What is the closest alternative to Zepbound?

Mounjaro and Compounded tirzepatide — same molecule, different product. Switching between them is a prescribing decision rather than a change of drug.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Zepbound?

Yes. Qsymia is $75 a month against $449 for Zepbound — $374 a month less, or $4,488 across a year. Both figures are the maintenance price, each with its source and the date shown in the table.

Does anything work better than Zepbound?

Nothing tracked here reports a higher trial figure than Zepbound's 20.9%. That is a statement about published trials rather than about you: the trials enrolled different people under different protocols. Where it has been tested head to head: SURMOUNT-5 randomized 751 adults with obesity and without diabetes to tirzepatide or semaglutide injections, each raised to its highest tolerated dose (up to 15 mg and 2.4 mg), for 72 weeks. Weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide. (Aronne et al., N Engl J Med 2025.) SURPASS-2 randomized 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes on metformin to tirzepatide 5, 10 or 15 mg or semaglutide 1 mg for 40 weeks. Tirzepatide lost 1.9, 3.6 and 5.5 kg more than semaglutide at the three doses. (Frías et al., N Engl J Med 2021.)

Is a compounded version an alternative?

It is a cheaper route to the same molecule, not a different drug. It is also a different legal product: compounding is an exemption from FDA approval rather than a form of it, so a compounded copy has no trial of its own and no approved label. Which pharmacy compounds it decides its quality, and no seller on this site publishes that. Weigh the saving against that.

← Zepbound (tirzepatide)

Alternatives to Zepbound

Bottom line

If you want the same molecule under a different product, that is Mounjaro or Compounded tirzepatide. If you want cheaper, it is Qsymia at $75 a month against $449. Every price below carries its source and the date it was read, which is what separates this list from the others answering the same question.

No clinician has reviewed this page. Label and trial statements are quoted from the FDA label or the trial cited beside them. General guidance is marked as such, and every price carries the date it was verified. That is sourcing, not medical review. What we do and do not check · Who checked the price

Last updated 2026-09-22 — each alternative's published price. Read and dated by Alex Seot.

What can you take instead of Zepbound?

14 alternatives are tracked here. 2 are the same molecule under another product — Mounjaro and Compounded tirzepatide — where switching is a prescribing decision rather than a change of medication. The other 12 are different medications, each started on its own dosing schedule. Nothing here reports a higher trial figure than Zepbound's 20.9%. Head to head, SURMOUNT-5 found weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide over 72 weeks, in adults with obesity. SURPASS-2 found tirzepatide lost 1.9 to 5.5 kg more than semaglutide 1 mg over 40 weeks, in type 2 diabetes. On price the range runs $75 to $499 a month at the maintenance dose against $449 for Zepbound, every figure with its source and the date it was read beside it. A compounded copy of tirzepatide is also sold, from $199 a month; it is the same molecule rather than a different drug, and a different legal product with no trial and no approved label of its own.

Best alternatives to Zepbound

Ordered by published trial weight loss, then by price. Every figure carries the date it was read.

1. Wegovy (semaglutide)

$349/mo flat across every standard dose, with no refill deadline attached. Lilly's equivalent has one.

A month: $349
Trial weight loss: 14.9%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-22
A first year: $4,237

Semaglutide, not tirzepatide. $100 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

2. Wegovy pill (semaglutide)

The first GLP-1 pill approved for weight loss. NovoCare self-pay is $149 a month at 1.5 mg, $199 at 4 mg, and $299 at 9 mg and at the 25 mg dose you stay on.

A month: $299
Trial weight loss: 13.6%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-10
A first year: $3,338

Semaglutide, not tirzepatide. $150 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

3. Mounjaro (tirzepatide)

Zepbound's molecule under the diabetes label. Same drug, different box, different coverage rules.

A month: $499
Trial weight loss: 11.9%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-21

Mounjaro is the same molecule as Zepbound in another product. $50 a month more expensive than Zepbound.

4. Foundayo (orforglipron)

The first small-molecule GLP-1 pill. $149 to start, $299 once titrated, and no injection at any point.

A month: $299
Trial weight loss: 11.1%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-12
A first year: $3,188

Orforglipron, not tirzepatide. $150 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

5. Qsymia (phentermine, topiramate)

The strongest non-GLP-1 pill, at about 10% loss — with real pregnancy restrictions.

A month: $75
Trial weight loss: 9.8%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-22

Phentermine and topiramate, not tirzepatide. $374 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

6. Saxenda (liraglutide)

The first-generation GLP-1. Daily injection, half the weight loss, largely superseded.

A month: no verified price
Trial weight loss: 7.4%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: —

Liraglutide, not tirzepatide.

7. Ozempic (semaglutide)

Same molecule as Wegovy, approved for type 2 diabetes. $199 for two fills, then $349 to $499 a month.

