Yes. Ozempic is semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, approved for type 2 diabetes rather than for weight. Wegovy is the same molecule approved at higher doses for weight management. halfrx records Ozempic at $349 a month cash. Prescribing Ozempic for weight alone is off-label, which is legal and common and is not the same thing as approved.

Is tirzepatide a GLP-1?

Partly. Tirzepatide activates GIP as well as GLP-1, so it is a dual agonist. It is sold as Zepbound for weight and Mounjaro for diabetes — the same molecule under two labels, at prices that differ.

Is orforglipron a GLP-1?

Yes. Orforglipron is a GLP-1 receptor agonist — the FDA label for Foundayo, its brand name, says so in those words — and it acts on the GLP-1 receptor alone, not on GIP as tirzepatide also does. It is taken as a pill once a day, with or without food, and it is a small molecule rather than a peptide like semaglutide or tirzepatide. Its label trial reports 11.1% average weight loss over 72 weeks. halfrx records Foundayo at $299 a month cash once titrated.

Do you have to take Ozempic forever to keep weight off?

No label says you must, but stopping reversed part of the loss in the only trial of it for semaglutide: on Wegovy's label — the same molecule as Ozempic, tested at 2.4 mg — people switched to placebo after 20 weeks regained 6.9% of body weight over the next 48 weeks, while those who stayed on lost 7.9% more. Ozempic's own label, written for type 2 diabetes, has no stopping trial, and neither trial tested a taper or a lower maintenance dose. Whether to continue is a prescriber's call. What the pricing shows is that the manufacturers treat it as ongoing: prices are structured around continuing refills, and the conditional self-pay rates are conditional on refilling on schedule.

← GLP-1s explained, from the top

What a GLP-1 is, and what each one costs

GLP-1 is a hormone your gut releases when you eat. The drugs named after it are copies that last longer, and the reason they work for weight is the same reason they were built for diabetes.

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 — the prices and figures quoted below. Read and dated by Alex Seot.

What is a GLP-1?

Glucagon-like peptide-1 is released by the small intestine after a meal. It prompts insulin, suppresses glucagon, slows how fast the stomach empties, and signals fullness to the brain. Your own GLP-1 is broken down within minutes. The drugs are engineered to resist that breakdown, so a weekly injection holds a signal your body sends for a few minutes at a time.

That is the whole mechanism, and it explains the side effects as directly as it explains the weight loss: a drug that slows the stomach causes nausea, and one that signals fullness reduces how much someone eats.

Which drugs are GLP-1s, and which are something else

Of the 15 medications halfrx tracks, 12 act on the GLP-1 receptor: Zepbound (tirzepatide); Wegovy (semaglutide); Wegovy pill (semaglutide); Mounjaro (tirzepatide); Foundayo (orforglipron); Saxenda (liraglutide); Ozempic (semaglutide); Trulicity (dulaglutide); Compounded tirzepatide (tirzepatide); Compounded semaglutide (semaglutide); Victoza (liraglutide); Rybelsus (semaglutide).

Tirzepatide is the one worth separating out — it acts on GIP as well as GLP-1, which is why it is described as a dual agonist rather than a GLP-1 alone, and why its trial figure sits above the others.

The rest are not GLP-1s at all and are often confused for them: Qsymia (phentermine, topiramate); Contrave (naltrexone, bupropion); Phentermine (phentermine). They work by different mechanisms, cost far less, and lose less weight in their own trials.

What each one did in its own trial

Mean weight loss in the trial each label cites: Zepbound 20.9%, Wegovy 14.9%, Wegovy pill 13.6%, Mounjaro 11.9%, Foundayo 11.1%, Saxenda 7.4%, Ozempic 6.4%. Mounjaro and Ozempic are diabetes labels that state no percentage, so those figures are worked out from each label's own kilograms.

