Guide
Semaglutide Providers Compared: Every Route, With Its Evidence
Brand Wegovy is $349 a month through NovoCare and the oral tablet is $149. Compounded semaglutide runs roughly $99 to $199 before membership. We hold 26 semaglutide price
Brand Wegovy is $349 a month through NovoCare and the oral tablet is $149. Compounded semaglutide runs roughly $99 to $199 before membership. We hold 26 semaglutide price records; the ones we read at source ourselves are named. The pill at $149 now undercuts most compounded injectable programmes.
Four routes, and they are not close on price
| Route | Monthly | What it is | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial coverage plus savings card | ~$25 | Brand Wegovy or Ozempic on a covering plan | Provider-reported |
| Oral Wegovy tablet | $149 | FDA-approved daily tablet, approved December 2025 | Provider-reported |
| Compounded semaglutide, flat | $178 | $99 medication plus a mandatory $79 membership | Captured by us |
| Brand Wegovy, NovoCare direct | $349 | FDA-approved weekly injection, manufacturer direct | Provider-reported |
| Brand Wegovy via telehealth | $298–$348 | The same drug with a platform fee | Provider-reported |
Only the captured row was read on the provider's own page by us, on 27 July 2026. Every other figure is a provider claim we have not confirmed at source.
The finding that reorders this market
The oral Wegovy tablet is $149 a month and is an FDA-approved finished product with its own trial programme — 15.1% mean weight loss.
Compounded semaglutide is commonly $178 to $199 all-in once a membership is added, and carries no trial evidence of its own. The efficacy figures quoted alongside it come from STEP, which studied the approved subcutaneous injection.
So for a large number of buyers the approved product is now both cheaper and better evidenced than the compounded alternative. That is a reversal from two years ago, and most comparison pages have not caught up.
What the trials found
- STEP-1 — semaglutide 2.4 mg produced roughly 14.9% mean weight loss over 68 weeks against 2.4% on placebo.
- SELECT — a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in people with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease, without diabetes. Tirzepatide has no equivalent completed outcomes trial in this population.
- SURMOUNT-5 — head to head against tirzepatide, semaglutide reached 13.7% against 20.2% over 72 weeks.
- Oral semaglutide — 15.1% in its own programme, approved December 2025.
Semaglutide loses the weight-loss comparison and wins the cardiovascular one. If your reason for treatment includes cardiovascular risk rather than weight alone, that asymmetry matters more than the headline percentage.
Membership is where the semaglutide comparison goes wrong
Semaglutide's lower medication price makes a fixed membership fee proportionally larger. A $79 membership on a $199 tirzepatide programme adds 40%. The same $79 on a $99 semaglutide programme adds 80%.
A provider that looks mid-table on tirzepatide can be poor value on semaglutide for exactly this reason, and a single sortable price column will never show it. Our membership field page records the fee separately from the medication for every provider we track.
Salt forms: the question specific to compounded semaglutide
Semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate are not the same active ingredient as the semaglutide base in the approved products, and the FDA has said they are not appropriate for compounding.
This has no equivalent on the tirzepatide side and it is worth asking about directly: what is the exact salt form and concentration? A provider that cannot answer in writing has told you something. Our additives page covers salt forms, B12 conjugation and what the 2026 study found.
How to compare semaglutide providers
- Check coverage first. A covered brand is commonly near $25 a month and beats every route here.
- Price the approved pill. At $149 it undercuts most compounded programmes and carries its own trial evidence.
- Add the membership before comparing anything. On semaglutide it distorts more than anywhere else.
- Ask the salt form if the product is compounded.
- Ask what the maintenance dose costs, not the starting dose.
The comparison matrix records every provider against those fields.
| Step | What the label says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dosage | 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks | Initiation only — not approved as a maintenance dosage Verified |
| First increase | To 5 mg once weekly after 4 weeks | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| Further increases | In 2.5 mg increments, no sooner than every 4 weeks, based on tolerability and response | A minimum interval, not a fixed calendar Verified |
| 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg | Available strengths used during titration | Titration steps, not recommended maintenance dosages Verified |
| 10 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| 15 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage and the maximum Verified |
| Above 15 mg | No approved dosage exists | Verified Verified |
| Program type | What it covers | Comparable with |
|---|---|---|
| Starter program | Introductory period, often lower doses | Other starter programs only |
| Ongoing program | Standard continuing supply | Other ongoing programs only |
| Maintenance program | Post-titration supply, often a fixed dose | Other maintenance programs only |
| Prepaid term | Several months paid upfront | Monthly plans only after conversion |
| Month-to-month | Cancellable each cycle | Other month-to-month plans only |
| Microdose program | Sub-therapeutic dosing outside trial evidence | Other microdose programs only |
Questions readers actually ask
How much does semaglutide cost?
Brand Wegovy is $349 through NovoCare and the oral tablet is $149. Compounded runs roughly $99 to $199 before membership. With commercial coverage a brand copay near $25 is common.
Is compounded semaglutide cheaper than brand?
Not always any more. The approved oral Wegovy tablet at $149 undercuts most compounded programmes once a membership is added, and it carries its own trial evidence where the compounded product does not.
Semaglutide or tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide produced greater weight loss head to head, 20.2% against 13.7% in SURMOUNT-5. Semaglutide has the completed cardiovascular outcomes trial, SELECT, which reported a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events.
What is the salt form question?
Semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate are not the same active ingredient as the semaglutide base in approved products, and the FDA has said they are not appropriate for compounding. Ask any compounded provider for the exact salt form in writing.
Related on this site
- The 100-point rubricCore & Trust
- Cost calculatorTools
- The underlying price recordsData
- Compounded vs Brand Tirzepatide: Legal and Evidence DifferencesJournal
- Cheapest FDA-Approved vs Compounded GLP-1 OptionsJournal
- Brand-Name vs Compounded GLP-1Comparisons
- Zepbound vs Compounded TirzepatidePillar / Money
- Zepbound vs Compounded TirzepatideComparisons
- Ro Body vs Mochi HealthComparisons
- NexLife vs Ro BodyComparisons
Related coverage
Tirzepatide Provider Comparison. “Semaglutide Providers Compared: Every Route, With Its Evidence.” S.J Partners LLC, 2026-07-26. https://tirzepatideprovidercomparison.com/medications/semaglutide/
Quote the capture date beside a figure, not the date you read this page. Why.
Capture standing: 35 of 86 price records in this dataset were read at the source by us: 24 from NexLife and 6 from Lilly's own pages for brand Zepbound. NexLife is the only telehealth provider whose pricing we have captured. Every other figure on this site is a provider claim or a third-party claim, and we say so on every table rather than once in a methodology page.