What happens if you stop Saxenda or Zepbound?

Zepbound's label includes a trial that stopped the drug on purpose; Saxenda'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 Saxenda.

Is Saxenda or Zepbound better for weight loss?

Saxenda reports 7.4% average weight loss and Zepbound 20.9%, 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, Saxenda or Zepbound?

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no all-in monthly price that could be verified, so this page carries no comparison rather than an estimate — and an unpublished price is itself worth weighing.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

← All providers and medications

Saxenda (liraglutide) vs Zepbound (tirzepatide)

Verdict

Neither comes out ahead on the axes compared here. Zepbound scores higher on the published halfrx formula, 7.3 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.

Zepbound (tirzepatide) or Saxenda (liraglutide): which one has a price?

Only Zepbound (tirzepatide) has an all-in figure here: $299–$699 a month, read from its own page on 2026-08-19. Saxenda (liraglutide) has none, so price cannot decide between them. Trial weight loss was 7.4% against 20.9%, 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 4.2 and 7.3 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

Saxenda (liraglutide) against Zepbound (tirzepatide), one row per axis, with the side that wins each axis marked.
What decides it	Saxenda price unverified	Zepbound $299–$699/mo
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 trialsSaxenda (liraglutide) reports 7.4% and Zepbound (tirzepatide) 20.9%, 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	Saxenda	Zepbound
Mean weight loss in the cited trial	7.4%	20.9%
The trial that figure comes from	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.	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	3 mg daily	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	No titration prices recorded	$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 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 Saxenda ↗Go to Zepbound ↗

What separates these two, price aside

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

Novo Nordisk

Saxenda (liraglutide)

4.2

Price unverified

Weaker moleculeBoxed warning

Eli Lilly

Zepbound (tirzepatide)

7.3

$299–$699/mo all-in

verified 2026-08-19

Price conditional on refill timingBoxed warning

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

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

Saxenda side effects →Zepbound side effects →Saxenda 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 Saxenda

Everything on Zepbound

Saxenda against Zepbound, answered

What happens if you stop Saxenda or Zepbound?: Zepbound's label includes a trial that stopped the drug on purpose; Saxenda'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 Saxenda.
Is Saxenda or Zepbound better for weight loss?: Saxenda reports 7.4% average weight loss and Zepbound 20.9%, 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, Saxenda or Zepbound?: 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 Saxenda 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.