The GLP-1 Dosage Chart: How Semaglutide and Tirzepatide Compare

GLP-1 dosing chart: how semaglutide and tirzepatide schedules compare at a glance

Search for GLP-1 dosage and you'll find four or five different numbers. That is because there isn't one chart, there are several. Semaglutide and tirzepatide each sell under several brand names, for different uses. Every version has its own starting dose, step size and ceiling. The chart below lines up the whole class side by side.

Two patterns hold across almost every row. Every drug starts at its lowest dose, whatever result someone needs in the end. And every drug steps up gradually, not all at once.

Where the rows split is the ceiling. 15mg of tirzepatide is not stronger or weaker than 2.4mg of Wegovy. They are different molecules, measured on different scales and tested in separate trials.

One older GLP-1 belongs in the picture too: liraglutide. It is sold as Saxenda for weight management and Victoza for type 2 diabetes. It is a once-daily shot, and it climbs faster than the weekly drugs. Saxenda goes from 0.6mg to 3mg in weekly steps. Victoza tops out lower, at 1.8mg. The weekly drugs have largely replaced it since 2021, but it is still approved and prescribed.

Is there a GLP-1 dose conversion chart? Why doses don't convert 1:1 between drugs

You will find plenty of results claiming one. Clinics and compounding-pharmacy blogs publish tables pairing, say, 0.5mg of semaglutide with 2.5mg of tirzepatide. None of that comes from the FDA.

No semaglutide or tirzepatide label converts its dose into the other drug. They are not interchangeable like two brands of the same generic. Semaglutide acts on one hormone receptor, GLP-1. Tirzepatide acts on two, GLP-1 and GIP. A number on one drug's scale doesn't translate into a number on the other's.

In practice, switching drugs works more like a restart than a conversion. A prescriber usually starts tirzepatide at its own 2.5mg starting dose, whatever semaglutide dose came before. Then the dose climbs again on tirzepatide's own schedule. The same logic applies when switching back. Two different drugs get two different starting points.

The equivalence charts that circulate mostly come from compounding pharmacies and weight-loss clinics. They don't come from drug makers or medical societies. They rest on clinical impressions and trial comparisons, not a tested formula. Treat any chart with a precise milligram match as a marketing shortcut. Bring it to your prescriber as a question, not a plan.

GLP-1 dosage chart by drug: Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound, Mounjaro, and compounded versions

Each drug has its own full breakdown, with every step, missed-dose rules and current pricing. Here is the short version, to help you find the right one.

• Wegovy climbs from 0.25mg to a maintenance dose over at least 16 weeks. For weight loss, that is 2.4mg, or 1.7mg if needed. A higher 7.2mg dose is an option after at least four weeks at 2.4mg. The full ladder, plus the tablet schedule, is in the Wegovy dosage guide.
• Ozempic uses a shorter ladder that tops out at 2mg. People often confuse it with Wegovy's 2.4mg, since both are semaglutide. The Ozempic dosage guide untangles that mix-up and covers the diabetes logic.
• Zepbound and Mounjaro share the same steps: 2.5mg up to 15mg, in 2.5mg steps. On Zepbound, 5mg, 10mg and 15mg are all maintenance doses. The tirzepatide dosage guide has the full chart and the unit math for compounded vials.
• Compounded semaglutide, Rybelsus and the Wegovy tablet each follow their own schedule. They are covered in the semaglutide dosage guide.

Why do GLP-1s all start so low, and how fast does the dose climb?

The slow start isn't caution for its own sake. It limits nausea, vomiting and other stomach side effects. Those are the top reason people cut back or stop a GLP-1 early.

The starting dose is there to help your body adjust. Several labels say outright that it is not a treatment dose. On Zepbound, 2.5mg is not a maintenance dose. On Rybelsus, the Ozempic tablet and Victoza, the starting dose is described as not effective for blood sugar.

The pace is strikingly similar across the class. Nearly every weekly shot steps up no sooner than every four weeks. That holds for semaglutide and tirzepatide, for weight and for diabetes. Liraglutide is the exception. As a daily shot, it steps up every week and reaches its ceiling in about five weeks.

None of these timelines force a rush. A prescriber can hold any step longer if side effects haven't settled. The labels treat that as a normal adjustment.

GLP-1 dose for weight loss vs. for diabetes: does the chart change?

The milligram numbers don't change with the reason for the prescription, but the target does. Wegovy and Zepbound were tested around set weight-loss doses. For Wegovy, that is mainly 2.4mg. For Zepbound, it is 5mg, 10mg or 15mg. Most people on those drugs are guided toward them.

Wegovy's 7.2mg dose sits above that target rather than replacing it. The label keeps it for people who have tolerated 2.4mg for at least four weeks and still need more weight loss.

Ozempic and Mounjaro follow a different logic. Their ceilings, 2mg and 15mg, exist because some people need them. Not everyone should reach them. Dose changes follow blood sugar, measured by lab tests. Many people stay on a middle dose for good because their glucose is already on target.

Using Ozempic or Mounjaro off-label for weight loss borrows the diabetes ladder. Off-label means prescribed for a use the FDA did not approve. There is no tested weight-loss target behind that ladder. That is part of why experiences at the same dose vary so much.

GLP-1 dosing in perimenopause and menopause: does hormone status change the plan?

No. No GLP-1 label sets a separate schedule based on menopause stage. That goes for semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide. The starting doses, steps and ceilings above apply the same way at 32 or at 55.

What has moved is the research on how well a dose works. A study in Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders looked at low-dose semaglutide in women in menopause. A 2024 Mayo Clinic study in the journal Menopause looked at postmenopausal women on semaglutide. Those also on hormone therapy lost more weight than those on semaglutide alone.

Newer work on tirzepatide00145-1/abstract) points the same way. Women also on hormone therapy saw larger weight loss. None of this changes the starting dose. It is about how your body responds to a dose, and estrogen seems to be part of that story.

In midlife, the usual reason a GLP-1 comes up isn't diabetes. It is the belly fat and insulin resistance that falling estrogen can bring. Insulin resistance means your body responds less well to insulin, so blood sugar runs higher. Name it plainly with your prescriber. It shapes eligibility and expectations, even though the ladder stays the same.

Compounded GLP-1 doses: why the vial math differs by pharmacy

Every dose in the chart above assumes a brand-name pen or tablet, set to the exact milligram. Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide work differently. Compounded means a pharmacy mixed it, and it is not FDA-approved. The pharmacy fills a vial at its own chosen strength. You draw the dose with an insulin syringe that measures units, not milligrams.

So two pharmacies filling the same prescribed dose can hand you two very different vials. The medicine isn't inconsistent. The strength is. Check your own vial's mg per mL before you draw, rather than trusting a chart you found online. That is the difference between the right dose and the wrong one.

For compounded prices and legal status across pharmacies, see the compounded GLP-1 comparison. This page sticks to the dosing side.

Where to get your exact GLP-1 dose schedule

Nothing above replaces the dose your own prescriber sets. Every step on every ladder is a prescription decision. It weighs your health history, how you tolerate the drug and, for diabetes drugs, your lab results. Use this comparison as a cross-check for that conversation.