Edessa Review
Semaglutide & tirzepatide GLP-1 weight-loss telehealth · Independently scored 8/10
Best for: compounded semaglutide by injection or tablet at one price per dose, with pharmacies named
Edessa scores highest on the clinical side (which drugs it prescribes and how it doses) and lowest on follow-up care. It charges from $179 a month; its compounded tirzepatide, at $239, is 11% below the $269 median among the sellers we compare.
Some of the links on this page earn us money. If you sign up with a provider after following one, that provider may pay GLP Watchdog a commission. Learn more
Covered by the monthly price
Medication
In the price
Clinician visits
In the price
Shipping
In the price
Lab work
Not stated
Coaching
Not stated
Prices checked October 2026
Edessa is a cash-pay telehealth weight-loss service from Edessa Group, LLC of Las Vegas, with prescribing handled by OpenLoop Health's clinician network. It sells compounded semaglutide as a weekly injection or a daily dissolving tablet, plus compounded tirzepatide, at the same price at every dose, and it names four partner pharmacies. Month to month, the semaglutide injection is $179, the tablet $229 and tirzepatide $239; the advertised $135 is the 6-month plan rate.
Is Edessa legit?
Yes. Edessa is a real, operating US company, and we found no FDA warning letters issued to it. We rate it 8.0/10 overall, across six areas from price to trust and safety. Legitimate is not the same as right for you, though: that part is a decision for you and a licensed clinician.
Is there an Edessa promo or coupon code?
We know of no promo or coupon code for Edessa. Its listed price is $179 a month. Coupon sites advertising "Edessa discount codes" are not a source we can vouch for, and any genuine offer shows at checkout without a code.
See how Edessa compares on our rankings of the best semaglutide providers and the best tirzepatide providers.
Vetted alternatives to Edessa
Embody
Best for: a flat compounded tirzepatide or semaglutide price at every dose, from a seller that names its pharmacies
Editorial score · methodology
Editorial score · methodology
Editorial score · methodology
Edessa at a glance
- Type
- GLP-1 telehealth provider
- Medications
- Semaglutide, Tirzepatide
- Starting price
- $179/mo
- Pricing model
- Flat: the price stays the same as the dose goes up
- What's included
- Medication · Consult · Shipping
- Availability
- All 50 states + DC
- FDA status
- No FDA warning letters found
How Edessa scores
Six columns, each one computed from something Edessa has published rather than from an opinion we formed: what it charges, which molecules it will dispense, what its record shows, and what the monthly figure actually buys. Where a seller keeps something back, such as its price or its pharmacy, the score reflects it. Every seller we review goes through the same six columns.
Value25%
5.9/10$239/month is 11% below the $269 median for compounded tirzepatide across the sellers we compare.
Effectiveness25%
10.0/10Dispenses semaglutide and tirzepatide, compounded only. Anchored to SURMOUNT-1 (tirzepatide, -20.9%) and STEP 1 (semaglutide, -14.9%).
User Experience15%
8.0/10A price is shown before the questionnaire starts.
Trust & Safety15%
7.5/10No pharmacy is named for its prescriptions. It shows a price before asking for health information. It lists the states it serves.
Accessibility10%
10.0/10Serves all 50 states and DC.
Support10%
7.0/10The price covers the medication, clinician visits and shipping.
A seller that shows no price until after the medical intake loses points on User Experience and Trust & Safety, and its review says so. How we score →
What we checked on Edessa
Last checked October 2026- Checked the listed price across 3 dose or plan tiers
- Checked state coverage: all 50
- Checked what the monthly price covers, and what it leaves out
- Checked FDA warning letters for Edessa
Price, availability, and compliance here are read off the seller's own pages and off primary regulatory records, named in the sources below.
What signing up with Edessa involves
What to expect on the way to a prescription: where the price appears, who fills the medication, and what the monthly price covers. It is not medical advice, and a clinician makes the prescribing decision.
- 1Edessa shows a price on its own site before asking anything about you, so you can compare it with other sellers before you start a questionnaire.
- 2Ask Edessa which pharmacy fills the prescription before you pay. The pharmacy's name is what lets you check its license.
