A telehealth weight loss program is an online clinic that can prescribe a GLP-1 and have it shipped to you, and on our board the cash price starts at $69 a month. You answer a health questionnaire, sometimes join a short video call, a licensed clinician decides whether a GLP-1 is right for you, and a pharmacy mails the medicine. Telehealth itself is nothing exotic: the National Library of Medicine defines it as "the use of communications technologies to provide health care from a distance", and lists "Prescriptions for medicine" among the care you can get that way.1
What separates one program from the next is not the website. It is the price structure, the medicine they prescribe, and whether a clinician is still there after the first box arrives. This page covers all three, then ranks every program we track by today's price.
How an online GLP-1 program works, step by step
- Intake. A questionnaire on your weight, height, health history, current medicines and goals. Some programs add a video or phone visit; some ask for recent lab work.
- Clinician review. A licensed prescriber reads it and decides. A real review can end in a no, or in a request for more information.
- Prescription. If approved, the prescription goes to a pharmacy: a compounding pharmacy for compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide, or a regular or manufacturer pharmacy for a brand like Wegovy or Zepbound.
- Delivery. Injectables ship cold. Check the box on arrival (see the red flags below).
- Follow-up. Check-ins by message or video, dose changes as your prescriber decides, and refills. This is the part most worth asking about before you pay.
The makers run their own version of the same route. Novo Nordisk's pharmacy says "A GLP-1 medicine requires a prescription. Talk to your prescriber, or we can connect you with one", and offers "telehealth, delivery, or pickup".2 The prescription step is not optional anywhere: our guide to getting prescribed a GLP-1 walks through what a clinician looks for.
Who qualifies
The prescriber decides, working from the FDA label of the drug. The two brand weight-loss injections carry the same core wording. Wegovy is approved "to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term" in adults and children 12 and older with obesity, and in "adults with overweight in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition."3 Zepbound's label uses the same phrase for adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one weight-related condition.4
Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide have no label of their own, because "compounded drugs are not FDA approved."6 Programs that prescribe them generally screen against the brand criteria anyway. If a program approves you without asking about your weight, health history or other medicines, treat that as a warning, not a convenience.
What the monthly price actually covers
Most programs advertise one number. Before you compare it with anything, find out which of these it includes.
| Line on the bill | What to ask | How our board handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Medication | Which drug, compounded or brand, injection or oral | Separate brackets, so compounded and brand are never ranked as one |
| Membership or program fee | Is there a monthly fee on top of the medicine? | Any verified fee is added into the all-in figure |
| Dose | Is the price flat, or does it rise as the dose goes up? | Ranked on the entry price; dose tiers shown where the seller publishes them |
| Billing term | Is the low rate monthly, or only with 3, 6 or 12 months paid up front? | Shown per month, with the billing term stated |
| Clinician access | Can you message a clinician after delivery, and is it included? | In each program's details |
| Shipping and cancellation | Free cold shipping? Cancel any time, or a minimum term? | In each program's details |
The three traps are the fee, the dose and the term. A low monthly price with a fee on top can cost more than a higher price with none; our program price guide adds the two for the big-name brands. A price that is flat at every dose stays flat when your prescriber moves you up, while a dose-priced plan rises with each step. And a low rate on a 12-month plan is a year's payment up front, so check what a refund looks like if the medicine does not suit you. FDA lists a seller that will "Charge you for products you never ordered or received" as a warning sign,7 so read the renewal terms before you check out.
Which medicines online programs prescribe
| Medicine | Form | Approved by FDA? | From, on our board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compounded semaglutide | Weekly injection | No, compounded6 | $69/mo |
| Compounded tirzepatide | Weekly injection | No, compounded6 | $85/mo |
| Compounded oral semaglutide | Daily tablet or drops | No, compounded6 | $147/mo |
| Wegovy pill | Daily tablet | Yes, brand | $208/mo |
| Zepbound | Weekly injection | Yes, brand | $358/mo |
Brand prices through a program can include its fee, so set them against the maker's own cash price. Novo's pharmacy sells the Wegovy pill at "$149 for each month of 1.5 mg, $199 per month for 4 mg and $299 per month for 9 mg and 25 mg", and the Wegovy pen at $199 for each of two starter fills if you are new, "then $349 per month" at every strength up to 2.4 mg.2 A program charging more than that for the same box is charging for its service, which may or may not be worth it to you.
Every program we track, cheapest first
This is the live board: partner programs only, ranked by today's all-in price, with any verified fee added. How each one is scored is on our methodology page; nothing in the order is paid for.
Looking for one molecule? The semaglutide ranking and the tirzepatide ranking are the same data cut to one drug.
Red flags, in FDA's words
FDA keeps a list of telehealth warning signs for GLP-1s. Each is a reason to stop before you pay.5
| FDA red flag | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| "does not require a screening and prescription by a licensed doctor before providing medicine" | Checkout before any health questions, or approval with no review |
| "does not have a licensed doctor available to answer questions after you receive your medication" | No way to reach a clinician once the first box ships |
| "makes claims such as the compounded drug is the same as an FDA-approved drug" | Calling compounded semaglutide "generic Wegovy" or "the same as Ozempic" |
| "offers medicine at deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true" | A price far below every program on the board above |
| "makes spelling errors on the label or provides incorrect addresses of the pharmacy" | A pharmacy name or address you cannot find in a state licence lookup |
FDA's advice for GLP-1s specifically is to "obtain a prescription from their doctor and fill the prescription at a state-licensed pharmacy."5 The pharmacy check takes two minutes: look up the dispensing pharmacy in your state board of pharmacy's database, which FDA links state by state. FDA's own rule: "If your online pharmacy is not listed, you should not use that pharmacy."8 The full routine is in how to check a GLP-1 seller is legitimate.
When the box arrives
- Cold. FDA recommends patients "not use any injectable GLP-1 drug that arrives warm or with insufficient refrigeration".6 Contact the program before you use it.
- Vials. Compounded injections often come in multi-dose vials. FDA says to "Discard the vial within 28 days after the first use, even if medication remains in the vial."6
- The label. Check the pharmacy name and address against the licence lookup. For questions about the label or how to use it, FDA points you to "the compounder who made the drug or the telehealth platform where you purchased the drug".5
What telehealth cannot do
The National Library of Medicine is plain about the limits. A clinician who is "not your regular provider" may "not have all of your medical history", "it may be up to you to coordinate your care with your regular provider", and "your provider may need you to come in for a lab test."1 For a weekly medicine you may take for a long time, tell your own doctor what you are on, and keep a copy of every prescription.
Insurance is the other limit. "Some insurance companies may not cover telehealth visits",1 and most cash programs do not bill insurance for the medicine at all. If your plan covers Wegovy or Zepbound, your own doctor filing a prior authorisation usually beats any cash program; see how to get a GLP-1 covered by insurance.
Your checklist before you sign up
- Know the drug. Compounded or brand, injection or pill. They are priced on separate rows for a reason.
- Get the all-in monthly number. Medicine plus any fee, at the dose you will be on in month three, on the billing term you will actually pick.
- Expect a real screening. Health history, weight, current medicines, and a clinician who can decline.
- Ask about follow-up. Who answers after delivery, and is it included?
- Check the pharmacy. Licensed in your state's board database, US address, a pharmacist you can reach.8
- Compare against the board. Semaglutide, tirzepatide, or the full list above.
