Saxenda vs Wegovy: Liraglutide and Semaglutide Compared Side by Side From the Labels

Quick answer

As of September 2026, the first practical difference between Saxenda and Wegovy is the calendar: Saxenda (liraglutide) is injected once daily, Wegovy (semaglutide) injection once weekly, and Wegovy also comes as a once-daily tablet. Both are Novo Nordisk GLP-1 receptor agonists whose FDA-approved labels cover reducing excess body weight and maintaining weight reduction long term. Both labels carry the same boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors and the same 2 contraindications. They differ on approval dates (December 23, 2014 for Saxenda; June 4, 2021 for Wegovy), on the extra indications Wegovy's label carries, on two warning categories, and on generic status: generic liraglutide pens for weight management are listed on DailyMed, generic semaglutide is not.

Saxenda vs Wegovy at a glance

Searched as Saxenda vs Wegovy or Wegovy vs Saxenda, the question is liraglutide vs semaglutide on the points each label states; the sections below expand every row.

What is Saxenda?

Saxenda is liraglutide injection labeled for weight management; the label describes liraglutide as an acylated human GLP-1 receptor agonist, the pathway explained in our guide to what a GLP-1 medication is. The indication reads "in combination with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term" in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with body weight greater than 60 kg and obesity, and in adults with overweight plus at least one weight-related comorbid condition. Two limitations of use follow: no coadministration with other liraglutide products or any other GLP-1 receptor agonist, and no established safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients with type 2 diabetes. Drugs@FDA lists the original approval on December 23, 2014; the label's "Initial U.S. Approval: 2010" line refers to the first approval of liraglutide in an earlier product.

What is Wegovy?

Wegovy is semaglutide, and one label now covers both the injection and the tablets. For the injection it lists three indications, all with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity: reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight; reducing excess body weight and maintaining weight reduction long term in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with obesity, or adults with overweight plus at least one weight-related comorbid condition; and treating noncirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis in adults, under accelerated approval. The tablets carry the cardiovascular and weight indications for adults only. Its one limitation of use mirrors Saxenda's: no use with other semaglutide products or any other GLP-1 receptor agonist. Drugs@FDA lists the original approval on June 4, 2021; the label's "Initial U.S. Approval: 2017" line refers to the first approval of semaglutide in another product.

Saxenda vs Wegovy dosing: once daily or once weekly?

The Saxenda label instructs the patient to inject "subcutaneously once daily at any time of day, without regard to the timing of meals," and to resume the once-daily schedule after a missed dose rather than take an extra one. The Wegovy label instructs the patient to administer the injection "once weekly, on the same day each week, at any time of day, with or without meals." The Wegovy tablet is different again: once daily in the morning, on an empty stomach, with a small amount of water only.

Your own schedule is a prescribing decision; your prescription label and Medication Guide are the documents to follow, and our article on how to read a prescription label shows where each instruction sits.

Pens, syringes and a tablet: the forms each label lists

Saxenda comes one way: a prefilled, single-patient-use pen. Wegovy's label lists single-dose pens, single-dose syringes, a single-patient-use FlexTouch pen holding four weekly doses, and tablets in bottles of thirty; because the FlexTouch pen is reused across four weeks, the label says it "must never be shared between patients, even if the needle is changed."

Boxed warning and contraindications: the same on both labels

Both labels open with "WARNING: RISK OF THYROID C-CELL TUMORS." Each states that the medicine causes thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents, that it is unknown whether it causes these tumors, including medullary thyroid carcinoma, in humans, and that routine calcitonin monitoring or thyroid ultrasound is of uncertain value for early detection. Both ask prescribers to counsel patients about symptoms such as a mass in the neck or persistent hoarseness. The oral GLP-1 tablet orforglipron opens with a boxed warning under that same title and repeats the same symptom list, as set out in our guide to the Foundayo boxed warning and contraindications.

The contraindications are parallel: a personal or family history of MTC or MEN 2, and a serious hypersensitivity reaction to the active ingredient (liraglutide or semaglutide) or any excipient.

Warnings the two labels share, and where they differ

Both labels carry these Warnings and Precautions categories: risk of thyroid C-cell tumors, acute pancreatitis, acute gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia, heart rate increase, acute kidney injury due to volume depletion, severe gastrointestinal adverse reactions, hypersensitivity reactions, and pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia or deep sedation. On the last one, both labels instruct patients to tell their healthcare providers before any surgery or sedation.

Two categories appear only on the Wegovy label: "Diabetic Retinopathy Complications in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes" and "Never Share WEGOVY FlexTouch Between Patients." On hypoglycemia, the Saxenda label adds a pediatric note, and both labels warn that use with insulin or an insulin secretagogue may increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

What are the side effects of Saxenda vs Wegovy?

The Saxenda label lists the most common adverse reactions in adults as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, injection site reactions, headache, hypoglycemia, dyspepsia, fatigue, dizziness, abdominal pain, increased lipase, upper abdominal pain, pyrexia, and gastroenteritis. The Wegovy label lists, for adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, dysesthesia, headache, fatigue, dyspepsia, dizziness, abdominal distension, eructation, hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes, flatulence, gastroenteritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and hair loss.

