GLP-1 Cost 2026: Mounjaro, Wegovy & Zepbound, UK & US

Breakdown of the cost of GLP-1 medications including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro in the UK and US.

By Orla Rose · Evidence checked 12 September 2026 · Adult lifestyle education · UK & US

September 2026 prices, lowest to highest dose. UK: mid-market pharmacy prices. US: manufacturer self-pay prices.
Treatment	Price range	Supplies per year
Mounjaro KwikPen (UK)	£139–£299 per 28 days	13 pens (52 weeks)
Wegovy pen (UK)	£95–£195 per 28 days	13 pens (52 weeks)
Wegovy pill (UK)	£135–£215 per 30 tablets	12 packs (360 days)
Zepbound (US)	$299–$449 per 28 days	13 supplies (52 weeks)
Wegovy pen (US)	$349 per 28 days ($199 for two starter fills)	13 boxes (52 weeks)
Wegovy pill (US)	$149–$299 per 30 tablets	12 bottles (360 days)

Your price depends on your dose and provider. Some UK providers add consultation, needle or sharps-bin charges; in the US, telehealth programmes and retail pharmacies usually charge more than the manufacturer price, and insurance can charge less. Per-dose tables: UK · US.

How much does Mounjaro cost per month in the UK?

In the September 2026 sample used by the cost planner, Mounjaro KwikPen prices run from about £139 for a 2.5 mg pen to £299 for a 15 mg pen, with intermediate strengths priced between those figures. Each pen covers four weekly doses, or 28 days. Starting doses are short-term treatment stages, so the lowest pen price should not be treated as a year-long treatment quote. UK GLP-1 Cost Planner

How much does Wegovy cost per month in the UK?

For Wegovy injection, the September 2026 sample runs from about £95 per 28-day pen at the lower strengths to £195 at 2.4 mg. The first two sampled strengths are both £95, so prices do not rise at every single dose step. The planner also lists Wegovy tablets at £135–£215 per 30-tablet pack, depending on strength. UK GLP-1 Cost Planner

Why is GLP-1 treatment so expensive in the UK?

Private prices start from the manufacturer’s list price, and for Mounjaro that rose sharply in 2025. From 1 September 2025, Eli Lilly raised the UK list price from £92–£122 to £133–£330 per four-week pen, depending on strength. Community Pharmacy England The company said the UK launch price had been set below European levels and was being brought into line with other developed countries. The Pharmaceutical Journal

NHS patients do not pay these prices. The manufacturer has a confidential commercial arrangement with the NHS, and NHS access depends on clinical priority, not on the private list price. NICE

Pharmacies set their own selling prices, so what you pay can sit above or below the list price. In the September 2026 sample, the 2.5 mg pen averaged £139, slightly above its £133 list price, while the 15 mg pen averaged £299, below its £330 list price. UK GLP-1 Cost Planner

Why does GLP-1 treatment cost more at higher doses?

The list price itself is tiered by strength. For Mounjaro it is £133 at 2.5 mg, £180 at 5 mg, £255 at 7.5 mg and 10 mg, and £330 at 12.5 mg and 15 mg. NICE In the current UK sample, higher strengths of both Mounjaro and Wegovy generally cost more than lower strengths, although the increase is not identical at every step. There is no single UK private price: provider charges vary, and some providers add consultation fees or charges for needles or sharps bins. For budgeting, compare the repeat price for your exact prescription rather than assuming the cheapest starting-dose price will continue. UK GLP-1 Cost Planner

What should you compare before looking at the headline price?

A useful price comparison begins with the same medicine, formulation, prescribed strength and quantity. Two offers described as “monthly” may not cover the same number of days. A US single-dose pen, a four-dose KwikPen and a bottle of tablets are different units.

Ask for a written breakdown of medicine, delivery, consultation, monitoring and any subscription fee. Check whether the first order is discounted and what the next order costs. If the price applies only through a particular programme, record its eligibility and expiry conditions.

