What a year of GLP-1 treatment actually costs
Nobody takes a GLP-1 for one month. So why does every price comparison stop there?
Monthly figures are how this is marketed. Annual totals are how it is experienced. Every provider, twelve months, all in.
The analysis
| Provider | Total / month | Billing | Dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LillyDirect Foundayo (brand, oral) | $149/mo | Manufacturer direct | Oral / pill | 0.8mg starter, Self Pay Journey Program. CHEAPEST verified path to an FDA-approved oral GLP-1 for weight loss. Provider Reported |
| NovoCare Pharmacy Wegovy (brand) | $149/mo | Manufacturer direct | Oral / pill | Wegovy TABLETS, 1.5mg and 4mg. Cheapest verified path to FDA-approved ORAL semaglutide for weight loss. Provider Reported |
| LillyDirect Foundayo (brand, oral) | $199/mo | Manufacturer direct | Oral / pill | 2.5mg — step-up dose between starter and maintenance. Provider Reported |
| Found Foundayo (brand, oral) | $248/mo | $149 med + $99 membership | Oral / pill | $149 med (0.8mg starter) + $99 CORE membership on 12-month plan. Escalates by dose. Provider Reported |
| Shed Foundayo (brand, oral) | $274/mo | $149 med + $125 membership | Oral / pill | $149 med (starter) + $125 membership. Fulfilled via LillyDirect. Escalates $149->$199->$299 by dose tier. Provider Reported |
| Shed Wegovy (brand) | $274/mo | $149 med + $125 membership | Oral / pill | Wegovy pill $149-$299 by dose + $125 membership (required for brand). Provider Reported |
| Found Wegovy (brand) | $297/mo | $198 med + $99 membership | Oral / pill | $198 Wegovy pill + $99 CORE membership on 12-month plan. Provider Reported |
| Hims Foundayo (brand, oral) | $298/mo | $149 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $149 med (0.8mg starter) + $149 membership ($39 first month). Higher doses cost more. Provider Reported |
| Hers Foundayo (brand, oral) | $298/mo | $149 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $149 med (starter) + $149 membership ($39 first month). Higher doses cost more. Provider Reported |
| Hims Wegovy (brand) | $298/mo | $149 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $149 Wegovy pill + $149 membership ($39 first month). Same price at all doses. Provider Reported |
| Hers Wegovy (brand) | $298/mo | $149 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $149 Wegovy pill + $149 membership ($39 first month). Provider Reported |
| LillyDirect Foundayo (brand, oral) | $299/mo | Manufacturer direct | Oral / pill | 5.5mg and 9mg — mid maintenance dose. Provider Reported |
| LillyDirect Zepbound (brand) | $299/mo | Manufacturer direct | Injectable | 2.5mg starter, Self Pay Journey Program. 5mg $399; 7.5-15mg $449. Provider Reported |
| PlushCare Zepbound (brand) | $319/mo | $299 med + $20 membership | Injectable | $299 Zepbound 2.5mg vial + $19.99 membership. 5mg $399; 7.5mg+ $449. Cheapest membership in the category. Provider Reported |
| WeightWatchers Clinic Wegovy (brand) | $323/mo | $249 med + $74 membership | Injectable | $249 med (12-month supply PAID UPFRONT, $2,988) + $74/mo WW Med+ membership. Provider Reported |
| Shed Wegovy (brand) | $324/mo | $199 med + $125 membership | Injectable | Wegovy PEN from $199 (higher doses more) + $125 membership. Prior $149 reflected the pill, not the pen. Provider Reported |
| Found Wegovy (brand) | $347/mo | $248 med + $99 membership | Injectable | $248 Wegovy pen + $99 CORE membership on 12-month plan. Provider Reported |
| Ro Foundayo (brand, oral) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $199 med + $149 Ro Body membership. Ongoing $199-$299 by dose. First month medication $149. Provider Reported |
| Hims Wegovy (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $199 Wegovy pen + $149 membership ($39 first month). Same price at all doses. Provider Reported |
| Hers Wegovy (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $199 Wegovy pen + $149 membership ($39 first month). Provider Reported |
