GLP-1 Price Comparison: All Four Pens at Approximate List

This GLP-1 price comparison puts all four branded pens and the compounded options on one page, using the approximate US list prices used consistently across GLPKit. Every figure is labeled approximate, because the price you are actually quoted depends on your pharmacy, dose, coverage and program terms. It is education only, not a quote and not medical or financial advice.

How to read this comparison

The table below answers one narrow question: how do the headline monthly figures compare when placed side by side? It uses the approximate US list prices for the branded pens and the typical advertised starting prices for the compounded versions, the same figures as our cheapest GLP-1 without insurance comparison. List price is the starting point before insurance, savings cards or assistance programs, so most people who have coverage pay something different, and people without coverage use the list figure as the benchmark that pharmacy cash quotes are compared against.

Two cautions belong at the top. First, the medicines are not interchangeable line items: Ozempic and Mounjaro are approved for type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy and Zepbound are approved for weight management, and Wegovy is also approved for adolescents aged 12 and older and for reducing cardiovascular risk in certain adults, while Zepbound is also approved for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. A prescriber chooses on medical fit first. Second, the compounded rows are a different kind of product, prepared by compounding pharmacies and not FDA approved, so their lower figures are not the branded pen at a discount.

Why the same pen is quoted at different prices

Pharmacy is the first reason real quotes move. Pharmacies set their own cash prices, and the same pen at the same dose can be quoted differently across town or between a local pharmacy and a mail order service. Package and presentation play a part too: pens are supplied in different strengths and pack configurations across the dose schedule, and what is dispensed in a given month follows your current prescribed step, from starting doses up to maintenance doses such as Wegovy 2.4 mg weekly or Zepbound maintenance of 5, 10 or 15 mg weekly.

Coverage is the second and larger reason. With commercial insurance, your cost depends on your plan formulary, whether prior authorization is approved, your deductible stage and any manufacturer savings card you qualify for, and those cards generally cannot be used with government insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid. Without coverage, manufacturer assistance programs, pharmacy cash pricing and, for some people, a prescriber discussion about compounded alternatives become the variables. That is why this page stays with approximate list figures and explains the moving parts, rather than pretending a single checkout price exists.

The compounded rows, with their caution attached

Compounded semaglutide at about $249 a month and compounded tirzepatide at about $379 a month are typical advertised starting prices, not list prices for an approved product. Starting is the key word: advertised compounded prices commonly rise as dose rises, and many services add consultation, membership or shipping fees on top of the headline figure. Before comparing a compounded quote with a branded list price, confirm the total for your actual dose, including every fee, for the full period you expect to be treated.

The caution is structural, not a footnote. Compounded products do not go through FDA approval, so the finished product is not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality the way a branded pen is, and dosing accuracy can vary between pharmacies. The FDA has published cautions about dosing errors and counterfeit products in this market. Our compounded semaglutide guide explains the detail. Price is a legitimate part of the decision, but it belongs after the medical and product questions, not before them.

Running the figures over time

Monthly figures understate the decision, because GLP-1 treatment usually runs for many months and often longer. A difference that looks modest per month becomes large across a year of treatment, and the starting months on lower doses are only the beginning of the schedule. The GLP-1 cost calculator runs the branded list prices over 3, 6 or 12 months, and the compounded savings calculator places a branded figure and a compounded figure side by side over the period you choose, so you can see the gap in total terms rather than monthly terms.

Build the honest total before you decide. Add consultation or membership fees for telehealth routes, syringes or supplies where they apply, and the cost of follow up visits your prescriber schedules. Then compare like with like: same period, same dose stage, all fees included. If a quote still looks dramatically below every figure on this page, treat that as a question to resolve, not a bargain to grab, especially if the seller cannot name the pharmacy or the clinician behind it.

The branded figures are approximate US list prices and the compounded figures are typical advertised starting prices. None of them is a quote. Confirm the current total, including fees, with the pharmacy or provider before relying on any figure.

Comparing over the full course, not the first month

First month figures are the most misleading numbers in this market, because starting doses, introductory program pricing and deductible timing all distort them. A fairer method is to pick a steady period, for example months four to nine of treatment once a maintenance dose is reached, and compare the total for that exact period across every option you are seriously considering. Include the medicine, any consultation or membership fee, supplies the route requires, and the follow up your prescriber schedules. Written that way, the branded list benchmarks on this page and a compounded starting price stop looking like rivals and start looking like what they are: different products, with different oversight, compared honestly over the same months.

If two totals end up close once every fee is counted, let the other questions decide: approval status, medical fit for your diagnosis, dosing accuracy, and whether a named clinician and pharmacist stand behind the supply. Those are the factors that still matter in month ten, long after the headline price that won the first click has been forgotten.

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