Released: ·Last reviewed: ·Prices last read October 15, 2026·Methodology v4.1
GLP-1 medication cost, October 2026: the price index
What GLP-1 therapy actually costs across brand, direct-pay, insured and compounded pathways.
As of October 15, 2026, the lowest standing compounded tirzepatide price among the 7 programs we re-read is Eden’s $129 a month, and the lowest compounded semaglutide price is Eden’s $99, both every month with no membership. Across the index, tirzepatide runs $129–$399 (median $239) and semaglutide $99–$299 (median $139). Brand Zepbound is $299 at 2.5 mg through LillyDirect and the Wegovy pill $149 at 1.5 mg through NovoCare.
Lowest means lowest standing price on file for a program we re-read, not the lowest in the market: first-month promotions are excluded, and several low prices require a 12-month plan. NexLife, our editorial pick, is $139 a month on 12 months or $169 month to month.
What changed since the July and August reads?
| Program | Before | October 15, 2026 | Source · read date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | Tirzepatide $199 + $99 membership | $129 a month, no membership | eden.health · Oct 15, 2026 |
| Eden | Semaglutide $99 + $99 membership | $99 a month, no membership | eden.health · Oct 15, 2026 |
| Oak Longevity | Semaglutide $133; tirzepatide $199 | $119 and $185 on 12-month plans | oaklovesyou.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| Shed | Tirzepatide $245 / $279 / $349 | $239 / $269 / $299 (12, 6, 1 month) | tryshed.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| Found | Tirzepatide $169 on a 12-month prepay; $289 month to month | $239 on 12 months; $359 month to month (per 28 days) | joinfound.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| TrimRx | Semaglutide $199 ongoing; tirzepatide $349 ongoing | $199 then $299; $349 then $399 | trimrx.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| NexLife | Tirzepatide $186 (12-month), $215 month to month | $139 (12-month), $169 month to month | nexlife.us · Oct 15, 2026 |
| Noom Med | Semaglutide $199 (0.6 mg cap), $279 full dose | Only microdose priced: $179 a month | noom.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| PlushCare | Wegovy $419 with membership | Wegovy from $499 through NovoCare, plus membership | plushcare.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
| NovoCare | Wegovy pill $149 at 1.5 and 4 mg | $149 at 1.5 mg; $199 at 4 mg (the $149 rate at 4 mg was set to end August 31) | novocare.com · Oct 15, 2026 |
Unchanged on re-read: Zepbound through LillyDirect ($299 / $399 / $449), Wegovy pen ($349), Enhance.MD ($280 to $329 tirzepatide; $169 microdose). Not re-read: Hims, Hers, Ro and bmiMD (blocked); Foundayo (archived page). Mochi Health and Henry Meds no longer print a compounded price on the pages we read; MEDVi’s pages contradicted themselves.
What do compounded programs charge right now?
| Program | Lowest standing price | Plan needed | Month to month | What the page says | Source · read date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | $129/mo | every month | $129 | Was $199 + $99 membership (July). Now $129 flat; “No membership fees”. | eden.health · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| NexLife | $139/mo | 12-month plan | $169 | $169 / $159 / $149 / $139 on 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month plans. | nexlife.us · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| Oak Longevity | $185/mo | 12-month plan | not printed | Was $199. Month-to-month price not printed. | oaklovesyou.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Found | $239/mo | 12-month plan | $359 | $359 / $309 / $289 / $239 per 28 days; $219 first month. | joinfound.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Shed | $239/mo | 12-month plan | $299 | $299 / $269 / $239 on 1-, 6-, 12-month plans (was $349 / $279 / $245). | tryshed.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Enhance.MD | $280/mo | 12-month plan | $329 | $329 / $313 / $296 / $280; first-order discounts. | enhance.md · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| TrimRx | $399/mo | ongoing | $399 | $349 first month, then $399. Prepay tiers no longer printed. | trimrx.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
Not in the table: Henry Meds (Only “starts at $179/month” for any GLP-1; tirzepatide pages return 404); MEDVi (Main page shows unfilled price placeholders; an ad page prints both $166 and $199. Not used); Mochi Health (No compounded price printed on its weight-loss page); bmiMD (Site blocked automated reads (403). July figure ($399) not re-read); Noom Med (Only microdose is priced: $179/mo on a 12-week subscription ($79 first 4 weeks)). Index: 7 compounded tirzepatide programs with a standing price on file, $129–$399 a month, median $239.
