Semaglutide Dosage Chart for Weight Loss: Doses, Schedule and Units

Semaglutide for weight loss starts at 0.25 mg once a week for 4 weeks, then rises every 4 weeks through 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 1.7 mg to the recommended maintenance dose of 2.4 mg, according to the Wegovy prescribing information (June 2026). Adults who tolerate 2.4 mg for at least 4 weeks and need more weight loss may go up to 7.2 mg, sold as Wegovy HD since its approval in March 2026. The Wegovy pill steps up each month from 1.5 mg to 25 mg a day. Ozempic, approved for type 2 diabetes, tops out at 2 mg a week. Compounded semaglutide has no FDA-approved schedule, and your dose in syringe units depends on the concentration printed on your vial.

This guide covers the dosage chart for each semaglutide product, how to read a compounded dose in units, what to do if you miss a dose and how switching works. Compounded semaglutide is prepared by a licensed pharmacy for one patient's prescription and is not FDA-approved, which means the FDA hasn't reviewed it for safety, effectiveness or quality.

Quick Answer: What Is the Semaglutide Dosage for Weight Loss?

Wegovy is the semaglutide brand approved for weight loss, and its injection comes in six strengths: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg, each taken once a week. These are label facts for Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk.

• Starting dose: 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks.
• Step-ups: 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 1.7 mg, for 4 weeks each. If a step is hard to tolerate, the label says to consider waiting another 4 weeks before the next one.
• Maintenance for adult weight loss: 2.4 mg once weekly (recommended) or 1.7 mg.
• Maximum: 7.2 mg once weekly (Wegovy HD), only after at least 4 weeks on 2.4 mg and only when more weight reduction is clinically needed.
• Wegovy pill: 1.5 mg, 4 mg and 9 mg once daily for 30 days each, then 25 mg once daily.
• Ozempic (type 2 diabetes): 0.25 mg weekly for 4 weeks, then 0.5 mg, with 1 mg and 2 mg as later steps; 2 mg is the maximum.

On the fastest schedule, you reach 2.4 mg in week 17. If cost is your next question, our semaglutide cost guide compares brand and compounded prices. Through MaxLife, compounded semaglutide costs $89 a month, flat, the same price at every dose, if an independent licensed provider prescribes it; the provider sets your dose, and the pharmacy label on your vial tells you how much to draw.

Semaglutide Weight Loss Dosage Chart (Wegovy Injection)

The semaglutide weight loss dosage chart below follows the Wegovy label for adults. Each step lasts at least 4 weeks, so the weeks shown are the fastest pace, not a target.

The slow climb has a purpose: the label says to follow it "to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions." Not everyone climbs the whole ladder. The label tells prescribers to consider "treatment response and tolerability" when choosing the maintenance dose, and staying on 1.7 mg is a normal use of the schedule. Teens 12 and older follow the same steps to 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg; the 7.2 mg dose appears only in the adult instructions.

With a Wegovy pen, you never measure units. Single-dose pens hold 0.5 mL for the 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses and 0.75 mL for 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg, and the Wegovy FlexTouch pen (3.2 mg/mL) delivers four 2.4 mg doses. The pen gives the dose printed on it.

What Is the Highest Dose of Semaglutide?

The highest dose of semaglutide is 7.2 mg once a week, the Wegovy label's maximum since the FDA approved it on March 19, 2026, according to the FDA's approval records for Wegovy. It comes as Wegovy HD, a single-dose pen with 7.2 mg in 0.75 mL, for adults who have tolerated 2.4 mg for at least 4 weeks and need more weight reduction.

In the 72-week trial behind it (Study 8 in the label), adults with obesity lost an average of 18.8% of their body weight on 7.2 mg, 15.5% on 2.4 mg and 3.9% on placebo. For comparison, in STEP 1, adults taking Wegovy 2.4 mg lost 14.9% over 68 weeks, compared with 2.4% on placebo. These results come from Wegovy and have not been shown for compounded semaglutide.

The higher dose brought new side effects for some people. Skin sensation changes (dysesthesia, such as tingling or burning skin) were reported by 22% of people on 7.2 mg, 6% on 2.4 mg and 0.3% on placebo, and hair loss by 5.8%, 3.3% and 1.0%.

The other maximums are 2 mg a week for Ozempic, 25 mg a day for the Wegovy pill, 9 mg a day for the Ozempic pill and 14 mg a day for Rybelsus. Pill and injection milligrams don't compare: the Wegovy label pairs a 25 mg tablet with a 2.4 mg injection.

