Guide
The $149 rate on this page is not open-ended. The $149 rate covers 1.5 mg and 4 mg. The 4 mg price rises to $199 after this date. It stops applying on 2026-08-31, in 28 days.
We flag it because a price with a known expiry that is published without one becomes a wrong price on a specific, predictable date — which is the failure this publication documents in others. Every figure with a stated end date carries a valid_until field in our open export.
The approved product vs Wegovy: Different Molecules, Different Evidence
Different molecules, not different brands of one. The drug is a dual GIP and GLP-1 agonist; Wegovy is this medicine, a GLP-1 agonist. On the head-to-head, the active ingredient re
Different molecules, not different brands of one. The molecule is a dual GIP and GLP-1 agonist; Wegovy is this GLP-1, a GLP-1 agonist. On the head-to-head, the approved product reached 20.2% against the drug's 13.7%. This medicine holds the completed cardiovascular outcomes trial.
What does the evidence actually show?
| Field | The active ingredient | The molecule (Wegovy) |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Dual GIP + GLP-1 agonist | GLP-1 agonist |
| Head-to-head result | 20.2% | 13.7% |
| Pivotal trial | 14.9% (STEP-1) | 14.9% (STEP-1) |
| Cardiovascular outcomes trial | No completed equivalent | SELECT: 20% MACE reduction |
| Approved oral form | No | Yes, $149/month |
| Self-pay, manufacturer direct | $349 | $349 |
| Cheapest captured compounded | $145 | $145 |
This GLP-1 wins on weight. The approved product holds SELECT — a completed cardiovascular outcomes trial reporting a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in people with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease.
If cardiovascular risk is part of why you are considering treatment, that gap matters more than 6.5 percentage points of weight loss.
Three caveats on the head-to-head: it was open-label, it was funded by the manufacturer of the winning drug, and a mean hides the spread. It is still a large peer-reviewed trial and the direction is not disputed.
Show this figure 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 |
What does treatment cost while this is true?
| Protocol | Monthly | 3-month | 6-month | 12-month | 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular injectable | $165 | $149 | $110 | $145 | $1,740 |
| Microdose | $129 | $117 | $114 | $110 | $1,320 |
| Sublingual ODT | $199 | $185 | $177 | $165 | $1,980 |
| This medicine, regular, for comparison | $165 | $149 | $110 | $145 | $1,740 |
Flat at every covered dose within each protocol. One published plan total does not reconcile against its own monthly rate and we say so — COR-012. Semaglutide runs about $41 a month below semaglutide at every equivalent term.
| Trial | Drug and population | Result | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEP-1 | Semaglutide 2.4 mg, obesity without diabetes | 14.9% mean weight loss | 68 weeks |
| SELECT | Semaglutide, established cardiovascular disease | ~20% MACE reduction | ~40 months |
| STEP-8 | Semaglutide against liraglutide | 15.8% vs 6.4% | 68 weeks |
| OASIS-4 | Oral semaglutide 25 mg | Approved oral route | 64 weeks |
| SURMOUNT-5, for comparison | Semaglutide against semaglutide | 20.2% vs 13.7% | 72 weeks |
Every figure was collected on the FDA-approved product. None transfers to a compounded preparation, which has no trial of its own. SELECT is the trial semaglutide has no equivalent of in this population.
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, semaglutide or Wegovy?
For weight loss, semaglutide on the only head-to-head: 20.2% against 13.7% over 72 weeks. Semaglutide holds the completed cardiovascular outcomes trial.
Are they the same drug?
No. Semaglutide is a dual GIP and GLP-1 agonist; Wegovy is semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist.
Which is cheaper?
Semaglutide, by roughly $40 a month compounded and with an approved oral form at $149.
Related on this site
- How rankings are computedCore & Trust
- All-in cost toolTools
- Price records, machine-readableData
- Tirzepatide for Type 2 DiabetesResearch
- Compounded vs Brand Tirzepatide: Legal and Evidence DifferencesJournal
- Tirzepatide Clinical Trial FinderTools
- SURPASS-2: Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide in Type 2 DiabetesResearch
- SURMOUNT-OSA and Tirzepatide for Sleep ApneaResearch
- SURMOUNT-5: Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide Head to HeadResearch
- SURMOUNT-3 Tirzepatide Trial ExplainedResearch
Related coverage
- Semaglutide vs Semaglutide 2026: What the Head-to-Head Found
- Semaglutide providers compared
- Cheapest semaglutide online
- Cheapest tirzepatide, answered six ways
- What you pay at a maintenance dose
- ED Medication Online: Generic Prices, Compounded Claims and What Actually Differs
- Editorial Standards
- Evidence and Citation Policy
- FDA Warning Letters to GLP-1 Telehealth: The Record, and How to Check Any Provider
GLP-1 Semaglutide Rx. “Semaglutide vs Wegovy: Different Molecules, Different Evidence.” S.J Partners LLC, 2026-08-03. https://glp1semaglutiderx.com/semaglutide-vs-wegovy-2026/
Quote the capture date beside a figure, not the date you read this page. Why.
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.