What a GLP-1 medication costs depends far more on how you pay than on which drug you take. Pick a drug and a payment route to see the monthly and yearly cost. Prices change often, so the defaults are a starting point: replace them with the price quoted to you.
List price is what a pharmacy charges with no insurance and no program: roughly $1,349 a month for Wegovy, about $1,086 for a Zepbound pen and about $998 for Ozempic. Few people should pay it. Novo Nordisk has said it will cut US list prices for Wegovy and Ozempic to $675 a month from January 1, 2027.
Manufacturer self-pay programs sell directly to patients with a prescription, no insurance needed. As of October 2026, LillyDirect charges $299 a month for Zepbound vials at the 2.5 mg starting dose, $399 at 5 mg and $449 at 7.5–15 mg when each refill is bought within 45 days (more if a refill is late). NovoCare Pharmacy prices the Wegovy pen at roughly $299–$349 a month depending on the offer, Wegovy HD at about $399, and the Wegovy pill at $149 for 1.5 mg, $199 for 4 mg (since September 1, 2026) and $299 for 9 or 25 mg. Lilly’s Foundayo (orforglipron), a daily pill approved April 1, 2026, costs $149 a month at the 0.8 mg starting dose, $199 at 2.5 mg and $299 at higher doses when refilled within 45 days ($349 otherwise).
Insurance varies the most. If your plan covers the drug, manufacturer savings cards can bring commercial copays as low as $25 a month. Savings cards generally cannot be used with Medicare or Medicaid.
During the 2022–2025 shortages, pharmacies were allowed to compound copies of these drugs. FDA declared the tirzepatide shortage over in December 2024 and the semaglutide shortage over in February 2025, which ended that allowance. Compounded products are not FDA-approved, and FDA has warned about dosing errors and unapproved versions sold online. With manufacturer self-pay prices now in the $149–$449 range, the price argument for compounded copies is also much weaker than it was. If a compounded product is offered to you, ask your prescriber and pharmacist what legal basis it is made under.
A year of Zepbound at the $449 maintenance self-pay price is $5,388. A year of the Wegovy pill or Foundayo at the $299 higher-dose price is $3,588; both pills produced less average weight loss in trials than the injectables (Foundayo’s top dose averaged 11.2% at 72 weeks). A year of Wegovy at list price is about $16,188. The same drug class spans roughly a ninefold price range depending on route.
Manufacturer programs have changed prices several times since 2025, and introductory offers come and go. Use the price you are actually quoted. Doses and whether a drug is right for you are decisions for your prescriber. For drug details, see the semaglutide and tirzepatide profiles.
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