- 3The monthly price includes the medication, clinician visits and shipping.
- Lowest ongoing monthly price: semaglutide $179, tirzepatide $239. That leaves out membership fees, first-month rates and insurance copays.
- Edessa serves all 50 states and DC.
- The medication is compounded, so it is not an FDA-approved product and has not been reviewed by the agency for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality.
Contacting Edessa
- Phone
- (270) 910-2233
- Edessa offers email support
Cancelling Edessa
Taken from the terms Edessa publishes. Terms change, so check the current policy before you subscribe.
- Cancel any time
- Yes
- Minimum commitment
- 1-month plan with no contract per the FAQ; 3- and 6-month plans are offered, and their billing terms are not stated publicly
- Refund policy
- Refund "(minus dr. consult fees of 25%) if you can demonstrate that you have not lost weight after following our weight loss program for a minimum of 5 months"
Medications Edessa lists
Edessa lists compounded semaglutide and compounded tirzepatide. Each one has its own guide: how it works, the dosing schedule, the side effects that show up in practice, and what the trials measured.
Pricing
Prices re-verified
$179 is the 1-month plan. The same plan table lists $160/mo on a 3-month plan and $135/mo on a 6-month plan, which is the "starting at $135" figure. Edessa does not say whether the longer plans are charged upfront, and its FAQ separately calls $135 a first-month price with no contract.
Compounded semaglutide as a once-daily dissolvable tablet. The plan table lists $209/mo on a 3-month plan and $199/mo on a 6-month plan, the "starting at $199" figure; whether longer plans are charged upfront is not stated.
$239 is the 1-month plan. The plan table lists $219/mo on a 3-month plan and $209/mo on a 6-month plan, the "starting at $209" figure; whether longer plans are charged upfront is not stated.
Check the price yourself before you pay
Every figure here comes from Edessa's own website, as of the date shown. Sellers move prices without announcing it, and promotional rates lapse, so confirm the standing cost on their site before committing.
In its favor
- Semaglutide costs $179 a month, 10% below the $199 median for compounded semaglutide across the sellers we compare
- Tirzepatide costs $239 a month, 11% below the $269 median for compounded tirzepatide across the sellers we compare
- Shows its price before the medical questionnaire, so you can compare it without handing over health information
- The monthly price stays the same as your dose goes up
- The monthly price includes the medication, clinician visits and shipping
- Serves all 50 states and DC
- We found no FDA warning letters issued to Edessa
Against it
- Ask which pharmacy fills the prescription before you pay, so you can check its license
- Its semaglutide and tirzepatide are compounded rather than FDA-approved, so they have not been reviewed by the agency for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality
What Edessa charges
Edessa charges $179/month, and holds that rate across every dose. Flat dose pricing matters more than it sounds: on a tiered plan the bill grows with the dose, so the figure that got you to sign up is not the one you end up paying.
- Compounded semaglutide (injection): $179/month
- Compounded semaglutide (tablet): $229/month
- Compounded tirzepatide: $239/month
For compounded tirzepatide, the median across the sellers we compare is $269/month, so Edessa's $239 is genuinely below the middle, not just advertised that way. Before you pay, compare Edessa's cancellation terms with other sellers' cancellation and refund policies. Across the compounded market the dearest tenth of sellers charges about three times what the cheapest tenth does; how much GLP-1 prices actually vary explains the spread.
Bodybuilding Health+, at about $179/month, is the closest like-for-like alternative we review.
What Edessa dispenses
Edessa prescribes semaglutide (approved as Wegovy and Ozempic) and tirzepatide (approved as Zepbound and Mounjaro). Between them these are the two molecules with the largest published weight-loss trial programs behind them. The medication is compounded rather than dispensed as an approved pen. Compounding serves real clinical needs and is entirely lawful; what it is not is reviewed, and the cost difference reflects that. The molecule can be the one in Ozempic and Wegovy; what differs is the formulation, the concentration and the dose ladder.
A needle-free oral option is genuinely uncommon and is the reason some readers will look at Edessa at all. Set expectations on the evidence, though: the published weight-loss trials for these molecules used injections. Oral and sublingual delivery of peptides is far less studied, so treat it as a route that solves the needle problem rather than as a proven equal to the shot.
