Short answerWhat you keep paying after month 1 matters more than the intro price. At checked prices, a first year of compounded semaglutide costs from $588 on welludr's 12-month plan to $828-$2,348 at month-to-month providers, and tirzepatide adds about $480-$1,320 on top. The month-2 price jump comes from promos with no published end date, 20%-off first-month deals and memberships billed alongside the medication, and you can see all of them before you pay.Prices checked on each provider’s website on October 16, 2026.
Why is the first-month GLP-1 price misleading?
The first-month price is accurate for exactly one month. What decides whether you can stay on treatment is the price in month 4, month 9 and month 12, at the dose your clinician settles on. Across the providers we track, that later price is sometimes identical to month 1 and sometimes twice as high. Three pricing structures create the gap:
- An introductory price that ends after the first month or two.
- A membership or subscription fee charged alongside the medication, so the drug price shown was never the full bill.
- A prepaid bundle that bills the year upfront and then renews.
Our 2 favorite GLP-1 providers
The two providers our editors recommend first, with the same checked prices and scores used in our full ranking.
Our Most Popular
1
Exceptional
9.8out of 10
Semaglutide from $69/mo, delivered in 1-2 days
Refund if not approvedFree expedited shipping
Treatments offered
Compounded semaglutide injection (GLP-1) · Compounded tirzepatide injection (GLP-1 + GIP) · Online doctor review and prescription · Dose changes through the patient portal
Starting price
$79$69/month
*Compounded medications are not FDA-approved.
- Semaglutide $69/mo; tirzepatide $119/mo
- 5-minute questionnaire; doctor review usually within 24 hours
- Free 1-2 day shipping: cold-packed, tracked and insured
- No insurance, no clinic visits, cancel anytime
Pricing starts at
from $69/month
embody prescribes compounded semaglutide at $69/mo and tirzepatide at $119/mo online, ships in 1-2 days, and requires no insurance. Trustpilot: 3.8 from 9,604 reviews.
Read full embody review2
Exceptional
9.7out of 10
Low-cost GLP-1 care: semaglutide from $89/mo
Clear, flat pricingNo insurance needed
Treatments offered
Compounded semaglutide injection (GLP-1) · Compounded tirzepatide injection (GLP-1 + GIP) · Brand-name Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy · Once-weekly injection schedule
Starting price
$199$89/month
*Compounded medications are not FDA-approved.
- Semaglutide from $89/mo; tirzepatide from $149/mo
- Brand-name Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy available
- Reviewed by a physician, PA or nurse practitioner
- Free shipping, arriving in about 5-7 days
Pricing starts at
from $89/month
altRx sells compounded semaglutide from $89/month and tirzepatide from $149/month at a flat price per dose, plus brand-name Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy. Self-pay, no insurance needed.
Read full altRx reviewHow much does compounded semaglutide cost in month 1, ongoing and in year one?
Rows are sorted by year-one cost, lowest first. "What you keep paying" is the provider's published price for every month after the first, at every dose. Where a promotional price sits next to a struck-through regular price, both are shown, because the page we verified gives no end date for the promotion.
| Provider | Month 1 | Ongoing monthly price | First-year total | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| welludr | $49 | $49 | $588 | 12-month plan for the lowest rate; cancel or change anytime |
| embody | $69 | $69 during the promotion; $79 at the regular price | $828 - $948 | None - month to month, cancel anytime |
| altRx | $89 | $89 during the promotion; $199 at the regular price | $1,068 - $2,388 | None - pause or cancel anytime; Buy Now, Pay Later |
| Medvi | $99 | $99 during the promotion; $199 at the regular price | $1,188 - $2,388 | None - no membership or hidden fees; HSA/FSA |
| HealthRx | $1,188 paid up front | $99 per month averaged (prepaid) | $1,188 | 12-month prepaid plan |
| DirectMeds | $147 | $147 | $1,764 | None - no membership, cancel anytime |
| TrimRx | $149 | $149 | $1,788 | None - month to month |
| SHED | $159.20 | $199 | $2,348.20 - $2,388 | None - HSA/FSA approved |
| Sprout | $149 | Not published | - | See provider site for plan terms |
Compounded semaglutide, taken from each provider's published pricing and checked on October 16, 2026. When a promotional price has no stated end date, year one appears as a range: the lower figure assumes the promotion lasts all twelve months, the higher figure uses the regular price.