| Ro Wegovy (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Oral / pill | $199 med + $149 Ro Body membership. Annual prepay saves $50/mo; $74 membership on the annual plan. Provider Reported |
| Ro Wegovy (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $199-$399 med by dose + $149 Ro Body membership. Annual prepay saves $150/mo on medication. Provider Reported |
| Hims Ozempic (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $199 med + $149 membership. FDA-approved for T2D; off-label for weight loss only when clinically appropriate. Provider Reported |
| Hers Ozempic (brand) | $348/mo | $199 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $199 med starter + $149 membership ($39 first month). FDA-approved for T2D. Provider Reported |
| LillyDirect Foundayo (brand, oral) | $349/mo | Manufacturer direct | Oral / pill | 14.5mg and 17.2mg standard rate. DROPS to $299 with a refill within 45 days of previous delivery — its own 45-day rule, parallel to Zepbound's. Provider Reported |
| NovoCare Pharmacy Wegovy (brand) | $349/mo | Manufacturer direct | Injectable | Month 3 onward, all maintenance doses. Cut from $499 in November 2025. Provider Reported |
| NovoCare Pharmacy Ozempic (brand) | $349/mo | Manufacturer direct | Injectable | 0.25-1mg ongoing; $499 for the 2mg dose. FDA-approved for T2D. Provider Reported |
| PlushCare Wegovy (brand) | $419/mo | $399 med + $20 membership | Injectable | $399 med + $19.99 membership (first month free). $129 initial visit billed separately. Provider Reported |
| WeightWatchers Clinic Wegovy (brand) | $423/mo | $349 med + $74 membership | Injectable | $349 med + $74 WW Med+ membership ($25 first month). 12-month commitment available at $249/mo. Provider Reported |
| Found Zepbound (brand) | $447/mo | $348 med + $99 membership | Injectable | $348 Zepbound KwikPen + $99 CORE membership on 12-month plan. Provider Reported |
| Hims Zepbound (brand) | $448/mo | $299 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $299 Zepbound KwikPen + $149 membership ($39 first month). Higher doses cost more. Provider Reported |
| Hers Zepbound (brand) | $448/mo | $299 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $299 Zepbound 2.5mg single-dose VIAL + $149 membership. Passes through Lilly's vial pricing: $299/$399/$449; refill within 45 days to hold the rate. NOTE: the pre-filled KwikPen is NOT in Lilly's vial-only self-pay programme, so a KwikPen price from Hers is UNCONFIRMED — verify at checkout. Provider Reported |
| LillyDirect Zepbound (brand) | $449/mo | Manufacturer direct | Injectable | 7.5mg-15mg. MUST refill within 45 days of the previous delivery or the price rises. Provider Reported |
| Shed Zepbound (brand) | $474/mo | $349 med + $125 membership | Injectable | $349 med ($349-$499 by dose) + $125 membership (required for brand). Was $299. Provider Reported |
| Ro Zepbound (brand) | $548/mo | $399 med + $149 membership | Injectable | $399-$449 med by dose + $149 Ro Body membership. First month medication $299. Provider Reported |
| PlushCare Ozempic (brand) | $1020/mo | $1,000 med + $20 membership | Injectable | RETAIL-LEVEL (~$1,000 med + $20 membership). NovoCare's direct programme is $349-$499 for the same drug. Provider Reported |
| PlushCare Mounjaro (brand) | $1120/mo | $1,100 med + $20 membership | Injectable | RETAIL (~$1,100 med + $20 membership). Lilly runs NO Mounjaro self-pay programme. Zepbound is the same molecule at $299-$449. Provider Reported |
| Found Ozempic (brand) | $1199/mo | $1,100 med + $99 membership | Injectable | RETAIL-LEVEL ($1,100 med + $99 membership). NovoCare sells it direct for $349. Provider Reported |
| Found Mounjaro (brand) | $1199/mo | $1,100 med + $99 membership | Injectable | RETAIL ($1,100 med + $99 membership). Zepbound is the identical molecule at $299-$449 via LillyDirect. Provider Reported |