Wegovy Pill Dosage Chart

The Wegovy pill starts at 1.5 mg once a day for 30 days and steps up every 30 days to the 25 mg maintenance dose. The FDA approved it on December 22, 2025.

Take one tablet in the morning on an empty stomach with up to 4 ounces of plain water, swallow it whole, and wait at least 30 minutes before you eat, drink or take other oral medicines. If you can't tolerate 25 mg, the label suggests your prescriber consider the 1.7 mg injection instead. In the label's 64-week trial, adults taking the 25 mg pill lost an average of 13.6% of their weight, compared with 2.4% on placebo.

Ozempic Dosage Chart (Injection and Pill)

Ozempic is approved for adults with type 2 diabetes, not for weight management, and its injection runs from 0.25 mg to a 2 mg maximum once a week, according to the Ozempic label. Increases depend on blood sugar control, not weight.

How many doses are in one Ozempic pen? The 2 mg/3 mL pen gives four 0.25 mg doses and two 0.5 mg doses, or four 0.5 mg doses; the 1 mg and 2 mg pens each give four doses. The label also lists single-dose prefilled syringes of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg. Ozempic and Wegovy should not be used together: the Wegovy label advises against combining it with any other semaglutide product.

Ozempic Pill and Rybelsus Doses

Novo Nordisk sells two semaglutide tablets for type 2 diabetes, and their doses are not interchangeable. The Ozempic pill, on sale since May 4, 2026, starts at 1.5 mg a day for 30 days, then 4 mg, with 9 mg as the top dose. Rybelsus starts at 3 mg, then 7 mg, with 14 mg as the top dose. The tablet label says they "are not substitutable on a mg-to-mg basis": 7 mg of Rybelsus matches 4 mg of the Ozempic pill, and 14 mg matches 9 mg. Both follow the empty-stomach morning routine. For how these products differ, see semaglutide vs Ozempic.

Semaglutide Dosage in Units: How to Read a Compounded Vial

Your semaglutide dosage in units depends on your vial's concentration, so no single units chart fits everyone. Your prescription is written in milligrams (mg), which measure the drug. An insulin syringe is marked in units, which measure volume. On a standard U-100 insulin syringe, 100 units equals 1 mL, so 1 unit equals 0.01 mL.

To convert, divide your dose in mg by your vial's concentration in mg/mL to get mL, then multiply by 100 to get units. The concentration is printed on the vial label (for example, "2.5 mg/mL"). If the label gives a total amount and volume instead, divide the milligrams by the milliliters.

The FDA has documented what goes wrong. In a 2024 alert, it described patients who drew 5 to 20 times their intended dose of compounded semaglutide, some of whom were hospitalized. In one case, a provider meant to prescribe 0.25 mg, which was 5 units from that patient's vial, but wrote 25 units. Another wrote 20 units instead of 2. On August 12, 2026, the FDA wrote to the Federation of State Medical Boards that compounded drugs "often have different concentrations than FDA approved products," that the volumes "are not interchangeable between the two," and that added ingredients such as vitamins "may further complicate dose measurement."

Worked Example (Illustration Only)

This example assumes a vial labeled 2.5 mg/mL and uses the Wegovy label's milligram steps. It shows the method only. Your dose comes from your prescriber, and your units come from the label on your own vial and your pharmacy's instructions.

From a 5 mg/mL vial, every units figure above would be cut in half (0.25 mg would be 5 units). That is why a chart made for one vial can mean a double dose, or half a dose, from another. Our weight loss medication dosage calculator does this math for your label, and the pharmacy medication instructions tool has guides from the partner pharmacies that publish them. If the units on your label don't match what you calculate, call the pharmacy before you inject.

How Many mg Is 50 Units of Semaglutide?

Fifty units of semaglutide is 0.5 mL on a U-100 syringe, and how many milligrams that holds depends on the vial: 1.25 mg from a 2.5 mg/mL vial or 2.5 mg from a 5 mg/mL vial. The same math for other common questions:

• 10 units (0.1 mL): 0.25 mg from a 2.5 mg/mL vial; 0.5 mg from a 5 mg/mL vial.
• 20 units (0.2 mL): 0.5 mg or 1 mg.
• 40 units (0.4 mL): 1 mg or 2 mg.
• 50 units (0.5 mL): 1.25 mg or 2.5 mg.
• 100 units (1 mL): 2.5 mg or 5 mg.

Is 50 units of semaglutide a lot? It can be. From a 5 mg/mL vial, 50 units holds 2.5 mg, slightly more than the 2.4 mg Wegovy maintenance dose and 10 times the 0.25 mg starting dose. Never take a units number from a chart, a forum or a friend; use the figure on your own prescription label.

