Wegovy vs Ozempic: Which is Right for You?

If you are wondering whether to choose Wegovy or Ozempic, you might compare their FDA-approved uses, side effects and costs. Both Wegovy and Ozempic contain semaglutide, but Wegovy is prescribed for long-term weight management, while Ozempic is used to control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes and help protect kidney function. They both lower the risk for heart-related complications, but they differ in other approved uses, doses, target populations and costs.

While these drugs have lots of similarities, they have some important differences, too. You and your healthcare provider can work together to weigh the pros and cons and determine which treatment is right for you.

What is the difference between Ozempic and Wegovy?

Ozempic and Wegovy have different FDA-approved uses, which is an important difference for many reasons. Both medicines contain the GLP-1 agonist semaglutide, but Ozempic is used to manage blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is prescribed for long-term weight loss in adults and children.

Both medicines can also lower the risk for heart-related complications in adults with heart disease, but these medicines are not interchangeable.

Ozempic can also help protect your kidneys. It is approved to reduce the risk of worsening kidney disease and cardiovascular death in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Wegovy does not have this FDA-approval.

If you are only looking for a weight loss medicine, studies have shown that Wegovy can lead to significant weight loss whether you have type 2 diabetes or not.

There may be several reasons why one treatment may be better for you than the other, including uses, side effects and costs. Follow along to learn about these important differences.

Generic name

• Ozempic: semaglutide
• Wegovy: semglutide

Both drugs contain the active ingredient semaglutide, a medicine from a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists. GLP-1 agonists work by:

• increasing insulin production to help lower blood sugar.
• slowing down digestion of food in the stomach to help you feel less hungry.
• sending signals to the brain to let you know when you feel full.

These actions can lead to weight loss in patients with or without type 2 diabetes.

FDA-approved uses

Even though Wegovy and Ozempic contain the same active ingredient, they are approved for different uses, have different doses and treat different age groups.

Ozempic is used to:

• improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
• reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events (e.g., heart attack, stroke, heart-related death) in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease
• reduce the risk of worsening kidney disease and cardiovascular death in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Wegovy is used to:

• help adults and children aged 12 years and older with obesity, or adults who are overweight and have weight-related medical problems (for example: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes) lose weight and keep the weight off long-term.
• reduce the risk of major heart-related events such as death, heart attack or stroke in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight.

These medicines are injected subcutaneously (under the skin) once a week in the stomach area, the thigh or the upper arm using an autoinjector pen. You or a caregiver can learn to give it at home, or your prescriber can administer it, if you prefer.

For best results, both medicines are used in addition to a reduced calorie meal plan and increased exercise.

Do not use these drugs together at the same time, with other medicines that contain semaglutide or GLP-1 or GLP-1 / GIP agonists or for any condition for which it was not prescribed.

Wegovy vs Ozempic for weight loss

There are no Ozempic Wegovy direct comparison studies for weight loss, but studies suggest that higher doses of semaglutide may lead to greater weight loss. Overall, you may lose more weight with Wegovy because it’s typically prescribed at a higher dose than Ozempic. In addition, separate studies looking at both drugs have shown greater weight loss with Wegovy over the long-term.

• The Wegovy brand of semaglutide contains a higher maximum dose of semaglutide (2.4 mg) which may result in a greater weight loss for you. In studies with Wegovy, adults lost around 15% of their body weight, equal to about 35 lb (16 kg) over 68 weeks.
• With Ozempic, people have lost on average about 14 lbs (6.4 kgs) over 40 weeks using the 2 mg weekly dose of Ozempic to treat type 2 diabetes.
• Ozempic has also resulted in significantly more weight loss when compared to other type 2 diabetes treatments like Bydureon (exenatide), Januvia (sitagliptin) or Trulicity (dulaglutide).

People respond to medicines differently, so your weight loss may be more or less than those in the studies. However, most people who continue on treatment respond well to Ozempic or Wegovy. These treatments are also used in addition to a low calorie diet and increased exercise for best effect.

Talk to your healthcare provider about the pros and cons of Ozempic versus Wegovy, and which treatment makes the most sense for you.

Related: How does Ozempic help with weight loss?

Dose, dosage forms and strengths

Ozempic:

• Injection: Comes as a prefilled, multi-dose pen, meaning each pen delivers several doses and you will reuse the pen throughout the month, but use a new needle for each injection. Your box from the pharmacy comes with one multi-dose pen and NovoFine Plus needles. Each pen usually lasts one month.
• Dosage: Each pen delivers doses of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg or 2 mg per injection. You only use the 0.25 mg dose at the beginning of treatment as your dose is slowly increased, to a maintenance dose of 0.5 mg, 1 mg or 2 mg weekly.

Wegovy:

• Injection: Comes as a prefilled, single-dose pen. You will use a new pen for each dose. Your box from the pharmacy comes with 4 pens (a month’s supply). The needle is already attached to the pen, but you cannot see the needle.
• Dosage: Each pen delivers one dose of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, or 2.4 mg per injection. You will start with a dose of 0.25 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks. Your doctor will slowly increase your dose to the recommended maintenance dose of 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg once weekly.

Both Wegovy and Ozempic come as subcutaneous injections, meaning they are given just under the skin in your stomach (abdomen) area, thigh, or upper arm. These medicines are injected once per week on the same day of the week and can be taken with or without food.

Your doctor will slowly increase your dose to lower any stomach side effects, like nausea, vomiting, stomach pain or diarrhea. Stomach side effects are typically mild or moderate and clear up once you reach your long-term, maintenance dose.

