Semaglutide is sold under several FDA-approved brand names, each with its own set of strengths and its own approved use. That makes it easy to get confused — an Ozempic 1 mg dose is not the same practical product as a Wegovy 1 mg dose, and the oral tablets are different again. This semaglutide dosage chart is a plain-English reference to which strengths exist across the products and what the FDA labels describe. It is not a plan for dosing yourself. Semaglutide is a prescription medication, and every real decision about your dose — where you start, whether you step up, and how fast — is made by your prescriber for your specific situation.
Important: The strengths listed here describe what each product’s FDA label contains. They are set and adjusted by your prescriber, and they are not a schedule to copy or follow on your own. Never start, increase, split, share, or change semaglutide without your clinician.
The Semaglutide Products at a Glance
Semaglutide is made by Novo Nordisk and sold as several distinct products, each with a different FDA indication:
- Ozempic — a once-weekly injection approved for type 2 diabetes (and, in its label, to reduce cardiovascular risk in certain adults with type 2 diabetes).
- Wegovy — a once-weekly injection approved for chronic weight management and, per its label, to reduce cardiovascular risk in certain adults.
- Rybelsus — a once-daily oral tablet approved for type 2 diabetes.
- Oral Wegovy — a once-daily oral semaglutide tablet for chronic weight management, which the FDA approved in December 2025 as the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss.
All contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide, but their strengths, forms, and approved uses differ, and you cannot cross-substitute them on your own. The conversion between oral and injectable semaglutide is not one-to-one, which is one reason product switches need a prescriber’s input.
How Semaglutide Dosing Generally Works
Across every semaglutide product, the FDA labels use the same basic strategy: start low and increase gradually. The lowest starting strength is a tolerability dose — its main job is to let the body adjust and to reduce gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is generally not the dose that delivers the full therapeutic effect.
From there, the label describes stepping up to higher strengths over time, with minimum intervals between increases so the body has time to adjust. Crucially, that escalation is a decision your prescriber makes and supervises. They set your starting dose, decide whether and when to move up, and may deliberately hold you at a strength longer, slow the increases, or step back down if you are having side effects. There is no single “right” endpoint dose for everyone — the appropriate maintenance strength depends on your goals, your response, and how well you tolerate each step.
Do not treat any figure in this article as a week-by-week plan to run yourself. The label specifies minimum hold times, not a countdown you should manage on your own, and moving faster than the label allows can worsen side effects.
Ozempic Strengths (Type 2 Diabetes)
Ozempic is a once-weekly injection supplied in prefilled pens. The label describes a low starting strength used for tolerability, followed by gradual increases toward a maintenance dose, with the highest approved maintenance strength being 2 mg once weekly. Where a given person lands within that range depends on how much additional blood-sugar control they need and how they tolerate each step — a determination made by the prescriber, not the patient. The lowest strength is a starter dose only and is not considered fully therapeutic for glycemic control.
Wegovy Strengths (Weight Management)
Wegovy (injection) reaches a higher maintenance strength than Ozempic — up to 2.4 mg once weekly — so its label describes a longer, more gradual escalation to get there, again starting at a low tolerability dose. An intermediate strength was built into the Wegovy schedule specifically to smooth out GI side effects on the way up.
In the STEP 1 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, adults taking the 2.4 mg maintenance dose lost roughly 15 percent of their baseline body weight on average over 68 weeks, compared with about 2.4 percent on placebo, alongside lifestyle changes. As with every strength here, whether and when you reach maintenance is your prescriber’s call. See our Wegovy dosing guide for more context.
Rybelsus and Oral Wegovy (Tablets)
Rybelsus is a once-daily oral tablet for type 2 diabetes, supplied in 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg strengths. The 3 mg tablet is a starter strength used to build tolerance and is not considered therapeutic on its own; the higher strengths are used when a prescriber decides more A1c lowering is needed.
Oral Wegovy, approved in December 2025 for chronic weight management, is a separate once-daily tablet supplied in its own set of strengths (including a 25 mg maintenance tablet), also designed to be escalated gradually under a prescriber’s direction. Because oral Wegovy and Rybelsus are different products for different uses, the strengths are not interchangeable.
Oral semaglutide tablets have strict administration rules: the tablet is taken first thing in the morning with no more than about 4 ounces of plain water, at least 30 minutes before any food, other drinks, or other medicines. Skipping those rules can sharply cut how much drug is absorbed. Follow the exact instructions on your prescription and ask your pharmacist if anything is unclear.
