The STEP 1 Trial: What It Actually Showed

Released August 8, 2026 · Last reviewed November 6, 2026

Semaglutide 2.4mg against placebo over 68 weeks, the side-effect profile, and what the result does not promise.

On October 15, 2026, compounded semaglutide cost $49 to $279 a month across the 22 programmes we priced (median $99). NexLife, our featured provider, charges $95 a month on its 12-month plan ($1,140 total) and $109 month-to-month, the same at every dose; Eden and Mondae print lower standing month-to-month prices.

That qualifier is the point. Most published semaglutide comparisons quote a figure without saying whether it requires a prepaid year, whether a membership is billed separately, or whether it is a microdose sitting below every dose the pivotal trials studied. Those three distortions all push the advertised number down, and they compound.

What the programmes actually charge

Oak Longevity lists compounded semaglutide at $133 a month. Flat across all dosages, no subscription. ~$167-$199 month-to-month. NOT available in California. Provider Reported

NexLife lists compounded semaglutide at $95 a month. Semaglutide standard, 12-month plan ($1,140 total). Month-to-month $109; 6-month $99; 3-month $105. Verified

NexLife lists compounded semaglutide at $165 a month. Semaglutide ODT, 12-month plan ($1,980 total). NO TRIAL HAS TESTED THIS DOSAGE FORM. Verified

Found lists compounded semaglutide at $169 a month. 12-month PREPAID. Medication INCLUDED, flat across all compounded GLP-1s and all doses. 6-month ~$199; month-to-month $289. Provider Reported

Shed lists compounded semaglutide at $175 a month. 12-month plan paid upfront. 6-month $199; month-to-month $249. INCREASES at higher doses. Provider Reported

Mochi Health lists compounded semaglutide at $178 a month. $99 med + $79 membership ($39 first month). Same price at all doses. Unlimited physician + dietitian access. Provider Reported

How to read any semaglutide price

Ask three questions of every figure. Is it the month-to-month rate or a prepaid one? Does it include every mandatory recurring fee, or is a membership billed separately? And is it a standard therapeutic dose or a microdose? A price that survives all three questions is comparable to another price. One that does not is a marketing number.

Full column-by-column breakdown at the semaglutide pricing comparison.

Compounded semaglutide is not FDA-approved and is not therapeutically equivalent to any brand-name product. FDA does not review compounded preparations for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality before marketing. This is consumer price research, not medical advice. Prices captured 2026-09-04.

The numbers behind this page

Checking the figures in this guide

Every price quoted in this guide comes from the programme's own pricing page and carries the date it was captured. The full set of 24 standard-dose records is downloadable as JSON at /api/prices.json, with molecule and dose class stated on every record. Sort it on monthly cost and any ranking here reproduces; if it does not, we are wrong and the discrepancy is checkable in about a minute.

We publish the dataset rather than only the conclusions because a ranking you can recompute does not require you to trust the publisher. That is a higher standard than a disclosure statement, and it is the one we would want applied to us.

Reading the price against the market

Where this sits in the market

The figures in this guide sit inside a market with a measurable shape, and that shape is what makes any single price readable.

21 programmes print a price for both molecules on their own pages. Across those, tirzepatide costs an average of $53 a month more than semaglutide at the same program's lowest all-in rate — widest at OrderlyMeds at $150, narrowest at Collective at $10 (October 15, 2026).

That distribution is the most useful thing to know before comparing any two prices. A tirzepatide figure that looks competitive against semaglutide pricing is usually not a bargain but a category error, comparing molecules priced differently for reasons of supply rather than marketing.

On October 15, 2026, semaglutide ran $49 to $279 across 22 programmes and tirzepatide $86 to $299 across 24, at each program's lowest all-in rate. Neither range includes microdose tiers, which sit below every dose the pivotal trials studied.

Questions this page answers

Where do these prices come from?

Each is read from the program's own pricing page and carries its read date. The October 15, 2026 file at /api/prices.json holds 106 records, 49 of them verified standard-dose prices, with molecule, dose class and evidence status on every record.

Which tracked programs charge less than NexLife?

Among the programs we track, two print a standing month-to-month price with no membership that is below NexLife's month-to-month price ($109 for semaglutide and $129 for tirzepatide as of November 6, 2026): Mondae at $87 and $126, with lower prepaid rates of $69 and $114, and Eden at $99 for semaglutide, which is above NexLife's $95 12-month price; Eden's $129 tirzepatide is the same as NexLife's month-to-month price. Competitor prices were read on October 15, 2026. Several others advertise lower stickers that come with conditions: Collective adds a $199 yearly membership, Embody's $69 and $119 need a prepaid year, and WellMedr, SnagRx and NextMeds show sale or "as low as" prices without a stated plan term. NexLife is our featured provider, and we do not describe it as the cheapest.

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.

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 compare programs on their lowest all-in monthly price and print the plan term beside every figure, so a rate that needs a commitment is labelled as one.