The GLP-1 Cost Cheat Sheet

The number that matters is the 12-month number

Most GLP-1 marketing sells you a first-month teaser rate. The number that actually matters is what you will pay over a year, because this is a long-haul treatment, not a one-month fix. Anchor every decision to the annual figure and you will make faster, better choices. This guide is educational only and not medical advice — always confirm current pricing directly with each provider, since programs change what they charge.

Why budget for the long haul at all? Because the results depend on staying on it. In the maintenance trials, people who stopped semaglutide regained much of the weight they had lost, while those who continued held their loss¹. The medication works — roughly 15% mean body-weight loss over 68 weeks for semaglutide, up to about 20% for tirzepatide in their pivotal trials²³ — but those numbers assume you keep going. Plan your budget for twelve months, not one.

Compounded semaglutide vs tirzepatide: the rough monthly picture

Compounded semaglutide is generally the lower-cost entry point, and compounded tirzepatide typically runs higher, reflecting the same pattern seen with the brand products. Both are usually far cheaper than brand-name pens, which is why compounding exists as an option at all. But two big caveats belong on the same line as the price: compounded GLP-1s are not FDA-approved brand products — the FDA does not review compounded drugs for safety and efficacy before they reach you — and the "monthly" price you are quoted often applies only to a starting dose.

Flat pricing vs dose-scaling: where the real money hides

Here is the trap. Many programs price by dose, so your cost climbs every time you titrate up. The teaser rate you signed up for covers a low starting dose; by the time you reach a therapeutic maintenance dose, your monthly bill can be materially higher than the headline number. A flat, all-in price does the opposite — one number covers the consult, the medication, and shipping, and it does not change as your dose increases.

For a busy budget, flat pricing wins on two fronts: it is usually cheaper over a full year, and it removes the recurring decision of whether the new, higher price is still worth it. You price it once. We break down exactly which programs use each model in flat-price vs dose-scaling providers compared, and it is the main reason CoreAge Rx leads our shortlist — a single flat rate that does not punish you for reaching an effective dose.

The add-ons that inflate the real cost

The sticker price is rarely the whole bill. Watch for these:

Membership or platform fees charged on top of the medication, sometimes billed separately so they are easy to miss.

Consult or provider fees for the initial visit or for ongoing check-ins, which some programs fold in and others charge à la carte.

Lab fees, if the program requires bloodwork you have to pay for out of pocket.

Add these to the medication cost, multiply by twelve, and you have the real annual number. Two programs with identical medication prices can differ by hundreds of dollars a year once the add-ons are counted.

The decisive takeaway

Pick a flat, all-in price and confirm it covers the consult, the medication, and shipping with no dose-scaling and no separate membership fee. Then verify the total against a twelve-month horizon, not a first-month teaser. That single rule — flat, all-in, priced by the year — cuts through almost every pricing gimmick in this category and gives you a number you can actually plan around. Cheaper to reason about, cheaper over time, and one less recurring decision on an already full plate.