Question 1

Are Wegovy and Saxenda the same drug?

Accepted Answer

No. Wegovy is semaglutide and Saxenda is liraglutide — different molecules, and they work differently: GLP-1 receptor agonist (long-acting, ~7-day half-life) against GLP-1 receptor agonist (short-acting, ~13-hour half-life). Results with one do not predict results with the other.

Question 2

Is Wegovy or Saxenda cheaper?

Accepted Answer

On the manufacturers' own cash pricing: Wegovy at $349-$499/mo through the manufacturer's cash-pay program, Saxenda at About $1,400/mo retail, with no comparable program. ⚠ 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 3

How is each one taken?

Accepted Answer

Wegovy: Once-weekly subcutaneous injection. Saxenda: Once-daily subcutaneous injection. 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 4

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 semaglutide from $79 a month and liraglutide from $160 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 5

Can I switch from Wegovy to Saxenda?

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 6

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	Wegovy	Saxenda
Head-to-head (STEP-8, 68 weeks)	-15.8% body weight (semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly)	-6.4% body weight (liraglutide 3.0 mg daily)
Mechanism	GLP-1 receptor agonist (long-acting, ~7-day half-life)	GLP-1 receptor agonist (short-acting, ~13-hour half-life)
Dosing frequency	Once-weekly subcutaneous injection	Once-daily subcutaneous injection
Whether a trial proved it prevents heart attacks and strokes	SELECT cut major cardiac events 20% in obesity without diabetes	No trial at this dose. LEADER cut them 13% at the 1.8 mg diabetes dose of the same molecule
Weight lost in the pivotal trial	-14.9% over 68 weeks (STEP-1)	-8.0% over 56 weeks (SCALE Obesity)
What it costs if you pay cash	$349-$499/mo through the manufacturer's cash-pay program	About $1,400/mo retail, with no comparable program
What it is approved to treat	Long-term weight management, plus reducing cardiac risk since March 2024	Long-term weight management, in adults and from age 12
Youngest approved age	12 and over, approved December 2022	12 and over, approved December 2020, at a body weight above 60 kg

Wegovy vs Saxenda: Weekly or Daily, and the Price Gap

The verdict

Side-by-side comparison

What each one costs in the compounded market

Frequently asked questions