GLP-1 Provider Comparison: Four Business Models, Very Different Costs

The Four Models You'll Encounter

Before comparing prices, you have to know which kind of company you are looking at. There are four distinct models in this market, and their advertised numbers mean completely different things.

1. All-in compounded subscription

You pay one monthly price and the medication is included. CoreAge Rx ($99/mo semaglutide), Bliv ($58/mo), 24hrdoc ($149/mo) and ShedRx ($159/mo) work this way. This is the easiest model to compare, because the advertised number is close to your actual cost.

2. Membership plus medication

You pay a recurring program fee and buy the medication separately. Ro Body ($149/mo membership) and Calibrate ($199/mo program fee) work this way, as does ScriptsMD. The advertised price is only part of your cost — sometimes a small part.

3. Insurance-navigation program

A subset of model 2 where the fee primarily buys help getting your insurer to pay for a brand-name drug. Calibrate is the clearest example: $199/month for the program, with medication typically landing at a $25 copay for members with commercial insurance. Ro Body's insurance concierge and WeightWatchers Med+'s insurance coordinator play a similar role.

Worth distinguishing from a genuine in-network clinic. Midi Health does not navigate your insurance on your behalf — it bills it directly, in-network with most PPO plans, so you pay a copay for the visit as you would at any doctor's office. That is a different and generally better arrangement than paying a membership fee for advocacy, though Midi's exclusions are strict: it cannot treat Medicaid or Medi-Cal patients at all, and is not covered by Medicare.

4. Pay-per-visit marketplace

No subscription at all — you buy a clinician visit and handle medication yourself. Sesame (visits from $34) and Doctronic ($39/visit) work this way. Cheapest access, least support.

Provider Comparison Table

Policies and Disclosure Compared

Price is only half the comparison. These are the terms that determine what happens when something goes wrong — and the differences are stark.

Which Model Fits Your Situation

You have insurance that covers GLP-1s

Use an insurance-navigation program. Calibrate at $199/month with a typical $25 medication copay will almost certainly cost less over a year than any cash-pay compounded subscription, and you get an FDA-approved medication. WeightWatchers Med+ offers similar insurance advocacy at a much lower program fee — $25 first month then $74/mo on a 12-month plan — with the WW behavioral system attached, though its plans auto-renew for another full term. Ro Body is the most flexible of the three, with no minimum commitment. All are better value than paying cash for compounded medication when you have coverage available.

You have no insurance coverage

Use an all-in compounded subscription. CoreAge Rx and Bliv publish the lowest all-in prices, and because medication is bundled, the advertised figure is close to your real cost. Check manufacturer cash-pay brand programs first — Sesame's advertised $149/month Wegovy pill is competitive with compounded pricing.

You already have a prescription and just need refills

Use a pay-per-visit marketplace. Doctronic at $39/visit in all 50 states plus DC, with FSA/HSA accepted, or Sesame with visits from $34, gets you clinician access without a recurring fee. You handle pharmacy fulfillment yourself.

You want structure, coaching and accountability

Calibrate is the most complete program — 1:1 video coaching, a structured curriculum, a smart scale, and ongoing medical team access. ShedRx offers health coaching alongside its medication line. Most cheap compounded subscriptions offer little beyond the drug itself.

You will not or cannot inject

ShedRx offers the widest range — liquid drops, sublingual lozenges and the Foundayo pill. 24hrdoc offers oral semaglutide at $179/month. On the brand side, Ro Body and Sesame both list oral options including the Wegovy pill.

Doing the Cost Math Correctly

Here is the calculation most people skip, and it changes the answer more often than not.