The advertised price of a GLP-1 programme is one of the least reliable numbers in consumer healthcare. Across the 140-plus providers we track, published monthly figures run from $20 to over $1,000 for what is often the same active ingredient - and the cheapest headline numbers frequently belong to programmes that turn out to be the most expensive once you are actually taking the drug, because they are consultation fees with the medication billed separately. This guide explains every pricing model in the market so you can work out what you will really pay.
The five pricing models
1. Manufacturer direct
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly now sell to patients directly. NovoCare Pharmacy lists brand-name Wegovy and Ozempic from $149 a month for the pill and $199 for the pen, with free home delivery. Foundayo, Lilly's oral GLP-1, starts at $149 a month self-pay through LillyDirect, or as little as $25 a month for eligible patients with commercial insurance. This route buys you an FDA-approved product, which is the strongest guarantee available at any price.
The catch: these are entry prices tied to specific doses and forms, and the manufacturers reserve the right to change or withdraw the programmes.
2. All-in compounded subscription
The most common model. One monthly price covers the consultation, the compounded medication and shipping - typically $118 to $299. The good versions hold the price flat at every dose; the bad ones raise it at each titration step. The medication is not FDA-approved.
3. Consultation-only
You pay for a prescribing visit - $39 to $195 depending on the provider - and the medication is billed separately by whatever pharmacy fills it. This is the cheapest advertised number in the market and it tells you nothing about your monthly cost. It is a genuinely good deal if you already have insurance coverage or a cheap pharmacy route lined up, and a trap if you do not.
4. Insurance-billed care
A smaller group of providers bill your insurance for the visit and submit prior authorisation for the medication. Out-of-pocket costs can be very low - one provider publishes an average of $35 per appointment for insured patients - but everything depends on whether your plan covers weight-loss medication at all.
5. Membership plus medication
A platform fee, charged monthly or annually, sits on top of whatever the drug costs. Read the terms carefully: membership fees are commonly non-refundable, and are frequently not covered by insurance, HSA or FSA.
The four ways a headline price misleads
- •First-month pricing. “$199, then $249.99/month” is a $249.99 plan.
- •Lowest-dose pricing. “From $149” often means the 0.25 mg starting dose only.
- •Per-day pricing. “$5/day” is $150 a month. It is designed to sound like less.
- •Consult-only pricing. “Talk to a doctor for $39.99” is not the cost of treatment.
Dose escalation: the cost nobody quotes
Both medications start low and step up. Semaglutide runs 0.25 mg to 2.4 mg; tirzepatide runs 2.5 mg to 15 mg. If your provider prices per milligram, your bill climbs as your dose does - and because the step-ups happen over the first few months, the price you researched is not the price you settle at.
One provider we reviewed publishes the entire ladder honestly: semaglutide at $125 for the 0.25 mg month, rising to $395 by the 2.5 mg month. That is a 216% increase over five months, disclosed properly. Others simply let the number climb. Flat-rate providers - the ones that state “same price at any dose” - are worth a premium on the first month precisely because of this.
| What you see advertised | What it usually means | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| “From $99/month” | Lowest dose, or first month only | What do I pay at my maintenance dose? |
| “$5/day” | $150/month | What is the monthly total? |
| “$39 consultation” | Medication billed separately | What will the medication itself cost? |
| “No hidden fees” | Sometimes true, sometimes marketing | Is there a membership fee, and is it refundable? |
| “As low as $25/month” | With commercial insurance and a savings card | Do I qualify, and for how many months? |
The costs outside the monthly price
- •Labs. Some providers order bloodwork; few say who pays for it.
- •Follow-up visits. On consultation-fee models these are charged each time - $75 to $159 is typical.
- •Shipping. Usually free, but not always, and expedited or cold-chain delivery can be extra.
- •Injection supplies. Most providers include syringes and needles. Check, because sourcing them yourself is a nuisance.
- •The money you do not get back. Non-refundable consultation fees, all-sales-final medication policies and minimum-term commitments are all real costs if the treatment does not work out.
Working out your real annual cost
Take the maintenance-dose monthly price - not the starting price - multiply by twelve, add any membership fee, add follow-up visit fees at the frequency the provider requires, and add labs if they are not included. Then ask what you lose if you stop in month three. That number is the one to compare across providers, and it is frequently very different from the one on the landing page.
See the actual numbers
- •Cheapest GLP-1 programs - ranked by published price, with the catch on each spelled out
- •Best online GLP-1 providers
- •Insurance, HSA and FSA - how to get someone else to pay for some of it
- •Brand-name vs compounded - why the price gap has narrowed