| Program | Lowest standing price | Plan needed | Month to month | What the page says | Source · read date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | $99/mo | every month | $99 | Flat; no membership. | eden.health · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| NexLife | $119/mo | 12-month plan | $139 | $139 / $132 / $125 / $119. | nexlife.us · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| Oak Longevity | $119/mo | 12-month plan | not printed | Was $133. | oaklovesyou.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Shed | $159/mo | 12-month plan | $199 | $199 / $179 / $159. | tryshed.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Enhance.MD | $212/mo | ongoing | $212 | Same at all doses; $112 first month. | enhance.md · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| TrimRx | $299/mo | ongoing | $299 | $199 first month, then $299. | trimrx.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
Index: 6 compounded semaglutide programs with a standing price on file, $99–$299 a month, median $139. Microdose plans are listed separately.
Microdose plans
| Program | Lowest standing price | Plan | Month to month | Notes | Source · read date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NexLife | $147/mo | 12-month plan | $189 | Tile prices $189 / $159 / $150 / $147; NexLife’s own FAQ prints a different ladder. | nexlife.us · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| Enhance.MD | $169/mo | ongoing | $169 | 1 mg a week, shipped every 12 weeks. | enhance.md · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
| Noom Med | $179/mo | 12-week subscription | $179 | $79 for the first 4 weeks. | noom.com · Oct 15, 2026 Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
| Shed | $199/mo | 2-month minimum | $199 | Microdose semaglutide from $149. | tryshed.com · Oct 15, 2026 Verified Oct 15 |
What does each pathway cost?
Insurance figures are the manufacturers’ savings-card floor and the CMS Bridge copay; eligibility rules apply. Compounded figures are the lowest standing rates in our set.
| Pathway | Typical cost | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy pill 1.5 mg (NovoCare) | $149/month | $199 at 4 mg; $299 at 9 and 25 mg | Verified Oct 15 |
| Zepbound 2.5 mg (LillyDirect) | $299/month | Starting dose; no refill-window condition | Verified Oct 15 |
| Wegovy pen (NovoCare) | $349/month | $199 for the first 2 fills at 0.25/0.5 mg for new patients through Dec 31, 2026 | Verified Oct 15 |
| Ozempic (NovoCare) | $349/month | Read August 4, 2026; not re-read | Carried · archived page |
| Zepbound 5 mg (LillyDirect) | $399/month | No refill-window condition | Verified Oct 15 |
| Zepbound 7.5–15 mg (LillyDirect) | $449/month | Only if refilled within 45 days; otherwise $499 (7.5 mg) or $699 (10–15 mg) | Verified Oct 15 |
| Wegovy HD 7.2 mg (NovoCare) | $399/month | Self-pay | Verified Oct 15 |
| Brand + commercial insurance + savings card | as low as $25/month | If your plan covers it; Lilly’s savings card ends Dec 31, 2026 | Verified Oct 15 |
| Medicare GLP-1 Bridge | $50/month copay | Foundayo, Wegovy and Zepbound KwikPen only; eligibility rules by BMI and diagnosis; July 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2027 (CMS); prior authorization | Verified Oct 15 |
| Wegovy list price | $1,349.02/package | NovoCare’s stated list price | Verified Oct 15 |
| Compounded GLP-1 (telehealth) | $99–$399/month | Lowest standing prices in our set: semaglutide $99–$299, tirzepatide $129–$399. Not FDA-approved. | Re-read Oct 15 · changed |
We therefore label every provider price with its evidence status rather than presenting all figures as equally solid, and we treat any compounded price we have not captured ourselves as Reported, not Verified. Brand pricing on this page is verified directly against manufacturer sources, which is why we lead with it.
What do the manufacturers charge directly?
