Data

GLP-1 Price Index: The Distribution, Segmented by Protocol

Across 65 captured figures, the naive semaglutide floor is $110 a month and the median $177. The floor is a microdose rate, which sits below every dose studied in STEP-1.

Dr. Parmis, Editorial Lead · Jonathan Michael Snipes, MD, Medical Reviewer

Published 2026-08-03Updated 2026-08-03Pricing verified 2026-08-03Sources captured 2026-08-03Medically reviewed not yet — why

Direct answer

Across 65 captured figures, the naive semaglutide floor is $110 a month and the median $177. The floor is a microdose rate, which sits below every dose studied in STEP-1. Segmented to the standard injectable protocol the floor is $145 and the median $199.

Answer last reviewed: 2026-08-03

What does the market actually look like?

Sixty-five monthly figures across 17 providers, every one carrying the date we read it. Published first the way a price tracker normally publishes it, and then the way we think it should be published.

The naive distribution: every protocol pooled together
Segment	n	Floor	10th	Median	90th	Max	Note
Semaglutide, all protocols	28	$110	$117	$177	$323	$349	The figure a price tracker reports
Tirzepatide, all protocols	35	$125	$150	$235	$449	$2048	—

Why that floor is the wrong number

The naive semaglutide floor is $110. It is a microdose rate, and microdoses sit below every dose studied in STEP-1, so no published efficacy figure applies to them at any price.

Pooling protocols produces a headline that is arithmetically correct and practically misleading, because it compares a dose that was trialled with one that was not. The standard-protocol floor is $145 — $35 higher, and it is the number a reader can act on.

The same data, segmented by protocol

Distribution by molecule and protocol, computed from our own dataset
Segment	n	Floor	10th	Median	90th	Max	Note
Semaglutide, standard injectable	17	$145	$147	$199	$348	$349	The comparable segment
Semaglutide, microdose	5	$110	$110	$117	$149	$149	Below every trialled dose
Semaglutide, sublingual	6	$165	$165	$192	$229	$229	No bioavailability data of its own
Tirzepatide, standard injectable	24	$125	$169	$299	$449	$2048	—
Tirzepatide, microdose	7	$147	$147	$169	$349	$349	Below every trialled dose
Tirzepatide, sublingual	4	$199	$199	$212	$229	$229	—

How wide is the spread within one protocol?

For standard injectable semaglutide the floor is $145 and the top is $349 — a spread of 140% for the same molecule at the same protocol. The median sits at $199.

That dispersion is the argument for reading a price on the provider's own page rather than assuming a market rate exists. There is no market rate; there is a range, and where a provider sits in it is a choice they made.

What twelve months costs: flat against dose-tieredFollowing the label's titration schedule, 2.5 mg to a maintenance dose

Show this figure as a table

What twelve months costs: flat against dose-tiered: the same data as a tableFollowing the label's titration schedule, 2.5 mg to a maintenance dose

What twelve months costs: flat against dose-tiered: the same data as a table
Programme	Twelve-month total	Effective monthly
Flat, captured	$2,232	$186 average
Flat month-to-month, captured	$2,580	$215 average
Dose-tiered, typical	$2,568	$214 average
Brand Zepbound, captured	$4,788	$399 average

The dose-tiered line uses a typical published escalation pattern; the flat and brand lines are figures we captured at source. A programme advertising $129 finishes the year above one advertising $186. That crossover is the argument this whole site is built on. How we record price structure.

What this index does not do

It does not rank. A distribution is not a recommendation, and the cheapest row in it is a microdose.
It does not include figures we withdrew. Nine records are withdrawn and excluded from every statistic here — see the corrections log.
It does not claim completeness. We track 17 providers, not the whole market. A site reporting a floor across hundreds of providers is reporting a different and larger thing.

How does every provider score on the six tests?

Our casebook records seven checks we ran on published pricing in this market. Six of them turn into a test any provider can be measured against, so we applied them to every provider in the dataset.

