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The number most people find first for Ozempic is about $1,000 a month, and a lot of them stop there. That is the list price, not what a person without insurance has to pay anymore. As of October 2026, the manufacturer’s own self-pay pharmacy lists Ozempic injections at $349 or $499 a month depending on the dose. Prices and offers change, so check the maker’s page before you buy.
How Much Does Ozempic Cost Without Insurance?
NovoCare Pharmacy, Novo Nordisk’s self-pay pharmacy, lists Ozempic injections at $349 a month for the 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg doses and $499 a month for the 2 mg dose. A month is one pen. There is also a $199 a month offer for each of the first two fills of the 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg doses, for patients new to the Ozempic savings offer or to NovoCare Pharmacy, through December 31, 2026. NovoCare also lists Ozempic tablets for type 2 diabetes.
Ozempic’s list price has been roughly $1,000 a month. Novo Nordisk has announced that the list price for Ozempic and for Wegovy will drop to $675 a month on January 1, 2027. The company says that change does not affect its self-pay prices, which is why the self-pay numbers above are the ones to plan around.
How Much Does Wegovy Cost?
For weight loss, the version approved for it is Wegovy. NovoCare lists the injection at $199 a month for the first two fills, covering the 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg doses, for patients new to that offer or to NovoCare Pharmacy, through December 31, 2026. After those two fills it lists $349 a month for the 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.7 and 2.4 mg doses, and $399 for the higher 7.2 mg dose.
There is also a Wegovy pill. Its self-pay prices are listed at $149 a month for the 1.5 mg strength, $199 for 4 mg and $299 for the 9 mg and 25 mg strengths. The pill is a daily medicine taken on an empty stomach, and I compare how the two forms work in Ozempic vs Wegovy.
Does Insurance Cover Ozempic?
It depends on your plan and on why it is prescribed. Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes, so a diabetes prescription is the case insurers are most set up for. Coverage when a doctor prescribes it for weight loss, which is off-label, varies by plan, and so does coverage of Wegovy, so call your insurer and ask before your first fill.
If you have commercial insurance, the Wegovy savings card says you may pay as little as $25 a month, with savings capped at $100 a month. It excludes people with government coverage. Zepbound, the weight loss tirzepatide made by Eli Lilly, lists KwikPen or vial self-pay prices of $299, $399 or $449 for a 28 day supply depending on the dose, with offer terms that run through December 31, 2026.
How Can You Make Ozempic More Affordable Before Your First Fill?
Making Ozempic affordable starts with three phone calls and one written price. Call your insurance plan and ask whether the medication is covered, what insurance coverage looks like for your diagnosis, and whether the prescription needs prior authorization. Call the pharmacy and ask for the cash price for your exact dose. The retail price a pharmacy quotes can differ from the list price and from NovoCare’s self-pay price, so ask which one you are being given. If you cannot afford Ozempic at the quote you get, ask your prescriber whether another medication fits your health situation, because a price comparison only helps when the drug is the right one for you.
Keep every quote in one note: the date, the pharmacy, the dose, how many weeks it covers and whether it is a first-fill offer. Self-pay offers can have an end date, as the NovoCare offers above do, so dated notes keep you from planning around an Ozempic price that has expired. If your prescription changes dose, ask for a new quote, because the price can differ by dose, as the list above shows.
Does Medicare Cover Ozempic or Wegovy?
Ozempic is not part of the new Medicare GLP-1 Bridge. The bridge runs from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 and covers Wegovy (injection or tablet), the Zepbound KwikPen and the Foundayo tablet for eligible adults, with a $50 copay. Eligibility depends on BMI plus certain conditions: BMI 35 or higher, or BMI 30 or 27 and higher with specific heart, kidney, blood pressure or prediabetes conditions. People who already get GLP-1 drugs through a Part D plan, or who have type 2 diabetes, moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea or MASH (fatty liver disease with inflammation and scarring), are excluded.
The details are on Medicare.gov, and I link it below. If you are on Medicare and diabetic, ask your plan about Ozempic for diabetes, since that is a separate question.
What About Compounded Semaglutide Prices?
Be careful here. The FDA says compounded drugs are not FDA approved and that it does not review them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are sold. It has also warned telehealth companies over marketing unapproved GLP-1 drugs, so a low price is the start of the questions, not the end of them.
No credible, non-vendor source for a typical compounded price was available, so there is no range here. As one example, GobyMeds lists a three-month starter for compounded semaglutide at $299 on its own pricing page. More is in the GobyMeds review, and you can also see GobyMeds directly. Code MTVN25 takes $25 off a first GobyMeds order.
The program I use is ShedRX, which offers compounded and brand-name GLP-1 options, including a microdosing product, and I earn a commission if you sign up through that link. Ask any provider for the price in writing, which medication you will receive and which pharmacy fills it. My step by step guide is how to get GLP-1 online.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Ozempic cost per month with insurance?
There is no single number, because it depends on your plan’s copay, deductible and coverage rules. Commercially insured patients may use the manufacturer’s savings card, which for Wegovy can bring the cost to as little as $25 a month, and your plan can tell you the rest.
Will the price of Ozempic go down?
The list price is scheduled to fall from about $1,000 to $675 a month on January 1, 2027, according to the manufacturer. The company has said that does not change what self-pay patients pay, and its self-pay prices have already been lowered to $349 and $499.
Can you use the Ozempic savings card with Medicare?
No. The manufacturer’s savings cards exclude people with government insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare patients should look at the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge for Wegovy, or ask their plan about diabetes coverage.
Is Wegovy cheaper than Ozempic?
At the self-pay level they are close. Both have a $199 offer for the first two fills of the 0.25 and 0.5 mg doses through December 31, 2026. After that, Wegovy is $349 for doses up to 2.4 mg, and Ozempic is $349 for 0.25 to 1 mg and $499 for 2 mg. Wegovy is the version approved for weight management, so ask your prescriber which fits your situation.
Medical disclaimer: this page is general information, not medical or insurance advice. Prices change, so verify each figure on the maker’s page and your plan’s page before you pay.
Sources: Prices are from NovoCare’s Ozempic page, the Wegovy price page and Zepbound’s savings page, all read in October 2026. The list price change is from Novo Nordisk’s announcement, Medicare details are from Medicare.gov, and compounding statements are from the FDA.