How much does Ozempic or Wegovy cost per year without insurance?

Paying cash direct from the manufacturer has typically run around $500 a month, or about $6,000 a year, with some lower starting-dose offers. Manufacturer list prices have been well over $1,000 a month. Compounded versions through telehealth have typically run $200–$300 a month. Prices change often, so the calculator lets you enter exactly what you pay.

Is weight-loss surgery cheaper than Ozempic or Zepbound long term?

Usually, yes — and not by a little. At around $500 a month, a GLP-1 passes the all-inclusive price of a gastric sleeve in Tijuana in roughly the first year. Over five years the shot typically costs three to five times as much as surgery, and the medication only works for as long as you keep taking it.

What happens to the weight if I stop taking a GLP-1?

In the STEP 1 extension study, people who stopped semaglutide regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost within one year. SURMOUNT-4 found the same pattern with tirzepatide. That is why an honest cost comparison has to assume you either stay on the medication indefinitely or budget for the regain.

Does surgery have ongoing costs too?

Yes. Bariatric vitamins — a multivitamin, calcium citrate, B12 and vitamin D — are for life and typically run $40–70 a month. The calculator adds them to the surgery column so the comparison is fair.

How much weight do you lose on a GLP-1 compared with surgery?

In clinical trials, semaglutide produced about 15% total body weight loss and tirzepatide about 20% at roughly 16–18 months. Gastric sleeve typically produces about 60–70% of excess weight lost and gastric bypass 70–80%, which for most patients is 25–35% of total body weight — and it is durable without a monthly prescription.

Free tool · No signup · Nothing stored

The shot is forever. Surgery is once. Do the math.

Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, Mounjaro — they work, and they only work while you keep paying. This calculator takes what you pay per month, how long you've been on it, and how many years you're planning for, and puts it next to a gastric sleeve or bypass — with the break-even month, what you've already spent, and what the trials say happens to the weight when you stop.

Your drug, your price, your years — 1 to 15
The break-even month and what you've already spent as a share of a sleeve
Two weight curves side by side — including the regain curve if you stop
Honest both ways: surgery's lifetime vitamins are in the surgery column

Run my numbers See what you get

About 60 seconds Every price editable Runs in your browser

Run your numbers

Three quick steps. Every price is a starting point you can change — use what's on your receipt.

Step 1 of 3

What are you on, and what does it cost you?

Pick the route you pay through for a typical figure, then overwrite it with your real number.

The medication

What you pay per month

Typical figure fills in from the route below — edit it to match your receipt.

How you pay for it

Cash, directManufacturer pharmacy · ~$499 Insurance copayCovered, for now · ~$100 CompoundedTelehealth · ~$199–299 My own numberI'll type what I pay

Months you've been on it 0 if you haven't started

Spent so far we estimate it — fix it if you know

Your plan this is the fork that decides everything

Stay on it for good the clinically honest plan Stop after a while most people do

Stop after how many months?

Real-world persistence is low — large pharmacy-claims analyses found roughly half of people stop within a year. The trials say about two-thirds of the weight comes back within a year of stopping.

Step 2 of 3

You, and how far ahead you're looking.

Weight drives the curves. The horizon drives the price tag — try five, then try ten.

Height & weight

Enter height and weight for your BMI

Where drug prices go from here

Even falling prices rarely change the answer — the chart will show you.

How many years are you planning for?

5 years

Obesity is a lifelong condition and the shot only works while you take it — five years is a conservative horizon, not a generous one.

Step 3 of 3

The other column.

All-inclusive surgery, plus the two things people forget: flights, and vitamins for life.

Procedure

Gastric Sleeve$4,900 all-inclusive · ~60–70% of excess weight Gastric Bypass$5,800 all-inclusive · ~70–80% of excess weight

Hospital, surgeon, anesthesia, pre-op testing, all hotel nights and ground transport are included. No deposit — you don't pay until you reach the hospital.

Flights to San Diego round trip, your estimate

Bariatric vitamins per month for life — we count them

Step 1 of 3

How we count

A cost comparison is only worth reading if it's fair both ways. Here is exactly what goes in each column.

The shot column

Your monthly price, every month you're on it, for as many years as you choose — plus whatever you've already spent. Optional price trend up or down.

Not counted: doctor visits, labs, the cost of side-effect management, or coverage that disappears mid-year. It's understated on purpose.

The surgery column

The all-inclusive price — hospital, surgeon, anesthesia, pre-op testing, hotel nights, ground transport — plus your flight estimate, plus bariatric vitamins every month for life.

Not counted: annual labs, the occasional follow-up, or plastic surgery for loose skin years later. Ask your coordinator about any of them.

The part nobody puts on the price tag

The medication only works while you take it. In the STEP 1 extension and SURMOUNT-4 studies, people who stopped regained about two-thirds of the lost weight within a year. So the comparison assumes you either stay on it for the whole horizon — and pay for it — or stop, and the weight chart shows what the trials say comes next.

The questions people actually ask

Is this a fair comparison? You sell surgery.

We do — which is why every input is yours to change, the surgery column carries lifetime vitamins, and the regain data comes from the drug makers' own trials. Put in a $50 copay and a one-year horizon and the shot wins. The point isn't to make surgery win; it's to make the years visible.

My insurance covers it. Doesn't that change everything?

For as long as it lasts. Employers and plans have been dropping GLP-1 coverage for weight loss, and many require prior authorization every year. Run the calculator once with your copay and once with the cash price — the second number is your exposure if coverage ends.

Can I do both — surgery, then a GLP-1 later if I need it?

Yes, and some patients do. Surgery first gives you the durable loss; a GLP-1 becomes an occasional tool rather than a permanent subscription. The cheapest long-term path is almost never the shot alone.

What about the side effects?

Both have them. GLP-1s commonly cause nausea, GI upset and notable muscle loss; surgery is an operation with a recovery period and lifelong vitamins. The honest-realities section on your results page lists both sides, and the recovery planner puts dates on the surgery side.

Where do the drug prices come from?

They're typical figures as of mid-2026 for each payment route — manufacturer direct-pay programs, a common insurance copay, and compounded telehealth pricing. Prices move often, so treat them as a starting point and type what you actually pay.