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Zepbound vs Ozempic

Zepbound and Ozempic are different drugs, approved for different things. Zepbound treats weight and sleep apnea. Ozempic treats type 2 diabetes. No trial has compared these two products.

Source for this answer

Source: Read from both FDA labels on DailyMed

Source: Read from both FDA labels on DailyMed

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

Zepbound and Ozempic, line by line

Compare 13 details from the two labels. Side-effect figures from separate trials do not establish which medicine is safer.

Zepbound and Ozempic compared line by line, from both FDA labels
QuestionZepboundOzempic
What is in itTirzepatide, which acts on two gut hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1Semaglutide, which acts on one, GLP-1
Who makes itEli Lilly and CompanyNovo Nordisk
Approved usesWeight reduction, and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesityBlood sugar in type 2 diabetes, lower heart event risk in type 2 diabetes with heart disease, and slower kidney decline in type 2 diabetes with chronic kidney disease
Do the two labels share a single approved useSame on both labelsNoNo
How oftenSame on both labelsOnce a weekOnce a week
When it was approved2023-11-08, under NDA 2178062017-12-05, under NDA 209637
Starting dose2.5 mg once a week for 4 weeks0.25 mg once a week
Highest dose15 mg a week2 mg a week
Maintenance doses5, 10 or 15 mg for weight management; 10 or 15 mg for sleep apnea0.5, 1 or 2 mg
How a missed week is handledTake within 4 days of the missed dose; otherwise skip itTake within 5 days of the missed dose; otherwise skip it
Youngest patient coveredSame on both labelsAdults onlyAdults only
What the label reports for nausea25, 29 and 28 in 100 at 5, 10 and 15 mg, against 8 on placebo15.8 in 100 at 0.5 mg and 20.3 at 1 mg, against 6.1 on placebo
Injection devicesSingle-dose pen or vial, four-dose vial or KwikPenMulti-dose pens holding four weekly doses, or single-dose syringes

Product comparison at a glance

Zepbound
Tirzepatide
Ozempic
Semaglutide
Label differences
10 of 13 comparison rows differ
Direct trial
None published

Has anyone tested Zepbound against Ozempic directly?

No. Two trials have put tirzepatide against semaglutide, and neither of them is a trial of this pair — each matches one of these two products and misses the other.

SURMOUNT-5 ran 72 weeks in 751 adults with obesity and without type 2 diabetes. Its tirzepatide arm went to 10 mg or 15 mg, which is squarely inside Zepbound’s range. Its semaglutide arm went to 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg — and neither of those is a dose the Ozempic label offers. Ozempic stops at 2 mg, and the doses it names to stay on are 0.5, 1 and 2.

SURPASS-2 ran 40 weeks in 1,879 adults with type 2 diabetes, and its semaglutide arm was 1 mg, which is an Ozempic dose. But type 2 diabetes is not a use on the Zepbound label at all, so that trial answers the Mounjaro question rather than this one.

Put together: one trial has Zepbound’s doses and the wrong semaglutide dose, and the other has Ozempic’s dose and the wrong population. Neither trial matches this product pair’s approved uses and dose schedules.

The table compares approved uses and dose schedules. The two trials do not establish which of these products is better for the same condition.

5Comparison detailsWhat the differences mean and where to find more detail

The two labels do not share a single approved use

The condition being treated matters when comparing their approved uses.

Zepbound is approved for weight reduction, and for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Ozempic is approved for blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, for lowering heart event risk in people who also have heart disease, and for slowing kidney decline in people who also have chronic kidney disease.

The approved uses do not overlap. Their labels alone cannot establish which drug works better for the same condition.

The same ingredients appear under other brand names

Zepbound is tirzepatide. So is Mounjaro, from the same maker, in the same devices, on the same step pattern — and Mounjaro is the one approved for type 2 diabetes.

Ozempic is semaglutide. So is Wegovy, from the same maker — and Wegovy is the one approved for weight.

For two products approved for weight management, compare Zepbound with Wegovy. For two products approved for type 2 diabetes, compare Mounjaro with Ozempic.

A larger milligram dose does not mean a stronger drug

Zepbound’s highest dose is 15 mg weekly; Ozempic’s is 2 mg weekly. They contain different drugs, so those numbers do not measure relative strength.

Each drug has its own dose schedule. The labels provide no milligram-for-milligram conversion between them.

The nausea rows have the same problem. The Zepbound label reports 25 to 29 in 100; Ozempic reports 15.8 and 20.3 in 100. Those numbers came from different trials and different groups of people, so they do not measure a difference between the drugs. Both labels warn against comparing rates across separate trials.

What about “Ozempic vs Zepbound”?

Reversing the names does not change the product details or trial results.

Read each result with its own dose, study group and limits, whichever name comes first.

The full label for each

Choose a product below to see its full dose schedule, side effects and storage rules.

Zepbound

The Zepbound dose schedule in fullZepbound side effects, dose by doseStoring Zepbound safely

Ozempic

The Ozempic dose schedule in fullOzempic side effects, dose by doseStoring Ozempic safely

14primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page

Zepbound and Ozempic are registered trademarks of their makers. Neither maker wrote, reviewed or endorsed this guide. It draws on public FDA labels and cited studies. A clinician can advise on your care. For prices and insurance, see our cost and coverage guide.