A month: $349
Trial weight loss: 6.4%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-22
A first year: $4,237

Semaglutide, not tirzepatide. $100 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

8. Contrave (naltrexone, bupropion)

Non-GLP-1 oral option. Modest loss, but it is a pill and it is cheap.

A month: $99
Trial weight loss: 5.4%
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-22

Naltrexone and bupropion, not tirzepatide. $350 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

9. Trulicity (dulaglutide)

$389 a month on the federal TrumpRx site. Lilly publishes no cash price of its own — only a copay card for the commercially insured.

A month: $389
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-22

Dulaglutide, not tirzepatide. $60 a month cheaper than Zepbound.

10. Compounded tirzepatide (tirzepatide)

$199–$359/mo for the strongest molecule — with Eli Lilly suing the pharmacies that sell it.

A month: $199–$359 (no maintenance price)
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: compounded, not FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-13

Compounded tirzepatide is the same molecule as Zepbound in another product.

11. Phentermine (phentermine)

The cheapest weight-loss drug there is — approved for a few weeks, sold by subscription for years.

A month: no verified price
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: generic
Checked: —

Phentermine, not tirzepatide.

12. Compounded semaglutide (semaglutide)

$129–$349/mo for the same molecule — and the reason it is cheap is the reason it is risky.

A month: $129–$349 (no maintenance price)
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: compounded, not FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-13

Semaglutide, not tirzepatide.

13. Victoza (liraglutide)

Daily liraglutide for type 2 diabetes — the same molecule as Saxenda at lower doses. No cash price published.

A month: no verified price
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-10

Liraglutide, not tirzepatide.

14. Rybelsus (semaglutide)

Novo publishes no cash price for Rybelsus, and the federal TrumpRx tablet is the Ozempic pill — a different strength on the same label.

A month: no verified price
Trial weight loss: not published
What it is: branded, FDA approved
Checked: 2026-09-07

Semaglutide, not tirzepatide.

Quick comparison

Drug	A month	Trial loss	What it is	Checked
Zepbound (comparing against)	$449	20.9%	branded, FDA approved	2026-08-19
Wegovy	$349	14.9%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-22
Wegovy pill	$299	13.6%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-10
Mounjaro	$499	11.9%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-21
Foundayo	$299	11.1%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-12
Qsymia	$75	9.8%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-22
Saxenda	—	7.4%	branded, FDA approved	—
Ozempic	$349	6.4%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-22
Contrave	$99	5.4%	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-22
Trulicity	$389	—	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-22
Compounded tirzepatide	$199–$359 (no maintenance price)	—	compounded, not FDA approved	2026-09-13
Phentermine	—	—	generic	—
Compounded semaglutide	$129–$349 (no maintenance price)	—	compounded, not FDA approved	2026-09-13
Victoza	—	—	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-10
Rybelsus	—	—	branded, FDA approved	2026-09-07

Trial figures come from each drug's own trial, so the column ranks published results rather than the drugs themselves. The head-to-head trials that do exist, SURMOUNT-5 and SURPASS-2, are quoted above.

Zepbound price and terms →What Zepbound costs without insurance →Everything ranked by price →

Where these Zepbound figures come from

[1] Zepbound self-pay pricing, LillyDirectprimary
[2] FDA prescribing information for ZEPBOUNDprimary archived 2026-08-19

Everything on Zepbound

Alternatives to Zepbound, answered

What is the closest alternative to Zepbound?: Mounjaro and Compounded tirzepatide — same molecule, different product. Switching between them is a prescribing decision rather than a change of drug.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Zepbound?: Yes. Qsymia is $75 a month against $449 for Zepbound — $374 a month less, or $4,488 across a year. Both figures are the maintenance price, each with its source and the date shown in the table.
Does anything work better than Zepbound?: Nothing tracked here reports a higher trial figure than Zepbound's 20.9%. That is a statement about published trials rather than about you: the trials enrolled different people under different protocols. Where it has been tested head to head: SURMOUNT-5 randomized 751 adults with obesity and without diabetes to tirzepatide or semaglutide injections, each raised to its highest tolerated dose (up to 15 mg and 2.4 mg), for 72 weeks. Weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide. (Aronne et al., N Engl J Med 2025.) SURPASS-2 randomized 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes on metformin to tirzepatide 5, 10 or 15 mg or semaglutide 1 mg for 40 weeks. Tirzepatide lost 1.9, 3.6 and 5.5 kg more than semaglutide at the three doses. (Frías et al., N Engl J Med 2021.)
Is a compounded version an alternative?: It is a cheaper route to the same molecule, not a different drug. It is also a different legal product: compounding is an exemption from FDA approval rather than a form of it, so a compounded copy has no trial of its own and no approved label. Which pharmacy compounds it decides its quality, and no seller on this site publishes that. Weigh the saving against that.

Every price here carries its source and the date it was read, and anything past 45 days without a re-check is marked stale rather than quietly aging. Information only, not medical advice — which drug suits you is a question for a clinician.