What happens if you stop Ozempic or Zepbound?

Zepbound's label includes a trial that stopped the drug on purpose; Ozempic's does not, which is a difference in what is known rather than in what happens. On Zepbound's label, the people randomly assigned to stop gained 14% of body weight over the following 12 months while those who carried on lost 5.5% more. That figure belongs to Zepbound's trial, so this page does not apply it to Ozempic.

Is Ozempic safer than Zepbound?

No trial has compared the safety of Ozempic and Zepbound, and their FDA labels do not rank them: both carry the same boxed warning (thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents), the same contraindication (a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2) and warnings for the pancreas, gallbladder, kidneys, eyes and stomach. The rates they print come from different trials in different people, so they do not rank the two — severe gastrointestinal reactions: for Ozempic, 0.4% at 0.5 mg and 0.8% at 1 mg against 0% on placebo; for Zepbound, 1.7% at 5 mg, 2.5% at 10 mg and 3.1% at 15 mg against 1% on placebo in the two weight-reduction trials. Their molecules have been randomized against each other. SURMOUNT-5 gave 751 adults with obesity tirzepatide up to 15 mg or semaglutide up to 2.4 mg for 72 weeks. The most common adverse events in both groups were gastrointestinal, mostly mild to moderate and mainly during dose escalation. The abstract prints no rate that sets one drug above the other. (Aronne et al., N Engl J Med 2025.) SURPASS-2 gave 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes tirzepatide 5 to 15 mg or semaglutide 1 mg for 40 weeks. Nausea was reported in 17 to 22% on tirzepatide against 18% on semaglutide, diarrhea in 13 to 16% against 12%, and vomiting in 6 to 10% against 8%. Serious adverse events occurred in 5 to 7% against 3%. (Frías et al., N Engl J Med 2021.)

Is Ozempic or Zepbound better for weight loss?

Their molecules have been tested against each other. 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.) The 6.4% and 20.9% quoted for Ozempic and Zepbound on this page are each drug's own label trial, not this comparison. A trial answers for the doses and the people it enrolled, not for one reader.

Which is cheaper, Ozempic or Zepbound?

Ozempic, at $349 a month against $449 — a difference of $100 a month, or $1,300 over a year counting the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills. Both figures are the maintenance price rather than an introductory rate. Above the maintenance dose, the optional higher dose costs more: Ozempic at 2 mg is $499 a month.

Can you switch between Ozempic and Zepbound?

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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Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) vs Zepbound (tirzepatide)

Verdict

Ozempic comes out ahead on this table, winning on entry price. Zepbound scores higher on the published halfrx formula, 7.3 against 5.1; 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.

Which is cheaper, Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) or Zepbound (tirzepatide)?

Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) is $199–$499 a month all-in, read from its own page on 2026-09-22; Zepbound (tirzepatide) is $299–$699, read from its own page on 2026-08-19. At the maintenance dose the gap is $100 a month, which is $1,300 across a year, counting 13 fills. Label-trial weight loss was 6.4% against 20.9%, from separate trials; the molecules were compared directly in SURMOUNT-5, where weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide over 72 weeks, in adults with obesity. 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 2026-09-22 and 2026-08-19. 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 7.3 out of 10, arithmetic over the same stored fields rather than an editor's preference.

Head to head

Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) against Zepbound (tirzepatide), one row per axis, with the side that wins each axis marked.
What decides it	Ozempic $199–$499/mo	Zepbound $299–$699/mo
Entry priceOzempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) is $100/mo cheaper to start — $199 against $299.	✓ better here	—
Regulatory and complaint riskNeither carries a lawsuit, an FDA warning letter or a supply-risk flag.	tied	tied
Average weight loss in trialsOzempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) reports 6.4% and Zepbound (tirzepatide) 20.9%, each from its own label trial, so the higher number is not by itself a better result. The trials that did compare the molecules are SURMOUNT-5 (weight fell 20.2% on tirzepatide against 13.7% on semaglutide over 72 weeks, in adults with obesity) and SURPASS-2 (tirzepatide lost 1.9 to 5.5 kg more than semaglutide 1 mg over 40 weeks, in type 2 diabetes).	not comparable	not comparable

What the trials, the titration and a year actually say

Axis	Ozempic	Zepbound
Mean weight loss in the cited trial	6.4%	20.9%
The trial that figure comes from	No percentage of body weight appears anywhere on the Ozempic label, which has no weight-management section: its three trial sections cover glycemic control, cardiovascular outcomes and kidney outcomes, and all report weight in kilograms. This figure is worked out from the label's own kilograms — 6.4 kg lost from a 100.1 kg mean baseline at week 40 on 2 mg — and is an arithmetic step the label does not take.	SURMOUNT-1, Study 1 on the label, 72 weeks: 20.9% mean weight loss at 15 mg against 3.1% on placebo, intention-to-treat.
Maintenance dose	0.5 mg to 2 mg once weekly	5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly
Earliest week you reach it	week 5	week 5
Year one at the published price of every step	$4,237	$5,637

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 molecules themselves were compared directly in SURMOUNT-5 and SURPASS-2; the result is in the answers below. The year-one figures walk each titration step at its published price and count the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills. The full arithmetic is published.

