Wegovy doses chart vs Mounjaro: how the two schedules compare

Step 1 (how each medicine begins: the starter doses explained

The first pen of Mounjaro contains 2.5 mg) a dose the prescriber uses to let your system adjust, not to produce significant weight loss on its own. Most people spend four weeks there before moving up. Wegovy opens lower still, at 0.25 mg weekly, again with tolerance rather than effect as the goal. The number gap looks enormous (2.5 mg versus 0.25 mg), but the two medicines are measured on entirely different scales, so the figures tell you nothing about relative strength at this stage.

What they share is the logic: starting gently reduces the nausea and other gastrointestinal effects that GLP-1 and dual-agonist medicines can bring in the first weeks. A question our prescribers hear regularly is whether a higher opening dose would work faster, in practice, skipping the gradual ramp almost always means more side effects and sometimes a step back. The dose-by-dose breakdown of Wegovy vs Mounjaro covers this in more detail if you want the full picture of each individual step.

Both medicines are titrated by the prescriber at each repeat, based on how you're tolerating the current dose and how your weight is responding. You don't simply move up on a fixed timer.

Step 2, reading the full ladder: the comparison table

The table below maps each medicine's licensed UK dose sequence. Wegovy's figures come from the NHS patient information for semaglutide and the NICE appraisal of semaglutide for weight management (TA875); Mounjaro's from the NICE appraisal of tirzepatide (TA1026) and the NHS tirzepatide medicines page.

A few things worth flagging. Wegovy's 7.2 mg dose (approved by the MHRA in early 2026) is available as a dedicated single-dose pen; it applies to adults with a BMI of 30 or above and is not part of the standard maintenance pathway for everyone. Mounjaro's 12.5 mg and 15 mg steps are only reached if the prescriber judges it clinically appropriate and the lower doses are well tolerated. The Mounjaro and Wegovy dose guide covers the decision points at each stage in plain language.

Dose timing also differs slightly in practice: Wegovy steps typically happen every four weeks; Mounjaro follows roughly the same rhythm, though your prescriber may hold a step longer if needed. Neither is a race.

Step 3, what the trial results showed at each medicine's highest dose

Numbers on a chart only mean something if you understand what they produced in clinical trials. In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide at 15 mg produced an average body-weight reduction of around 20–21% over 72 weeks in adults with obesity but without type 2 diabetes, among thousands of participants, the full trial details are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy's standard maintenance dose) produced roughly 15% average reduction over 68 weeks in STEP 1.

In the SURMOUNT-5 trial (a direct head-to-head published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025, involving 751 adults with obesity and no diabetes) tirzepatide produced greater average weight loss than semaglutide 2.4 mg over 72 weeks. The 7.2 mg Wegovy dose narrows that gap considerably, with trials reporting around 20.7% average loss at that level. So the comparison is genuinely shifting as higher doses become available.

For a fuller look at how the two medicines perform against each other on evidence, the Wegovy vs Mounjaro comparison page goes deeper. And if cost is also part of your thinking, our UK price comparison covers what each typically costs privately.

Step 4, what the dose chart cannot tell you

A chart like this is useful shorthand, but it has real limits. The dose that works best is not the highest one on the list, it's the highest one you tolerate well, reaching a point where your weight responds adequately. Some people find 10 mg Mounjaro is their personal sweet spot. Some do better on Wegovy's schedule. The two medicines also work differently at a biological level: Mounjaro activates both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors, while Wegovy acts on GLP-1 alone, that distinction can matter for individual response.

Eligibility also shapes which ladder you start on. Both medicines are licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above alongside a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes; lower thresholds can apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance. More on what those thresholds mean in practice is on the weight-loss treatment overview.

If you've been on one medicine and are wondering whether the other might suit you better, that's a clinical conversation worth having. Our prescribers look at your history, current dose, how you've responded, and any relevant health background, not just a comparison table. You can read more about the equivalent dose question if you're considering switching, and the conversion considerations page covers what that process involves. Which suits you is a clinical decision our prescribers make with you, start your free consultation to begin that conversation.