OBJECTIVES: Managed care and other decision makers need sound comparative information to support the formulary selection process and reimbursement decisions for the treatment of migraine. The objective of this study was to compare currently marketed triptan therapies using number-needed-to-treat (NNT) and doses-needed-to-treat (DNT) measures. DNT was further used to derive triptan treatment cost to achieve 100 successfully treated patients. METHODS: Using published meta-analysis data to categorize patients as treatment success or failure, an NNT and a DNT were derived for each triptan. Treatment success was defined as achieving a two-hour pain response, sustained through 24 hours postdose. Costs were derived by multiplying DNT by the average wholesale price subtracted by 15% for each triptan. RESULTS: Eletriptan 40mg had the lowest NNT, with 361 patients needing to be treated in order to have 100 patients achieve clinical benefit. Rizatriptan 5mg had the highest NNT (597 patients). Eletriptan 40mg required 389 doses to successfully treat 100 patients—the lowest number of doses of the triptans considered; rizatriptan 5mg required the highest number (662 doses). Eletriptan 40mg had the lowest total triptan cost of $5639 to successfully treat 100 patients. The highest total triptan cost of treatment was for naratriptan 2.5mg, at a cost of $11,144. CONCLUSIONS: Eletriptan 40mg provides the best value in terms of the lowest DNT. Eletriptan 40mg also was found to have the lowest total triptan cost to successfully treat 100 patients. Future research should further explore the utility of DNT in managed care decision-making.