Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide: Which GLP-1 Costs Less and Works Better?

Semaglutide and tirzepatide are the two molecules that define modern weight-management prescribing, and the honest answer to "which is better" is: it depends on whether you are optimizing for the scale or for your budget. This guide separates the efficacy evidence from the price data so you can make the trade deliberately.

Efficacy: tirzepatide leads on average

The trial evidence is unusually clean here. Semaglutide 2.4 mg (the dose used in Wegovy) produced roughly 15% mean weight loss over 68 weeks in its pivotal trial¹. Tirzepatide produced up to about 21% over 72 weeks at its highest dose in its own pivotal trial². And in a head-to-head trial in people with type 2 diabetes, tirzepatide reduced body weight and blood sugar more than a 1 mg dose of semaglutide³. Taken together, the data point one direction on average efficacy: tirzepatide tends to deliver more weight loss. That does not mean it is right for everyone — individual response, tolerability, and side-effect profiles vary, and those are conversations for your clinician.

Cost: semaglutide is usually the cheaper molecule

Now flip to price. Across the compounded providers we track, semaglutide is frequently the lower-cost molecule of the two. Disclosed prices reach as low as roughly $65–$100 per month for compounded semaglutide, while compounded tirzepatide typically sits higher — often $110 to $349 per month depending on the provider and dose (per each provider's published pricing, last reviewed 2026). A handful of providers price both molecules identically, such as Found, which lists the same figure for each, and Curex; others, like Vitara RX, keep both low. You can compare live numbers in the cost calculators.

The value question: dollars per point of weight loss

This is where WeighLab's angle earns its keep. Tirzepatide may deliver more weight loss, but if it costs meaningfully more per month, the better value depends on how you weight results against spend. If tirzepatide costs 50% more but delivers roughly a third more average weight loss, a results-first shopper may still find it the better buy; a budget-first shopper may get most of the benefit from semaglutide at a lower sustainable cost. The wrong move is to pick the molecule on efficacy alone and then discover the price is not sustainable for a year — because a medication you stop paying for stops working.

How to decide

Start with your constraint. If cost is the hard limit, price out compounded semaglutide from a verified provider and confirm you can afford it for 12 months. If results are the priority and the budget stretches, tirzepatide's efficacy edge is real and well-evidenced. Either way, rank your finalists on total annual cost — not the intro sticker — using the true monthly cost of GLP-1, read the full provider reviews, and settle it side by side on the compare tool.