Generic liraglutide cash prices run three to eleven times below the weekly brands, depending on the dose

Cash prices captured from GoodRx on Sept. 14, 2026 show generic liraglutide selling far below the newer weekly injectables — but how far below depends heavily on which version and which pharmacy. A two-pen carton of liraglutide referencing Victoza was listed at $112.19 with a coupon against a $615.85 retail price, while the five-pen weight-management carton referencing Saxenda was $372.45 against $717.63 retail ^[1][2].

On the same pages, GoodRx listed Ozempic (semaglutide) at $1,209.15 and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) at $1,310.99 for a four-pen 2.5 mg/0.5 mL carton, with a second page showing Mounjaro at $1,391.96 ^[1][2]. Compared with the $112.19 diabetes carton, that is roughly an eleven-fold gap. Compared with the $372.45 weight-management carton, the gap narrows to about three-fold.

The prices are not the same everywhere

GoodRx cash prices swing widely by pharmacy. For the two-pen liraglutide carton, the site showed $206.38 at Walmart, $217.71 at Walgreens, $337.20 at Hy-Vee and $497.80 at Costco, with CVS and Target listed at $101.90 through the paid GoodRx Companion service ^[1]. The same page also quoted a "most common version" as low as $102.40, or 77% off an average retail price of $455.02 ^[1].

The spread is even wider on the weight-management version: $372.45 at Walgreens, $550.25 at Capsule, $570.06 at CVS, $732.12 at a Walmart Neighborhood Market, and about $1,236 to $1,241 at Walmart, Sam's Club and Costco ^[2]. In other words, at some pharmacies the generic weight-loss carton was priced close to what the site listed for brand-name weekly drugs.

A few caveats matter. The two GoodRx pages were checked with different ZIP codes — 67025 for the Victoza-referenced product and 33102 for the Saxenda-referenced one — so the lists are not a clean head-to-head ^[1][2]. GoodRx's own Ozempic listing is displayed as "1.5mg 30 tablets," a description that does not match an injectable pen, so cross-drug comparisons on that page should be treated loosely ^[1]. GoodRx also showed discount offers on the brands, including Zepbound (tirzepatide) at $587.01 for a four-dose KwikPen with an "as low as $299.00" offer and Wegovy (semaglutide) listed "as low as $25.00" ^[1][2].

Why the two versions price differently

The likeliest reason is competition. In the FDA's national drug code directory, nine companies list a Victoza-referenced liraglutide product and four list a Saxenda-referenced product; those thirteen labels rest on eight generic applications plus one authorized generic ^[3]. Fewer sellers on the weight-management side means less price pressure.

The directory shows how recent this is. Meitheal Pharmaceuticals lists two- and three-pen cartons under ANDA218115 with a marketing start date of April 2, 2025, while Teva lists a five-pen carton under ANDA214568 starting Aug. 28, 2025, with a listed marketing end date of Sept. 30, 2027 ^[3]. Novo Nordisk's original Victoza (NDA022341) and Saxenda (NDA206321) listings remain in the directory ^[3]. The openFDA data was last updated Sept. 11, 2026 ^[3].

Why it matters for patients

For people paying cash, liraglutide is now the only GLP-1 in this comparison available as a generic — GoodRx states liraglutide (Victoza) "is only available as a generic drug" ^[1]. That creates a real price tier below the weekly brands, but the discount is far larger for the diabetes-labeled cartons than for the weight-management cartons.

The pharmacy-to-pharmacy spread is the other practical point: on the same day, the same weight-management carton ranged from $372.45 to about $1,241 depending on where it was filled ^[2]. Coupon prices also change; GoodRx says its coupon prices were last updated 09/14/26 and that prices are subject to change without notice, and sales tax is not included ^[1][2].

What these listings do not tell you is whether a given insurance plan covers any of these drugs, what a copay would be, or how the medicines compare on effectiveness or side effects. Those questions are not addressed by pricing data and are decisions for a clinician.

What happens next

More generic entrants could narrow the gap on the weight-management side, but the sources do not say when or whether additional approvals are coming. Teva's five-pen listing carries a marketing end date of Sept. 30, 2027, though the directory does not explain why ^[3].