Pricing
Wegovy vs Zepbound in 2026: how do cost, coverage and access compare?
A side-by-side of Wegovy and Zepbound as checked November 8, 2026: self-pay prices by form and supply length, offer deadlines, manufacturer pharmacies, savings cards and Medicare's GLP-1 Bridge.
Claims are checked against the sources cited in this article. Nothing here is individualized medical advice. How we research
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As checked November 8, 2026, Novo Nordisk’s self-pay prices for Wegovy are $149 to $299 per 30-day tablet bottle and $349 per 28-day box of pens ($399 for Wegovy HD), with a $199 price on the first two pen fills for eligible new patients. Eli Lilly’s self-pay prices for Zepbound vials and KwikPens are $299 to $449 per 28-day supply, rising to $499 or $699 at higher strengths if a refill isn’t bought within 45 days. With commercial coverage, both brands have savings cards advertising as little as $25 (for Zepbound, only the single-dose pen). Under Medicare’s temporary GLP-1 Bridge, both brands can cost eligible enrollees $50 a month, but only certain forms qualify.
This is a price and access comparison only. It doesn’t compare how the medicines work, and the strengths of one brand don’t correspond to the other’s. Which product, form and strength you’re prescribed is your clinician’s decision.
Wegovy and Zepbound side by side
| Wegovy | Zepbound | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer and ingredient | Novo Nordisk; semaglutide | Eli Lilly; tirzepatide |
| Forms with a manufacturer self-pay price | Box of 4 single-dose pens (0.25–2.4 mg); Wegovy HD 7.2 mg pens; 30-tablet bottles (1.5, 4, 9, 25 mg) | 4 single-dose vials or 1 KwikPen (2.5–15 mg) |
| Supply per self-pay fill | Pens: 28 days. Tablets: 30 days | 28 days |
| Self-pay price | Tablets: $149 (1.5 mg), $199 (4 mg), $299 (9 or 25 mg). Pens: $349 (0.25–2.4 mg), $399 (HD) | $299 (2.5 mg), $399 (5 mg), $449 (7.5–15 mg with a refill within 45 days) |
| Price after the offer or condition ends | $349 for 0.25 or 0.5 mg pens from the third fill; tablet prices have no stated end | $499 (7.5 mg) or $699 (10–15 mg) if a refill is bought late |
| Introductory offer | $199 for each of the first two 0.25 or 0.5 mg pen fills, new patients only, with a December 31, 2026 deadline | None listed |
| Manufacturer list price | $1,349.02 per package for pill, pen and HD pen, per NovoCare | Not retrieved from Lilly by our method on November 8; the TrumpRx homepage shows an “original price” of $1,087 for Zepbound |
| Manufacturer pharmacy | NovoCare Pharmacy: cash only, no insurance | LillyDirect: vials self-pay only; KwikPen self-pay or some insurance; single-dose pen with insurance |
| Commercial savings card | As little as $25 on covered pens and tablets; savings capped at $100 per month; no end date stated | As little as $25 on the covered single-dose pen; capped at $100 a month and $1,300 a year; card ends December 31, 2026 |
| Medicare GLP-1 Bridge | Injection or tablet, $50 a month | KwikPen only, $50 a month; vials and single-dose pens excluded |
Sources: NovoCare’s Wegovy pricing, NovoCare’s home-delivery terms, LillyDirect’s Zepbound page, Lilly’s self-pay terms, Lilly’s savings page, Medicare.gov and the TrumpRx homepage. Each strength is a separate product row, not a match between brands. Lilly and Novo both say they can change these programs at any time.
Approved forms differ more than the price list shows
The FDA labels list more presentations than the manufacturers price for self-pay. The Wegovy label (revised June 2026) lists single-dose pens, including the 7.2 mg Wegovy HD pen, a single-dose syringe, a single-patient-use FlexTouch pen holding four doses, and tablets. The Zepbound label (revised August 2026) lists single-dose pens, single-dose vials, multi-dose vials and the KwikPen.
So Wegovy can be bought as a tablet or a pen, and Zepbound only as an injection. Lilly’s Foundayo tablet is a different drug, not an oral Zepbound; see our Foundayo cost guide.
