Compounded oral semaglutide programs, scored

Each program here prescribes compounded semaglutide in a form you take by mouth: a drop or spray under the tongue, a lozenge, a tablet that dissolves on the tongue, or a capsule or tablet you swallow. A compounding pharmacy makes it for your prescription. None of these products is FDA-approved, and approved-brand trials do not establish the clinical performance of a different pharmacy preparation.

Scores come from the full GLP-1 pill lineup, where each program is placed on one starting-dose pill price. Usually that's the compounded semaglutide product, but a program that also sells another pill can be placed on that one instead; the line under each name says which.

Programs on this list sell the same molecule in several shapes. The shape changes how you take it every day, and it may change how much semaglutide reaches your blood. Absorption data for a particular compounded preparation need to come from that exact formulation; a brand tablet’s measurements do not provide the answer.

That's the core difference from the brand pill. The Wegovy tablet pairs semaglutide with an absorption enhancer called SNAC, and its label still estimates that only about 1% to 2% of a dose is absorbed. A compounded drop or lozenge may or may not contain an enhancer, and the pharmacy's recipe isn't public.

So compare programs first on what they'll tell you about the product. Does the program name the pharmacy, say what's in the formula besides semaglutide, and give the form plainly? The Pharmacy chip rewards exactly that.

Then compare the plan: price at the starting strength, whether the price rises as the strength does, and whether you can switch to an injection on the same plan if the oral form doesn't suit you.

• Sublingual drops or sprays. Held under the tongue for a set time. Ask how each dose is measured and what the label tells you to do.
• Lozenges and troches. Dissolved slowly in the mouth. Flavoring and size vary by pharmacy.
• Orally disintegrating tablets. Dissolve on the tongue within moments, without water.
• Capsules and swallowed tablets. The closest in shape to the brand pill, but not the same formulation, and they aren't the Wegovy tablet even when they look alike.
• One thing in common. Each is a pharmacy preparation for an individual prescription, with the strength and instructions set by your prescriber and the pharmacy label.

Prices here run $149 to $303 a month at the starting strength, required fees included. The middle price, $241, comes to about $2,892 over a year by our math. These are annualized comparisons at unchanged starting prices, not the actual payments due in the first 365 days; dose changes, introductory offers and separate tests can change the budget.

Across every program we track, 6 list compounded semaglutide in a form you take by mouth at $149–$304 a month, with a median of $241.

Now the comparison that surprises people. Through telehealth programs, the FDA-approved Wegovy pill runs $298–$350 a month, with a median of $349. At the starting dose, many compounded oral plans here cost about as much, and NovoCare's own self-pay price for the brand pill's first dose is lower than most of them.

That doesn't settle it for everyone. Some compounded plans keep one price at every strength, and some people want a drop or lozenge rather than a tablet with a fasting rule. But it's worth pricing the Wegovy pill programs before you choose.

1. Which form is this exactly, and how do I take it each day?
2. Which pharmacy makes it, and does the label list every ingredient?
3. Does the formula include an absorption enhancer, and is there any data on how much is absorbed?
4. Does the price change as my strength goes up?
5. Can I move to an injection, or to the brand pill, on the same plan?
6. Who do I contact about side effects, and how fast do they answer?