Tirzepatide Savings Card: What Actually Cuts Your Bill in 2026

How do you get the tirzepatide savings card?

Tirzepatide has two savings cards, one for each brand. Eli Lilly runs both. They are free and take a few minutes to get online.

• Pick the right card. Zepbound is approved for weight management and for sleep apnea with obesity. Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes. It is also approved to lower heart attack and stroke risk in some adults with type 2 diabetes. Each card works only for its own brand.
• Check that you qualify. You need commercial insurance, such as a plan from your job or the marketplace. You can't be on Medicare, Medicaid or another government plan.
• Sign up and activate. Enroll on the brand's Lilly savings page. The card must be activated before you use it.
• Show it at the pharmacy. The pharmacist bills your plan first, then the card. Use it at every refill.

Both cards expire on December 31, 2026. Check the brand's Lilly savings page in January for the 2027 terms.

Does the card work on your dose, pen and pharmacy?

On the Zepbound card, the $25 offer names the single-dose pen, the one that holds one weekly shot. It works at every dose.

• Monthly cap: Lilly pays up to $100 for a one-month fill. If your share is above $125, you pay the rest.
• Longer fills: a two- or three-month fill can also cost $25, with caps of $200 and $300.
• Yearly cap: Lilly pays up to $1,300 a year, for up to 13 fills. A high deductible can use up the cap early in the year.
• Other forms: if your plan lists only the KwikPen or vials, the card does not apply. You pay your plan's share or Lilly's self-pay price.
• Other coupons: you can't stack the card with GoodRx or any other discount.

The Mounjaro card works the same way, with bigger caps: up to $150 a month and $1,950 a year. A 3-month fill can also cost $25.

Some plans don't count coupon money toward your deductible. That is the amount you pay each year before your plan starts to pay. This rule is called a copay accumulator. Ask your plan before you rely on the card. Our guide to Zepbound and insurance explains how to read your plan.

Who qualifies, and who doesn't?

• Qualifies: you have commercial insurance, and the plan covers Zepbound, even with prior approval or a copay. You are 18 or older and live in the US or Puerto Rico.
• Does not qualify: anyone on Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, TRICARE, VA or DoD coverage, even with a work plan on top.
• Plan excludes Zepbound: the card has a second offer. It brings the single-dose pen to about $500 a month. Lilly's self-pay KwikPen costs less at every dose, as long as you refill on time.

Zepbound card vs. Mounjaro card: the mix-up that costs women money

Zepbound and Mounjaro are the same drug, tirzepatide, from the same company. They have two names because the FDA approved them for different uses. Each savings card follows that split.

The Mounjaro card only works for a prescription written for type 2 diabetes. A Mounjaro prescription for weight loss alone does not qualify. That holds even if your prescriber writes one because your plan won't cover Zepbound.

If weight is your goal and your plan won't cover Zepbound, look at Lilly's self-pay prices below. Mounjaro and its card only make sense with a real type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Each brand has its own deep dive: the Zepbound savings card and the Mounjaro savings card.

No coverage or no insurance: Lilly's self-pay KwikPen and vials

Lilly sells Zepbound at one self-pay price, with or without insurance. The KwikPen is a pen that holds four weekly doses. You can buy it from LillyDirect, Lilly's online pharmacy. Since March 16, 2026, you can also fill it at that price at many retail pharmacies, with Lilly's free self-pay card. Vials, which you draw up with a syringe, cost the same and are sold only at LillyDirect.

• 2.5 mg: about $300 a month.
• 5 mg: about $400 a month.
• 7.5 mg to 15 mg: about $450 a month, if you refill within 45 days of your last delivery. Otherwise it is about $500 at 7.5 mg and about $700 at 10 to 15 mg.

Needles cost extra. You buy pen needles for the KwikPen, or needles and syringes for vials, at checkout. Like the cards, the self-pay offer ends December 31, 2026. LillyDirect Zepbound pricing explains how to order.

Mounjaro also has a self-pay price at LillyDirect: about $500 a month at every dose. That is more than Zepbound self-pay at any dose.

On Medicare: the $50 GLP-1 Bridge

The Lilly cards exclude Medicare. For weight loss, Medicare's GLP-1 Bridge fills the gap. Part D is Medicare's drug coverage. Since July 1, 2026, eligible Part D members pay $50 a month for the Zepbound KwikPen. The program runs through December 31, 2027. It also covers Wegovy and Foundayo.

The Bridge covers only the KwikPen. Single-dose pens, vials and Mounjaro are not part of it. You must meet BMI rules, a measure of weight for height. People with type 2 diabetes, moderate-to-severe sleep apnea or fatty liver disease can't join. Their Part D plan may cover a GLP-1 instead, and many Part D plans cover Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes. Our Zepbound insurance guide has the full eligibility list.

Does GoodRx help, and can you stack it with the card?

Barely. GoodRx cuts generic prices deeply. Zepbound and Mounjaro are brand-name drugs under patent, so the discount is small. A GoodRx coupon brings a month of Zepbound single-dose pens to about $995 to $1,050. Mounjaro runs about $1,090. Both sit close to list price, Lilly's price before any discount.

You can't stack GoodRx with the savings card. You use it instead of insurance, not alongside it. GoodRx also lists Lilly's KwikPen self-pay price. That is Lilly's own offer, not a GoodRx discount. Lilly's self-pay price beats the GoodRx coupon at every dose, so the coupon is only worth a check if nothing else applies.

Free samples, trials and Lilly Cares

There is no free trial or starter-dose voucher for Zepbound or Mounjaro through official channels. The "starter kit" you may see mentioned is educational material, not free medicine.

Lilly Cares is Lilly's charity that gives free medicine to some people with low incomes. Its current list does not include Mounjaro or Zepbound. If you have type 2 diabetes and no coverage, the list does include Trulicity, an older weekly shot. Ask your doctor whether it fits you.

Is compounded tirzepatide cheaper than Lilly's prices?

Sometimes, but not always. Compounded tirzepatide is mixed by a pharmacy and is not FDA-approved. Some telehealth services sell it for less than Lilly's self-pay price at the starting dose. Many others charge about the same or more. Compare both before you choose.

What each route costs over a year

Lilly's pens and vials come in four-week supplies, so a year has 13 fills.

• Zepbound or Mounjaro card, plan covers it: about $325 a year at $25 a fill.
• Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: about $650 a year at $50 a fill.
• Zepbound self-pay, staying at 5 mg: about $5,090 in the first year.
• Zepbound self-pay, moving to 7.5 mg or more: about $5,640, with on-time refills.
• Mounjaro self-pay, or the Zepbound card's no-coverage offer: about $6,490.
• GoodRx: about $13,260 for Zepbound and about $14,170 for Mounjaro.
• Zepbound list price, no discount: about $14,100.

The self-pay totals assume every fill gets Lilly's offer price. Lilly's KwikPen terms cap that offer at 11 fills a year. The offer also ends December 31, 2026, so 2027 prices may differ.

Coverage plus the card is the biggest lever on this page. It can turn a year at list price into about $325. The card itself pays up to $1,300 a year, and your plan pays the rest.

Why the savings gap matters more in perimenopause

In your forties and fifties, falling estrogen tends to move fat toward the waist. Insulin resistance, when the body responds less well to insulin, often rises too. For many women, tirzepatide becomes a long-term prescription, not a short course. So the cheapest legitimate route can decide whether you can keep going.