Mounjaro or Wegovy: which is more expensive in the UK?

Do Mounjaro and Wegovy cost the same at every dose?

Not quite. Both medicines are dosed progressively (you start low and titrate upward) so the monthly cost changes as your treatment progresses. Mounjaro (tirzepatide, made by Eli Lilly) begins at 2.5 mg and can reach 15 mg across six strengths. Wegovy (semaglutide, made by Novo Nordisk) runs from 0.25 mg up to the newly approved 7.2 mg dose, following a longer titration ladder.

At starter doses, pricing between the two medicines is broadly similar across private UK pharmacies. The divergence becomes more noticeable at the upper end of the schedule. Mounjaro's 15 mg pen attracted significant attention when Lilly's UK list price rose sharply in autumn 2025 (widely reported at the time) pushing the highest doses toward the top of the private market. The SURMOUNT-5 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025, found tirzepatide produced greater average weight reduction than semaglutide 2.4 mg over 72 weeks, which partly explains clinical and commercial interest in reaching those higher doses, and if you want to dig into that comparison our Mounjaro vs Wegovy page walks through the trial data in detail. Whether the added cost is worthwhile for you personally is exactly the kind of question a prescriber should help you answer.

One practical note: Wegovy also now has a 7.2 mg option, approved by the MHRA in April 2026, which trials reported producing around 20.7% average weight loss, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide's headline results. Prices for the 7.2 mg format are still settling across the private market.

What does the private price actually include, and what might it not?

A quoted monthly figure for either medicine can mean very different things depending on the provider. Some prices cover the pen only; consultation fees, prescription charges, delivery costs and ongoing clinical support are billed separately, sometimes at every repeat order. That structure is common enough that it catches people out, usually around the time of their first dose increase.

The treatment page at nume shows current pricing, and everything in that figure is included: the consultation, the clinical review, the prescription, delivery and seven-day-a-week aftercare. There are no separate line items and no subscription. That approach costs more upfront than a headline pen-only price, and that is a deliberate choice. For a prescription medicine dispensed through a GPhC-registered pharmacy, the level of clinical oversight is not a nice-to-have, it is the point. A cheap listing for a prescription-only weight-loss medicine that appears to bypass clinical assessment is a warning sign, not a bargain. The MHRA has flagged counterfeit weight-loss pens sold online, including some found to contain insulin; checking any online pharmacy on the GPhC register before ordering anything takes about thirty seconds and is always worth it.

You can explore how the two medicines compare on effectiveness alongside cost on our effectiveness comparison page.

How do NICE and the NHS factor into the price picture?

Both Mounjaro and Wegovy are available on the NHS, though through very different routes and with strict eligibility criteria that most people do not yet meet. NICE recommended tirzepatide (TA1026, published December 2024) for adults with a BMI of 35 or above plus at least one qualifying weight-related condition, with NHS rollout phased across cohorts through 2025 and 2026, details are set out in NICE's appraisal of tirzepatide. Wegovy was recommended by NICE (TA875) for use within specialist weight management services, subject to a two-year maximum duration and multidisciplinary support.

If you qualify for NHS treatment and can access it, the cost to you is a standard prescription charge or nothing at all if you hold an exemption. The practical difficulty is that NHS eligibility thresholds are high and waiting times in specialist services are long in many areas. Private treatment through a regulated pharmacy is the realistic route for people who fall outside the current NHS criteria or cannot wait, and our guide on which is best, Mounjaro or Wegovy, can help you think through that decision before speaking to a prescriber. The weight-loss treatment overview covers both routes clearly.

Our clinical team is explained further on the clinical team page.

Side-by-side: price and key facts compared

Which medicine suits your situation is a clinical decision, not a price decision. Our prescribers work through both options with you. Which is better, Mounjaro or Wegovy? covers the clinical comparison in more depth, and which is safer addresses the side-effect profiles. If you are also weighing up Ozempic as an option, our page on which is better, Ozempic or Mounjaro, sets out how those two medicines differ. The right answer depends on your health history, your starting BMI, any medicines you already take, and what your body tolerates, all of which a prescriber is best placed to weigh up with you.