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Wegovy vs Mounjaro: what the two labels actually say

Wegovy and Mounjaro are different drugs approved for different jobs. Wegovy treats weight. Mounjaro treats blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. Neither label covers the other’s use.

Source: Read from both FDA labels on DailyMed

What matters first

Label differences
13 of 14 comparison rows differ
Wegovy
Semaglutide
Mounjaro
Tirzepatide
Direct trial
None published

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD · non-practicing medical reviewerReviewed 2026-08-13every number here is sourced

Wegovy and Mounjaro, line by line

14 lines, read off the two labels. Where a label says nothing, the cell says so rather than borrowing from the other one.

Wegovy and Mounjaro compared line by line, from both FDA labels
QuestionWegovyMounjaro
What is in itSemaglutide, which acts on one gut hormone receptor, GLP-1Tirzepatide, which acts on two, GIP and GLP-1
Who makes itNovo NordiskEli Lilly and Company
What the label approvesWeight reduction, lower heart event risk in adults with heart disease and excess weight, MASH liver disease, and patients from age 12Blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes, and nothing else
Is it approved for weightYesNo
Is it approved for blood sugar in type 2 diabetesNoYes
How oftenSame on both labelsOnce a weekOnce a week
When it was approved2021-06-04, under NDA 2152562022-05-13, under NDA 215866
Starting dose0.25 mg once a week2.5 mg once a week for 4 weeks
Top dose2.4 mg, or 7.2 mg for weight reduction in adults15 mg a week for adults, 10 mg from age 10
Doses you can stay on1.7, 2.4 or 7.2 mgThe label names none. Any step from 5 mg up, chosen on blood sugar control
How a missed week is handledTake it if the next dose is more than 2 days off, otherwise skipWithin 4 days the dose can still go in
Youngest patient coveredAge 12Age 10, added in December 2025
Is there a pillYes, a tablet at 1.5, 4, 9 and 25 mg, under a separate applicationNo. Injection only
What the label reports for nausea44 in 100 at 2.4 mg, against 16 on placebo12, 15 and 18 in 100 at 5, 10 and 15 mg, against 4 on placebo

Has anyone tested Wegovy against Mounjaro directly?

No. Two trials have compared the two ingredients, and each of them lines up with one of these products and not the other.

SURMOUNT-5 ran 72 weeks in 751 adults with obesity and without type 2 diabetes. Its semaglutide arm reached 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg, which is Wegovy’s own maintenance range, and its tirzepatide arm reached 10 mg or 15 mg, which is inside Mounjaro’s range too. But the people in it were being treated for obesity — Wegovy’s approved use, and not one the Mounjaro label carries.

SURPASS-2 ran 40 weeks in 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes, which is Mounjaro’s use. Its semaglutide arm was 1 mg. That is below every dose Wegovy names as one to stay on, so it does not describe Wegovy at any point.

So the trials bracket this pair without landing on it: right population and the wrong semaglutide dose, or right semaglutide dose and the wrong population.

There is a plainer reason nobody has run it. A trial needs a shared measure, and these two labels have none — one is approved on weight and the other on blood sugar.

5Comparison detailsLabel interpretation, alternate phrasing, and product handoffs

This pair is usually the wrong question, and there is a right one behind it

Wegovy is approved for weight and Mounjaro is approved for blood sugar. If somebody is being treated for weight, Mounjaro is not the label-covered option; if for type 2 diabetes, Wegovy is not.

What makes that easy to miss is that each has a twin under a different name. Mounjaro’s twin is Zepbound: the same tirzepatide, the same maker, the same devices, the same 2.5 mg steps, and a label that covers weight. Wegovy’s twin is Ozempic: the same semaglutide, the same maker, and a label that covers type 2 diabetes.

So the comparison that answers a weight question is Wegovy against Zepbound, and the one that answers a diabetes question is Ozempic against Mounjaro. Both of those pairs have been tested head to head. This one has not, and could not be.

Being prescribed one of these off its label is common, and it is not the same as being prescribed the other

A prescriber may write either drug for something its label does not cover. That is legal and ordinary, and it is not what this page can weigh in on.

What the labels do settle is what happens around it. An approved use brings a printed dose schedule for that use, a reaction table drawn from trials in those patients, and an age range. Mounjaro’s reaction table comes from diabetes trials in people mostly already on other diabetes medicines. Wegovy’s comes from weight trials carried to 2.4 mg.

That is why the nausea rows sit so far apart — 44 in 100 against 12 to 18 in 100 — for two drugs that behave far more alike than that gap suggests. Different trials, different people, different printing cut-offs. Neither figure is the truth about either molecule.

Only one of the two has a tablet, and only one has an age-10 approval

Wegovy also exists as a tablet, at 1.5, 4, 9 and 25 mg, under a separate application. Mounjaro is injection only.

Mounjaro reaches further down in age: from 10 years old, added in December 2025, with the ceiling set at 10 mg rather than 15 for those patients. Wegovy covers age 12 and up.

Neither of those is a strength or weakness of the molecule. Each is one company having run a trial and filed for one more approval, and each belongs to that product alone.

What about “Mounjaro vs Wegovy”?

It is the same comparison with the names reversed, so both searches lead to this answer.

Publishing both orderings would mean two near-identical pages competing with each other for one answer. We publish one page per pair and let both phrasings land on it.

The full label for each

Compare the products here, then open each product’s own dose schedule and side-effect table for the details.

Wegovy

The Wegovy dose schedule in fullWegovy side effects, dose by doseStoring Wegovy safely

Mounjaro

The Mounjaro dose schedule in fullMounjaro side effects, dose by doseStoring Mounjaro safely

16primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page

Wegovy and Mounjaro are registered trademarks of their manufacturers. This page is not written, reviewed or endorsed by them. It reports what two public FDA labels state, and it is not medical advice. It also does not cover price or insurance coverage, which change too often to publish responsibly here.