What it costs
What a GLP-1 actually costs depends almost entirely on which door you walk through. The same molecule ranges from under $100 to over $1,300 a month. Here is the map, with the date each price was checked.
Prices move constantly. Every figure below was checked in late October or November 2026 and several have changed more than once this year. Confirm on the seller's own site before you sign up for anything.
The four legitimate routes
- Insurance. If your plan covers it, this is almost always cheapest. Copay cards can bring brand drugs to $0 to $25 a month for commercially insured patients.
- Manufacturer direct. Eli Lilly sells Zepbound through LillyDirect; Novo Nordisk sells Wegovy through NovoCare. Cash prices, no insurance involved.
- Telehealth platforms. A membership fee plus medication, which may be brand or compounded.
- In-person care. A primary care or obesity medicine visit, then a normal pharmacy fill.
Brand-name, direct from the manufacturer
This is the benchmark to compare everything else against.
| Product | Cash price per month | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Zepbound (tirzepatide) 2.5 mg LillyDirect | $299 | Vial or KwikPen. Starting dose. |
| Zepbound 5 mg | $399 | Vial or KwikPen. |
| Zepbound 7.5 mg | $449, or $499 | $449 requires a refill within 45 days of your last delivery. |
| Zepbound 10 to 15 mg | $449, or $699 | Same 45-day rule. Miss the window and the price jumps by $250. |
| Mounjaro (tirzepatide) LillyDirect | $499 | Single-dose pen, same price at every dose. |
| Wegovy pill 1.5 mg NovoCare | $149 | Starter dose. |
| Wegovy pill 4 mg | $199 | An earlier $149 price on this dose ended 31 August 2026. |
| Wegovy pill 9 mg and 25 mg | $299 | Maintenance doses. |
| Wegovy injection 0.25 to 2.4 mg | $349, or $199 | $199 for the first two fills at the two starter doses, for new patients through 31 December 2026. |
| Wegovy HD pen 7.2 mg | $399 | Highest-dose pen. |
LillyDirect prices checked 27 to 30 October 2026. NovoCare prices checked 30 October to 2 November 2026.
The 45-day trap. Lilly's best Zepbound price on higher doses depends on refilling within 45 days of your last delivery. A delayed shipment, a dose change or a vacation can cost you $250 in a month. Put the refill date in your calendar.
What retail costs without any program
Zepbound's list price runs to roughly $1,086 per fill, and Wegovy's published list price is $1,349.02 per package, the same at every dose. Almost nobody needs to pay these. If a pharmacy quotes you four figures, you are on the wrong route, not out of options.
Compounded versions
Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are pharmacy-made. They are not Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound or Mounjaro, they are not FDA-approved, and the formulation, including the salt form, can differ from the approved drug. That is the trade you are making for the price.
| Molecule | Typical cash range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compounded semaglutide | Roughly $59 to $348 a month | The lowest prices usually require an annual prepayment or carry a separate membership fee. Some programs exclude certain states. |
| Compounded tirzepatide | Roughly $69 to $349 a month | Same pattern. Ask which pharmacy compounds it and in what form. |
Ranges from provider price checks dated 30 October to 13 November 2026.
The teaser price problem
This is the single most common way people misjudge the cost. Many platforms advertise a low first-month price that bears little relation to what you pay from month two onward, and several step the price up as your dose increases. Independent tracking through August 2026 found platforms advertising around $188 for a first month against roughly $448 a month ongoing.
Three questions that cut through it:
- What will I pay in month six, at a maintenance dose?
- Is the membership fee separate from the medication?
- Am I being charged monthly, or prepaying a year?
Everything that is not a GLP-1
Peptides outside the GLP-1 class are priced differently and far less transparently. A compounded prescription peptide from a licensed pharmacy typically runs from the low tens to a few hundred dollars a month depending on the compound and dose. Research-chemical sellers undercut that substantially, and what arrives has no verified identity, purity or sterility. Price comparison across those two categories is not meaningful, because you are not buying the same thing.
Sources
- LillyDirect: Zepbound self-pay pricing
- GLP Chart: Zepbound and Mounjaro cash prices, checked November 2026
- GLP Chart: Wegovy cash prices by dose and form, checked November 2026
- GLP Chart: 2026 telehealth price report, teaser versus ongoing pricing
- FormBlends: Wegovy list price and retail cash comparison