Why the Products Are Not Interchangeable
The strengths do not map across products at face value. For example, oral semaglutide 14 mg daily is roughly comparable to a much smaller weekly injectable dose in its effect on A1c — not to “14 mg injectable.” Injectables and tablets also produce different peak drug levels, so tolerating one product at a given number does not mean you would tolerate another product at the same number. Any switch between formulations is mapped by your prescriber based on your glycemic or weight goals, usually by restarting at a low dose rather than matching numbers.
Safety: Compounded, Counterfeit, and “DIY” Semaglutide
During the 2022–2025 shortage, some pharmacies and telehealth sellers offered compounded semaglutide. That situation has changed. The FDA declared the injectable semaglutide shortage resolved in February 2025, and the enforcement window for large-scale compounding wound down in the spring of 2025 (roughly April–May 2025 for the different compounder categories). Compounded semaglutide is not FDA-approved, has not gone through the FDA’s review for safety, effectiveness, and quality, and may differ from the branded products in strength or contents. The FDA has also repeatedly warned about counterfeit and unregulated products — including counterfeit pens and vials sold online — and about dosing errors from products that come in vials and syringes rather than prefilled pens.
Practical safety points that matter more than any chart:
- Never escalate your dose on your own. Faster is not better; it mainly increases side effects and risk.
- Never split doses from a pen, share a pen, or reuse needles. Pens are designed to deliver specific doses; measuring your own is a common source of dangerous overdoses.
- Avoid unregulated, compounded, or counterfeit semaglutide, including products sold without a legitimate prescription or from unverified online sellers.
- Get semaglutide through a licensed clinician and pharmacy, and store and inject it exactly as instructed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ozempic be used for weight loss at Wegovy doses?
Ozempic’s highest approved strength is lower than Wegovy’s, and the two are approved for different uses. Some clinicians prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight management, but that is a decision made by a prescriber for an individual — it is not the same as taking Wegovy, and insurance coverage often differs. See Wegovy insurance coverage details.
How long does it take to reach a maintenance dose?
It varies by product and by person, and holding longer at any strength is clinically acceptable and often improves tolerance. Because the timing is individualized and supervised, there is no fixed number of weeks that applies to everyone. Your prescriber will tell you the plan for your specific product and situation.
Is there a 3 mg injectable semaglutide dose?
No. There is no FDA-approved 3 mg injectable semaglutide. Any product labeled that way is not one of the approved branded products, and its contents and dose equivalence are not guaranteed. That is a reason to be cautious about unregulated products.
What should I do if I miss a dose?
Follow the instructions on your specific product’s label and ask your pharmacist — the rules differ between weekly injections and daily tablets. In general you never “double up” to catch up. When in doubt, contact your prescriber or pharmacist rather than guessing.
How do I know which semaglutide product is right for me?
That depends on your indication (diabetes vs. weight management), whether a tablet or injection fits your life, and your insurance coverage. This is a shared decision to make with a prescriber, not something to sort out from a chart alone.
Using This Reference With Your Prescriber
Think of this page as a glossary of the strengths that exist, not a prescription. Bring your questions and your current product and dose to each follow-up, note any side effects you had at each step, and let your clinician map out any changes. For broader context on semaglutide options and costs, the healthcare costs pillar and our Wegovy cost breakdown cover pricing. The key point: there is no single “right” dose for everyone, and the safe path is always through your prescriber.
Medical disclaimer: This article is general education, not medical advice, and it is not a dosing plan. The strengths described here are what the FDA labels contain; your prescriber sets and adjusts your dose for you. Do not start, stop, increase, split, share, or change semaglutide on your own, and do not use compounded, counterfeit, or otherwise unregulated products. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your specific situation. For a suspected overdose or poisoning, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222; in an emergency call 911.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration / DailyMed — Prescribing information for Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus (semaglutide)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — “FDA clarifies policies for compounders as national GLP-1 supply begins to stabilize,” plus FDA statements and warnings on compounded and counterfeit GLP-1 products (2025)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — News release on approval of oral semaglutide 25 mg (oral Wegovy) for chronic weight management (December 2025)
- Wilding JPH, et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1). New England Journal of Medicine, 2021
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine — Semaglutide Injection and Oral Semaglutide