What Is the Starting Dose of Compounded Semaglutide?

The starting dose of compounded semaglutide is the dose your prescriber writes. Many prescribers use the Wegovy label's 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks, because the reason for a slow start doesn't change. But there is no FDA-approved dosing schedule for compounded semaglutide, and the FDA has received adverse event reports linked to compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide taken "in doses beyond what is in the FDA-approved drug label," including faster increases.

Compounded semaglutide usually comes in a multi-dose vial. The FDA advises throwing a multi-dose vial away 28 days after first use, even if medicine is left, and its August 2026 letter suggested labels such as "Discard vial after the 4th injection" for weekly doses.

With MaxLife, an independent licensed provider decides whether compounded semaglutide is right for you and sets your dose, and a licensed partner pharmacy prepares it. The pharmacy label on your vial gives the exact amount to draw, follow-up with your provider is included, and higher doses are available when a provider prescribes them, at the same price.

What to Do If You Miss a Dose of Semaglutide

What to do after a missed dose of semaglutide depends on the product, because each label has its own rule.

If you miss 2 or more Wegovy injections in a row, the label says to restart the dose escalation at a lower dose to lower the risk of stomach side effects, so call your prescriber before your next injection. Never take two doses to catch up.

If you take too much, the Wegovy label warns of severe nausea, severe vomiting and severe low blood sugar. Call your provider or the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222, or go to an emergency room. Semaglutide's half-life is about 1 week, so effects can last for days.

Can You Change Your Semaglutide Injection Day?

Yes. The Wegovy Medication Guide lets you change your weekly day as long as your last dose was 2 or more days before, and the Ozempic label allows a change as long as the doses are at least 2 days (more than 48 hours) apart.

Say you inject on Monday and want to move to Thursday. Thursday is 3 days after Monday, so it meets the rule, and Thursday becomes your new day. Moving to Tuesday needs more care: the next day is too soon, so inject on the Tuesday 8 days after your Monday dose. Pick a day you can keep every week and set a reminder.

Switching Between Semaglutide Products

Each switch has its own label rule, and a dose of one semaglutide product doesn't convert to another unit for unit.

• Wegovy injection to the Wegovy pill: from 2.4 mg, start 25 mg tablets one week after your last injection.
• Wegovy pill to the injection: from 25 mg tablets, start the 2.4 mg injection the day after your last tablet (1.7 mg if 25 mg wasn't tolerated).
• Ozempic injection to tablets: from 0.5 mg, one week after your last injection, start the 4 mg or 9 mg Ozempic pill or 7 mg or 14 mg of Rybelsus.
• Rybelsus and the Ozempic pill: after the first 30 days, switch the day after your last tablet, using the matched doses above.
• Brand to compounded, or one compounded vial to another: no label rule exists. A pen dose doesn't translate into a fixed number of syringe units, and the FDA says volumes are not interchangeable, so your prescriber sets the new dose and your pharmacy label sets the units.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide doses don't convert either; the milligram amounts are different. Our tirzepatide dosage chart shows that schedule.

Get Your Semaglutide Dosing Plan From a Licensed Provider

A semaglutide dosage chart shows what the labels allow, but it can't tell you what is right for you. Where you start, how fast you step up and where you stop depend on your response, your side effects and your health history. If your insurance covers Wegovy, or you want a pill or a label indication such as heart-risk reduction, the brand product may be the better route, so ask your provider.

If you're paying cash, MaxLife offers compounded semaglutide through independent licensed providers. It costs $89 a month, flat, billed every 3 months ($267), with no membership fee. The price is all-inclusive: a licensed provider's review and follow-up, the medicine if prescribed, supplies and free expedited shipping. The online intake takes about 2 minutes, a provider reviews it, usually within 24 hours, and you can ask for a video visit. MaxLife is a telehealth patient management platform, not a pharmacy or drug maker.

Conclusion

Semaglutide for weight loss (Wegovy) starts at 0.25 mg a week and steps up every 4 weeks to a usual maintenance dose of 2.4 mg, with 7.2 mg as the maximum since March 2026. The Wegovy pill climbs from 1.5 mg to 25 mg a day, and Ozempic, for type 2 diabetes, stops at 2 mg. Missed-dose rules differ by product.

If you use a compounded vial, your dose in units depends on its concentration. As the FDA warned in August 2026, volumes don't carry over between products, so follow your own label rather than an online chart, and leave every dose change to your prescriber.