The figures above are not comparable with each other: each comes from that drug's own trial, with its own population, duration and endpoint, so a higher number is a different study rather than a better result. Where two of these drugs were run against each other, that comparison exists and it is the one to use — SURMOUNT-5: weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide over 72 weeks, in adults with obesity; SURPASS-2: tirzepatide lost 1.9 to 5.5 kg more than semaglutide 1 mg over 40 weeks, in type 2 diabetes; STEP 8: weight fell 15.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg against 6.4% on liraglutide 3.0 mg over 68 weeks; ACHIEVE-3: orforglipron lowered HbA1c more than oral semaglutide 7 or 14 mg over 52 weeks, in type 2 diabetes.

What they cost, which is the part nobody explains

Verified all-in prices for a GLP-1 on this site run from $129 a month (Strut Health) to $548 (Calibrate) — a spread of $419 a month across 17 routes to drugs in the same class.

The figure that matters is the maintenance price, not the advertised one: the starting dose is not the dose anyone stays on, and an introductory rate covers a month or two of a course measured in years. 5 of those 17 routes sell compounded copies rather than FDA-approved drugs — a legal status rather than a quality claim — and the cheapest of them is $129 against $299 for the cheapest route to an FDA-approved GLP-1 for weight.

Every price, ranked →What a year actually costs →What a pharmacy pays →FDA warning letters →GLP-1 vs GLP-3 →Is compounded semaglutide safe? →The case for and against a GLP-1 →

Questions

Is Ozempic a GLP-1?: Yes. Ozempic is semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, approved for type 2 diabetes rather than for weight. Wegovy is the same molecule approved at higher doses for weight management. halfrx records Ozempic at $349 a month cash. Prescribing Ozempic for weight alone is off-label, which is legal and common and is not the same thing as approved.
Is tirzepatide a GLP-1?: Partly. Tirzepatide activates GIP as well as GLP-1, so it is a dual agonist. It is sold as Zepbound for weight and Mounjaro for diabetes — the same molecule under two labels, at prices that differ.
Is orforglipron a GLP-1?: Yes. Orforglipron is a GLP-1 receptor agonist — the FDA label for Foundayo, its brand name, says so in those words — and it acts on the GLP-1 receptor alone, not on GIP as tirzepatide also does. It is taken as a pill once a day, with or without food, and it is a small molecule rather than a peptide like semaglutide or tirzepatide. Its label trial reports 11.1% average weight loss over 72 weeks. halfrx records Foundayo at $299 a month cash once titrated.
Do you have to take Ozempic forever to keep weight off?: No label says you must, but stopping reversed part of the loss in the only trial of it for semaglutide: on Wegovy's label — the same molecule as Ozempic, tested at 2.4 mg — people switched to placebo after 20 weeks regained 6.9% of body weight over the next 48 weeks, while those who stayed on lost 7.9% more. Ozempic's own label, written for type 2 diabetes, has no stopping trial, and neither trial tested a taper or a lower maintenance dose. Whether to continue is a prescriber's call. What the pricing shows is that the manufacturers treat it as ongoing: prices are structured around continuing refills, and the conditional self-pay rates are conditional on refilling on schedule.

What this rests on

FDA prescribing information for WEGOVY (semaglutide)That semaglutide is a GLP-1 analog acting on the receptor in the brain regions that regulate appetite, and the boxed warning it carries.
FDA prescribing information for ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide)That tirzepatide activates GIP as well as GLP-1, which is why it is a dual agonist rather than a GLP-1 alone.
FDA prescribing information for OZEMPIC (semaglutide)That Ozempic is the same molecule as Wegovy, approved for type 2 diabetes rather than for weight.
FDA prescribing information for FOUNDAYO (orforglipron)That a GLP-1 taken by mouth is still a GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Every figure above is read from the page of the drug or seller it names, which records where it came from and the date it was verified. Every clinical statement is quoted from one of the labels listed above, never interpreted. Information only, not medical advice.