Mounjaro starts at 2.5 mg once a week, and it only goes up if your blood sugar needs it. That one condition is the whole difference between this label and the Zepbound one: Mounjaro is a type 2 diabetes medicine, so its label climbs "if additional glycemic control is needed", in 2.5 mg steps, each after at least four weeks on the current dose.1 The ceiling is 15 mg a week for adults and 10 mg for children 10 and older.2 Below is the full chart, every pen and vial Lilly makes, the label's rules for missed doses, and what each step costs.
Your dose, and whether and when it goes up, are set by the clinician who prescribed it. Everything on this page is the manufacturer's published schedule, quoted, so you know what to expect. It is not a recommendation to change a dose.
The Mounjaro dosage chart
| Weekly dose | Label role | Earliest week (every step at the 4-week minimum) | Single-dose pen or vial | Lilly self-pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 mg | Starting dose | 1 | 2.5 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
| 5 mg | Step, if more glycemic control is needed | 5 | 5 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
| 7.5 mg | Step | 9 | 7.5 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
| 10 mg | Step; maximum for children 10 and older | 13 | 10 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
| 12.5 mg | Step (adults) | 17 | 12.5 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
| 15 mg | Maximum for adults | 21 | 15 mg/0.5 mL | from $499 a month |
Sources: label section 2.1 for the schedule and maximums,12 section 3 for the strengths,6 and LillyDirect for the self-pay price, which Lilly lists as "Starting at $499/month" on every strength.10 "Earliest week" is arithmetic, not a target: it is the first week you could reach that dose if every step came at exactly four weeks and every step was needed.
How the schedule works
The label's words for the start are short: the recommended starting dosage "is 2.5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly". The climb has a condition attached: "If additional glycemic control is needed, increase the dosage in 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks on the current dose."1 The label gives the reason for starting low in the same section: the schedule is there "to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions".
Two things follow from that wording, and they are where Mounjaro differs from the weight-loss labels:
- There is no named maintenance dose. The Zepbound label names 5, 10 and 15 mg as maintenance doses for weight. The Mounjaro label does not; it says to increase only if more glycemic control is needed. Many people with type 2 diabetes stay at 5 or 7.5 mg because their A1C is where their prescriber wants it.
- "At least 4 weeks" is a floor, not a timetable. Four weeks is the shortest time on a dose before a step up. Prescribers often wait longer, especially if the stomach side effects of the last step have not settled.
The maximum depends on age. For adults it is "15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly"; for pediatric patients it is "10 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly".2 Since 2025 the label has covered children: Mounjaro is indicated "to improve glycemic control in adults and pediatric patients 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes mellitus".5 It also carries a cardiovascular indication for adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart attack or stroke, added in 08/2026. It is not approved for weight loss; that is Zepbound, the same molecule under a different label (Zepbound vs Mounjaro explains why the label sets your price and your coverage).
Every Mounjaro pen and vial
Lilly makes Mounjaro in three presentations, and they hold the dose differently. This matters if your pharmacy switches you from one to another, which the label specifically warns about: patients should get training for the specific presentation they receive.
| Presentation | Doses in it | Volume per dose | How the strengths differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-dose pen | 1 | 0.5 mL | One pen per strength: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 or 15 mg in 0.5 mL |
| Single-dose vial | 1 | 0.5 mL | Same six strengths in 0.5 mL |
| Multi-dose vial | 4 | 0.6 mL | 2.4 mL per vial; 4.17 mg/mL (2.5 mg doses) up to 25 mg/mL (15 mg doses) |
| KwikPen (single-patient-use) | 4 | set by the pen | Same six dose strengths; 10 mg/2.4 mL up to 60 mg/2.4 mL |
The single-dose strengths, verbatim: "2.5 mg/0.5 mL, 5 mg/0.5 mL, 7.5 mg/0.5 mL, 10 mg/0.5 mL, 12.5 mg/0.5 mL, or 15 mg/0.5 mL".6 The multi-dose vials and KwikPens "each contain 4 doses", and the multi-dose vials are made so that every dose, whatever the strength, is 0.6 mL: a 2.5 mg dose is 0.6 mL of a 4.17 mg/mL vial, a 15 mg dose is 0.6 mL of a 25 mg/mL vial.
