Tool

Brand-vs-compounded cost path

This tool compares the twelve-month money paths of two options you enter — typically a branded product and a compounded preparation. It will not pretend they are the same product at two prices: compounded GLP-1s are not FDA-approved, and that difference belongs inside the comparison, so this page keeps it there.

The non-price difference, first

Branded products (Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic, Mounjaro) are FDA-approved: reviewed for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality before marketing. Compounded preparations are not FDA-approved and are not reviewed for any of those things before sale; their supply also sits under a pending federal proposal and anactive enforcement campaign, which makes supply continuity itself a cost risk this calculator cannot price. A dollar gap between the two columns below is therefore not a discount on the same thing — it is the market price of that regulatory difference plus whatever else differs. Price it knowingly.

Cost paths

Formula and assumptions

Per path: 12-month total = 12 × (medication + recurring fees) + one-time costs, with quarterly checkpoints shown as months × monthly + one-time. Prices are assumed flat — if either path is dose-tiered, feed its maintenance price here or model the staircase in the escalation visualizerfirst. For branded paths, manufacturer savings programs and insurance can change the effective number substantially and eligibility varies; this tool takes whatever monthly figure you enter and does not model eligibility. Get real figures from ourmedication pages — each carries its evidence status, and none is independently verified by us.