Free tool

GLP-1 treatment cost calculator

What a year of tirzepatide or semaglutide really costs: with dose escalation up front, with the actual number of packs — which is 13 a year, not 12 — and counting the doses thrown away at every strength change.

This works out money. It does not treat anyone. These are prescription-only medicines. The dose, the pace of escalation and the decision to treat belong to the prescriber; this page only costs out a schedule that has already been prescribed. It is not advertising and carries no promotional material from any manufacturer — this site has no relationship with any of them.
And it ships with no prices on purpose. The ones this site holds are Spanish, and a Spanish retail price is no use to someone buying anywhere else. Type in what you actually pay per pack.

Your course

The one you build up to and then stay on.
A longer step costs more: some doses get thrown away.
It is on the box. A multi-dose weekly pen is usually 4.

Price per pack — yours

Leave a strength blank and it counts as zero: the calculator still tells you how many packs and how many doses are wasted, which is the part that is the same everywhere.

The three things that make the usual sum wrong

  1. A year is not twelve packs. A pack of four weekly doses covers four weeks, and a year has 52 weeks — not 48. That is 13 packs, so «monthly price × 12» leaves a whole pack out, around 8 % short.
  2. Escalation is not free, and it cuts both ways. The first months are spent on the cheaper low strengths, so the first year costs less than a maintenance year. Budgeting from the starting dose underestimates; budgeting from the target dose overestimates the first year.
  3. Leftovers in the pen are thrown away. A pen of one strength cannot deliver the next one. A step that runs six weeks instead of four needs two packs and wastes two doses — paid for, and invisible in every published price.
What is covered by an insurer or a health service is not something this page can know. It differs by country, by scheme and by indication, and it changes. The figure here is the full price of the packs; whatever is reimbursed comes off it.

Frequently asked

How many pens does a year of weekly injections take?

Thirteen, not twelve. A multi-dose pen holds four weekly doses, which is four weeks, and a year has 52 weeks: 52 ÷ 4 = 13. Working the cost out as the monthly price × 12 leaves a whole pen out — roughly 8 % less than what will actually be paid.

Why does the first year cost less than the second?

Because treatment starts at the lowest dose and steps up with a minimum of four weeks on each step. During that escalation the cheaper strengths are being paid for. A maintenance year at the target dose costs more than the first one, so budgeting from the starting dose underestimates the spend.

Can leftover doses be used after a dose increase?

No. A pen of one strength cannot deliver a different one, so each strength is a separate pack. If a step lasts six weeks instead of four, two packs of that strength are needed and two doses go unused. They are paid for all the same, and no published price shows this.

Why does this page not show any prices?

Because the prices this site holds are Spanish, and a Spanish retail price is of no use to someone buying anywhere else. Showing it as a default would look like data without being data. The arithmetic does travel: the escalation calendar, the number of packs and the wasted doses are the same everywhere. Enter the price you actually pay and the calculator does the rest.

Does this tell me whether a GLP-1 is right for me?

No, and it is not meant to. These are prescription-only medicines. This page is a cost calculator for a course that has already been prescribed: the decision to treat, the dose and the pace of escalation belong to the prescriber. Whether any of it is covered by an insurer or a health service depends on rules this page cannot know.

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