outside this range, but in general, that’s what you can expect to pay.

Aftercare Costs

Once you’ve achieved the smile you’ve always wanted, you’ll want to do whatever you can to maintain it. Industry-wide wisdom recommends wearing a nightly retainer indefinitely after completing treatment, so you can keep those pearly whites in place.

AlignerCo generously includes your first set of retainers (upper and lower) in your aligner package. At-home clear aligner companies typically recommend using a new retainer every six months — so it’s an ongoing expense.

That’s why AlignerCo started their Smile Protection plan. For $680 (though often on sale for $499), you will receive eight retainers total, lowering the cost of each retainer to $62.38, much lower than Invisalign’s range of retainer prices.

Plus, you won’t need to worry about keeping track of ordering retainers for four years, though. Instead, AlignerCo will mail all your retainers at once, so if you lose one, you won’t have to wait for them to manufacture a new one, potentially allowing your teeth to shift back.

Invisalign doesn’t include any retainers in the cost of your treatment. There is no set cost for their retainers either, since that will be determined by your dentist’s office. But they are typically around $100–$300. You can sometimes buy your retainers in bulk for a discount, which also ensures that you always have a replacement on hand if you lose or break one.

What About Insurance?

Some insurance companies might consider at-home clear aligner treatment cosmetic or unnecessary, especially for minor conditions. This isn’t always the case, though. You’re more likely to receive coverage for in-office treatments than at-home ones, but this doesn’t mean it’s out of the question. AlignerCo accepts payments from HSAs and FSAs, but you should check with your insurance provider to see if you’ll receive coverage.

Your dentist’s office can accept payments directly from your insurance company. So, with Invisalign, you won’t need to file for reimbursement. Your dental office will handle all the paperwork.

Financing Options

You don’t need to have a couple thousand dollars lying around to pay for your clear aligners upfront. Both Invisalign and AlignerCo offer financing plans to spread out the cost of treatment over multiple months. In fact, AlignerCo has two different financing options. Their SmileFlex plan requires a soft credit check to qualify, but then it’s just twelve monthly payments of $83. SmileFlexEasy is their more accessible plan because it doesn’t need a credit check, but it does require a $335 down payment. After that, it’s six monthly payments of $135.

Invisalign doesn’t have one standard financing plan for their aligner system. Instead, you’ll need to speak with your specific dentist or orthodontist to see what kind of plans their office provides.

Convenience Comparison

Busy is no longer just a word for many adults — it’s a way of life. Our schedules are booked hour-to-hour, and it’s often hard to squeeze in relaxation time. Many adults don’t want to spend those hours at the dentist’s office, and home aligner companies like AlignerCo have capitalized on that desire by eliminating office visits. But this isn’t the only factor at play. Treatment times and startup options are also worth considering when evaluating a company’s convenience.

Startup Options

Before diving into home aligner treatment, you first need to determine whether you’re a good candidate. To do so, you must make molds of your top and bottom dental arches using an impression kit. AlignerCo’s dentists and orthodontists will use these molds to determine if their aligners can address your misalignment and, if so, design your treatment plan.

Unfortunately, this requires a near-perfect impression, not an easy task for anyone who has never used an impression kit before. Some competitors, like SmileDirectClub, provide numerous physical locations where you can receive free teeth scans. But AlignerCo doesn’t have locations that offer teeth scans, so you’ll need to purchase an impression kit. Even though the process can be tricky, AlignerCo will schedule a video call to walk you through it.

The benefit of Invisalign’s face-to-face dentist interaction is that your dentist can examine your teeth in person. They’ll take scans of your teeth, which patients have reported as more comfortable and time-efficient, according to one study. Plus, you should get perfect images on the first try.

The Office Visit Trade-Off

Invisalign’s office visits serve an important purpose. They allow your dentist to oversee and modify your treatment, making it capable of correcting a wide scope of conditions. But when you finally get some well-earned free time, spending it at the dentist’s office isn’t nearly as exciting or relaxing as the alternatives. That’s why many adults opt for at-home companies instead.

Two weeks after AlignerCo approves you for treatment, they’ll send you a treatment preview, which shows a digital before and after of your teeth. If you want to continue, they’ll get to work producing your actual aligners, which takes around three more weeks. Once you’ve received your aligners, you’ll administer treatment from home. While you won’t be scheduling and attending regular office visits, AlignerCo will require you to submit photos of your teeth every two weeks. This gives their team a chance to provide feedback, adjust your timeline (if necessary), and help keep your treatment on track.

How Long Does Treatment Take?

This question is particularly important if you have a tight timeframe. Say your wedding is in eight months, or you have another important event coming up. It’s good to know how long your treatment will take. Of course, this is largely dependent on your condition’s severity. At-home treatment times are shorter than in-office ones, usually because at-home aligners treat milder cases. This holds true when we look at AlignerCo and Invisalign’s average time frames.

On average, AlignerCo claims their treatment plans are an average of 4–6 months long (or 6–8 for NightOnly treatment) and Invisalign’s are 12–18. Of course, both of these timelines can be shorter or longer depending on the severity of your condition, but these are the most common cases. If you need a more accurate estimate, speak with your dentist about how your particular condition will affect your treatment time.

