Semaglutide Cost Per Month vs Tirzepatide and Retatrutide: A Plain-English 2026 Guide

How much does semaglutide cost per month? We compare semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide costs across brand pharmacy, compounded telehealth, and research peptide channels — using real community dosing data from thousands of WPA calculations.

The 3 Drugs in Plain Words

Semaglutide is a single GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as Ozempic (diabetes) and Wegovy (weight loss). Tirzepatide is a dual GLP-1 + GIP receptor agonist sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Retatrutide is a triple agonist (GLP-1 + GIP + glucagon receptor) still in clinical trials with no FDA-approved brand name yet.

The Big Price Picture (Monthly Cost Ladder)

  • Semaglutide (GLP-1) — at the WPA community most common dose of 0.25 mg / week (369 calculations): brand pharmacy $950–$1,350 / month; compounded $165–$349 / month; research peptide $35–$90 / month.
  • Tirzepatide (GLP-1 + GIP) — at the WPA community most common dose of 2.5 mg / week (1,887 calculations): brand pharmacy $1,000–$1,450 / month; compounded $199–$449 / month; research peptide $50–$130 / month.
  • Retatrutide (GLP-1 + GIP + Glucagon (triple agonist)) — at the WPA community most common dose of 2 mg / week (1,853 calculations): brand pharmacy Not available; compounded Not available; research peptide $80–$220 / month.

Brand pharmacy = US cash list price. Compounded = telehealth subscription pricing. Research = computed from current WPA-tracked vendor median price-per-mg multiplied by monthly mg at the WPA community most common dose.

Brand Pharmacy Cost

At a US pharmacy with no insurance, the brand-name pens are the most expensive way to get any of these drugs. Ozempic runs about $998 per month, Wegovy about $1,349, Mounjaro about $1,069, and Zepbound about $1,086 at cash list price. Retatrutide has no brand-name pen because it has not been FDA-approved.

Compounded Telehealth Cost

Compounded means a US pharmacy mixes the active ingredient itself rather than dispensing the brand pen. Compounded semaglutide usually runs $165–$349 per month and compounded tirzepatide $199–$449 per month, depending on dose tier and provider. Retatrutide is not legally compounded for human use.

Research-Peptide Cost

The research-peptide market sells these compounds as freeze-dried powder in glass vials, sold for laboratory research only. Per milligram this is by far the cheapest channel, which is why monthly cost can be 10x to 30x lower than brand pharmacy at the same milligram dose.

The Dose Question: Real-World vs Clinical-Trial Dose

  • Semaglutide: WPA community real dose 0.25 mg / week vs STEP-1 (NEJM 2021) maintenance dose 2.4 mg / week (real-world researchers start at roughly 10% of the trial dose).
  • Tirzepatide: WPA community real dose 2.5 mg / week vs SURMOUNT-1 (NEJM 2022) maintenance dose 15 mg / week (real-world researchers start at roughly 17% of the trial dose).
  • Retatrutide: WPA community real dose 2 mg / week vs Phase-2 obesity trial (NEJM 2023) maintenance dose 12 mg / week (real-world researchers start at roughly 17% of the trial dose).

How Often & For How Long

All three compounds are once-weekly in the published label and in nearly all real-world use — about 93% of WPA calculations across the three are weekly cadence. Reconstitute one vial with bacteriostatic water using the WPA peptide calculator, inject the same day each week, and track how many weeks one vial lasts to compute your true monthly cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does semaglutide cost per month?

Brand-name semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) at US cash list price runs roughly $950–$1,350 per month. Compounded semaglutide from a telehealth clinic usually costs $165–$349 per month. Research-grade semaglutide from a peptide vendor commonly works out to about $35–$90 per month at the most common WPA community starting dose (0.25 mg per week).

How much does tirzepatide cost per month?

Brand-name tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) at US cash list price runs roughly $1,000–$1,450 per month. Compounded tirzepatide from telehealth providers runs roughly $199–$449 per month. Research-grade tirzepatide commonly works out to $50–$130 per month at the WPA community most common dose (2.5 mg per week).

How much does retatrutide cost per month?

Retatrutide does not yet have an FDA-approved brand name and is not legally compounded — it is investigational. Researchers using research-grade retatrutide commonly land around $80–$220 per month at the WPA community most common dose (2 mg per week).

What is the difference between semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide?

Semaglutide is a single GLP-1 receptor agonist. Tirzepatide is a dual GLP-1 + GIP receptor agonist. Retatrutide is a triple agonist (GLP-1 + GIP + glucagon receptor), the broadest mechanism of the three.

Why is the WPA community dose so much lower than the clinical-trial dose?

Pivotal trials titrate participants up to the maximum tolerated dose. Real-world researchers usually start very low and stay at the lowest dose that produces results — often 10%–25% of the trial dose — which is why monthly cost numbers in this article anchor to the lower number.

Sources & Citations

  1. Novo Nordisk — Ozempic US list price page — retrieved 2026-05-09
  2. Novo Nordisk — Wegovy US list price page — retrieved 2026-05-09
  3. Eli Lilly — Mounjaro list price page — retrieved 2026-05-09
  4. Eli Lilly — Zepbound list price page — retrieved 2026-05-09
  5. Wilding et al., Once-Weekly Semaglutide for Weight Loss (STEP-1), NEJM 2021 — retrieved 2026-05-09
  6. Jastreboff et al., Tirzepatide for Obesity (SURMOUNT-1), NEJM 2022 — retrieved 2026-05-09
  7. Jastreboff et al., Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity, NEJM 2023 — retrieved 2026-05-09
  8. FDA — Compounded GLP-1 drugs status page — retrieved 2026-05-09
  9. GoodRx — Ozempic average retail / cash price — retrieved 2026-05-09
  10. GoodRx — Mounjaro average retail / cash price — retrieved 2026-05-09
  11. GoodRx — Zepbound average retail / cash price — retrieved 2026-05-09
  12. LillyDirect — direct-from-manufacturer Zepbound vial pricing — retrieved 2026-05-09
  13. Noom Med — compounded GLP-1 telehealth pricing — retrieved 2026-05-09
  14. Henry Meds — compounded semaglutide / tirzepatide telehealth pricing — retrieved 2026-05-09
  15. Mochi Health — compounded GLP-1 telehealth pricing — retrieved 2026-05-09
  16. Ro — Zepbound and compounded GLP-1 telehealth pricing — retrieved 2026-05-09
  17. WPA live community dose, vial, BAC, and cadence statistics — refreshed every page load via /api/learn/sema-tirz-reta-cost/live-stats — retrieved live