Compounded tirzepatide vs Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion)
Contrave is the better choice of the two, winning on entry price, regulatory and complaint risk and approved product or compounded copy (halfrx score 6.3 against 1.8).
Computed from the stored fields, so it moves when a price does. Nothing here is written by hand or by a model.
Which is cheaper, Compounded tirzepatide or Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion)?
Compounded tirzepatide is $199–$359 a month all-in, the range its sellers here charge, oldest read 2026-09-13; Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion) is $99, read from its own page on 2026-09-22. Every axis below is computed from stored fields rather than written by hand, so the comparison moves when a price does. They were last checked on 2026-09-13 and 2026-09-22. Flags recorded here: Compounded tirzepatide — not FDA approved, manufacturer lawsuit, supply risk. Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion) is an FDA-approved product and Compounded tirzepatide 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 1.8 and 6.3 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 tirzepatide $199–$359/mo | Contrave $99/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Entry priceContrave (naltrexone/bupropion) is $100/mo cheaper to start — $99 against $199. | — | ✓ better here |
| Regulatory and complaint riskCompounded tirzepatide: 3 serious flags. Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion): none. | — | ✓ better here |
| Approved product or compounded copyContrave (naltrexone/bupropion) supplies an FDA-approved product; Compounded tirzepatide 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 — tirzepatide against naltrexone and bupropion — so this is a comparison of two treatments, not of two prices for one.
Compounded tirzepatide
Pros
Cons
- −Not FDA approved — no review of safety, efficacy or manufacturing quality.[1]
- −Eli Lilly has active lawsuits against compounded tirzepatide sellers, including Henry Meds. A ruling against your provider ends your supply.[2]
- −The tirzepatide shortage that legally permitted mass compounding has been resolved, so the category now operates on contested legal ground.[2]
- −Zepbound vials through LillyDirect start at $299/mo — the branded gap is far smaller than it was, which weakens the only argument for compounding.[1]
Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion)
Pros
- +$99 a month direct from the manufacturer's CurAccess program — below every branded GLP-1 on this site, and tied with the cheapest compounded route.[1]
- +Oral, no injections, no refrigeration, no titration involving needles.[2]
- +Works on appetite and reward pathways rather than gut hormones, so it is an option for people who cannot tolerate GLP-1 side effects.[3]
- +The bupropion component may help if you also want to stop smoking or have low mood.[3]
Cons
- −5.4% mean weight loss at 56 weeks in COR-I, the trial on its label — about a third of semaglutide and a quarter of tirzepatide.[4]
- −Boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors from the bupropion component.[3]
- −Contraindicated with uncontrolled hypertension, seizure disorders and opioid use — the opioid interaction matters, because naltrexone blocks opioid pain relief in an emergency.[3]
- −Placebo arm lost 1.3%, so the drug-attributable effect is about four points rather than the headline figure.[4]
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 tirzepatide
- Compounded tirzepatide price and terms →
- Compounded tirzepatide cost without insurance →
- Alternatives to Compounded tirzepatide →
- 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 →
- tirzepatide: every product and price →
- LillyDirect: the seller →
- Mochi Health: the seller →
- Henry Meds: the seller →
- Noom Med: the seller →
- PlushCare: the seller →
- Eden: the seller →
- GoodRx for Weight Loss: the seller →
- Mounjaro: the drug →
Everything on Contrave
- Contrave price and terms →
- What is Contrave? →
- Contrave cost without insurance →
- Alternatives to Contrave →
- Contrave coupons and savings cards →
- Contrave Home Delivery →
- Contrave side effects →
- Does Contrave make you feel sick? →
- Does Contrave cause constipation? →
- Does Contrave cause diarrhea? →
- Does Contrave make you throw up? →
- Does Contrave make you dizzy? →
- Does Contrave cause headaches? →
- Does Contrave keep you awake? →
- Does Contrave cause dry mouth? →
- Contrave dose schedule →
- How to take Contrave →
- How long Contrave 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 →
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 tirzepatide against Contrave, answered
- Is Compounded tirzepatide or Contrave better for weight loss?
- Only Contrave has a trial figure recorded here: 5.4% average weight loss, from its own label trial. Compounded tirzepatide 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 tirzepatide or Contrave?
- Contrave starts lower, at $99 a month against $199. For Compounded tirzepatide ($199–$359) only a starting price is published, not one for the maintenance dose, so which costs less once titrated cannot be worked out here.
- Can you switch between Compounded tirzepatide and Contrave?
- 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.