Is Mounjaro or Saxenda better for weight loss?

Mounjaro reports 11.9% average weight loss and Saxenda 7.4%, each from its own trial. The two were not compared against each other, so the higher figure is not a result of a head-to-head and this page does not present it as one. What is comparable is what sits on each one's public record, below.

Which is cheaper, Mounjaro 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no all-in monthly price that could be verified, so this page carries no comparison rather than an estimate — and an unpublished price is itself worth weighing.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 Mounjaro 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.

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Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label) vs Saxenda (liraglutide)

Verdict

Neither comes out ahead on the axes compared here. Mounjaro scores higher on the published halfrx formula, 5.1 against 4.2; the formula takes in more than this table does.

Computed from the stored fields, so it moves when a price does. Nothing here is written by hand or by a model.

Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label) or Saxenda (liraglutide): which one has a price?

Only Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label) has an all-in figure here: $499 a month, read from its own page on 2026-09-21. Saxenda (liraglutide) has none, so price cannot decide between them. Trial weight loss was 11.9% against 7.4%, from separate trials with different populations, so the gap is not a measured difference between the two. Every axis below is computed from stored fields rather than written by hand, so the comparison moves when a price does. Neither carries an FTC action, a state action, a BBB F grade or an FDA warning letter. The published formula scores them 5.1 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

Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label) against Saxenda (liraglutide), one row per axis, with the side that wins each axis marked.
What decides it	Mounjaro $499/mo	Saxenda price unverified
Entry priceNot comparable — Saxenda (liraglutide) publishes no verified all-in price.	not comparable	not comparable
Regulatory and complaint riskNeither carries a lawsuit, an FDA warning letter or a supply-risk flag.	tied	tied
Average weight loss in trialsMounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label) reports 11.9% and Saxenda (liraglutide) 7.4%, each from its own trial. They were not compared against each other, and the populations, durations and endpoints differ, so the higher number is not a better result — it is a different study.	not comparable	not comparable

What the trials, the titration and a year actually say

Axis	Mounjaro	Saxenda
Mean weight loss in the cited trial	11.9%	7.4%
The trial that figure comes from	No percentage of body weight appears anywhere on the Mounjaro label, which has no weight-management section: every trial on it is a diabetes trial and reports weight in kilograms. This figure is worked out from the label's own kilograms — 11.2 kg lost from a 93.8 kg mean baseline at week 40 on 15 mg, in SURPASS-2 against semaglutide — and is an arithmetic step the label does not take.	SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes, Study 1 on the label, 56 weeks: 7.4% mean weight loss on 3 mg against 3.0% on placebo, intention-to-treat.
Maintenance dose	2.5 mg to 15 mg once weekly, set by blood sugar control	3 mg daily
Earliest week you reach it	—	week 5
Year one at the published price of every step	$6,487	No titration prices recorded

Trial percentages are quoted from the label or the named trial beside them. They are not a head-to-head result: different populations, different durations, different endpoints. That is why the comparison above scores this axis as not comparable rather than awarding it to the higher number. The year-one figures are one price at every dose, times the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills. The full arithmetic is published.

Go to Mounjaro ↗Go to Saxenda ↗

What separates these two, price aside

These are different molecules — tirzepatide against liraglutide — so this is a comparison of two treatments, not of two prices for one.

Eli Lilly

Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label)

5.1

$499/mo all-in

verified 2026-09-21

Off-label for weightBoxed warning

Novo Nordisk

Saxenda (liraglutide)

4.2

Price unverified

Weaker moleculeBoxed warning

Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label)

Pros

+Same tirzepatide molecule as Zepbound, the most effective approved weight-loss agent.[4]
+On-label and readily covered if you have type 2 diabetes.[4]

Cons

−Off-label for weight loss without diabetes — expect insurance denial and prescriber reluctance.[4]
−Self-pay is $499 a month at every strength through LillyDirect, with no cheaper starting tier: Zepbound, the same molecule on the weight-loss label, is $299 at 2.5 mg and $449 at 7.5 mg and above through the same pharmacy. For weight loss, Zepbound is the cheaper route to the same molecule.[1]
−Weekly injection with the same GI side-effect profile.[4]

Sources

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]

Sources

Mounjaro side effects →Saxenda side effects →Mounjaro dosage →Saxenda dosage →

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 Mounjaro

Everything on Saxenda

Mounjaro against Saxenda, answered

Is Mounjaro or Saxenda better for weight loss?: Mounjaro reports 11.9% average weight loss and Saxenda 7.4%, each from its own trial. The two were not compared against each other, so the higher figure is not a result of a head-to-head and this page does not present it as one. What is comparable is what sits on each one's public record, below.
Which is cheaper, Mounjaro 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 Mounjaro 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.