Semaglutide 0.5 mg: what it costs
Step 2 of the semaglutide ladder, around weeks 5-8. 6 providers charge the same here as at the starting dose — the rest may not.
Updated 2026-09-18
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0.5 mg is step 2 of 5 on the semaglutide ladder, reached around weeks 5-8. The first real step up. Appetite changes usually become obvious somewhere around here.
Because this is an early rung, the main cost question is not what 0.5 mg costs today but what happens when you reach the higher doses. Programmes that hold one price across the whole ladder are the ones that make that predictable.
What 0.5 mg is for
The step to 0.5 mg is where most people meet semaglutide properly. It is a doubling of the starting dose and it is the point at which appetite change usually becomes unmistakable — along with, for a lot of people, the first real nausea. That combination makes it the rung with the highest dropout, and the one where having somebody to ask matters most.
The fortnight after this increase is where a lot of people meet nausea properly for the first time.
Where 0.5 mg sits on the ladder
| Step | Dose | Roughly when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.25 mg | weeks 1-4 |
| 2 | 0.5 mg ← this page | weeks 5-8 |
| 3 | 1 mg | weeks 9-12 |
| 4 | 1.7 mg | weeks 13-16 |
| 5 | 2.4 mg | weeks 17+ |
What 0.5 mg costs
6 of the providers we track hold a single price at every dose, so 0.5 mg costs the same as the starting dose. They are listed first below because at this rung that is the whole ballgame.
| Provider | Price at 0.5 mg | Per year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coreage Rx | $149 | $1,788 | 4.5 |
| Trimi | $99 | $1,188 | 4.6 |
| Mochi Health | $178 | $2,136 | 3.6 |
| PlexusDx | $189 | $2,268 | 4.4 |
| Eden | $198 | $2,376 | 3.1 |
| Remedy Meds | $299 | $3,588 | 3.5 |
Cheapest flat-rate option at 0.5 mg: Trimi at $99 a month, which is what it charges at every other rung too.
The remaining 8 providers either price by dose or do not publish a flat-rate commitment. Their quoted figures start at $86 a month, but that is the starting-dose price — ask specifically what 0.5 mg will cost before you assume it holds.
Worth knowing. The question to ask before you start. "What will I be charged when I reach 0.5 mg?" If the answer is not the same number you were quoted at the start, you are on a tiered programme and should budget for the higher figure rather than the advertised one.
Do you need to go higher than 0.5 mg?
Not necessarily. The ladder exists so that you can stop where the medication is working for you, and plenty of people settle below the maximum. Reaching the top dose is not a measure of success, and the trial figures are averages rather than targets.
The jump to 0.5 mg has been rough. What now?
Holding at this dose for an extra month is a normal and reasonable request, and a good programme will support it. On a flat-rate programme it costs you nothing. Pushing through a bad increase because you feel you should is how people end up stopping altogether.
Compounded preparations are not FDA-approved, and approved oral GLP-1s now start around $149 — see the approved pills. Dosing belongs to your prescriber, not this page.
Read next
- Flat pricing at every dose
Programmes where the price does not rise as your dose does — which matters more over a year than most advertised discounts.
- Semaglutide 0.25 mg: what it costs
Step 1 of the semaglutide ladder, around weeks 1-4. 6 providers charge the same here as at the starting dose — the rest may not.
- Semaglutide 1 mg: what it costs
Step 3 of the semaglutide ladder, around weeks 9-12. 6 providers charge the same here as at the starting dose — the rest may not.
- Medicare, GLP-1s and the $50 month
CMS is running a time-limited programme giving eligible Part D members certain GLP-1s for $50 a month. If you are on Medicare, read this before paying cash for anything.