Mounjaro vs Wegovy in India: Which Is Better, and What Each Costs

On average, Mounjaro produces more weight loss than Wegovy. In SURMOUNT-5, the only head-to-head trial, people on tirzepatide lost 20.2% of body weight over 72 weeks against 13.7% on semaglutide. Wegovy costs less at MRP, especially in the first months, and generic semaglutide now costs a fraction of either. So the real question is not which drug is stronger, it is how much strength you need and what you can afford to stay on for six months or more.

Two different molecules

Wegovy is Novo Nordisk's semaglutide at the weight-loss dose, the same molecule as Ozempic. It copies one gut hormone, GLP-1, which reduces appetite and slows stomach emptying. Mounjaro is Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, also sold in India as Yurpeak by Cipla. It acts on GLP-1 and a second hormone receptor, GIP, which appears to add to the appetite effect and improves insulin sensitivity. That second action is the main reason for the difference in results.

What the trials show

SURMOUNT-5 (published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 2025) put the two drugs directly against each other in about 750 adults with obesity and without diabetes. Each person went to the highest dose they tolerated (tirzepatide 10 or 15 mg, semaglutide 1.7 or 2.4 mg). After 72 weeks, average weight loss was 20.2% on tirzepatide and 13.7% on semaglutide. Waist size fell more on tirzepatide too.

The last two numbers come from separate trials with different participants, so treat them as a rough guide. They suggest something useful for your wallet: tirzepatide at a mid dose (5 mg) has produced average results in the same range as semaglutide at its full dose (2.4 mg). Averages hide wide individual variation in both directions.

Semaglutide has one thing tirzepatide does not yet match: the SELECT trial (NEJM, 2023), which showed semaglutide 2.4 mg reduced major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke by 20% in people with existing heart disease and overweight, without diabetes. For someone with a past heart attack, that evidence carries weight.

Dosing: how each one builds up

Mounjaro starts at 2.5 mg weekly for 4 weeks, then 5 mg. Your doctor may step up by 2.5 mg no sooner than every 4 weeks, to a maximum of 15 mg. Many people do well at 5 mg to 10 mg. Wegovy starts at 0.25 mg and steps through 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 1.7 mg to 2.4 mg, one step every 4 weeks, so the full dose is reached at about month five. The tirzepatide dose chart shows the Mounjaro ladder in detail.

Side effects

Both cause the same kind of side effects: nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, indigestion and reduced appetite, mostly in the first weeks and after each dose increase. In SURMOUNT-5, fewer people stopped tirzepatide because of side effects than stopped semaglutide (6.1% vs 8.0%). The contraindications are the same: neither is used with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2, or in pregnancy. The one practical difference is the oral contraceptive warning, which applies to tirzepatide only.

Wegovy vs Mounjaro price in India

Novo Nordisk cut Wegovy's Indian prices at the end of March 2026, as semaglutide's patent expired and generics arrived. One pen holds 4 weekly doses, so one pen is one month for both brands.

Wegovy is clearly cheaper in the first three months. At maintenance the gap narrows: Wegovy 2.4 mg at ₹16,400 a month costs almost exactly the same as Mounjaro 5 mg at ₹16,406. Our Mounjaro price guide breaks the tirzepatide numbers down further.

Where generic semaglutide changes the maths

Since the patent expiry, DCGI-approved generic semaglutide is sold in India at far below Wegovy's price. ALTRcare's semaglutide plan uses Alkem's Semasize: ₹3,999 for 1 month or ₹10,999 for 3 months (0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg), with the doctor, delivery and support included. If semaglutide is the right molecule for you, there is little reason to pay for the brand; Wegovy vs generic semaglutide explains the few cases where it still makes sense. Tirzepatide has no legal generic in India; anything sold as generic or compounded tirzepatide is not an approved product.

For tirzepatide, ALTRcare's tirzepatide 3-month plan is ₹34,999 (₹11,666 a month) for all three doses (2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg), one price even if your doctor keeps you at 5 mg in month 3. It includes three doctor consultations, a nutritionist and Indian diet plan, WhatsApp support and cold-chain delivery, GST included. That is ₹15,157 less than the ₹50,156 the same three months of Mounjaro cost at MRP, before any consultation fees.

Who should prefer which

For the wider comparison of the two molecules, read semaglutide vs tirzepatide, and if you are deciding between the diabetes brands, Mounjaro vs Ozempic.

How ALTRcare helps you choose

ALTRcare prescribes both molecules, so the doctor has no reason to push one. Every consultation is with a senior specialist: Dr. Mujeeb Afzal (MD, DM Endocrinology), Dr. (Major) Bhavesh Talera (MD, MRCP (UK), FRCP, internal medicine), Dr. Archana Rathi (diabetologist, ex-Registrar Bombay Hospital, PCOS and women's health) or Dr. Snigdha Sehgal (MD Internal Medicine). Prices are on the page before you talk to anyone, the free online doctor consultation costs nothing to book, and if medication is not right for you, you are told plainly. No sales team, no repeat calls.

Mounjaro® is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. Yurpeak® is marketed in India by Cipla. ALTRcare is not affiliated with either company. Wegovy® and Ozempic® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk, with which ALTRcare is also not affiliated.