You or a caregiver will learn how to self-inject this medicine so you can administer it at home. Your healthcare provider will train you on the proper technique.

Read the instructions for use each time before you inject the medicine, just in case there are any changes. Do not share your medicine or injector pens with any other people.

Read more: When is the best time of day to take Wegovy?

Related questions

• Ozempic Side Effects to Watch For
• Tirzepatide vs semaglutide: How do they compare?
• Why am I not losing weight on Ozempic?

Side effects: What’s the difference between Ozempic and Wegovy?

Both Wegovy and Ozempic contain semaglutide, and they share many of the same side effects, like nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting. Side effects with Wegovy may be more likely in some people because it’s given at a higher dose.

Key differences in side effects:

• Nausea: May be more common with Wegovy, especially during the early weeks of treatment. However, both medicines can cause nausea, which was the top side effect in separate studies, occurring in 44% of people using Wegovy 2.4 mg and 20% of those using Ozempic 1 mg.
• Other Gastrointestinal Issues: Other side effects, like diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and abdominal pain are common for both medicines. In separate studies, stomach side effects overall were reported in 73% of people using Wegovy and up to 36% of people using Ozempic. This difference may be due to the higher doses used with Wegovy (up to 2.4 mg weekly).
• Gallbladder disease: Gallbladder disease, like gallstones (cholelithiasis) or gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis) may be more likely with Wegovy, particularly in people who lose weight rapidly or in children aged 12 years and older. In Wegovy studies, gallstones were reported in 1.6% of adults and 3.8% of children. For Ozempic, which is not approved for use in children, gallstones were reported in 1.5% of adults treated with the 0.5 mg dose and 0.4% of adults using the 1 mg dose.
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia): Wegovy may lead to more significant low blood sugar than Ozempic. In people with type 2 diabetes, a higher rate of clinically significant low blood sugar episodes was reported with Wegovy 2.4 mg vs semaglutide 1 mg. (see Wegovy PI ADR section). Low blood sugar can be a common and serious side effect, especially when these drugs are used with some other type 2 diabetes medicines like sulfonylureas (glipizide, glyburide) or insulin. Your doctor may need to adjust your doses. Low blood sugar has also been reported with GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients who do not have type 2 diabetes.
• Hair loss or thinning: While hair loss has been reported in several people using Wegovy in the product information, and no people with Ozempic, there’s no strong evidence that hair loss is a direct side effect of either Ozempic or Wegovy. It appears hair loss is more likely due to the stress of rapid weight loss. Rapid weight loss may cause a condition known as telogen effluvium, which is temporary shedding of hair over several months

Learn more: Do Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro & Zepbound cause hair loss?

Common side effects of both medications:

• nausea
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• constipation
• abdominal (stomach area) pain
• headache

In general, higher doses of these medicines are associated with greater side effects, especially with your stomach. To help lower this risk, your prescribed doses are slowly increased when you first start treatment.

Stomach-related side effects tend to subside once you have reached your regular maintenance dose.

Side effect rates: Wegovy vs Ozempic

The most common side effects reported with Wegovy (2.4 mg dose) include:

• nausea (44%)
• diarrhea (30%)
• vomiting (24%)
• constipation (24%)
• abdominal (stomach) pain (20%)

The most common side effects reported with Ozempic (1 mg dose) include:

• nausea (20%)
• vomiting (9%)
• diarrhea (9%)
• abdominal (stomach) pain (6%)
• constipation (3%)

Serious (but less frequent) side effects of both medications include:

• pancreatitis
• thyroid tumor risk
• kidney problems
• severe allergic reactions
• vision changes (diabetic retinopathy)
• aspiration (inhaling) of food or liquid into your lungs during anesthesia or deep sedation.

Medicine side effects are always individual. You may experience different or more frequent side effects than other people. In addition, because studies for these medicines were done under different conditions and in different groups of people, how often side effects occur cannot be directly compared.

These are not all the possible side effects of Wegovy or Ozempic. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

Related: 6 Wegovy Side Effects to Know About

Costs of Wegovy versus Ozempic

You should also consider how you will pay for these medicines when deciding which one to use.

Ozempic vs. Wegovy costs

• Wegovy: $1418 per month, on average
• Ozempic: $1051 per month, on average

These prices are for cash-paying customers and are not valid with insurance plans or manufacturer copay cards. These prices are based on use of the Drugs.com discount card which is honored at most U.S. pharmacies.

If you have prescription insurance, check with your plan to see if these medicines are covered as a benefit and what your costs, like deductibles, copays or coinsurance, might be. No generic for Wegovy or Ozempic is available yet on the U.S. market.

If you do not have insurance or your plan will not cover it, the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, may be able to offer you a copay card or patient financial assistance. Learn about patient assistance here.

In addition, for cash-paying customers without insurance, you may be able to access all dose strengths of Wegovy through the NovoCare Pharmacy. NovoCare Pharmacy provides direct-to-patient, convenient home shipments of Wegovy single-dose pens at a reduced cost of $499 per month. This offer is available for uninsured patients or eligible patients with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for obesity medicines.

FDA Approval Dates

• Ozempic: Approved by the FDA in 2017
• Wegovy: Approved by the FDA in 2021

Manufacturer

• Both Wegovy and Ozempic are marketed by Novo Nordisk.
• For further information, you can contact Novo Nordisk here.

This is not all the information you need to know about Ozempic and Wegovy for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your doctor’s directions. Review the full product information and discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.