36 explainers on what GLP-1s cost and how they work.

The first 8 to 16 weeks feel like magic: food noise off, weight falling. Then it slows and most people think the drug quit. It did not. Here is the whole curve.

Two manufacturer programs give a GLP-1 away free, and both cover a diabetes drug rather than a weight-loss one. A copay card takes insured patients to $25 a month. Below those sit 340B clinics, compounding and two free databases.

MHRA and EMA reviewed the 2023 to 2024 reports of suicidal ideation on GLP-1 and both found no causal link. Here is the evidence and what it means if you take an SSRI.

The same weight loss costs about $1,500 or about $27,000 over five years, depending on insurance, HSA use, and which manufacturer program you route through. Here is the math.

Wegovy is not FDA-approved for obstructive sleep apnea. The OSA indication belongs to Zepbound, and that single fact decides how coverage, prior authorization and cash-pay strategy play out.

Tirzepatide resolved MASH in up to 62% of patients in SYNERGY-NASH, the biggest effect any drug has shown. Zepbound still has no MASH approval. Wegovy got one in June 2026.

The SUMMIT trial showed tirzepatide cut the combined rate of cardiovascular death and worsening heart-failure events by 38 percent in patients with HFpEF and obesity. The Zepbound label never followed, so prescribing it for heart failure is off-label and coverage still runs through obesity or sleep apnea.

Enroll first, cancel second, and keep the gap under 14 days. Flip that order and you lose your prescription or pay for two programs at once.

Maintenance is the lowest dose that holds your loss: 2.4 mg on Wegovy, 5 to 15 mg on Zepbound, 0.5 to 2 mg on Ozempic. Three withdrawal trials measured the regain after people stopped, and the program you buy through moves the bill more than the dose does.

21 programs we track roll the medication into one monthly price, from $149 at Strut Health to $448 at LifeMD. Every one uses compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide, and none bundle brand Wegovy or Zepbound.

Most GLP-1 telehealth programs let you cancel online with no fee. A few have a 12-month term or a phone-only cancellation. Here is the verified breakdown for every program we track.

Strut is $149 a month with auto-refill, the lowest we track. Henry Meds holds a flat $299 at every dose with nothing locked in. Shed drops to $245 only on a prepaid year.

No FDA-approved generic exists for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound: semaglutide patents run to about 2031 and tirzepatide to about 2036, so the cheapest route in 2026 is compounded semaglutide at $149 to $199 a month, which the FDA has not approved.

No patch, gummy, drop, or nasal spray delivers a real GLP-1. The molecule is too big to cross skin, gums, or your nose, so the only needle-free options are three FDA-approved pills.

The semaglutide that lists near $969 a month in the US runs about $92 in the UK, and a 2024 JAMA analysis put the cost to make it under $5. Here is where the money goes.

Berberine is not a GLP-1 drug and the pink salt trick is a scam funnel. The cheapest real GLP-1 runs $149 a month.

No GLP-1 is sold over the counter. Every one needs a prescription, and the cheapest route is a telehealth prescriber plus compounded semaglutide at $149 to $199 a month, which the FDA has not approved.

No store sells Ozempic off the shelf. With a prescription, Costco members pay about $349 a month while Walmart cash runs $935 to $1,149.

No GLP-1 patch exists at Costco, at Walgreens, or anywhere else. The real drugs are injections or a daily pill, and the cheapest legitimate route runs $149 to $199 a month.

No checkout code unlocks a cheap GLP-1. The real savings come from manufacturer cards, GoodRx, Costco, the Medicare Bridge and compounded semaglutide from $149 a month.

Push Health is a real US telehealth marketplace, not a scam. The variable pricing that makes people nervous comes from independent providers setting their own rates.

There is no free Ozempic giveaway. The routes that actually cost nothing are clinical trials and manufacturer patient-assistance programs, and compounded semaglutide starts near $149 a month if you can pay a little.

A licensed 503A or 503B pharmacy can compound semaglutide against a valid prescription, in limited circumstances set by federal law. It is never FDA-approved, and it runs $149 to $199 a month as the cheapest legitimate route.

The cheapest first month is rarely the cheapest year. Intro rates expire and annual prepay locks you in, so compounded semaglutide usually wins the twelve-month total.

The cheapest first month, the cheapest ongoing price and the cheapest full year are usually three different programs. Here are this week's winners.

The cheapest GLP-1 online right now is $149 a month: compounded semaglutide, which the FDA has not approved. Branded semaglutide runs up to about $1,000. Prices checked every Monday.

Strut Health is $149 a month with auto-refill, the lowest we track. Shed holds a flat $199 at every dose with nothing locked in.

Most GLP-1 telehealth programs won't name the pharmacy that makes your compounded drug. We checked all 13. Only two name it.

No GLP-1 is approved for PCOS in the US. On four of the payer policies we hold, a PCOS diagnosis qualifies you under the obesity pathway at BMI 27 instead of 30.

Zepbound is $299 to $449 a month in cash from Eli Lilly, by dose. The top price needs a refill inside 45 days. Wegovy is $349 a month for the pen from Novo Nordisk, or $149 to $299 a month for the pill.

Stopping is a real option and nobody should pretend otherwise. Before that, four routes are worth checking, and the cheapest verified one on our chart is $149 a month, with auto-refill.

Prices on this chart moved several times this year, so the number you remember is out of date. What a restart costs across 20 cash-pay programs, and the two things a returning customer gets charged for.

The drug worked, the weight came off, and now the renewal is the thing that decides whether you keep it. What 6 insurers put in writing about continuing a GLP-1, and what to send before the approval expires.

Mounjaro and Zepbound are the same molecule from the same maker, tirzepatide, in the same pen. Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for weight and sleep apnea. That one line on the label decides your prior authorization, your Medicare answer and whether a cash price exists at all.

One trial put the two molecules against each other in people with obesity and no diabetes. Tirzepatide took off 20.2 percent of body weight at 72 weeks and semaglutide 13.7 percent.

The lead researcher says the finding needs confirmation in clinical trials.