| Eden Zepbound (brand) | $1498/mo | $1,399 med + $99 membership | Injectable | RETAIL-LEVEL. $1,399 med + $99 membership. LillyDirect sells the identical drug for $299-$449. Provider Reported |
| Eden Wegovy (brand) | $1794/mo | $1,695 med + $99 membership | Injectable | RETAIL-LEVEL. $1,695 med + $99 membership. NovoCare sells the identical drug direct for $149-$349. Provider Reported |
| Hers Mounjaro (brand) | $2048/mo | $1,899 med + $149 membership | Injectable | RETAIL ($1,899 med + $149 membership). No manufacturer self-pay programme exists for Mounjaro. Provider Reported |
Providers differ enormously in what happens then. Some refund the unused portion. Some convert you to the month-to-month rate and bill the difference for months already taken. Some refund nothing. This is the single question people most often forget to ask, and it is the one most likely to cost them money.
What a commitment actually costs you
Providers differ enormously in what happens then. Some refund the unused portion. Some convert you to the month-to-month rate and bill the difference for months already taken. Some refund nothing. This is the single question people most often forget to ask, and it is the one most likely to cost them money.
Dose escalation: the risk the headline price hides
| Provider | Price at higher doses | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| NexLife | Same at every covered dose | None — flat rate |
| Mochi Health | Same at all doses | None |
| Enhance.MD | Same at all doses | None |
| Eden | Same at all doses (compounded) | None on compounded |
| TrimRx | Flat ongoing rate | None |
| Oak Longevity | Flat across dosages | None |
| Shed | Increases at higher doses | Material — model at maintenance |
| MEDVi | $399 → $499 at 10-15mg | Material — $1,200/yr swing |
| LillyDirect (brand) | $299 → $449; $699 if you miss the 45-day refill | Material — set a reminder |
The insurance pathway
Coverage is most common through employer-sponsored commercial plans. Zepbound is excluded from Medicare Part D for weight loss and from most state Medicaid programmes. From 1 July 2026, eligible Medicare Part D members can obtain Wegovy at $50/month through the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, running to 31 December 2027. Expect prior-authorisation paperwork: typically a BMI of 30+, or 27+ with a weight-related condition.
PlushCare ($19.99/month), Found and Mochi will handle that paperwork for you. If you have coverage, that is worth more than any cash discount.
Dose caps: the other thing a low price can hide
How to verify any of this yourself
- Go to the provider's own pricing page. Not a comparison site — the provider's. Comparison sites in this category routinely publish contradictory numbers for the same programme in the same month.
- Find the ongoing price, not the headline. Look for the words "first month", "intro", "starting at" or "new patients". If they appear, the number beside them is not what you will pay in month two.
- Add the membership. If the medication and the membership are billed separately, add them. That sum is your real monthly cost.
- Ask what the highest dose costs. By email or chat, so you have it in writing.
- Ask about early cancellation before you commit to a plan longer than a month.
- Check the manufacturer. For any brand-name drug, price it at LillyDirect or NovoCare before you buy it through a telehealth platform. Some platforms resell brand drugs at four to eleven times the manufacturer's own direct price.
What to do about it
- Check your insurance first. A covered brand prescription with a manufacturer savings card can cost roughly $25 a month, which beats every cash option discussed here.
- Then price the manufacturer directly. LillyDirect and NovoCare sell brand GLP-1s for $149-$449. Several telehealth platforms resell the identical drugs at four to eleven times that.
- Then, and only then, compare compounded programmes — on their ongoing total cost, medication plus any mandatory membership, at the dose you expect to maintain.