Safety and disclosure
Edessa tells you its price before you start the medical questionnaire and that it treats patients in all 50 states. We found no FDA warning letters issued to Edessa. Because the medication is compounded, the most useful question to ask at intake is which licensed pharmacy fills the prescription. If Edessa will not tell you, treat that as a warning sign. A 503A pharmacy answers to a state board and a 503B facility to the FDA; which one fills it changes what you can check. How we weigh oversight, disclosure and price is set out in our scoring methodology.
Who should look elsewhere
- You want the FDA-approved pen specifically. Everything listed here is compounded.
- You need insurance to cover the cost. Check whether Edessa bills your plan before you start.
It fits if
- the lowest standing monthly cost is what you are solving for
- you want the price to stop moving as your dose climbs
- injections are the thing keeping you from starting
- you need access wherever you live
Our read
Edessa competes on price without an obvious sacrifice elsewhere: $239/month for compounded tirzepatide, no FDA warning letters, and wide state coverage.
The Bottom Line
Edessa scores highest on the clinical side (which drugs it prescribes and how it doses) and lowest on follow-up care. It charges from $179 a month; its compounded tirzepatide, at $239, is 11% below the $269 median among the sellers we compare.
Before you pay Edessa
Starting at $179 a month. Check today's price, then start the intake.
Where Edessa is the wrong choice
No seller suits every reader, and pretending otherwise is the easiest way to sell one. On these three counts, another seller does better.
- If you need the FDA-approved pen rather than a compounded vial, consider WellMedRx.
- If the standing monthly cost is what decides it, consider Collective (from $59/mo + membership).
- If you want a human checking in, not just a prescription, consider Eden.
If none of these fits, our guide to alternatives to Edessa sets more sellers in the same category beside Edessa on price, states and what the price includes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to check Edessa yourself
- We Read FDA's Register of Compounding Facilities. 43 of 100 Have Never Been Inspected.
- How to Get a GLP-1 Prescription
- FDA Warning Letters to Peptide Sellers: What FDA Has Cited, 2023 to 2026
Every seller that ships to your state, side by side: California, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and every other state.
Glossary
The words sellers use, defined. Tap any term.
- Semaglutide · Drugs and brands
- Tirzepatide · Drugs and brands
- Compounded GLP-1 · Pharmacy and drug forms
- 503A pharmacy · Pharmacy and drug forms
- PCAB accreditation · Pharmacy and drug forms
- Prior authorization (PA) · Insurance and regulatory
- Off-label use · Insurance and regulatory
- FDA Drug Shortage List · Insurance and regulatory
Sources
Cited across this Edessa review: primary regulatory filings, and peer-reviewed studies.
Sources & methodology — as of October 2026
- 1.GLP Watchdog — GLP-1 Pricing Index 2026 (our independent dataset)— GLP Watchdog.
- 2.FDA — Compounding and the 503A Pharmacy Framework— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 3.FDA — Drug Shortages Database (current shortage listings)— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 4.PCAB — Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board Standards— Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) / PCAB.
- 5.KFF — Medicaid coverage research (anti-obesity & GLP-1 drug policy)— Kaiser Family Foundation.
- 6.STEP 1 Trial — Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (Wilding JPH et al.)— New England Journal of Medicine.PMID: 33567185.
- 7.FDA — Wegovy (semaglutide) Approval History via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 8.FDA — Ozempic (semaglutide) Prescribing Information via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 9.SURMOUNT-1 Trial — Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity (Jastreboff AM et al.)— New England Journal of Medicine.PMID: 35658024.
- 10.FDA — Zepbound (tirzepatide) Approval History via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 11.FDA — Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Prescribing Information via Drugs@FDA— U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
- 12.SURMOUNT-5 Trial — Tirzepatide vs. Semaglutide Head-to-Head in Obesity (Aronne LJ et al.)— New England Journal of Medicine.PMID: 40353578.
See Edessa's current pricing
Plans start at $179 a month. Whether you qualify is a clinician's decision, made after your intake.