GLP-1 cost in 2026: semaglutide vs. tirzepatide, brand vs. compounded

How much does a GLP-1 cost? The answer by situation

Start with the line that sounds like you. The table above has every option.

• Cheapest cash price: compounded semaglutide from Mochi Health, about $140 a month at the lowest dose.
• Simplest all-in price: Henry Meds or Curex, with visits and shipping included and no membership fee.
• Cheapest brand-name drug: the Wegovy pill through NovoCare, about $150 a month at the starting dose.
• Brand-name tirzepatide: Zepbound through Lilly's self-pay program, about $300 a month to start.
• With work or private insurance that covers it: a maker's savings card, as little as $25 a month.
• On Medicare: the GLP-1 Bridge, $50 a month for Wegovy or the Zepbound pen.

Compounded options: the cheapest GLP-1 pathway

Compounded semaglutide is the cheapest GLP-1 if you pay cash. A compounding pharmacy mixes it for you on a prescription. It is not FDA-approved. Here is what each provider in the table charges.

• [Mochi Health](/reviews/mochi-health/): about $140 a month at the lowest semaglutide dose, membership included. The price rises with your dose. New members get the first month of membership free, though not in every state.
• [Fridays](/reviews/fridays/): about $150 a month on the yearly plan, paid upfront. A dietitian and group coaching are included. Month to month, it costs about $280.
• [Henry Meds](/reviews/henry-meds/): about $250 a month for the semaglutide pill. The shot costs about $295. Visits, supplies and shipping are included. Paying a year upfront brings the pill down to about $150 a month.
• Curex: compounded tirzepatide from about $200 a month on a prepaid year, with no membership fee. Month to month, it costs about $250 to $400, by form and dose.

Compounded tirzepatide starts a little higher than semaglutide. At Mochi's lowest dose, it costs about $170 a month.

The drug shortages that allowed wide compounding are over. A pharmacy may still compound a GLP-1 for one named patient when a prescriber says she needs it. Some providers here also use larger 503B outsourcing facilities. In April 2026, the FDA proposed keeping semaglutide and tirzepatide off the list those facilities may compound from. Ask any provider which pharmacy fills your order.

Semaglutide vs tirzepatide compounded cost comparison

• Cheapest compounded semaglutide: about $140 a month at Mochi Health's lowest dose.
• Cheapest compounded tirzepatide: about $170 a month at Mochi Health's lowest dose.
• Semaglutide at higher doses: up to about $270 a month at Mochi.
• Tirzepatide at higher doses: up to about $280 a month at Mochi.
• The gap: at the same provider, starting tirzepatide costs about $30 to $110 a month more than semaglutide.

Brand self-pay programs: Wegovy and Zepbound without insurance

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both sell their drugs direct to people who pay cash. These prices are far below the list price. At the starting dose, they come close to some compounded programs.

NovoCare Wegovy: about $150 to $400 a month

Novo Nordisk's NovoCare program sells the Wegovy pill from about $150 a month at the starting dose. The top pill doses cost about $300. The Wegovy pen costs about $200 for each of the first two fills, for new patients, through Dec 31, 2026. After that, the pen costs about $350 a month. The high 7.2 mg dose costs about $400. This is the simplest way to get FDA-approved Wegovy without insurance. The pen costs more than Mochi or Fridays. What you get is the brand-name drug, straight from the maker.

LillyDirect Zepbound: about $300 to $450 a month

Lilly's self-pay program sells brand-name Zepbound as a pen or a vial. It costs about $300 a month at 2.5 mg. At 5 mg, it costs about $400. From 7.5 mg up, it costs about $450. The pen is also sold at these prices in major retail pharmacies. The catch is the 45-day refill window. Refill late, and the price rises to about $500 at 7.5 mg and about $700 at higher doses. At the starting dose, Zepbound costs about $130 a month more than the cheapest compounded tirzepatide.

With insurance: savings cards change everything

If your commercial insurance covers Wegovy or Zepbound, the maker's savings card can bring your cost down to as little as $25 a month. Commercial insurance means a plan through work or one you buy yourself. It must cover the drug for weight loss. Medicare, Medicaid and other government plans cannot use the card.

The card's help has a limit. Novo's Wegovy card pays at most $100 a month. Lilly's Zepbound card pays at most $1,300 a year. So with a high copay or deductible, you will pay more than $25.

Getting there takes three steps. Confirm your plan covers the drug. Get prior authorization, meaning your plan's approval, which often asks for your BMI, related conditions and past weight-loss efforts. Then enroll in the savings card. If your plan says no, you can appeal the decision. A win can save you hundreds of dollars a month.

On Medicare, the savings card does not apply. Instead, a Medicare pilot called the GLP-1 Bridge prices Wegovy and the Zepbound pen at $50 a month. You need Part D or Medicare Advantage, and you must meet its BMI rules. It started on July 1, 2026, and runs through Dec 31, 2027.

Semaglutide or tirzepatide: does the molecule change the price?

GLP-1 weight-loss medicines come in two main molecules. Semaglutide is in Wegovy, Ozempic and compounded semaglutide. Tirzepatide is in Zepbound, Mounjaro and compounded tirzepatide. Tirzepatide acts on two gut-hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1. In trials, it produced somewhat more weight loss on average. It also costs a bit more in most routes. So the choice is as much about cost and access as about how the drug works. Each drug climbs through its own dose steps, which our GLP-1 dosage chart lays out side by side.

Both drugs have a list price almost nobody pays. Wegovy's list price is about $1,350 a month. Zepbound's is about $1,085. That is the maker's price before any program, coupon or insurance. Novo Nordisk plans to cut Wegovy's list price to $675 on Jan 1, 2027, and says its self-pay prices will not change. Every other route in the table already costs less.

Why GLP-1 costs matter more in perimenopause

Weight changes in perimenopause are partly hormonal. Falling estrogen worsens insulin resistance and moves fat toward the belly. Some menopause specialists now pair a GLP-1 with hormone therapy. A small 2024 Mayo Clinic study looked at postmenopausal women taking semaglutide. Those also on hormone therapy lost more weight than those who were not. It looked back at medical records, so treat it as a promising signal, not proof.

The cost matters more because GLP-1s are not short courses. Most of the benefit lasts only while you stay on the drug. So look at the 12-month cost of each route, not just the first month's price.

Annual cost by pathway

The Wegovy pen and Zepbound come in 28-day boxes. So their totals below count 13 fills a year, not 12.

• Insurance plus a savings card: as little as about $325 a year, if the card covers your whole copay
• Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: about $600 a year
• Mochi Health semaglutide: about $1,590 in the first year at the lowest dose, with the free first month · More as your dose rises
• Fridays semaglutide: about $1,800 on the yearly plan · About $1,405 with the fall-sale code · About $3,350 paying month to month
• Henry Meds semaglutide, a year paid upfront: about $1,790 for the pill · About $2,365 for the shot
• Mochi Health tirzepatide: about $1,950 in the first year at the lowest dose, with the free first month · More as your dose rises
• Curex tirzepatide: about $2,390 a year paid upfront at the lowest dose, about $3,590 at higher doses
• NovoCare Wegovy pill, first year: about $3,340 as the dose steps up
• NovoCare Wegovy pen, first year: about $4,240, with two fills at about $200 and then about $350
• Lilly Zepbound, first year: about $5,100 if you stay at 5 mg · About $5,650 if you move up to 7.5 mg or more, refilling on time
• List price, no discount: about $14,100 a year for Zepbound · About $17,500 for Wegovy