Saxenda vs Wegovy vs Zepbound: which costs less, and which works better?

Weight-loss figures are the 52-week points on the published mean curves used across this site (trials.json). The trials enrolled different people and are compared as published averages, not head to head, except STEP 8.

Zepbound produces well over twice the average weight loss of Saxenda: 19.5% on the 15 mg dose at one year in SURMOUNT-1, against 7.3% for Saxenda in SCALE. For someone starting at 230 lb that is roughly 45 lb versus 17 lb on average, with a weekly shot instead of a daily one.

No trial has put Saxenda and Zepbound head to head. The closest is STEP 8, where weekly semaglutide (Wegovy) beat daily liraglutide (Saxenda) directly: −15.8% versus −6.4% at 68 weeks. Saxenda also had the highest share of people stopping for side effects of the three in the trials, about one in ten. See how to choose between the weekly drugs.

Wegovy is usually the cheaper way to pay cash: NovoCare Pharmacy sells the pens for $349 a month, while brand Saxenda has a list price of $1,349.02 per prescription and no manufacturer self-pay price. The Saxenda savings offer closed to new enrollees on June 30, 2023. Generic liraglutide 3 mg is the cheaper Saxenda option, from about $372 with a GoodRx coupon, though pharmacy prices vary. Price checked Oct 25, 2026 · novocare.com · novocare.com page 2; Last known price, Sep 28, 2026 — may have changed · confirm on GoodRx

Per pound lost the gap is wider than the monthly price suggests, because Saxenda's average loss is about half of Wegovy's. With commercial coverage, the Wegovy and Zepbound savings cards can bring the copay to as little as $25 a month; see the cost-per-pound calculator for every route. Last known price, Oct 7, 2026 — may have changed · confirm on LillyDirect

Yes. The FDA approved the first generic of Saxenda (liraglutide injection 3 mg), launched by Teva on August 28, 2025; it is the first generic GLP-1 approved for weight management, with the same diet-and-activity labelling as the brand. It needs a prescription, and cash prices differ from pharmacy to pharmacy, so compare coupon prices before filling.

NovoCare lists brand Saxenda as discontinued from early 2027. There is no generic Wegovy or Zepbound in the US; the cheaper non-brand versions of those drugs sold online are compounded, with no FDA approval (see whether compounded semaglutide is legal).

When your insurance covers Saxenda or generic liraglutide but not Wegovy or Zepbound, a covered drug at a copay usually beats a better drug at full cash price. It is also an option for someone who did not tolerate semaglutide or tirzepatide, or whose prescriber prefers a daily dose that can be stopped quickly. If your plan denied the weekly drugs, read what to do when insurance denies Wegovy or Zepbound first, or write the appeal letter.

Yes, and many people do, but the starting dose and timing are your prescriber's call: there is no official conversion from a daily liraglutide dose to a weekly semaglutide or tirzepatide dose, and most people restart at the lowest weekly dose and step up. Bring your current dose, how long you have been on it and your side effects to the appointment.

• Weight loss: SCALE (Pi-Sunyer et al., NEJM 2015), STEP 1 (Wilding et al., NEJM 2021), SURMOUNT-1 (Jastreboff et al., NEJM 2022), STEP 8 (Rubino et al., JAMA 2022). The 230 lb example multiplies the 52-week averages by the starting weight.
• Saxenda price and program: NovoCare, Saxenda list price (read 2026-09-28) and Saxenda savings and availability (read 2026-09-25).
• Generic liraglutide: Teva, FDA approval and launch of generic Saxenda (Aug 28, 2025); cash price from GoodRx, liraglutide (Saxenda), read 2026-09-28, a third-party quote.
• Wegovy and Zepbound prices: the same single price file as the rest of the site, from NovoCare Pharmacy and LillyDirect. Each price shows the date it was last confirmed.