Wegovy Alternatives & Comparison
Wegovy (semaglutide) set beside Zepbound, Saxenda, Foundayo: how each works, what its trials measured, what it costs, and who sells it.
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Wegovy Alternatives Compared
Adds GIP to the GLP-1 action, and head-to-head data puts average weight loss higher
Zepbound works through tirzepatide's dual GIP/GLP-1 mechanism to reduce appetite through both central brain signals and peripheral metabolic effects.
One head-to-head settles the weight question and does not settle the whole question. SURMOUNT-5 put Zepbound at −20.2% against Wegovy's −13.7% at 72 weeks, a 6.5-point gap under one protocol. Wegovy answers a different question: SELECT cut major cardiovascular events 20%, and Zepbound's SURPASS-CVOT does not read out until 2027. Cash pricing is a wash at $349–$499. So the honest split is magnitude of weight loss against proven event reduction — and that is a prescriber's call, not a table's.
Full Zepbound vs Wegovy comparison →The daily GLP-1 injection that came first, with a long approval history behind it
Liraglutide is an acylated, 97%-homologous analog of native human GLP-1, modified with a fatty-acid side chain that lets it bind albumin and resist DPP-4 degradation — extending its half-life from minutes to about 13 hours.
Both from Novo Nordisk, both for weight management, and Saxenda is the older drug in every sense. Liraglutide's ~13-hour half-life forces daily injection where semaglutide's ~7 days allows weekly. Wegovy has SELECT and its MACE −20%; Saxenda has no dedicated obesity outcomes trial, only LEADER's −13% at a diabetes dose. The commercial gap is stark — $349–$499 through NovoCare against roughly $1,400 retail with no comparable cash program. There are few arguments left for Saxenda.
Full Saxenda vs Wegovy comparison →Daily oral GLP-1, nothing to inject
Orforglipron is not built as a peptide. It is a small organic molecule that binds the GLP-1 receptor and switches it on directly.
STEP-1 reported −14.9% at 68 weeks for Wegovy; ATTAIN-1 reported −11.1% at 72 weeks for Foundayo. Close enough that delivery and cost may decide it — but Wegovy carries the completed cardiovascular outcome, MACE −20% in SELECT, and Foundayo has no MACE data yet. That is a real asymmetry rather than a footnote: one has been shown to prevent events, the other has been shown to reduce weight. Wegovy runs $349–$499 through NovoCare; Foundayo's pricing is still landing.
Full Foundayo vs Wegovy comparison →An oral option outside the GLP-1 class, usually picked on cost or GI tolerance
Bupropion stimulates hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, which release alpha-MSH to reduce appetite, but POMC neurons also release beta-endorphin, which feeds back onto mu-opioid receptors on the POMC neurons themselves and shuts them off — limiting the appetite-suppressing effect.
The widest cost-to-effect spread in this market. STEP-1 reported −14.9% at 68 weeks for Wegovy; COR-I reported −6.1% at 56 weeks for Contrave. Contrave runs about $99 a month through the Currax direct program against Wegovy's $499 maintenance. Different mechanisms entirely — GLP-1 satiety against an opioid antagonist plus bupropion working on reward and craving. Contrave is also what many insurers make you fail first, which makes this comparison less hypothetical than it sounds.
Full Contrave vs Wegovy comparison →Established oral combination outside the class, for anyone avoiding injectables
Qsymia combines two mechanisms in a single capsule.
STEP-1 reported −14.9% at 68 weeks for Wegovy; EQUIP reported −10.9% at 56 weeks for Qsymia at its top 15/92 mg dose — closer than most people expect. Qsymia runs about $100–$200 a month, and generic phentermine plus topiramate can be around $50, against Wegovy's $499. ⚠ Topiramate carries real teratogenic risk, which is why the pregnancy questions on a Qsymia intake are not a formality.
Full Qsymia vs Wegovy comparison →Compare compounded Semaglutide providers
Compounded semaglutide sits at a middle figure of $189/month across 552 price points in the register, spanning $59 to $1,400. The partners below are ordered by our partner economics.
Compare compounded Tirzepatide providers
Compounded tirzepatide sits at a middle figure of $250/month across 490 price points in the register, spanning $69 to $1,400. The partners below are ordered by our partner economics.
Compare every Wegovy provider
Current price, verification status, product form and the states each seller ships to, all on one screen.