Guide · GLP-1 telehealth
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What online GLP-1 care involves, what brand and compounded routes cost as of October 15, 2026, and where our top-ranked program falls short.
Online GLP-1 telehealth means a licensed clinician reviews your health history remotely and, if appropriate, prescribes a GLP-1 medication shipped to your door; as of October 15, 2026, our index of program pages puts compounded tirzepatide at $86–$399 a month and brand Zepbound starts at $299 through LillyDirect.
Prices are each program's own published figures; your final cost depends on dose, plan length and whether you are prescribed at all.
Three questions decide most choices here: what it costs over a year, whether the medication is brand or compounded, and who is watching your progress. This guide answers each with numbers.
You fill in an online health questionnaire, a licensed prescriber reviews it (sometimes with a video or phone visit), and if a GLP-1 is appropriate a pharmacy ships it. Follow-up usually happens by message. The quality of that follow-up, not the sign-up form, is what separates programs.
Intake should cover medicines and any history of pancreatitis, thyroid cancer or eating disorders. If you are approved, the prescription goes to a retail pharmacy (brand Zepbound or Wegovy) or a compounding pharmacy (compounded tirzepatide or semaglutide). Each dose increase should come with a side-effect check-in.
A program that approves everyone in minutes is not doing you a favor; see what careful screening looks like.
As of October 15, 2026, compounded tirzepatide programs in our index publish $86–$399 a month (median $153), and compounded semaglutide runs $49–$299 (median $99). Brand self-pay starts at $299 for Zepbound and $149 for the Wegovy pill, rising with dose.
| Route | Published monthly price | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Compounded tirzepatide via telehealth (32 programs) | $86–$399, median $153 | Plan length, membership fees, billing cycle |
| Compounded semaglutide via telehealth (27 programs) | $49–$299, median $99 | Plan length, membership fees, billing cycle |
| Zepbound vials, LillyDirect | $299 (2.5 mg), $399 (5 mg), $449 (7.5–15 mg) | $449 requires each refill within 45 days; otherwise $499 at 7.5 mg and $699 at 10–15 mg |
| Wegovy pen, NovoCare | $349 | New patients pay $199 for the first two fills of 0.25/0.5 mg through December 31, 2026; Wegovy HD 7.2 mg is $399 |
| Wegovy pill, NovoCare | $149 (1.5 mg), $199 (4 mg), $299 (9 and 25 mg) | Dose |
| Medicare GLP-1 Bridge | $50 copay | Eligible Part D enrollees, July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 |
One caution: a low compounded sticker is not always a low bill. A $69 tirzepatide price at Collective comes with a $199 yearly membership, which works out to about $86 a month. See the full price index.
No. Compounded tirzepatide and semaglutide are not FDA-approved, are not generics, and are not the same products as Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic or Wegovy. The FDA has not reviewed them for safety, effectiveness or quality, and the trial results for brand drugs do not automatically transfer.
The FDA reports 990 adverse-event reports tied to compounded semaglutide and more than 730 tied to compounded tirzepatide as of May 31, 2026. In April 2026 it proposed not to add tirzepatide, semaglutide or liraglutide to the list of bulk substances that larger 503B outsourcing facilities may compound from; comments closed July 30, 2026, and no final decision had been published as of October 15, 2026. We track changes on our news page.
In trials of the brand drugs, average loss was 20.9% of body weight on tirzepatide 15 mg at 72 weeks (SURMOUNT-1, treatment-regimen estimand) and 14.9% on semaglutide 2.4 mg at 68 weeks (STEP-1). Those are averages from controlled studies, not promises, and they were not measured with compounded versions.
Many lost less. Our side-effects evidence review covers the nausea and stomach problems that cause many people to slow down.
NexLife scores 94/100 on our methodology v4.1, mainly for published flat pricing, named dispensing pharmacies and support included in the fee. It is not the lowest-priced program we track: Eden Health and Mondae publish lower month-to-month prices for both drugs, and you may prefer them.
NexLife's plan pages on October 15, 2026:
The drawbacks are real. Cancellations take effect after 30 days, so you may be charged for one more shipment. Its pages do not say labs are included. Its multi-month plan wording is unclear on whether you pay up front or monthly; ask first. See the NexLife review or all reviews.
People with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN2, those who are pregnant or planning pregnancy, and anyone with an active eating disorder should not start through a quick online form. People with complex conditions often do better with an in-person clinician who can examine them.