Tirzepatide cost: every price for the molecule, per month, per mg and per year

Tirzepatide has no single price. The same molecule sells under three names, through five payment routes, at six doses, and the spread runs from $25 to $1,112.16 for a four-week supply. Compounded, it runs $119 to $399 a month on our board today. As Zepbound bought from Lilly with cash, it is $299 for the first month and $449 a month at the higher doses if you refill on time. As Mounjaro on LillyDirect, it is $499 a month at any strength. Below is every route, priced per month, per dose, per milligram and per year, with each maker figure quoted from the maker's own page and read on October 2026.

Every tirzepatide price on one table

Start here, find the row that describes you, then jump to its section. Maker prices are quoted with a source; seller prices come from the live board and update when a seller changes its page.

A "fill" in every Lilly figure is four weekly doses. Lilly defines a monthly supply of Zepbound as "28 days per month",¹ and a Mounjaro fill as "four pens per month".⁴ Keep that in mind for the yearly maths further down: a year of weekly injections is 13 of those fills, not 12.

Compounded tirzepatide: the board, live

Compounded tirzepatide is the same active ingredient prepared by a licensed pharmacy and sold through telehealth programmes. It is the cheapest way to buy the molecule, and it carries a real trade: FDA says unapproved versions "do not undergo FDA’s review for safety, effectiveness and quality before they are marketed".¹³ Here is every seller we track, with each price read from the seller's own page:

Three numbers summarise the board. The floor is $119 a month, the middle seller charges $169, and the top of the range is $399. Divided into four weekly injections, the floor works out to $29.75 a shot and the median to $42.25.

The board price is an entry price. Many sellers charge more as the dose climbs, and several price a 3-, 6- or 12-month plan below their month-to-month rate, so read the plan length before you compare two sellers. Each seller's own dose ladder sits here:

The cheapest tirzepatide page ranks the same sellers by entry price, the compounded tirzepatide page holds the product facts, and the compounded tirzepatide guide covers how compounding works and what to ask a seller before paying.

Zepbound from Lilly: $299 to $699 by dose

Lilly sells Zepbound to cash patients through LillyDirect as a single-dose vial (four in a carton) or a KwikPen that holds four doses. Both forms cost the same at each strength. Lilly's footnote describes this as "the price at which Lilly sells the product directly to patients", and adds that it "is not the WAC", the wholesale list price.¹

Since February 23, 2026, the higher doses carry a second, lower price. Lilly's terms: "Pay $449 for each 1-month supply of the 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, and 15 mg Zepbound® single-dose vial or Zepbound® KwikPen® for single-patient-use."³ The condition is timing: the refill has to be completed "within 45 days of the delivery/received date" of the previous one.³ Miss that window and the regular price returns, which Lilly prints as "$499 for 7.5mg, $699 for 10mg, $699 for 12.5mg, and $699 for 15mg".²

Two costs sit outside the sticker. The KwikPen page says "Pen needle purchase required", and the vial page says "Needle and syringe purchase required". Lilly's terms also say "Additional taxes and fees may apply."^{3 2} Budget a few dollars a month on top for supplies.

The Zepbound without insurance guide works through the vial and pen mechanics in more depth.

Mounjaro: $499 self-pay, $1,112.16 at list

Mounjaro is the same tirzepatide, approved for type 2 diabetes. LillyDirect prints one self-pay price against all six strengths: "Starting at $499/month".⁵ The flat price is unusual. Against the vial and KwikPen prices above, that is $200 more at 2.5 mg, $200 less than the regular $699 from 10 mg, and $50 more than the $449 refill price.

The catch is the prescription. The buyer confirms "I have been prescribed Mounjaro for an approved use consistent with the FDA-approved product labeling."⁶ For weight loss alone, that is Zepbound's label, not Mounjaro's. At a retail pharmacy with no programme, Lilly puts the list price at $1,112.16 per fill, and tells people without coverage they "may be eligible for self-pay savings options" instead.⁴ The Mounjaro cost guide covers the diabetes coverage route in detail.

Tirzepatide price per month, at each dose

The label sets the order of the doses. Zepbound's prescribing information reads: "The recommended starting dosage is 2.5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks. Increase the dosage in 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks until recommended maintenance dosage is achieved."¹¹ Your prescriber decides where you stop. What each step costs, per four-week fill and per weekly injection:

Sources: Zepbound regular and refill prices from Lilly's terms,³ Mounjaro from LillyDirect.⁵ The tirzepatide dosage chart lays out the label's dose steps and pen strengths without the prices.

Tirzepatide cost per mg

This is the view that explains Lilly's pricing. Lilly charges by the month, not by the milligram, so the price per milligram falls as the dose rises. A four-week fill holds four doses, so a 2.5 mg fill is 10 mg of tirzepatide and a 15 mg fill is 60 mg.

Read it two ways. Per milligram, the 15 mg fill on the refill offer is a quarter of the starting fill's rate: $7.48 against $29.90. And per milligram, the 10 mg regular rate ($17.48) is higher than the 7.5 mg rate ($16.63), because the regular price jumps $200 at that step while the dose rises only a third. The refill offer removes that jump.

Compounded tirzepatide does not fit this table honestly. Sellers price by plan and dose band rather than by milligram, and many do not publish the strength their entry price buys, so a per-mg figure would be a guess. The seller ladders above show each one's price at each dose they list.

