Question 1

Which works better for weight loss, Saxenda or Foundayo?

Accepted Answer

Saxenda recorded ~-8.0% / 56 wk (SCALE Obesity, 3.0 mg); Foundayo recorded -11.1% / 72 wk (ATTAIN-1, 17.2 mg). ⚠ These come from separate trials with different protocols and populations, so the gap between two numbers from two studies is weaker evidence than it looks. No head-to-head trial of this pair is on record here.

Question 2

Are Saxenda and Foundayo the same drug?

Accepted Answer

No. Saxenda is liraglutide and Foundayo is orforglipron — different molecules, and they work differently: Peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist against Non-peptide small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Results with one do not predict results with the other.

Question 3

Is Saxenda or Foundayo cheaper?

Accepted Answer

On the manufacturers' own cash pricing: Saxenda at About $1,400/mo retail, with no manufacturer cash program, Foundayo at Direct-pay pricing was still pending at its 2026 launch. ⚠ That is the list-price comparison, and it is not what most people pay. What you actually pay depends on whether your plan covers it, which formulary tier it sits in, and whether you have met your deductible — and for many people the honest comparison is between an insured copay and a cash-pay compounded alternative rather than between these two figures.

Question 4

How is each one taken?

Accepted Answer

Saxenda: 0.6 -> 1.2 -> 1.8 -> 2.4 -> 3.0 mg daily (5-step weekly titration). Foundayo: 0.8 -> 2.5 -> 5.5 -> 9 -> 14.5 -> 17.2 mg daily (6-step titration). Worth weighing honestly against your own habits — the best drug for you is partly the one you will still be taking in eight months, and a dosing routine that does not fit a life gets abandoned.

Question 5

What does a compounded version of each actually cost?

Accepted Answer

Across the 556 sellers in this register, the cheapest standing monthly cash prices we hold are liraglutide from $160 a month and orforglipron from $149 a month. ⛔ A compounded preparation is not the approved product: no agency has reviewed that specific preparation for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality, and the legal ground under compounding these molecules narrowed once the shortages closed. The price gap is real and so is the difference in oversight.

Question 6

Can I switch from Saxenda to Foundayo?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with a prescriber. Expect to re-titrate from the bottom of the new drug's ladder rather than starting where you left off: these are different molecules and tolerance to one does not transfer to the other. Both the old drug's washout and the new drug's schedule apply.

Question 7

Which one should I ask for?

Accepted Answer

That is a prescriber's call, and anyone answering it from a table is guessing. What a page like this can do is tell you what the trials measured, what the manufacturers charge, and where the evidence is still missing, so the conversation starts from the record rather than from an advertisement.

Field	Saxenda	Foundayo
Route	Daily subcutaneous injection (prefilled pen)	Daily oral tablet
Dosing schedule	0.6 -> 1.2 -> 1.8 -> 2.4 -> 3.0 mg daily (5-step weekly titration)	0.8 -> 2.5 -> 5.5 -> 9 -> 14.5 -> 17.2 mg daily (6-step titration)
Mechanism	Peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist	Non-peptide small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist
Weight loss (obesity pivotal)	~-8.0% / 56 wk (SCALE Obesity, 3.0 mg)	-11.1% / 72 wk (ATTAIN-1, 17.2 mg)
How each compares against weight-labeled semaglutide	-6.4% at 68 weeks when measured directly against it (STEP-8)	Never tested against it — its trials were run separately
Whether food gets in the way	None — inject any time of day	None — swallow it whenever, with or without food
What it is approved to treat	Long-term weight management in adults, and in adolescents from 12	Long-term weight management in adults only. It holds no diabetes indication — that filing is still pending
Youngest approved age	12 and over, at a BMI matching the adult obesity threshold	Adults only
What it costs if you pay cash	About $1,400/mo retail, with no manufacturer cash program	Direct-pay pricing was still pending at its 2026 launch

Saxenda vs Foundayo: Daily Needle or Daily Pill

The verdict

Side-by-side comparison

What each one costs in the compounded market

Frequently asked questions