Two rows need explaining. welludr's $49 is the lowest price on the market and comes on a 12-month plan: the price is locked for the year, which is the benefit, and the plan terms are what to read before signing. HealthRx's $99 is an average: the plan is $1,188 charged at checkout for twelve months, so month 1 costs the whole year and nothing is returned if you stop in month 5. The month-to-month rows (embody, altRx, DirectMeds, TrimRx) are the ones where month 4 really costs the same as month 1.How much does compounded tirzepatide cost over a year?
The method and sort order are the same. Tirzepatide costs more at every provider, and each provider's pricing structure matches its semaglutide row.
| Provider | Month 1 | Ongoing monthly price | First-year total | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| welludr | $89 | $89 | $1,068 | 12-month plan for the lowest rate; cancel or change anytime |
| embody | $119 | $119 during the promotion; $129 at the regular price | $1,428 - $1,548 | None - month to month, cancel anytime |
| DirectMeds | $147 | $147 | $1,764 | None - no membership, cancel anytime |
| altRx | $149 | $149 during the promotion; $299 at the regular price | $1,788 - $3,588 | None - pause or cancel anytime; Buy Now, Pay Later |
| Medvi | $166 | $166 during the promotion; $299 at the regular price | $1,992 - $3,588 | None - no membership or hidden fees; HSA/FSA |
| TrimRx | $259 | $259 | $3,108 | None - month to month |
| SHED | $239.20 | $299 | $3,528.20 - $3,588 | None - HSA/FSA approved |
| HealthRx | $179 | Not published | - | 12-month prepaid plan |
| Sprout | $199 | Not published | - | See provider site for plan terms |
Compounded tirzepatide, taken from each provider's published pricing and checked on October 16, 2026. When a promotional price has no stated end date, year one appears as a range: the lower figure assumes the promotion lasts all twelve months, the higher figure uses the regular price.
For the clinical choice between the molecules, see tirzepatide vs semaglutide; this page covers only cost. The lowest tirzepatide year at a verified published price is welludr's $1,068 on its 12-month plan. The lowest with no commitment is embody: $1,428 if its $119 sale price lasts all year, or $1,548 at the regular $129.Lowest-priced GLP-1 plans
The cheapest published plans, sorted from lowest price, with the terms listed under every price.
What causes the price to rise in month 2?
Across the two tables, the jump comes from three places.
- Promotions with no published end date. altRx and Medvi both show a struck-through regular price about double the current one. altRx has extended its promotion repeatedly, and our change log records two extensions in September alone, but extended so far is not permanent. Budget for the regular price and count promo months as savings.
- First-month discounts. SHED's 20% off covers month one only, which is the $159.20-to-$199 step in the table.
- Membership models. The providers in this index charge one all-in price, but brand-name routes often do not. ro, for example, sells the Zepbound KwikPen from $299 for the first month, then $399-449, plus a separate Body membership of $39 the first month and $74-$149 afterwards. Both line items rise after month 1. See Zepbound prices online for the full brand picture.
Is GLP-1 Treatment Right for You?
GLP-1 medication is prescription-only: a licensed clinician has to decide it is appropriate, and it is not a fit for everyone. Side effects are possible, and they tend to show up in the first few weeks while your body adapts.
Results are usually best when the medication is paired with simple daily habits, such as balanced meals and regular movement.
For both safety and lasting progress, pick a provider that screens you properly before prescribing and keeps following up once treatment starts.
Should you prepay for a GLP-1 plan?
Prepaying gets the lowest monthly figure in the table and removes the month-2 question, because the price cannot change once paid. It introduces a different risk: the money is spent whether or not shipments arrive and whether or not the medication suits you.
Captured reviews across providers show both sides: the good version (a locked price that stayed locked) and the bad (a plan that renewed without warning, or shipments that stopped while charges continued). Before signing any prepaid or 12-month plan, read the five questions to ask before you prepay, which quotes those reviews.
Our general advice: pay monthly for the first two or three cycles, see whether the provider ships on time and replies to messages, then decide whether a longer plan's discount is worth it.
How should you use these GLP-1 cost figures?
Choose your drug, find the row whose year one total fits your budget, then check two things price cannot show:
- Shipping reliability. The shipping-times page compares each provider's promised delivery with what reviewers report.
- Support. The provider-support comparison measures from the same captured reviews whether someone answers when there is a problem.