Manufacturer direct-pay program
Both Lilly and Novo Nordisk run self-pay programs for people without coverage. Pricing tiers change frequently — check the official program page for current rates.
GLP-1 cost with insurance
You are trying to work out what this will cost you per month.
Reference and calculator, not medical advice. This page explains how something works; it does not tell you what to take. Last reviewed August 2026.
With insurance the list price becomes irrelevant and two things determine your cost: whether the drug is on your plan's formulary for your specific indication, and which tier it sits on. Everything else is noise.
The indication distinction is the crux. Coverage for type 2 diabetes is common. Coverage for weight management is considerably less so, and where it exists it frequently carries prior authorisation, documented BMI thresholds, or a requirement to have tried other approaches first. The same drug, the same person, two different answers depending on what it is prescribed for.
Where the price comes from
The routes people actually pay through, and what determines the number in each.
Through insurance (copay)
If your plan covers the drug for your indication, your cost is the plan copay. Coverage for weight-loss indications is far less common than for type 2 diabetes.
Telehealth platform (brand drug)
Online clinics bundle a prescriber visit with brand-name medication. Membership fee is usually separate from drug cost.
Compounded semaglutide / tirzepatide
Compounded versions are prepared by pharmacies rather than the original manufacturer. Availability and legality depend on FDA shortage status, which has changed several times — verify current status before relying on this route.
Retail pharmacy cash price
List price without insurance, sometimes reduced by discount cards.
Cost comparison calculator
Enter the quotes you have actually been given. Everything is normalised to cost per month and cost per milligram so the options are comparable.
Monthly requirement21.65 mg4.33 doses/month × 5 mg
| Option | Per month | Per year | Per mg | One unit lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option A | — | — | — | — |
| Option B | — | — | — | 2.0 weeks |
Common questions
- How do I find out if I am covered?
- Your plan formulary, by drug name and indication. Member services can confirm tier and prior-authorisation requirements. No third-party site can answer this for your specific plan.
- What is prior authorisation?
- A requirement that your prescriber justify the prescription against plan criteria before it is covered. Common for GLP-1s in weight-management indications, and a frequent reason for a first claim being denied.
- My plan covers it but the copay is still high.
- That is a tier question. Specialty tiers can carry percentage coinsurance rather than a flat copay, which on a high-list-price drug is a large number. Ask which tier it sits on.
- Is self-pay ever cheaper than my copay?
- Occasionally, particularly on high-coinsurance specialty tiers. Worth running both through the calculator rather than assuming coverage is automatically the better route.
Common questions
- Why do quoted GLP-1 prices vary so much?
- Because the quotes are not measuring the same thing. A membership fee, a per-vial price, and a per-pen price all describe different quantities, and the dose you are on determines how long that quantity lasts. Converting everything to cost per milligram is the only way to compare them directly.
- Does insurance usually cover this?
- Coverage is far more common for type 2 diabetes indications than for weight management. Whether your specific plan covers your specific indication is something only your plan documents can answer.
Sources and last review
This page is general reference rather than a dosing table, so it quotes no figures from a label. Nothing here is reviewed by a clinician, and this site does not employ one — which is exactly why what I do publish stays traceable to its source.
- This page carries no product-specific dosing figures. The labels behind everything on this site are listed on the sources page, and the originals live on DailyMed.
Transcribed from the labels above and checked by me — Gavin, who builds this site, takes a GLP-1, and is not a clinician. Last reviewed August 2026. Found an error? [email protected] — I treat corrections as bugs. How this site is built and funded.
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