Being sick is bad enough. There's no point in making your wallet ill, too, by unnecessarily spending money on brand name over-the-counter drugs.

In both cases, the drugs are just as strictly regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The difference between the two isn't in the drugs, it's in the prices. Those advertisements you see on television cost a lot of money.

Compare prices

Check out our chart, comparing prices of brand name drugs with off brand equivalents at online and off-line stores.

To see just how much you can save, Bankrate.com did a little comparison shopping between brand-name drugs and their generic equivalents. The Rite Aid prices came from drugstore.com, an online service. CVS prices came from CVS.com. We also checked prices at Giant Food in Silver Spring, Md., and a Kmart in Erie, Pa.

In cases where the listing is N/A, it means the product was not available there.

While prices in your local stores may differ, we believe you'll find equal savings. Prices may have changed since the survey was taken.

Find out the active ingredients for various brand name drugs.