Both labels state that adverse reaction rates from one drug's trials cannot be directly compared with another drug's, which is why this article does not rank the two by side-effect rates. For how a GLP-1 label organizes this section, see our article on Zepbound side effects.

Which works better for weight loss, Saxenda or Wegovy?

Neither label answers that question against the other. Each label reports weight change from its own trial program in section 14, Clinical Studies, and neither describes a trial of the two medicines head to head: the Wegovy label mentions liraglutide once, in the thyroid warning's note on postmarketing reports, and the Saxenda label does not mention semaglutide at all. This article keeps to the labels, so it does not quote the percentages; a prescriber can walk through section 14 of each label with you and explain what those separate trials measured and in whom.

How to store Saxenda and Wegovy

Saxenda: refrigerate before first use, never freeze, and do not use a pen that has been frozen; after first use the pen may be kept at room temperature or refrigerated for the period the label states, cap on, needle removed. Wegovy injection: refrigerate single-dose pens and syringes in the original carton and discard after use; the FlexTouch pen is refrigerated before first use and may then be kept at room temperature for the number of days the label states. Wegovy tablets: room temperature, in the original closed bottle, in a dry place.

What do Saxenda and Wegovy cost, and does insurance cover them?

Prices below come only from the manufacturer's pages, as of September 2026, and they change.

Wegovy: the wegovy.com "what to pay" page lists three routes. With commercial insurance, the savings offer says "Pay as little as $25" per month, capped at $100 of savings per month, government beneficiaries excluded. For self-pay, the page lists an introductory $199 per month for the first two months on the lowest starting doses, "then $349 per month" for the pen, a higher-dose pen at $399 per month, and tablet pricing that "varies by dose" starting at $149 per month. For Medicare, the page describes the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, a temporary federal program giving eligible Part D beneficiaries the pen and the pill for $50 per month between July 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027, with a prior authorization from the prescriber. Our guide to Medicare coverage of Wegovy, Ozempic and other GLP-1s covers the program in detail.

Saxenda: saxenda.com routes cost questions to NovoCare, whose Saxenda page states that the "Savings Offer program has been discontinued for new enrollees as of June 30, 2023." No manufacturer page opened for this article lists a self-pay price for Saxenda as of September 2026. Medicaid coverage is decided state by state; NovoCare's state tool states, for example, that California's Medicaid program covers Saxenda for patients aged 12 years and older, with use restricted to obesity.

Is there a generic Saxenda or a generic Wegovy?

Yes for liraglutide, no for semaglutide, based on a DailyMed search on September 19, 2026. A search for "liraglutide" returns labels from manufacturers other than Novo Nordisk, and at least two, from Teva Pharmaceuticals and Biocon Pharma, carry the Saxenda-type indication word for word, "to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term," in a prefilled single-patient-use pen. Other liraglutide labels in the same search carry the type 2 diabetes indication, so a generic liraglutide prescription needs to name the right one. A search for "semaglutide" returns only Novo Nordisk labels (Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus) and repackaged copies. Our article on Wegovy alternatives covers what that means for people looking for a lower-cost option.

What about compounded semaglutide or liraglutide?

Compounded medications are not FDA-approved as final products. FDA's compounding page states that "FDA does not verify the safety, effectiveness or quality of compounded drugs before they are marketed," which is why an approved product and a compounded one are not the same category. Our article on whether compounded semaglutide is FDA-approved goes through the rules.

How does a physician choose between Saxenda and Wegovy?

The choice is a process, not a ranking, and it usually runs through five questions:

1. Do the contraindications rule out both? A personal or family history of MTC or MEN 2 closes the door on both, as does a prior serious hypersensitivity reaction to the active ingredient.
2. Does one label cover a diagnosis the other does not? Wegovy's carries cardiovascular risk reduction and MASH; Saxenda's does not. For an adolescent, both injection labels cover ages 12 and older with obesity, and Saxenda's adds a body weight threshold.
3. Which warning categories apply? Diabetic retinopathy history points to the warning only the Wegovy label carries; insulin or sulfonylurea use raises hypoglycemia on both.
4. Can the patient keep the schedule? A daily injection, a weekly injection, and a morning fasting tablet are different routines.
5. What will the plan cover, and what does the patient pay? Coverage, prior authorization rules and the existence of generic liraglutide can settle the question before clinical preference does.

Medication is prescribed only if a licensed physician determines it is appropriate; these questions are the physician's to work through with the patient.

Can you switch from Saxenda to Wegovy?

Both labels state that use with any other GLP-1 receptor agonist is not recommended, so a switch is a stop-and-start planned by the prescriber, not an overlap. Neither label publishes a switching schedule; the prescriber sets the plan. Bring your current pen setting, time on it, and any side effects to that conversation. General questions about telehealth visits are answered on our help page.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Medication is prescribed only if a licensed physician determines it is appropriate.