How much do Mounjaro and Wegovy cost in the UK, on the NHS or privately?
The NHS charge, the free nations, the maker’s list prices and the September 2025 rise. Official figures only: no seller prices, no seller names.
Written for the UK. Reading from India? India version
On an NHS prescription, you pay £9.90 per item in England, or nothing if you are exempt or live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Privately, you pay the full price. Lilly’s list price for a 4-week Mounjaro pen is £133–£330 by dose; NICE’s last published Wegovy list price is £73.25–£175.80.
Key takeaways
- On the NHS in England each prescribed item costs £9.90, or £114.50 a year with a prepayment certificate; prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.1,2,3,4
- Mounjaro’s list price is £133 for a 4-week pen at 2.5 mg and £330 at 12.5 or 15 mg, excluding VAT.5
- Lilly confirmed the top-dose list price would rise from £122 to £330 a month from September 2025, about 170%, with NHS prices unchanged.6
- At list prices, a year climbing to Mounjaro 15 mg comes to about £3,793 in pens; climbing to Wegovy 2.4 mg, about £1,926 at its 2023 list price.5,7
- Private services set their own prices; the GPhC logged a spike in pricing complaints in August and September 2025, around the Mounjaro rise.8
- The prices below are the makers’ list prices and official NHS charges. We don’t quote, rank or link to any seller.
- GLP‑1 medicines are prescription-only medicines in the UK, never sold over the counter.9
- Ozempic and Rybelsus are licensed for type 2 diabetes only, not for weight loss.10
- A prescriber decides whether a medicine fits, which one and at what dose. Nothing here is a recommendation.
- The risks are the same however you get it: see our side effects guide.
On this page
What does an NHS prescription cost?
£9.90 per item in England, unless you are exempt; prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.1,2,3,4
England. The charge is £9.90 per item. A prepayment certificate (PPC) covers all your NHS prescriptions for £32.05 for 3 months or £114.50 for 12.1 If each 4-week pen were one item, 13 a year would cost £128.70. A 12-month PPC would save £14.20.
Some people pay nothing in England. People with diabetes treated by medicines, not diet alone, can get a medical exemption certificate. People aged 60 or over already get free prescriptions.11
Scotland abolished prescription charges on 1 April 2011, though an English prescription is charged at the English rate.2 Wales is free if your GP is in Wales.3 In Northern Ireland, all prescriptions are free for everyone.4 Who can get an NHS prescription is a separate question: see Mounjaro on the NHS.
What are the list prices?
Lilly lists Mounjaro at £133 to £330 per 4-week pen; NICE last published Wegovy’s list price, £73.25 to £175.80, in 2023.5,7
A list price is what the maker charges before any discount. Each Mounjaro KwikPen or Wegovy FlexTouch pen holds 4 weekly doses.5,7
| Medicine and dose | List price per 4-week pen |
|---|---|
| Mounjaro 2.5 mg Tirzepatide | £133.00 |
| Mounjaro 5 mg Tirzepatide | £180.00 |
| Mounjaro 7.5 or 10 mg Tirzepatide | £255.00 |
| Mounjaro 12.5 or 15 mg Tirzepatide | £330.00 |
| Wegovy 0.25, 0.5 or 1 mg Semaglutide, 2023 list price | £73.25 |
| Wegovy 1.7 mg Semaglutide, 2023 list price | £124.53 |
| Wegovy 2.4 mg Semaglutide, 2023 list price | £175.80 |
Excluding VAT, as NICE publishes them. Grouped by medicine, not ranked. Mounjaro from NICE TA1026 (last updated 1 September 2025); Wegovy from NICE TA875 (March 2023).5,7
The NHS pays less than these prices, under confidential deals with each maker.5,7 We found no newer official list price for Wegovy. We found none at all for the Wegovy 7.2 mg pen, Wegovy tablets or Foundayo.
Why did Mounjaro’s price go up in 2025?
Lilly raised its UK list price from September 2025, saying the launch price was set well below the European average to avoid delaying NHS access.6
Lilly confirmed to CNN that a month of the top dose would rise from £122 to £330, about 170%.6 It said NHS prices would not change.6
Lilly’s statement said it had “intensified efforts to align prices across developed countries, especially in Europe”.6 CNN linked the move to US government pressure to cut American drug prices.6
Complaints rose. Of all pricing complaints the GPhC received about weight-loss services, 78% came in August and September 2025.8
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What does a year add up to at list price?
Climbing to Mounjaro 15 mg costs about £3,793 in pens over 52 weeks; climbing to Wegovy 2.4 mg, about £1,926 (2023 list price).5,7
A year is 52 weekly doses, or 13 pens. Mounjaro begins at 2.5 mg for 4 weeks and goes up in steps of at least 4 weeks.12 Wegovy steps up every 4 weeks to 2.4 mg by week 17.13 Your prescriber may move more slowly or stop lower.
Our arithmetic: 13 pens at list price, excluding VAT, one pen per step. Mounjaro to 15 mg = £133 + £180 + £255 + £255 + £330 + 8 × £330. Prescriber fees and delivery are left out.
