Pricing reference
What GLP-1 medicines cost, and why the prices differ so much
Two quoted prices for "semaglutide" can differ by a factor of five. That is almost never a discount on the same thing — it is usually a different product under a regulatory arrangement that changed in 2025. This page explains the difference, because it is the part that actually determines what you pay and what you get.
You are usually comparing three different things
Approved medicine
Brand product, self-pay or insured
The medicine FDA approved, at the manufacturer's price. Both manufacturers now run direct self-pay programmes, and those prices have moved repeatedly — check them at source rather than trusting a figure quoted anywhere else, including here.
Compounded
Prepared by a pharmacy
Cheaper, and not the same product. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved and are not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality. The shortage listings that made these widely available ended in 2025.
Clinic fee
Programme or membership
What the clinic charges for the consultation and its oversight. In every clinic price we have recorded, this excludes the medicine. It is a floor, not a total.
The single most useful question you can ask a clinic: is the medicine included in this fee, and if not, what does it cost per month at the dose I would start on? The answer separates all three of the above in one go.
What changed, and when
Compounded GLP-1 medicines became widely available because the approved products were in shortage. When FDA declared those shortages resolved, the basis for that availability went with them. Every entry below links to the government document.
2024-12-19
FDA declaratory order: tirzepatide shortage resolved
FDA determined the tirzepatide injection shortage resolved; revokes and replaces the October 2024 decision.
Official document → 2025-02-21
FDA declaratory order: semaglutide shortage resolved
FDA determined the semaglutide injection shortage resolved.
Official document → 2026-04-01
FDA clarifies compounder policies as GLP-1 supply stabilises
FDA states tirzepatide and semaglutide "do not currently appear on the 503B bulks list or on FDA’s drug shortage list".
Official document → 2026-05-01
Federal Register 91 FR 23431 — proposal to exclude from 503B list
FDA proposes not to include semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide on the 503B Bulks List. A proposal, not a final rule.
Official document → 2026-07-27
Import Alert 66-80 — GLP-1 bulk substances
Detention without physical examination for foreign-sourced GLP-1 APIs. FDA states that of 48 GLP-1 API sites evaluated, 21% were noncompliant under section 501.
Official document → The May 2026 Federal Register notice is a proposal, not a final rule. We will say so until FDA finalises it or does not.
What FDA says has actually gone wrong
This is not hypothetical risk. FDA has published what it is seeing with unapproved and compounded GLP-1 products, and the failure modes are mostly about the supply chain rather than the molecule.
Dosing errors
FDA reports adverse events, some requiring hospitalisation, from patients and clinicians miscalculating doses — driven by confusion between millilitres, milligrams and "units".
Different active ingredients
FDA states that semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate are different active ingredients from the one in the approved drugs, and that it is not aware of a lawful basis for their use in compounding.
Labels naming pharmacies that do not exist
FDA's own wording. If a label names a compounding pharmacy, that name is checkable — and worth checking.
"FDA-approved pharmacy" is not a thing
FDA has stated plainly that the Act establishes no "FDA-approved" or "FDA-licensed" designation for pharmacies or outsourcing facilities. A site claiming one is making a claim FDA has called false and misleading.
Check the medicine price at source
Manufacturer self-pay pricing has changed several times in the past two years. Any figure printed on a directory — including this one — is stale the moment a programme changes, so we link to the programmes instead of quoting them.
Common questions
Why is compounded semaglutide harder to find than it was?
Because the shortage that permitted it ended. FDA declared the tirzepatide shortage resolved in December 2024 and the semaglutide shortage resolved in February 2025. Compounding a drug that is essentially a copy of a commercially available approved drug is restricted, and the shortage listing was what made the compounded versions widely available in the first place.
Is a much cheaper GLP-1 offer a good deal?
It usually signals a different product rather than a discount on the same one. A markedly lower price generally means a compounded preparation rather than the approved medicine. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved and are not reviewed by FDA for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality, so the comparison is not like for like.
What does a clinic membership fee actually cover?
In every clinic price we recorded, the membership or programme fee covered the consultation and the clinic’s oversight — not the medicine. Laboratory work is usually separate too. Ask for the medicine cost, per month, at the dose you would start on, in writing and separately from the programme fee.
Does insurance cover GLP-1 medicines for weight loss?
It depends on the specific medicine, the indication and the plan. Approved medicines prescribed for an approved indication are sometimes covered; compounded preparations generally are not. Get the answer from the plan rather than the clinic, and get it before starting.
What about retatrutide?
Retatrutide has no FDA approval. FDA has stated that it cannot be used in compounding under federal law, and has issued warning letters to sellers offering it — in several cases under coded names rather than the drug name. Anything offering it for sale to consumers is outside the approved supply chain entirely.
Compare clinics that publish their pricing
We record what each clinic publishes, with the date we read it.