How much tirzepatide costs per year

A year of weekly injections is 52 doses, which is 13 four-week fills. Most cost pages multiply by 12 and come in a month short. Both columns are below, so you can match whichever way your seller bills.

Zepbound bought direct

The other routes

The first table holds Lilly's Zepbound prices;³ the Mounjaro self-pay row is LillyDirect's;⁵ the list rows are Lilly's pricing pages;¹⁴ the card row assumes the full $25 copay applies all year, which depends on your plan's copay (next section). For compounded plans, check whether your seller bills by the calendar month or every four weeks, and use the matching column.

Tirzepatide with insurance: the $25 card and its caps

If a commercial plan covers the box you are prescribed, Lilly's cards bring the copay down to "as little as $25" for a one-, two- or three-month fill.⁷⁸ The caps decide whether you reach $25.

The caps, in Lilly's words. The Zepbound card pays "up to $100 per 1-month prescription, $200 per 2-month prescription, or $300 per 3-month prescription fill" with "a separate maximum annual savings of up to $1,300 per calendar year".⁷ The Mounjaro card pays "up to $150 per 1-month prescription, $300 per 2-month prescription, or $450 per 3-month prescription fill", with an annual maximum "of up to $1,950 per calendar year".⁸

Thirteen fills at the monthly maximum equal the annual maximum exactly, so the monthly cap is the one that bites. Example: with a $200 plan copay, the $100 cap leaves you paying $100 a fill, and the $150 cap leaves you paying $50.

Three limits apply to both. Government plans are excluded: Lilly's Mounjaro page names Medicaid, Medicare, Medigap, DoD, VA and TRICARE among them.⁴ Coverage follows the label, so Mounjaro prescribed for weight alone is usually refused, and Zepbound is covered by some plans and not others. And both cards say "Card expires and savings end on 12/31/2026",⁷⁸ so the 2027 terms are not yet published. For plans that refuse coverage, Lilly runs separate not-covered offers; the Zepbound cost guide and the Mounjaro cost guide carry those terms.

Medicare: $50 a month, KwikPen only

CMS runs a demonstration that gives eligible Part D members access to certain GLP-1 drugs "between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027", with "a $50 copay".¹⁰ Lilly's LillyDirect page frames it as "select weight loss medicines for just $50 per month".⁹

For tirzepatide, the Bridge covers one product. Lilly's eligibility checklist reads "I am or I will be using Foundayo or Zepbound KwikPen for weight management".⁹ The single-dose pen and the vial are not on it, and neither is Mounjaro. If you are on Medicare and paying cash for a vial, ask your prescriber whether a KwikPen prescription under the Bridge fits you. The clinical criteria are on Medicare's own page.

Is there a generic tirzepatide?

No. Zepbound and Mounjaro are the only FDA-approved tirzepatide products, and both belong to Eli Lilly. FDA's Orange Book lists the main tirzepatide patent, 9474780, as expiring on 05/13/2036,¹² so a cheaper generic should not be expected before then, and later patents run past that date. Anything sold as "generic tirzepatide" today is either compounded or not legitimate. The generic tirzepatide guide walks through the patent and exclusivity dates.

What changed, and when

What changes the price you pay

• The name on the prescription. Zepbound, Mounjaro and compounded tirzepatide are the same molecule at different prices, and each self-pay programme asks for a prescription that matches its approved use.
• The dose. Zepbound climbs from $299 to $699 by dose unless the refill offer applies. Mounjaro self-pay does not climb. Compounded sellers often charge more per dose band.
• Refill timing. One refill later than 45 days moves 10 mg and above from $449 to $699 for that fill.
• Coverage. A plan that covers the box plus Lilly's card is the cheapest branded route by far; a plan that refuses it leaves you on self-pay prices.
• Government insurance. It shuts the manufacturer cards and opens the Medicare Bridge, for the KwikPen only.
• Plan length. Compounded sellers often discount 3-, 6- and 12-month plans, paid up front or monthly.
• Supplies and tax. Pen needles or syringes are extra on LillyDirect, and tax may apply.

Which route costs you least

• Commercial insurance that covers Zepbound or Mounjaro: use the card. A year can cost $300 to $325 if your copay is under the cap.
• Medicare Part D, prescribed for weight: ask about the GLP-1 Bridge and a Zepbound KwikPen prescription: $50 a month.
• No coverage, want the branded drug for weight: Zepbound from Lilly, $299 then $399, then $449 a month if you never refill late.
• No coverage, type 2 diabetes: Mounjaro on LillyDirect at $499 a month, or ask your prescriber whether Zepbound's label fits you.
• No coverage, price first: compounded tirzepatide from $119 a month on our board, with the FDA-approval trade-off stated above. Check the seller first.

The short answer

Tirzepatide costs $119 to $399 a month compounded, $299 to $699 as Zepbound direct from Lilly with $449 at the top doses for on-time refills, $499 as Mounjaro self-pay, $25 with insurance that covers it and Lilly's card, and $50 on Medicare's Bridge for the KwikPen. At list price with no programme it is $1,086.37 to $1,112.16 a fill, which nobody paying cash has to pay. Over a full year of 13 fills at the higher doses, paying Lilly cash for the Zepbound vial or KwikPen comes to about $5,600 to $9,100. On the compounded board floor, a year is about $1,400.