GLP-1 Cost Calculator: What You Actually Pay

For the first years of the GLP-1 weight-loss era, the only number most uninsured patients ever saw was a four-figure list price, and it was enough to end the conversation. That picture is now badly out of date. The same medication can cost more than $1,300 a month or less than $130, depending entirely on how you pay for it, and the routes that separate those two figures are not obscure. Knowing them is, for now, worth more than waiting for prices to fall on their own.

How to use this calculator

In the tool above, choose a medication and a payment route. The calculator returns an estimated monthly cost, or cost range, and the annual figure, drawing on the approximate U.S. 2026 prices used across this site. Some combinations are not available, such as a manufacturer cash-vial program for a drug that has none, and the tool says so. Every figure is an estimate that moves frequently, so treat it as a starting point and confirm before you rely on it. The full reference table sits in our 2026 GLP-1 cost index.

The list price: the number almost nobody pays

Each branded GLP-1 carries a list price, the pre-discount sticker set by the manufacturer. As of early 2026 the semaglutide weight drug Wegovy and the liraglutide drug Saxenda sit highest at around $1,349 a month, the tirzepatide drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro run roughly $1,069 to $1,086, and the diabetes semaglutide products Ozempic and Rybelsus are near $997. These numbers dominate policy debates and insurance paperwork far more than patient receipts. They are the ceiling, not the price.

With insurance: the lowest figure, when you can get it

When a plan covers a GLP-1, the cost falls to a copay, often $0 to $100 for a 28-day supply, and a manufacturer savings card can push a commercially insured cost toward $25. That is the cheapest route available and the first one worth pursuing. The catch is coverage itself: many plans still exclude anti-obesity medications while covering the same molecule for diabetes, and approval usually requires prior authorization. The path through that is covered in our guide to getting a GLP-1 covered by insurance.

Manufacturer cash vials: the cheapest predictable branded price

For uninsured patients, the makers built direct cash channels that cut the branded price roughly in half. Eli Lilly's LillyDirect sells Zepbound single-dose vials from about $349 to $499 a month, and Novo Nordisk's NovoCare offers cash Wegovy in a similar range. Because these come straight from the manufacturer, sourcing and quality are not in question. The diabetes brands have no equivalent dedicated cash-vial program, so uninsured diabetes patients lean on savings cards and patient-assistance programs instead.

Compounded telehealth: the lowest cost, with caveats

The cheapest route does not involve a brand at all. Compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide, prescribed through a licensed telehealth clinician and dispensed by a compounding pharmacy, has brought the monthly cost to roughly $129 to $199, usually bundling visit, prescription, and delivery into one price. Two honest caveats belong here. Compounded GLP-1s are legally narrower than they were during the 2024 shortage, so they require a real prescription from a clinician who has evaluated you. And quality depends entirely on the pharmacy. The details are laid out in our guides to compounded GLP-1 online and the best telehealth GLP-1 prescriptions.

Cost over a year, not a month

A GLP-1 is a long-term medication, so the annual figure is the one that shapes a real decision. The calculator multiplies the monthly cost out to a year to make that plain: the difference between a $130 compounded route and a $1,100 branded list price is not $970 a month, it is more than $11,000 a year. That spread is exactly why the route matters more than the drug for most budgets, and why it is worth working through the options in order rather than accepting the first price you are quoted. The complete walkthrough sits in our guide to lowering the cost of GLP-1 medications without insurance.