The prices below are selected US manufacturer offers; the UK section explains NHS access. They are not a comprehensive pharmacy comparison or a recommendation to choose one treatment. Use a quote for your own prescription when budgeting for private UK care.

Record this	Why it matters
Product, presentation and strength	A price for a different device or dose is not an equivalent quote.
Quantity and days supplied	“Per pen” may mean one dose or several. Ask what the purchase covers.
First and repeat prices	An introductory discount cannot be assumed to continue.
Fees and their frequency	A fee per order differs from a fee per calendar month.
Eligibility and end date	A coupon or funded pathway is not available to everyone.
Actual total paid	Your receipts give a better historical figure than today’s price multiplied backwards.

How much does a year of GLP-1 treatment cost?

For a fixed price per 28-day supply, thirteen supplies cover 364 days, or 52 weeks. That is a useful annual budgeting approximation; it is not exactly 365 days. A cash-flow plan should still show the actual refill dates.

Worked example, using an invented quote: suppose a four-week supply costs £200 and delivery is £5 each time. Each order costs £205. Thirteen orders cost £2,665 over 52 weeks. Spread across twelve budget months, that is approximately £222.08 a month.

Multiplying £205 by twelve gives £2,460, but buys only 48 weeks of supplies. The £205 difference is one additional order, not an increase in the quoted price. These figures illustrate the method; they are not a current pharmacy offer.

For 30 daily tablets, twelve bottles cover 360 days. At an unchanged $299 per bottle, a 365-day consumption equivalent is $299 × 365 ÷ 30 = $3,637.83. Buying thirteen whole bottles would instead cost $3,887 and provide 390 tablets. Which figure helps depends on whether you are estimating consumption or actual purchases. Neither calculation assumes that a particular dose is suitable for a year.

Can you get GLP-1 treatment on the NHS?

Licensing, national recommendations and local NHS access are different stages. Private eligibility does not guarantee an NHS prescription. The relevant route also differs across UK nations.

Nation	What to check
England	NHS England is introducing tirzepatide in GP practices in phases. For 2026/27, primary-care access covers adults with a BMI of 35 or more and at least four of five qualifying conditions. The BMI threshold is 2.5 lower for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds. That is a higher bar than the BMI of 30 that defines obesity. Specialist services have their own routes. Ask your GP or integrated care board which pathway applies. NHS England commissioning guidance
Scotland	The SMC accepted restricted use of tirzepatide for weight management at BMI at least 30 with a weight-related condition, with lower thresholds for specified ethnic groups. Recommendation does not mean immediate local availability; check the health board pathway. SMC public summary
Wales	The clinical pathway, updated in July 2026, primarily routes these medicines through specialist weight-management services, with defined exceptions. Ask your health board about current referral arrangements. Welsh Government pathway
Northern Ireland	Check the current HSC referral route with your GP. The 2025 announcement described plans for a new service; it should not be read as confirmation of an individual’s access today. Department of Health announcement

For England’s primary-care rollout, the five qualifying conditions are cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea and type 2 diabetes. Do not substitute the broader medicine licence for these funding criteria.

Why is GLP-1 treatment so expensive in the US?

US list prices for these medicines have been around $1,000 a month. KFF That figure matters most if your costs are tied to it, for example through a high-deductible plan or coinsurance. Novo Nordisk has announced it will cut the US list price of Wegovy to $675 a month from 1 January 2027, and says its self-pay prices are unchanged. Novo Nordisk

Insurance coverage for weight loss is patchy. A 2024 KFF analysis found Wegovy was covered for weight loss by just 1% of Marketplace drug plans, while 82% covered Ozempic, the same active ingredient, for diabetes. KFF Medicare’s GLP-1 Bridge, explained below, is aimed at people whose Medicare drug plan does not cover a GLP-1 for them. Medicare

Manufacturers now also sell direct to people paying for themselves, at prices well below list. Those prices are in the next section.

What are the selected US self-pay prices in September 2026?