Private prices are set by each service and may differ from list prices. We could not confirm what VAT, if any, applies to a private supply, so we leave it out. Our guide to seeing a doctor and the medicines covers the other costs.
- Stomach effects. In the main trials, about 44 in 100 people on Wegovy 2.4 mg felt sick (nausea), against about 16 in 100 on a dummy injection. On Mounjaro it was about 25 to 29 in 100, against about 9 in 100 on a dummy injection. It mostly comes while the dose goes up.13,14
- Gallbladder problems. Gallstones were reported in about 16 in 1,000 people on Wegovy 2.4 mg. Acute gallbladder disease affected about 20 in 1,000 on Mounjaro, against about 16 in 1,000 on a dummy injection.13,14
- Pancreatitis (an inflamed pancreas): severe stomach pain that won’t go away and may spread to the back. The MHRA updated its guidance on it in January 2026.15
- Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhoea can harm the kidneys.14,13
- Surgery and pregnancy. Tell the team before any anaesthetic. The MHRA advises stopping semaglutide at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy, tirzepatide 1 month.10
Does insurance or an exemption cover a private prescription?
We found no UK insurer policy covering GLP‑1 medicines for weight, and exemption certificates are for free NHS prescriptions.11
The NHS medical exemption certificate gives free NHS prescriptions.11 It doesn’t make a private prescription free.
The GPhC says access to weight-loss medicines “is usually via private services”.8 If you are paying privately and think you meet the NHS rules, read switching from private to NHS Mounjaro. Our stopping guide explains why it makes sense to budget in years, not months.
Questions people ask
How much is Mounjaro a month in the UK?
A 4-week KwikPen lists at £133 at 2.5 mg and £180 at 5 mg. It is £255 at 7.5 or 10 mg, and £330 at 12.5 or 15 mg, excluding VAT.5
Is Mounjaro cheaper on the NHS?
For you, yes: £9.90 per item in England and free elsewhere in the UK. The NHS itself pays a discounted price that is kept confidential.1,5
Does a prepayment certificate cover Mounjaro?
A PPC covers all your NHS prescriptions in England: £32.05 for 3 months or £114.50 for 12. It applies to NHS prescriptions.1
Why does the price rise with the dose?
Each step up uses a stronger pen with a higher list price. Mounjaro is £133 at 2.5 mg and £330 at 15 mg.5
Are there Mounjaro coupons in the UK?
We found no maker coupon scheme in the UK. The ASA treats special offers that apply only to prescription-only medicines as advertising them, which is banned.17
How we researched this
We used makers’ list prices published by NICE, and official NHS charge pages, all checked on 12 October 2026. We show no seller’s price. UK rules can treat a named medicine shown with named suppliers as an advert.
The 2025 price rise comes from a named, dated CNN report quoting Lilly. Year totals are our arithmetic from list prices.
Before you move on
- Price the whole dose ladder, not the first pen.
- Count 13 pens a year, not 12.
- In England, compare the PPC with paying per item.
- Check whether a medical exemption certificate applies to you.
- Budget for year two at the full dose.
More from the UK blog
The monthly UK update
An independent guide to GLP‑1 medicines. We don’t sell medicines, take drug-company money, earn commissions or link to any provider. Once a month: NHS changes, approvals, list prices and safety alerts. How we write
Sources
- NHS Business Services Authority. NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC). Link
- Scottish Government. Help with health costs (HCS2): quick guide; and Citizens Advice Scotland, Help with health costs. Link
- Welsh Government. Free prescriptions. Link
- nidirect (Northern Ireland government). Help with health costs. Link
- NICE. TA1026, section 2: Information about tirzepatide (marketing authorisation, list prices excluding VAT, commercial arrangement). Link
- CNN (republished by ABC17 News). Eli Lilly hikes Mounjaro prices in the UK to make weight-loss drug cheaper in the US. 15 August 2025. Link
- NICE. TA875, section 2: Information about semaglutide (list prices excluding VAT, 2023). Link
- General Pharmaceutical Council. Weight management medicines and services: a review of GPhC inspections and concerns. April 2026. Link
- MHRA. UK first in Europe to authorise orforglipron for weight management and type 2 diabetes. Press release, 10 August 2026. Link
- MHRA. GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes: what you need to know. Guidance, published 5 June 2025, updated 5 February 2026. Link
- NHS Business Services Authority. Medical exemption certificates. Link
- MHRA. MHRA authorises diabetes drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for weight management and weight loss. Press release, 8 November 2023. Link
- Novo Nordisk. Wegovy FlexTouch: UK summary of product characteristics (SmPC), electronic Medicines Compendium. Date of revision 09/2026. Link
- Eli Lilly. Mounjaro KwikPen: UK summary of product characteristics (SmPC), electronic Medicines Compendium. Date of revision 29 August 2026. Link
- MHRA. MHRA updates guidance for GLP-1 prescribers and patients. Press release, 29 January 2026. Link
- NHS. When to call 999. Link
- ASA and CAP. Weight control: prescription-only medicines (advice online). Link
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error
How this post was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above. It’s general information, not medical advice. Talk to your GP, pharmacist or prescriber before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. We don’t sell, prescribe or recommend any brand or provider. How we write