Go to Ozempic ↗Go to Zepbound ↗

Read the price gap carefully: these two are not the same purchase

These are different molecules — semaglutide against tirzepatide — so this is a comparison of two treatments, not of two prices for one.
Against every medication on this site with a verified maintenance price, Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label) is the 5th cheapest of 9 and Zepbound (tirzepatide) the 8th — the cheapest of them all is $75.

Novo Nordisk

Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label)

5.1

$199–$499/mo all-in

verified 2026-09-22

Off-label for weightBoxed warning

Eli Lilly

Zepbound (tirzepatide)

7.3

$299–$699/mo all-in

verified 2026-08-19

Price conditional on refill timingBoxed warning

Ozempic (semaglutide, diabetes label)

Pros

+New self-pay patients pay $199 for the first two monthly fills on TrumpRx, through 31 December 2026, then $349 a month at 0.25 to 1 mg.[2]
+Identical active molecule to Wegovy.[2]
+If you have type 2 diabetes, this is the on-label product and the one insurance is most likely to cover.[2]

Cons

−Using it for weight loss without diabetes is off-label. Insurers deny it on that basis and prescribers vary in willingness.[2]
−Its top dose is 2 mg, against 2.4 mg for standard Wegovy and 7.2 mg for Wegovy HD; the Ozempic label reports no weight-loss percentage to set beside Wegovy's.[5]
−Prescribing it off-label for weight competes with diabetes patients for supply — a recurring shortage driver.[2]

Sources

Zepbound (tirzepatide)

Pros

+Highest average weight loss of any approved medication — around 20.9% at the 15 mg dose in SURMOUNT-1.[2]
+Dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist, a different mechanism from semaglutide, so it often works for people semaglutide failed.[2]
+$299/mo at the starting dose direct from Lilly against a $1,086 list price, with home delivery of vials or pens at the same price.[1]
+Also approved for obstructive sleep apnea, which can unlock insurance coverage that a weight indication alone would not.[2]
+If you are commercially insured with coverage, Lilly's card can bring it to as little as $25 a month.[1]

Cons

−Weekly injection with the usual GI side effects — nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation are the common discontinuation reasons.[2]
−The advertised $449 ceiling is conditional. It holds only while you refill within 45 days; lapse once and 10 mg and above cost $699 — 56% more than the number in the advert.[1]
−Lilly defines a month as 28 days, so a year is 13 fills, not 12. At $449 that is $5,837 a year against the $5,388 that 'per month' implies — $449 of hidden annual cost.[1]
−$1,086 list price if you have no coverage and do not use LillyDirect self-pay.[1]
−Weight regain after stopping is the documented norm, so the cost is ongoing rather than a course.[2]
−2.5 mg is a starting dose and is not approved for maintenance, so the $299 headline is a price nobody stays on.[1]

Sources

Ozempic side effects →Zepbound side effects →Ozempic dosage →Zepbound 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 Ozempic

Everything on Zepbound

Ozempic against Zepbound, answered

What happens if you stop Ozempic or Zepbound?: Zepbound's label includes a trial that stopped the drug on purpose; Ozempic's does not, which is a difference in what is known rather than in what happens. On Zepbound's label, the people randomly assigned to stop gained 14% of body weight over the following 12 months while those who carried on lost 5.5% more. That figure belongs to Zepbound's trial, so this page does not apply it to Ozempic.
Is Ozempic safer than Zepbound?: No trial has compared the safety of Ozempic and Zepbound, and their FDA labels do not rank them: both carry the same boxed warning (thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents), the same contraindication (a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2) and warnings for the pancreas, gallbladder, kidneys, eyes and stomach. The rates they print come from different trials in different people, so they do not rank the two — severe gastrointestinal reactions: for Ozempic, 0.4% at 0.5 mg and 0.8% at 1 mg against 0% on placebo; for Zepbound, 1.7% at 5 mg, 2.5% at 10 mg and 3.1% at 15 mg against 1% on placebo in the two weight-reduction trials. Their molecules have been randomized against each other. SURMOUNT-5 gave 751 adults with obesity tirzepatide up to 15 mg or semaglutide up to 2.4 mg for 72 weeks. The most common adverse events in both groups were gastrointestinal, mostly mild to moderate and mainly during dose escalation. The abstract prints no rate that sets one drug above the other. (Aronne et al., N Engl J Med 2025.) SURPASS-2 gave 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes tirzepatide 5 to 15 mg or semaglutide 1 mg for 40 weeks. Nausea was reported in 17 to 22% on tirzepatide against 18% on semaglutide, diarrhea in 13 to 16% against 12%, and vomiting in 6 to 10% against 8%. Serious adverse events occurred in 5 to 7% against 3%. (Frías et al., N Engl J Med 2021.)
Is Ozempic or Zepbound better for weight loss?: Their molecules have been tested against each other. 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.) The 6.4% and 20.9% quoted for Ozempic and Zepbound on this page are each drug's own label trial, not this comparison. A trial answers for the doses and the people it enrolled, not for one reader.
Which is cheaper, Ozempic or Zepbound?: Ozempic, at $349 a month against $449 — a difference of $100 a month, or $1,300 over a year counting the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills. Both figures are the maintenance price rather than an introductory rate. Above the maintenance dose, the optional higher dose costs more: Ozempic at 2 mg is $499 a month.
Can you switch between Ozempic and Zepbound?: 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.