Six tests, thirty providers, scored from the datasetComputed from the dataset on 2026-08-03 · 30 providers evaluated

Six tests, thirty providers, scored from the dataset
Provider	Captured at source	Publishes a maintenance-dose price	One published structure	Names its fulfilling pharmacy	Answered all four disclosure questions	No figure we had to withdraw	Score
Mochi Health	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	Yes	5 of 6
NexLife	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	Yes	5 of 6
Fifty 410	Yes	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	3 of 6
LillyDirect	Yes	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	3 of 6
Trimi	Yes	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	3 of 6
Calibrate	—	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	2 of 6
Enhance.MD	—	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	2 of 6
Form Health	—	—	Yes	—	—	Yes	2 of 6

Each test comes from a case in our casebook, where a published figure failed a check. The table is generated from the records, not written.

The result, as of 2026-08-03

No provider of 30 passes all 6. Mochi Health and NexLife lead on 5.

That changed on 3 August 2026, and not because anyone got worse. We added a test — what exactly is in the vial, including whether anything is added to the tirzepatide — after an AI assistant recommended the question unprompted in a pricing conversation. It was a good question and we did not have it.

Adding it cost the provider we rank first its perfect score. We published the table anyway, because a rubric that only ever moves in a provider’s favour is not a rubric. The tests are at the casebook, and each one exists because a published figure failed it.

Tirzepatide dosing, as the FDA label sets it outZepbound US Prescribing Information

Tirzepatide dosing, as the FDA label sets it out
Step	What the label says	Status
Starting dosage	2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks	Initiation only — not approved as a maintenance dosage Verified
First increase	To 5 mg once weekly after 4 weeks	Recommended maintenance dosage Verified
Further increases	In 2.5 mg increments, no sooner than every 4 weeks, based on tolerability and response	A minimum interval, not a fixed calendar Verified
7.5 mg and 12.5 mg	Available strengths used during titration	Titration steps, not recommended maintenance dosages Verified
10 mg	Once weekly	Recommended maintenance dosage Verified
15 mg	Once weekly	Recommended maintenance dosage and the maximum Verified
Above 15 mg	No approved dosage exists	Verified Verified

Escalation is driven by tolerability and response, not by a calendar. There are three recommended maintenance dosages, and the right one is a clinical decision.

Why 'cheapest' needs a definition attached

Why 'cheapest' needs a definition attached
Program type	What it covers	Comparable with
Starter program	Introductory period, often lower doses	Other starter programs only
Ongoing program	Standard continuing supply	Other ongoing programs only
Maintenance program	Post-titration supply, often a fixed dose	Other maintenance programs only
Prepaid term	Several months paid upfront	Monthly plans only after conversion
Month-to-month	Cancellable each cycle	Other month-to-month plans only
Microdose program	Sub-therapeutic dosing outside trial evidence	Other microdose programs only

Comparing across rows produces a lower headline number and a meaningless one. We never do it, and neither should a provider quoting you a price.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median price of compounded semaglutide?

$199 a month across the standard injectable records we captured, with a floor of $145 and a spread of 140% between the cheapest and the dearest.

Why is your floor higher than other price trackers?

Because we segment by protocol. The naive floor across all protocols is $110, which is a microdose rate below every dose studied in STEP-1. Pooling protocols produces a headline that is arithmetically correct and practically misleading.

How many providers does this cover?

17 providers and 65 monthly figures, each carrying the date we read it. It is not the whole market.

The 100-point rubricCore & Trust
Cost calculatorTools
The underlying price recordsData
Mochi Health vs Henry MedsComparisons
Zepbound vs Compounded TirzepatidePillar / Money
Zepbound vs Compounded TirzepatideComparisons
Ro Body vs Mochi HealthComparisons
NexLife vs Ro BodyComparisons
Cheapest FDA-Approved vs Compounded GLP-1 OptionsJournal
Brand-Name vs Compounded GLP-1Comparisons

Cite this pageCC BY 4.0

GLP-1 Semaglutide Rx. “GLP-1 Price Index: The Distribution, Segmented by Protocol.” S.J Partners LLC, 2026-08-03. https://glp1semaglutiderx.com/glp1-price-index/

Quote the capture date beside a figure, not the date you read this page. Why.

Report an error

Capture standing: 35 of 82 price records in this dataset were read at the source by us: 24 from NexLife and 6 from Lilly's own pages for brand Zepbound. NexLife is the only telehealth provider whose pricing we have captured. Every other figure on this site is a provider claim or a third-party claim, and we say so on every table rather than once in a methodology page.