Wholesale acquisition cost — the manufacturer’s published price to wholesalers, before any discounts or rebates. It is not what pharmacies pay (that is closer to NADAC), not what insurers pay net of rebates, and not what cash programs charge. It survives mostly as a headline number.

How is this index maintained?

Cash-program prices are re-checked against the live program pages, compounded entry prices against the checkouts of the tracked programs (last full pass August 5, 2026), and every row stores its source URL and as-of date. The weekly CMS NADAC feed joins the index next from the data warehouse.

Can I republish this data?

Yes — the CSV is licensed CC BY 4.0. Use it in articles, dashboards or research with attribution to glp1.health and the as-of date intact. If you need the full NDC-level history once the NADAC feed ships, ask us through the About page.

The open GLP‑1 price index: list price vs the real price

Wholesale list price beside the real cash-program price for every GLP-1 product and strength, with the source on every row. Free to download and reuse.

What does my drug actually cost to buy? · Data: Manufacturer WAC · cash programs · Checked August 27, 2026

The index · August 27, 2026Open data · CC BY 4.09 of 9 products

Product	Strengths	Package	List (WAC) / pkg	Cash program	Source
Wegovy pen	0.25–2.4 mg weekly	4 pens · 28 days	$1,349	$349/mo$199/mo first two fills for new patients	trumprx.gov
Wegovy tablets	oral, daily	30 tablets	not published [VERIFY]	$149/mo4 mg tier rises to $199 after Aug 31, 2026	trumprx.gov
Ozempic pen	0.25–2 mg weekly	1 pen · 28 days	$1,028	$349/moall maintenance strengths via NovoCare / TrumpRx	trumprx.gov
Rybelsus tablets	3 / 7 / 14 mg daily	30 tablets	$998[VERIFY]	—savings card requires commercial coverage	novocare.com
Zepbound single-dose vials	2.5–15 mg weekly	4 vials · 28 days	self-pay channel only	$299–449/motiered by dose; refill within 45 days or $599–$1,049	Lilly (Dec 1, 2025)
Zepbound KwikPen	2.5–15 mg weekly	4 pens · 28 days	$1,086	$449/moSelf Pay Journey tier at 7.5 mg and up	lillydirect.lilly.com
Mounjaro pen	2.5–15 mg weekly	4 pens · 28 days	$1,080	~$350/moaverage negotiated price [VERIFY per strength]	trumprx.gov
Compounded semaglutide	program-set dosing	vial + syringes	—	from $69/molowest verified entry price across 41 tracked programs	glp1.health register
Compounded tirzepatide	program-set dosing	vial + syringes	—	from $99/molowest verified entry price; Embody from $119	glp1.health register

WAC = wholesale acquisition cost, the manufacturer’s published list price to wholesalers — almost nobody pays it. Cash-program prices are verified against the live program pages; compounded prices are verified program entry prices from the program register. Rows marked [VERIFY] are pending re-verification. Every figure is as of August 27, 2026, and the CSV carries the same date on every row: it is licensed CC BY 4.0, so republish it with attribution to glp1.health.

How this index works

Two numbers per product. List (WAC) is the manufacturer’s published wholesale price — the sticker that headlines news coverage and anchors insurance math. Cash program is what a person with no coverage actually pays through the manufacturer’s own channel (NovoCare, LillyDirect, TrumpRx) or, for compounded products, the lowest verified program price in our register.

The gap between the two is the point: brand GLP-1s sell 66–74% below list to cash buyers who use the right channel, and most sticker-shock decisions are made against the wrong number. Insurance copays and Medicare pathways sit in the cost calculator, which shares this data.

In build: the weekly CMS NADAC feed — pharmacy acquisition cost per NDC — lands beside these columns from the data warehouse, making the index a longitudinal record rather than a snapshot.

The spread, at a glance

Wegovy pen — $1,349 list → $349 cash−74%

NovoCare / TrumpRx cash program · trumprx.gov · Aug 2026

Zepbound — $1,086 list → $299–449 cash−66%

LillyDirect Self Pay Journey, midpoint of the dose tiers; KwikPen WAC · Lilly (Dec 1, 2025) · Feb 23, 2026

Ozempic pen — $1,028 list → $349 cash−66%

NovoCare / TrumpRx cash program · trumprx.gov · Aug 2026

Semaglutide, compounded — $1,349 list → $69 cash−95%

Lowest verified program entry price in the register, against the Wegovy list price · glp1.health register · Aug 5, 2026

Questions

Price questions, answered directly

WAC anchors a rebate-driven system: insurers negotiate large confidential discounts off it, so manufacturers keep it high. Cash programs bypass the middlemen entirely, which is why the same pen can be 74% cheaper bought direct. Judge affordability by the cash column, never the list column.

The floor of the index

The lowest prices in the index come from verified programs

Below every brand cash program sit the telehealth compounded programs. Cheapest is only worth it when the pharmacy checks out, so the register ranks these on the safety checks before the price.

Compounded semaglutidefrom $69/molowest verified entry price across 41 tracked programs · glp1.health register · August 27, 2026
Compounded tirzepatidefrom $99/molowest verified entry price; Embody from $119 · glp1.health register · August 27, 2026

See the ranked programs

Data sources · cited with retrieval dates

FDA prescribing informationThe labels for every product a tool names, on the label holder’s own site
Manufacturer cash programsNovoCare, LillyDirect and TrumpRx published self-pay prices
CMS NADACNational Average Drug Acquisition Cost, weekly file

NADAC figures are pharmacy acquisition costs, not retail prices and not what you will pay. This content is educational and is not medical advice.

The data behind this tool · 12 pages

GLP-1 costs How much Byetta costs How much Mounjaro costs How much Ozempic costs How much Rybelsus costs How much Saxenda costs How much Trulicity costs How much Victoza costs How much Wegovy costs How much Zepbound costs The numbers GLP-1 medications

How this index works

Price questions, answered directly

Why is the list price so much higher than what anyone pays?

What exactly is WAC?

How is this index maintained?

Can I republish this data?