Appearance Comparison

One of the major goals for clear aligner providers is to provide a less-noticeable teeth straightening option — one that you can wear to dates, job interviews, and in everyday life with no worries about appearance. While all clear aligners are less visible than traditional braces, each company is actively seeking ways to make their products better looking. And each will tell you that they’ve succeeded.

However, “best looking” is a largely subjective term, as it depends on your personal preferences. Invisalign and AlignerCo make very different aligners, so you’ll need to consider your own style and tastes as you compare them.

Aligner Material

Place Invisalign and AlignerCo aligners side-by-side and you’ll notice a few differences. AlignerCo makes their aligners smooth and translucent, while Invisalign’s aligners are frosted and textured. These are two very different options, and you’re likely wondering which looks better.

Your teeth are covered in tiny pores, making them appear matte. Therefore, in our opinion, aligners that are frosted and textured better mimic natural teeth surfaces. We think smooth, translucent aligners can be reflective and make your teeth look unnaturally shiny, although some customers actually prefer the way that AlignerCo’s smooth aligners make their teeth “gleam.”

Aligner Cut

Scalloped aligners might not match straight-cut ones in force transfer, according to this 2022 study. But we think they’re also less visible. In close quarters, people might notice the slight space where straight-cut aligners overlap your gums. Invisalign and AlignerCo both make scalloped aligners that match your gum lines, so they don’t have this issue. Invisalign’s aligners, however, can incorporate attachments that help improve their range of tooth movement.

Additional Appliances

One of Invisalign’s main draws is its ability to incorporate other orthodontic attachments to treat severe cases and jaw misalignments. These attachments are essential for treating a wide scope of conditions, but they also make the aligners more visible. AlignerCo doesn’t have this issue, as they don’t supplement their aligners with any attachments.

Patient Experience Comparison

Undergoing orthodontic treatment can be exciting and worrisome all at once. On one hand, you’re looking forward to your dazzling new smile. On the other, you’ve got nagging questions: what if something goes wrong? What if I have questions? How will I be treated?

If your treatment doesn’t progress like you’re expecting, or if you have a question about your aligners, you want a company that will quickly and adequately address your concerns. Many AlignerCo customers are satisfied with their treatment, but we think that Invisalign’s in-person oversight and hands-on care make for a more fulfilling patient experience.

Customer Service

AlignerCo offers all the typical communication channels: phone, email, and webchat. And if you’re having trouble with your impression kit, you can also schedule a video call for step-by-step assistance. Their typical customer support hours are 9am–6pm ET, seven days a week. With Invisalign, you can take all of your questions and concerns directly to your dentist during their regular business hours. This means you’ll have a dedicated point of contact who knows you and your teeth personally.

In the course of our research, we compiled numerous online reviews to paint a complete picture of the AlignerCo customer experience. Many of the reviews we found had praise for the company’s support team. However, some customers have reported delays in treatment and frustration with having to go back and forth with representatives to get helpful answers.

Your dentist or orthodontist’s office will handle all of your Invisalign questions and concerns. You’ll speak to someone who knows the details of your case and can answer highly specific questions as opposed to a remote customer service representative. For more serious issues, you can simply schedule an office visit and your dentist will address your concerns in person while examining your teeth.

Oversight

You won’t be surprised to hear that a huge part of the patient experience is how your treatment is administered. As we’ve already established, AlignerCo is remote, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely on your own. You’ll regularly send photos of your teeth so that their team can make sure they’re moving as planned. It’s better than nothing, but still presents some problems. For example, if you’re concerned about the way your teeth are moving, you’ll have to reach out to customer service, who will pass along your question to the dentist. And if you need new aligners, you’ll need to complete a new impression kit.

Compare that to an Invisalign office visit, where you can speak with a dentist in person, they can examine your teeth on the spot, and you’ll have a solution before you leave. Attending regular office visits might be inconvenient to some people, but we think it can also provide quick problem-solving and peace of mind.

Refund & Warranty Policies

We should preface this section by stating that a large majority of Invisalign and AlignerCo customers get the results they want. Very few encounter issues if they regularly visit your dentist (with Invisalign) or strictly follow your treatment plan (with AlignerCo). That said, if your progress or results aren’t what you expected, what’s next?

If AlignerCo receives your impressions and determines that you’re not a good candidate for treatment, you’ll receive a full refund for anything you already purchased. But once you begin AlignerCo treatment, they won’t provide any refunds. If you reach the end of your treatment and aren’t satisfied with the result, however, you can apply for a refinement, which will provide additional aligners for $200.

Invisalign’s system makes it easy for your dentist to make mid-treatment adjustments. During your regular office visits, your dentist will assess your progress and make modifications if necessary. Making course corrections along the way will help to better ensure your satisfaction and desired results. And if you get to the end of your initial aligner plan but don’t see the smile you were promised, your dentist can get refinements at no extra cost (as long as you’re on the standard Invisalign Comprehensive plan).

Which Should You Choose?

Once again, we think both companies provide quality clear aligner treatments. Neither is clearly or inherently better than the other. Rather, each one has its own strengths and each excels in different circumstances. So, your decision should be based on your unique condition, goals, and expectations.