Both are approved for long-term weight reduction in adults with obesity, or overweight with a weight-related condition. Wegovy is also approved to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with established heart disease and obesity or overweight; the injection is additionally approved for patients aged 12 and older with obesity and, under accelerated approval, for the liver disease MASH. Zepbound is also approved for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. An insurer may treat those uses differently.
How the self-pay offers and deadlines differ
- Wegovy’s discount is introductory. The $199 pen price covers no more than two 28-day fills, and the third fill is $349. Through NovoCare home delivery, the prescription must be written and received by December 31, 2026 and shipped by January 31, 2027. Under Novo’s retail coupon terms, the offer must be redeemed and the prescription filled by December 31, 2026, and “new patient” is defined differently. Tablet prices have no stated end date.
- Zepbound’s discount depends on refill timing. The $449 price at 7.5 to 15 mg is Lilly’s Journey offer. You keep it only if each refill is purchased within 45 days of the previous delivery. Lilly’s terms state no end date for Journey itself, but the separate KwikPen self-pay card expires December 31, 2026 and allows up to 11 fills a year.
A 28-day box and a 30-day bottle aren’t the same “month.” Convert both to a cost per day before comparing them. Our offers-after-2026 guide tracks the dated offers.
Add supply costs too. LillyDirect says the KwikPen requires pen needles and the vial requires needles and syringes, but it doesn’t list their prices.
Where each one is sold
Manufacturer pharmacies. NovoCare Pharmacy fills self-pay Wegovy and doesn’t take insurance; our NovoCare guide explains the process. LillyDirect sends Zepbound orders to one of four partner pharmacies, with home delivery or pickup. Lilly says the vial is available only through LillyDirect. Our LillyDirect guide covers that channel.
Retail pharmacies. NovoCare lists a pharmacy-pickup option for self-pay Wegovy, and Novo’s self-pay coupon can be redeemed at participating retail pharmacies. Lilly says that if you fill Zepbound somewhere other than LillyDirect, you may need to enroll in a Lilly savings program. Our Costco guide covers Costco’s member pricing program, which listed Wegovy prices when we reviewed it in October, and what it did and didn’t show for Zepbound.
TrumpRx. The federal portal showed Wegovy pill from $149, Wegovy pen from $199 and Zepbound from $299 on November 8. For Zepbound vials it sends buyers to LillyDirect. Those figures match the manufacturers’ published starting prices rather than adding a further discount. See our TrumpRx guide.
Telehealth. Both manufacturers link to independent telehealth services that can prescribe. Lilly says the rates it shows for them don’t include medication, so the care fee and the pharmacy charge are separate bills. Our telehealth access guide and the Wegovy and Zepbound pages list covered services, and the Wegovy and Zepbound price comparisons separate care fees from medicine prices.
Insurance, Medicare and savings cards
Coverage depends on your plan’s benefit rules and on the use the medicine is prescribed for. Lilly’s savings page said on November 8 that Zepbound coverage had been restored on select CVS Caremark formularies. That’s Lilly’s statement, not a guarantee for any member. Our insurance coverage guide explains how to check a plan.
The $25 savings cards apply only when your commercial plan covers the product, and they exclude government beneficiaries. Wegovy’s card works for pens and tablets. Zepbound’s covers the single-dose pen. If your commercial plan doesn’t cover the Zepbound pen, Lilly’s card terms set a price as low as $499 for a 28-day supply. Novo and Lilly both say self-pay purchases don’t count toward your deductible or out-of-pocket limit. Our savings card guide has the details.
For Medicare Part D, the temporary GLP-1 Bridge runs through December 31, 2027 for eligible enrollees. It requires prior authorization, and the form matters: a Zepbound prescription must be for the KwikPen. Our Medicare guide covers who qualifies.
Comparing your own quote
- Name the brand, form, strength, days supplied and any condition or end date, plus the price that follows.
- Add needles or syringes for Zepbound vials and KwikPens, and any care fee.
- If you’re insured, get a plan-processed quote for the exact product as well as the cash price.
For more ways to lower the bill, see our lowest-cost options guide. The per-brand Wegovy and Zepbound cost guides and the vial and KwikPen guide cover each product in more depth. A lower price for one brand isn’t a reason to change a prescription. If cost matters, raise it with your clinician.