These are the numbers we can stand behind, because they come from Lilly's and Novo's own pricing pages rather than from a comparison site quoting another comparison site.
| Dose | Self-pay price | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 mg (starting dose) | $299/mo | No refill-window condition |
| 5 mg | $399/mo | No refill-window condition |
| 7.5 mg | $449/mo | Only if refilled within 45 days — otherwise $499 |
| 10 mg | $449/mo | Only if refilled within 45 days — otherwise $699 |
| 12.5 mg | $449/mo | Only if refilled within 45 days — otherwise $699 |
| 15 mg (maintenance) | $449/mo | Only if refilled within 45 days — otherwise $699 |
| Dose | Price inside window | Price outside window | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 mg | $449 | $499 | +$50 |
| 10 mg | $449 | $699 | +$250 |
| 12.5 mg | $449 | $699 | +$250 |
| 15 mg | $449 | $699 | +$250 |
Prices at 7.5 mg and above hold only if you refill within 45 days of the previous delivery. Outside that window the same doses cost $499-$699.
| Product / dose | Self-pay price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wegovy pill 1.5 mg | $149/mo | Self-pay |
| Wegovy pill 4 mg | $199/mo | Was $149 through August 31, 2026 under NovoCare’s earlier price guide |
| Wegovy pill 9 mg and 25 mg | $299/mo | Maintenance doses |
| Wegovy pen 0.25 / 0.5 mg (first 2 fills, new patients) | $199/mo | Offer through Dec 31, 2026 |
| Wegovy pen 0.25–2.4 mg | $349/mo | Standard self-pay |
| Wegovy HD 7.2 mg | $399/mo | Self-pay |
What changes the decision?
For a patient at a maintenance dose, the difference between a compounded program and the FDA-approved brand can now be under $150/month — and in the case of the oral Wegovy tablet at $149, brand can be cheaper than much of the compounded market. What you buy with that difference is an FDA-approved product, quality-verified before marketing, in a fixed-dose device that removes the dosing-error risk, from a supply chain that cannot be shut down mid-course by an injunction. That is a materially different trade than the one the category was built on.
Brand prices are read from NovoCare and Lilly; compounded prices from each program’s own page. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. The Wegovy list price is NovoCare’s $1,349.02 per package.
How do we normalize total cost?
Advertised starter prices are not comparable on their own. We calculate a normalized monthly cost that adds required membership, consultation, laboratory, shipping and administrative fees, divided by covered months, and we compute it separately for the initial month, ongoing month, and 3-, 6- and 12-month totals. See the full price-verification methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest compounded tirzepatide in October 2026?
Among the seven compounded tirzepatide programs we re-read on October 15, 2026, Eden's $129 a month, charged every month with no membership, is the lowest standing price on file; NexLife's $139 on a 12-month plan is next, and the index median is $239. That is the lowest in our index, not the whole market: first-month promotions are excluded, and programs whose pages were blocked or printed no price are not ranked. Brand Zepbound through LillyDirect starts at $299. Compounded tirzepatide is not FDA-approved.
Why is compounded tirzepatide so much cheaper than Zepbound?
Compounded preparations skip brand manufacturing, packaging and FDA-approval overhead. They are also not FDA-approved and are not quality-verified by the agency before marketing — a real tradeoff, not a free discount.
Can I get GLP-1 medication without insurance?
Yes — cash-pay telehealth and manufacturer direct-pay vial programs exist. Whether compounded options are lawfully available depends on current FDA compounding rules, which have tightened.
What is the cheapest legitimate option?
Among the 7 compounded tirzepatide programs we re-read on October 15, 2026, Eden’s $129 a month is the lowest standing rate; NexLife is $139 a month on a 12-month plan or $169 month to month. Brand Zepbound starts at $299 through LillyDirect. See the October price index.
Sources
- Eli Lilly — LillyDirect Zepbound pricing page and Zepbound Self Pay Journey Program terms (CMAT-05333, 05/2026), captured August 4, 2026.
- Eli Lilly — press release, "Lilly lowers the price of Zepbound single-dose vials," December 1, 2025.
- Novo Nordisk — NovoCare Pharmacy pricing pages and Wegovy Price Guide, captured August 4, 2026.
- Novo Nordisk — press release, introductory self-pay offer for Wegovy and Ozempic, November 17, 2025.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — compounding status and enforcement history.
- Our normalization methodology.