These are manufacturer programme terms checked on 12 September 2026. They are commercial offers, not independent evidence that one treatment is better. Eligibility, availability and terms can change.

Programme and product	Listed self-pay price	Conditions to keep beside the figure
NovoCare Wegovy injection	$349 per four-pen box for 0.25–2.4 mg; $399 for 7.2 mg HD.	Eligible new patients: $199 for each of two introductory fills at 0.25 or 0.5 mg through 31 December 2026. Do not annualise the introductory rate.
NovoCare Wegovy tablets	Per 30-tablet bottle: 1.5 mg $149; 4 mg $199; 9 mg and 25 mg $299.	Price varies by strength; twelve bottles are 360 days of daily tablets.
Zepbound KwikPen self-pay	Per 28-day supply: 2.5 mg $299; 5 mg $399. Higher-dose offer: $449 for 7.5–15 mg.	Continued higher-dose offer requires refill within 45 days of the previous delivery/receipt. Regular prices are $499 at 7.5 mg and $699 at 10–15 mg.

Sources: NovoCare prices and terms; Lilly Zepbound prices and terms. The Zepbound prices above must not be applied to Mounjaro simply because both contain tirzepatide. A commercial refill deadline is not a recommended injection interval.

Introductory-price example: two eligible $199 fills followed by eleven $349 fills total $4,237 for thirteen four-week supplies, assuming the prices and eligibility remain unchanged. It is not $199 × 13 = $2,587. This is a conditional cost scenario, not a recommended treatment schedule.

Does US insurance or Medicare change the calculation?

A manufacturer self-pay price is different from a covered insurance claim. Ask your plan about the exact product and indication, prior authorisation, deductible, pharmacy restrictions and the amount you would pay at the next fill. A drug being listed on a formulary does not establish your final out-of-pocket cost.

Commercial savings cards also have conditions. An “as little as” figure is not a universal copay, and government beneficiaries may be excluded from commercial offers. Compare the programme’s full terms with your plan’s answer before budgeting.

The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge began on 1 July 2026. It provides eligible people with certain GLP-1 products for $50 a month, subject to Part D and clinical eligibility requirements. It is not automatic coverage for everyone on Medicare. Its factsheet lists Foundayo, Wegovy pens and tablets, and Zepbound KwikPen; it excludes Zepbound single-dose pens and vials from this programme. The $50 does not count towards the Part D deductible or out-of-pocket limit. Medicare’s patient factsheet and eligibility criteria

Ask whether your prescription belongs under your usual plan coverage or the Bridge. Do not assume a headline about weight-management access describes coverage for diabetes, sleep apnoea or another indication in exactly the same way.

How can you plan future spending without predicting your weight?

Build a three-, six- and twelve-month spending scenario from the price you actually pay. If you expect a documented offer to expire, use the repeat price after its end date. Include a separate line for costs you cannot yet confirm.

A financial scenario can answer “What would these supplies cost if this price continued?” It cannot reliably answer “When will I reach this weight?” Dividing the weight still to lose by your past average assumes that the same rate will continue. It cannot establish when treatment will end, or whether it will end at that point.

Cost per kilogram or pound lost is a retrospective ratio, not a measure of overall treatment value. It omits health effects, side effects and maintenance, and becomes unstable when the weight change is small. Use it, if at all, as a description of past spending rather than a target to improve.

If affordability is becoming a problem, contact your prescriber before supplies run out. Discuss funding, follow-up and a clinically appropriate plan. Do not stretch injection intervals, change doses or arrange a switch from a cost calculator.

What should you ask before the next order?

What exact product, strength and number of days does this quote cover?
What will the second and later orders cost?
Are delivery, needles, consultations or subscriptions charged separately?
Does this price depend on eligibility, a deadline or a specific pharmacy?
What support is available if the cost becomes unaffordable?
Which costs continue even if a clinician changes the treatment plan?

Keep the answers beside your receipts. That gives you a budget grounded in actual charges and a clearer conversation with the people responsible for your care.

Sources

References are linked beside the relevant information in this article.