What the volume means on a syringe
For vials, the label says to use "a 1 mL syringe capable of measuring a 0.5 mL or 0.6 mL dose" and "a new syringe and needle for each injection".7 On a 1 mL U-100 insulin syringe, 0.5 mL is the 50-unit mark and 0.6 mL is the 60-unit mark. That conversion is arithmetic, and it only holds for Lilly's own vials, where the strength is printed on the label. Compounded tirzepatide vials come in other concentrations, so the units are different; the dosing calculator does the arithmetic for any vial, and your pharmacy label is the source of truth.
Timing, missed doses and changing your injection day
Mounjaro is injected once a week "any time of day, with or without meals".8 The label's rules for the week:
| Situation | The label's rule |
|---|---|
| Missed a dose, 4 days or less ago | Take it as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) of the missed dose, then go back to the usual day.3 |
| Missed a dose, more than 4 days ago | Skip it and take the next dose on the regular day.3 |
| Want to change the weekly day | Allowed, as long as there are at least 3 days (72 hours) between two doses.4 |
| Using oral birth control | Switch to a non-oral method, or add a barrier method, for 4 weeks after starting and for 4 weeks after each dose increase.9 |
The contraception rule is the one people miss. The label's reason: "Use of MOUNJARO may reduce the efficacy of oral hormonal contraceptives due to delayed gastric emptying. This delay is largest after the first dose and diminishes over time."9 That is why the backup applies after the start and again after every step up. If you are on Mounjaro and the pill, that is a conversation for your prescriber at every dose change.
What each Mounjaro dose costs
How you pay decides almost everything here.
With commercial insurance that covers Mounjaro
Lilly's savings card: "You may pay as little as $25 for up to a 3-month prescription of Mounjaro",13 subject to monthly and annual limits, and not for anyone on Medicare, Medicaid or other government coverage. Dose does not change that figure. The full terms, and the cap that makes Mounjaro's card stronger than Zepbound's, are in the Mounjaro savings card.
Paying cash, direct from Lilly
LillyDirect lists every strength the same way, starting with the first: "2.5 mg/0.5 mL Self-pay price: Starting at $499/month".10 Lilly does not publish a different price for higher doses, so on the brand, climbing the ladder does not change the bill; it is $499 a month whether you are on 2.5 mg or 15 mg. A month means a 28-day fill: Lilly defines one fill as "four pens per month".11 A year of twelve fills at that floor comes to at least $5,988.
For comparison, Lilly's list price, the price it sells to wholesalers, "of Mounjaro is $1,112.16 per fill, but the amount you pay will largely depend on your prescription drug insurance plan".12 That is the number pharmacies start from when insurance does not cover it.
The cheaper route most people compare against
Compounded tirzepatide is the same molecule made by compounding pharmacies. It is not FDA-approved, it is not Mounjaro, and it is not dosed from Lilly's pens, but it is how most people paying cash buy tirzepatide. The cheapest verified price on the board today:
Some compounded sellers charge the same at every dose; others charge more as you climb, which is the opposite of Lilly's flat brand price. Titration schedule and cost prices every month of the climb for both routes, and compounded tirzepatide covers what you give up.
Mounjaro, Zepbound and tirzepatide: which dosage chart you need
Three searches, one molecule, three different answers:
- Mounjaro (this page): type 2 diabetes, climbs only if glycemic control needs it, adults to 15 mg, children to 10 mg, one self-pay price at every strength.
- Zepbound: chronic weight management and obstructive sleep apnea, named maintenance doses of 5, 10 and 15 mg, a self-pay price that rises with the dose. See the Zepbound dosage chart.
- Compounded tirzepatide: dosed in mg, drawn in units from a vial whose concentration varies by pharmacy. See the tirzepatide dosage chart and the dosing calculator.
The short version
2.5 mg once a week to start; 2.5 mg steps after at least four weeks, only if more blood sugar control is needed; a maximum of 15 mg for adults and 10 mg for children 10 and older.12 Missed by four days or less, take it; more than four, skip it.3 With commercial coverage the card takes it to as little as $25; without, Lilly charges from $499 a month at every strength.1013 The dose itself is your prescriber's call.