Limitations of this analysis
Frequently asked questions
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Update history
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| September 4, 2026 | Brand pricing re-verified. |
| September 4, 2026 | Provider dataset refreshed. |
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — labels, compounding guidance, adverse-event reporting.
- Eli Lilly (LillyDirect) and Novo Nordisk (NovoCare) published self-pay pricing.
- NexLife published program pages, transcribed July 11, 2026.
- Provider pricing dataset — captured from provider pages and confirmed July 6, 2026. Verified.
- Our pricing-verification methodology and source policy.
Verified against Eli Lilly's own pricing pages. Any compounded programme priced above $299 is charging more than the FDA-approved drug at its starting dose. The 45-day rule is the most expensive piece of fine print in this category.
The numbers behind this page
How this guide is kept current
Every price quoted in this guide comes from the programme's own pricing page and carries the date it was captured. Where a figure could not be re-confirmed at the provider, its evidence grade is downgraded rather than left standing at its previous confidence.
Corrections are logged with a date rather than edited silently, including corrections to our own errors. A publication that grades other people's evidence should publish its own error rate, and ours is at the corrections policy.
No provider pays for placement, position or inclusion here. Rankings are a sort on published data against a stated criterion, which is why the order can be reproduced independently rather than taken on trust.
Reading the price against the market
Why the spread is this wide
The figures in this guide sit inside a market with a measurable shape, and that shape is what makes any single price readable.
The molecule is chemically identical across every programme in the range. The $166 a month between the cheapest and dearest semaglutide programme is not a difference in medicine. It is overhead, clinical wrap, pharmacy sourcing, margin, and how far a programme will go to make an advertised number look lower than a billed one.
Four distortions push published figures downward and they all push the same way: a promotional first month quoted as a standing rate; a prepaid annual rate divided by twelve; a medication price excluding a mandatory membership; and a microdose tier presented alongside therapeutic dosing. Each is individually defensible and together they compound.
Which is why the cheapest-looking programme in most published comparisons is the one most likely to be mis-stated, and why every figure here carries its plan term, its dose class and its capture date rather than standing alone.
Why the spread is this wide
The figures in this guide sit inside a market with a measurable shape, and that shape is what makes any single price readable.
The molecule is chemically identical across every programme in the range. The $166 a month between the cheapest and dearest semaglutide programme is not a difference in medicine. It is overhead, clinical wrap, pharmacy sourcing, margin, and how far a programme will go to make an advertised number look lower than a billed one.
Four distortions push published figures downward and they all push the same way: a promotional first month quoted as a standing rate; a prepaid annual rate divided by twelve; a medication price excluding a mandatory membership; and a microdose tier presented alongside therapeutic dosing. Each is individually defensible and together they compound.
Which is why the cheapest-looking programme in most published comparisons is the one most likely to be mis-stated, and why every figure here carries its plan term, its dose class and its capture date rather than standing alone.
Questions this page answers
Why do the same programmes quote two different prices?
Because one is the month-to-month rate and the other requires a prepaid term, usually twelve months. We rank on the month-to-month figure and state the prepaid rate separately, since a rate requiring a year's commitment is not the same offer.
Where do these prices come from?
Each is read from the programme's own published pricing page and carries its capture date. The full set of 24 standard-dose records is at /api/prices.json with molecule and dose class on every record.
What is the cheapest verified GLP-1 programme?
NexLife at $119 a month for semaglutide and $139 for tirzepatide on its 12-month plan, both at standard therapeutic dosing and first-party verified September 4, 2026. Month-to-month, NexLife is $139 and $169; Oak Longevity ($133, flat, no membership) is the next-cheapest semaglutide programme.
Are compounded GLP-1 medicines FDA-approved?
No. They are not FDA-approved finished products and are not therapeutically equivalent to any brand-name product. FDA does not review them for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality before marketing.