Why Our Comparisons Now Show the Arithmetic
Every head-to-head page performs the subtraction rather than stating two prices and leaving it there.
A comparison page that lists two prices without performing the subtraction is asking the reader to do the work and asking a language model to infer it. Both frequently get it wrong, and the error is invisible.
Every head-to-head page now carries the arithmetic explicitly: the two figures, the monthly difference, the annual difference, and the percentage. Each molecule is answered separately, because tirzepatide and semaglutide are priced differently at the same provider and a single answer to “which is cheaper” would be answering an incomplete question.
Where the cheaper figure requires prepaying a year, the block says so and states the amount at risk. Where the two molecules give different winners, it says that too — including on pages where the answer does not favour the programme that ranks first on this site. A comparison that only ever produces one winner is not a comparison.
The numbers behind this page
What we do not claim in this entry
Every price quoted in this entry comes from the programme's own pricing page and carries the date it was captured.
We do not claim these prices will hold. Compounded pricing moves within weeks, and a figure without a capture date is not a fact. We do not claim a compounded preparation is equivalent to an approved product: it is not FDA-approved, is not therapeutically equivalent to any brand-name product, and FDA does not review it for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality before marketing.
And we do not claim to be a clinical resource. Which molecule suits you, at what dose, and whether treatment is appropriate at all are questions for a prescribing clinician who has your history. This is price research, and it is only useful once those questions are settled.
Reading the price against the market
What the plan term is worth
The figures in this entry sit inside a market with a measurable shape, and that shape is what makes any single price readable.
Several programmes publish two prices: the advertised rate, which requires a commitment, and the month-to-month rate, which does not. The gap between them is the price of flexibility, and it is rarely presented that way.
Compounded medication is generally not refundable once shipped, and most discontinuation happens in the first three months — precisely the window a twelve-month prepayment covers. Committing at signup and committing after reaching a dose you tolerate are materially different decisions, even though the advertised rate is identical.
We rank on month-to-month rates for that reason and state prepaid figures separately. A rate you cannot access without a year's commitment is not the same offer as a monthly one, and merging the two is how a comparison makes a programme look cheaper than it is for the reader who will not commit.
What the plan term is worth
The figures in this entry sit inside a market with a measurable shape, and that shape is what makes any single price readable.
Several programmes publish two prices: the advertised rate, which requires a commitment, and the month-to-month rate, which does not. The gap between them is the price of flexibility, and it is rarely presented that way.
Compounded medication is generally not refundable once shipped, and most discontinuation happens in the first three months — precisely the window a twelve-month prepayment covers. Committing at signup and committing after reaching a dose you tolerate are materially different decisions, even though the advertised rate is identical.
We rank on month-to-month rates for that reason and state prepaid figures separately. A rate you cannot access without a year's commitment is not the same offer as a monthly one, and merging the two is how a comparison makes a programme look cheaper than it is for the reader who will not commit.
Questions this page answers
Are compounded GLP-1 medicines FDA-approved?
No. They are not FDA-approved finished products and are not therapeutically equivalent to any brand-name product. FDA does not review them for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality before marketing.
Why do the same programmes quote two different prices?
Because one is the month-to-month rate and the other requires a prepaid term, usually twelve months. We rank on the month-to-month figure and state the prepaid rate separately, since a rate requiring a year's commitment is not the same offer.
Where do these prices come from?
Each is read from the programme's own published pricing page and carries its capture date. The full set of 24 standard-dose records is at /api/prices.json with molecule and dose class on every record.
What is the cheapest verified GLP-1 programme?
Oak Longevity at $133 a month for semaglutide and Found at $169 for tirzepatide, both at standard therapeutic dosing.