How to cut your GLP-1 bill
Seven checks that routinely save $1,000 or more a year on exactly the same prescription.
Updated 2026-09-18 · every price checked by hand
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The same compounded medication costs $1,188 a year at one programme and $5,388 at another. Nothing about the drug changes. Everything about the billing does.
These are the checks that move the number most, roughly in order of how much they are worth.
1. Find the month-two price, not the month-one price
Almost every programme here advertises an introductory rate. A $39 first month tells you nothing about the year. Ask what the charge is on the second renewal and budget from that.
2. Ask whether a membership is billed separately
This is the single biggest gap between advertised and actual prices. Eden advertises $99 semaglutide and bills about $198 once its membership renews at $99. Coreage Rx advertises $99 and bills $99. Same headline, $1,188 a year apart.
3. Check whether the price rises with your dose
Many programmes charge more at higher doses, so your bill climbs exactly as your treatment starts working. Flat-rate programmes hold the price across the whole range, which over a year is usually worth more than any advertised discount.
4. Confirm which format you are being quoted
"From $179" at Henry Meds is a sublingual product. "From $79" at Hims & Hers is an oral kit. Neither is the weekly injection. They are legitimate products, but they are not cheaper versions of the same thing.
5. Spend twenty minutes on your insurance
Call the number on your card and ask whether your plan covers Zepbound or Wegovy, and what it requires. If the answer is yes, a programme like Mochi or LifeMD that does the paperwork can beat every cash price on this site. If it is no, stop paying for insurance advocacy you cannot use.
6. Do the annual-plan arithmetic properly
Annual plans carry the lowest rates — but you are lending a company a year of payments. Work out the saving, then read the refund terms. We go through this in annual versus monthly.
7. Compare the yearly number and nothing else
Monthly figures are designed to be hard to compare. Multiply everything by twelve and put it in one column. Our tables already do this for tirzepatide and semaglutide.
One thing not to cut. Do not buy GLP-1 medication from a seller that does not require a prescription and a clinician review. The FDA issued more than 55 warning letters to online sellers of compounded GLP-1s in September 2025. A price that looks impossible usually is.