Guide · weight loss
What happens to the cost when the dose goes up
On each of the 5 manufacturers’ price lists here, the lowest dose has the lowest price and the price steps up from it. The label schedules cited on this page start at a low dose and raise it, so the price of the first month is not the price of the months that follow. Here is how each list moves, read from the list itself, and what that does to the first fills of a year.
From the price lists
How each manufacturer’s price steps
Each row is one medicine’s self-pay price a month from its lowest priced dose to its highest. Every list here has the same shape: a few price bands (several doses share a price, and it steps up between bands).
Zepbound
A few price bands
- 2.5 mg$299
- 5 mg$399
- 7.5 mg$449or $499
- 10 mg$449or $699
- 12.5 mg$449or $699
- 15 mg$449or $699
The highest dose costs 1.5 times the lowest. From 7.5 mg, $449 holds only when each refill is bought within 45 days of the last; otherwise the price is $499 to $699. The second figure under a dose is that regular price.
Wegovy
A few price bands
- 0.25 mg$349
- 0.5 mg$349
- 1 mg$349
- 1.7 mg$349
- 2.4 mg$349
- 7.2 mg$399
The highest dose costs 1.1 times the lowest.
Wegovy pill
A few price bands
- 1.5 mg$149
- 4 mg$199
- 9 mg$299
- 25 mg$299
The highest dose costs 2 times the lowest.
Foundayo
A few price bands
- 0.8 mg$149
- 2.5 mg$149or $199
- 5.5 mg$199or $299
- 9 mg$299
- 14.5 mg$299or $349
- 17.2 mg$299or $349
The highest dose costs 2 times the lowest. At 2.5 mg, 5.5 mg, 14.5 mg and 17.2 mg, the lower price holds only under the condition printed with it; otherwise the price there is $199 to $349. The second figure under a dose is that regular price.
Ozempic
A few price bands
- 0.25 mg$349
- 0.5 mg$349
- 1 mg$349
- 2 mg$499
The highest dose costs 1.4 times the lowest.
Month one is not month five
The first six fills, along each label’s schedule
Each fill priced from the manufacturer’s list at the dose the label’s schedule reaches by then, taking every step at the earliest the label allows. Arithmetic on the price list, not a recommendation of any dose: a prescriber sets the schedule.
| Medicine | Fill 1 | Fill 2 | Fill 3 | Fill 4 | Fill 5 | Fill 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zepboundto 15 mg | $2992.5 mg | $3995 mg | $4497.5 mg | $44910 mg | $44912.5 mg | $44915 mg |
| Wegovyto 7.2 mg | $1990.25 mg | $1990.5 mg | $3491 mg | $3491.7 mg | $3492.4 mg | $3997.2 mg |
| Wegovy pillto 25 mg | $1491.5 mg | $1994 mg | $2999 mg | $29925 mg | $29925 mg | $29925 mg |
| Foundayoto 17.2 mg | $1490.8 mg | $1492.5 mg | $1995.5 mg | $2999 mg | $29914.5 mg | $29917.2 mg |
Fills four to six are on each medicine’s own page.
The schedules, from the labels
- The label’s schedule is once a week: 2.5 mg for four weeks, then 5 mg; after at least four weeks on a dose, it may be raised in 2.5 mg steps. The label says 2.5 mg is a starting dose and not an approved maintenance dose.Source: FDA-approved label for Zepbound (DailyMed) (opens in a new tab), label revised 8/2026. Checked October 11, 2026.
- The label’s schedule is once a week: 0.25 mg for weeks 1 to 4, 0.5 mg for weeks 5 to 8, 1 mg for weeks 9 to 12, 1.7 mg for weeks 13 to 16, and the maintenance dose from week 17.Source: FDA-approved label for Wegovy (DailyMed) (opens in a new tab), label revised 6/2026. Checked October 11, 2026.
- The label’s schedule for the tablets is once a day: 1.5 mg for days 1 to 30, 4 mg for days 31 to 60, 9 mg for days 61 to 90, and 25 mg as the maintenance dose from day 91.Source: FDA-approved label for Wegovy (DailyMed) (opens in a new tab), label revised 6/2026. Checked October 11, 2026.
- The label’s schedule is one tablet a day: 0.8 mg to start; 2.5 mg after at least 30 days; 5.5 mg after at least 30 more days; then 9 mg, 14.5 mg or 17.2 mg, each after at least 30 days on the dose before. Its maximum is 17.2 mg.Source: FDA-approved label for Foundayo (DailyMed) (opens in a new tab), label revised 7/2026. Checked October 11, 2026.
Questions
Questions people ask about dose and price
- Does Zepbound cost more at a higher dose?
- Yes. Eli Lilly’s self-pay price is $299 a month at 2.5 mg and $449 at 15 mg, 1.5 times the first; at the regular prices the top dose is $699.Zepbound by dose
- Does Wegovy cost more at a higher dose?
- Yes. Novo Nordisk’s self-pay price is $349 a month at 0.25 mg and $399 at 7.2 mg, 1.1 times the first.Wegovy by dose
- Does Wegovy pill cost more at a higher dose?
- Yes. Novo Nordisk’s self-pay price is $149 a month at 1.5 mg and $299 at 25 mg, 2 times the first.Wegovy pill by dose
- Does Foundayo cost more at a higher dose?
- Yes. Eli Lilly’s self-pay price is $149 a month at 0.8 mg and $299 at 17.2 mg, 2 times the first; at the regular prices the top dose is $349.Foundayo by dose
- Does Ozempic cost more at a higher dose?
- Yes. Novo Nordisk’s self-pay price is $349 a month at 0.25 mg and $499 at 2 mg, 1.4 times the first.Ozempic by dose
More on what it costs
Not medical advice. This page is about what things cost. Prices change: the newest here was seen on its source page on October 11, 2026.
What that means, and how we check prices
Not medical advice
This page is about what things cost. It does not say what anyone should take or have done; that is a decision for you and a licensed clinician. Statements from labels and agencies are quoted from the sources linked beside them and have not been clinically reviewed.
Prices change
Every price here is a published price as it was seen on its source page — the newest on October 11, 2026. Sellers change prices and end offers; the seller’s page is the authority.
How we check prices
Each price is read from the seller’s own page and checked against its source before it appears, with the unit it is quoted in and the conditions printed beside it. Published prices are re-checked monthly. How we estimate · How this site works