Ozempic vs Wegovy: same drug, different approvals and prices

Ozempic and Wegovy contain the same medicine, semaglutide, and both are made by Novo Nordisk. What separates them is what each is approved for, which doses each comes in, and, because of the first two, how insurance treats them. The self-pay price for the standard pen doses is the same: $349 a month from Novo.

What each is approved for

In Novo Nordisk's words:

• Ozempic is used "along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes." The injection is also approved to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and worsening kidney disease in adults with type 2 diabetes and certain heart or kidney conditions.
• Wegovy is used with a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity to "help adults with obesity, or some adults with excess weight (overweight) who also have weight-related medical problems to lose weight and keep the weight off," and to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke or death in adults with known heart disease and obesity or overweight.

So weight loss is an approved use of Wegovy and not of Ozempic. Prescribing Ozempic for weight loss is off-label, which is legal for a clinician to do but has consequences for coverage, below.

Doses and forms

Both come as a weekly pen and as a daily pill. These are the strengths in Novo's current price guides.

	Ozempic	Wegovy
Weekly pen	0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg	0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg
Higher-dose pen	none	Wegovy HD, 7.2 mg
Daily pill	1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg	1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg, 25 mg

The highest Ozempic pen dose is 2 mg. The Wegovy pen goes up to 2.4 mg, and Wegovy HD to 7.2 mg.

What the weight data refers to

The weight-loss trials behind Wegovy used Wegovy's dose. In the STEP 1 trial, adults with overweight or obesity were randomly assigned to "68 weeks of treatment with once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide (at a dose of 2.4 mg) or placebo." In STEP 1, "the mean change in body weight from baseline to week 68 was -14.9% in the semaglutide group as compared with -2.4% with placebo." That is a 2.4 mg result in people without a diabetes requirement, at a dose Ozempic does not come in, so it should not be read as what Ozempic does.

Price, read from Novo Nordisk

Self-pay prices through NovoCare Pharmacy, from novocare.com and Novo's price guides:

	Ozempic	Wegovy
Pen, starting doses (0.25 mg, 0.5 mg)	$199 for the first 2 fills (new patients, through December 31, 2026), then $349	$199 for the first 2 fills (new patients, through December 31, 2026), then $349
Pen, other doses	$349 (1 mg), $499 (2 mg)	$349 (1 mg to 2.4 mg)
Wegovy HD 7.2 mg		$399
Pill	$149 (1.5 mg), $199 (4 mg), $299 (9 mg)	$149 (1.5 mg), $199 (4 mg), $299 (9 mg and 25 mg)

Novo defines a month of Ozempic as one box with one pen, and a month of Wegovy as one box of four pens. For both pills, a month is one bottle of 30 tablets. For most doses the self-pay price is the same; the exceptions are Ozempic 2 mg ($499) and Wegovy HD ($399).

Insurance and Medicare

What Novo says, and nothing beyond it:

• Ozempic's copay offer for commercial insurance requires an approved use: "Patients may only participate in this program if they have been prescribed Ozempic for an FDA-approved indication within Ozempic's labeling." An off-label prescription for weight loss doesn't qualify.
• Medicare and Wegovy. Novo's coverage FAQ says "Eligible patients pay $50 per month" for Wegovy "through the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program," and that "Beginning July 1, 2026, the program will be available nationwide and provide eligible adults access to all doses and formulations of Wegovy injection and Wegovy pill for weight management through the end of 2027."

Which to ask about

If you have type 2 diabetes, Ozempic is approved for you and is the one a copay offer or insurance is most likely to cover. If the goal is weight management without diabetes, Wegovy is the semaglutide approved for that, at the same self-pay price for the standard pen doses. Either way, the prescription is a clinician's decision. Our guide to getting Ozempic covers where to get the prescription and what the online clinics we track charge.