Compounded semaglutide vs Saxenda (liraglutide)
Saxenda is the better choice of the two, winning on regulatory and complaint risk and approved product or compounded copy (halfrx score 4.2 against 1.9).
Computed from the stored fields, so it moves when a price does. Nothing here is written by hand or by a model.
Compounded semaglutide or Saxenda (liraglutide): which one has a price?
Only Compounded semaglutide has an all-in figure here: $129–$349 a month, the range its sellers here charge, oldest read 2026-09-13. Saxenda (liraglutide) has none, so price cannot decide between them. Every axis below is computed from stored fields rather than written by hand, so the comparison moves when a price does. Flags recorded here: Compounded semaglutide — not FDA approved, supply risk. Saxenda (liraglutide) is an FDA-approved product and Compounded semaglutide is a compounded copy made under the pharmacy-compounding exemption, which is a legal status rather than a quality claim. The published formula scores them 1.9 and 4.2 out of 10, arithmetic over the same stored fields rather than an editor's preference. Cost here is scored on what a patient pays once titrated, never on the entry price, because an introductory rate covers the months before anybody has reached the dose they stay on.
Head to head
| What decides it | Compounded semaglutide $129–$349/mo | Saxenda price unverified |
|---|---|---|
| Entry priceNot comparable — Saxenda (liraglutide) publishes no verified all-in price. | not comparable | not comparable |
| Regulatory and complaint riskCompounded semaglutide: 2 serious flags. Saxenda (liraglutide): none. | — | ✓ better here |
| Approved product or compounded copySaxenda (liraglutide) supplies an FDA-approved product; Compounded semaglutide supplies a compounded preparation, which the FDA does not review for safety, efficacy or quality and which can stop shipping if its pharmacy is enjoined. | — | ✓ better here |
What separates these two, price aside
- These are different molecules — semaglutide against liraglutide — so this is a comparison of two treatments, not of two prices for one.
Compounded semaglutide
Pros
- +$129–$349 a month puts semaglutide within reach for people who would otherwise take nothing; branded semaglutide costs $299 a month for the Wegovy pill and $349 for the pens once past the starting doses.[1]
- +Often shipped in vials with flexible dosing, so a provider can titrate in smaller steps than the fixed branded pen doses allow.[1]
Cons
- −Not FDA approved. The agency does not review compounded drugs for safety, efficacy or manufacturing quality — potency and sterility depend entirely on the individual pharmacy.[1]
- −The FDA declared the semaglutide shortage resolved, which removed the legal basis for mass compounding of copies. Providers now rely on 'personalized dose' arguments that Novo Nordisk is actively litigating.[2]
- −Supply can stop mid-titration. A court order or state action against your compounder ends your prescription with no notice — in March 2025 Washington's Pharmacy Commission issued a limited stop-service order against Aequita, the Kirkland pharmacy that then supplied Mochi Health.[3]
- −Some products are semaglutide salts (sodium or acetate) rather than the base molecule studied in trials. The FDA has warned these are different substances.[1]
Saxenda (liraglutide)
Pros
- +Longest safety record of any GLP-1 approved for weight, on the market since 2014.[1]
- +Generic liraglutide has been sold in the US since Teva launched generic Saxenda on 28 August 2025, so a branded Saxenda price is no longer the only liraglutide price.[3]
- +Approved for adolescents aged 12 and over, as Wegovy and Qsymia are; Zepbound is for adults only.[1]
Cons
- −7.4% mean weight loss on its label's trial — half of Wegovy and about a third of Zepbound.[1]
- −Daily injection rather than weekly. Seven times the injections for a worse result.[1]
- −No seller on this site offers branded Saxenda at a published cash price; Wegovy is $349 a month direct from NovoCare, for about twice the trial weight loss.[1]
Comparisons are computed from the fields on each card, not written by hand or by a model, so they change when the data does. Information only, not medical advice. halfrx may earn a commission from some links, which never changes what a comparison says.
Everything on Compounded semaglutide
- Compounded semaglutide price and terms →
- Compounded semaglutide cost without insurance →
- Alternatives to Compounded semaglutide →
- Which labels record what happens when you stop →
- Hair loss: which of the labels name it →
- Alcohol: what the labels say, and what they do not →
- semaglutide at Strut Health: the price →
- semaglutide: every product and price →
- Ivim Health: the seller →
- Mochi Health: the seller →
- CVS MinuteClinic: the seller →
- Henry Meds: the seller →
- Noom Med: the seller →
- Shed: the seller →
- Walgreens Weight Management: the seller →
- PlushCare: the seller →
Everything on Saxenda
- Saxenda price and terms →
- What is Saxenda? →
- Saxenda cost without insurance →
- Alternatives to Saxenda →
- Saxenda side effects →
- Does Saxenda make you feel sick? →
- Does Saxenda make you tired? →
- Does Saxenda cause constipation? →
- Does Saxenda cause diarrhea? →
- Does Saxenda make you throw up? →
- Does Saxenda cause injection site reactions? →
- Does Saxenda cause stomach pain? →
- Does Saxenda cause indigestion? →
- Does Saxenda make you dizzy? →
- Does Saxenda cause headaches? →
- Does Saxenda cause low blood sugar? →
- Saxenda dose schedule →
- How to inject Saxenda →
- How long Saxenda takes to work →
- Which labels record what happens when you stop →
- Hair loss: which of the labels name it →
- Alcohol: what the labels say, and what they do not →
- liraglutide: every product and price →
- Hone Health: the seller →
- Victoza: the drug →
The registers and documents behind both sides
Two cards compared on the same checks. These are the registers those checks were run against, and the FDA's own pages where either side is a compounded product.
- Compounding and the FDA: questions and answers — What a compounded drug is, and what the FDA does and does not review before it is sold.
- Medications containing semaglutide marketed for type 2 diabetes or weight loss, FDA — The FDA's own notice on compounded semaglutide and what it has not evaluated.
Compounded semaglutide against Saxenda, answered
- Is Compounded semaglutide or Saxenda better for weight loss?
- Only Saxenda has a trial figure recorded here: 7.4% average weight loss, from its own label trial. Compounded semaglutide has none on this site — a compounded preparation has no trial of its own, so the two cannot be compared on effect and this page does not pick one on it.
- Which is cheaper, Compounded semaglutide or Saxenda?
- Saxenda publishes no all-in monthly price that could be verified, so this page carries no comparison rather than an estimate — and an unpublished price is itself worth weighing.
- Can you switch between Compounded semaglutide and Saxenda?
- They are different molecules, so this is a change of medication rather than of brand, and the one you move to is started on its own dosing schedule.