The same drug,
from $86 to $1,349.
The monthly cost of semaglutide and tirzepatide spans more than 15× depending on how a patient buys it. We compared published cash prices across three channels: brand pharmacy, manufacturer self-pay, and compounded telehealth.
What patients pay, by channel
Each bar delivers the same active molecule a clinician prescribes. What changes is the channel. Brand pharmacy prices have a wide gap between sticker price and the newer manufacturer self-pay programs, and compounded telehealth sits below both.
The full price table
| Provider | Molecule | Channel | Monthly (cash) | Annualized |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy | Semaglutide | Brand list | $1,349 | $16,188 |
| Zepbound | Tirzepatide | Brand list | $1,086 | $13,032 |
| Mounjaro | Tirzepatide | Brand list | $1,069 | $12,828 |
| Ozempic | Semaglutide | Brand list | $968 | $11,616 |
| LillyDirect | Tirzepatide | Mfr self-pay | $349–$499 | $4,188–$5,988 |
| GoodRx / TrumpRx | Brand | Discount | $299–$350 | $3,588–$4,200 |
| Henry Meds | Sema / Tirz | Compounded | $297 | $3,564 |
| Ro / Mochi | Sema / Tirz | Compounded | $199–$299 | $2,388–$3,588 |
| TrimRx | Tirzepatide | Compounded | $199 | $2,388 |
| FormBlends | Sema / Tirz | Compounded | $99–$239 | $1,188–$2,868 |
| Market low (compounded) | Semaglutide | Compounded | $86 | $1,032 |
Three findings
The annual gap is a used car. A patient paying Wegovy's list price spends roughly $15,000 more per year than one on the cheapest compounded route, for the same active molecule.
Even the makers' own discounts trail telehealth. Lilly's and Novo's self-pay programs ($349–$499) still run several times the cost of compounded telehealth. The cheapest cash route is almost never the brand.
Price tracks paperwork, not chemistry. Semaglutide is semaglutide. What a patient pays is decided by insurance status and channel, not by the medicine in the vial.
"The single biggest driver of what an American pays for a GLP-1 is not the drug. It is whether they know the cash-pay channels exist."
Methodology
Prices reflect the lowest publicly advertised cash / self-pay monthly price for each provider as of July 2026, for adults without GLP-1 insurance coverage. Where a provider prices by dose or plan length, we show the published range; the annualized column multiplies the entry price by twelve, or uses a provider's annual-plan rate where one is offered.
- Brand list figures are manufacturer / retail cash prices before insurance or coupons.
- Manufacturer self-pay & discount reflects LillyDirect and NovoCare self-pay vials, GoodRx retail coupons, and the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx program that launched in 2026.
- Compounded telehealth reflects each platform's published new-patient cash price. Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are prepared by state-licensed 503A pharmacies against an individual prescription and are not FDA-approved. Provider review is required and not everyone qualifies.
- Telehealth and self-pay GLP-1 pricing has been volatile through 2025–2026. This is a market snapshot, not a quote, and prices vary by dose, state, and promotion.