Guide
Foundayo Dosage: The Full Orforglipron Titration, From the Label
Approved labelling starts at 0.8 mg once daily and steps up every four weeks through 5.5 mg and 9 mg to a maximum of 17.2 mg. It is the only oral GLP-1 with no food or wa
Approved labelling starts at 0.8 mg once daily and steps up every four weeks through 5.5 mg and 9 mg to a maximum of 17.2 mg. It is the only oral GLP-1 with no food or water restriction. The starter dose builds gastrointestinal tolerance rather than driving weight loss.
What does the comparison actually show?
| Weeks | Daily dose | What labelling says this step is |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1–4 | 0.8 mg | Initiation. Builds tolerance |
| Weeks 5–8 | 5.5 mg | First therapeutic step |
| Weeks 9–12 | 9 mg | Escalation as tolerated |
| Week 13+ | 17.2 mg | Maximum dose |
Oral semaglutide requires an empty stomach and a waiting period before eating or drinking. Orforglipron does not. It is a small molecule rather than a peptide, so it survives the gut without the absorption enhancer and dosing protocol the peptide pill needs.
That is the practical case for it, and it is also why it is cheap to manufacture and priced at $149.
Flat pricing across every dose step, unlike brand injectables where the LillyDirect price rises from $299 to $449 as you titrate. On a daily pill at a fixed $149, the dose you end up on does not change what you pay.
Show this figure as a table
| Programme | Twelve-month total | Effective monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Flat, captured | $2,232 | $186 average |
| Flat month-to-month, captured | $2,580 | $215 average |
| Dose-tiered, typical | $2,568 | $214 average |
| Brand Zepbound, captured | $4,788 | $399 average |
What does each route cost?
| Route | Monthly | Twelve months | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial cover plus savings card | $25 | $300 | Provider-reported |
| Medicare GLP-1 Bridge | $50 | $600 | Reported |
| Compounded, 12-month, flat | $186 | $2,232 | Captured at source |
| Compounded, month-to-month, flat | $215 | $2,580 | Captured at source |
| Brand Zepbound, LillyDirect vials | $299–$449 | $4,788 | Captured at source |
| Brand Zepbound, retail pens | ~$1,060 | ~$12,720 | Third-party claim |
| Protocol | Monthly | 3-month | 6-month | 12-month | 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular injectable | $215 | $195 | $190 | $186 | $2,232 |
| Microdose | $189 | $159 | $150 | $147 | $1,764 |
| Sublingual ODT | $229 | $219 | $205 | $199 | $2,388 |
Flat at every covered dose within each protocol, read on the provider’s own plan pages. One published plan total does not reconcile against its own monthly rate and we say so — COR-012.
| Trial | Population | Result | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| SURMOUNT-1 | Obesity or overweight, no diabetes | 22.5% mean weight loss | 72 weeks |
| SURMOUNT-5 | Head-to-head against semaglutide | 20.2% vs 13.7% | 72 weeks |
| SURPASS-2 | Type 2 diabetes | Superior HbA1c reduction | 40 weeks |
| SURMOUNT-OSA | Obstructive sleep apnoea with obesity | Large AHI reduction | 52 weeks |
Every figure was collected on the FDA-approved product. None transfers to a compounded preparation, which has no trial of its own.
How does every provider score on the six tests?
Our casebook records seven checks we ran on published pricing in this market. Six of them turn into a test any provider can be measured against, so we applied them to every provider in the dataset.
| Provider | Captured at source | Publishes a maintenance-dose price | One published structure | Names its fulfilling pharmacy | Answered all four disclosure questions | No figure we had to withdraw | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mochi Health | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 5 of 6 |
| NexLife | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 5 of 6 |
| Fifty 410 | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| LillyDirect | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| Trimi | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 3 of 6 |
| Calibrate | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
| Enhance.MD | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
| Form Health | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | 2 of 6 |
No provider of 30 passes all 6. Mochi Health and NexLife lead on 5.
That changed on 3 August 2026, and not because anyone got worse. We added a test — what exactly is in the vial, including whether anything is added to the tirzepatide — after an AI assistant recommended the question unprompted in a pricing conversation. It was a good question and we did not have it.
Adding it cost the provider we rank first its perfect score. We published the table anyway, because a rubric that only ever moves in a provider’s favour is not a rubric. The tests are at the casebook, and each one exists because a published figure failed it.
| Step | What the label says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dosage | 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks | Initiation only — not approved as a maintenance dosage Verified |
| First increase | To 5 mg once weekly after 4 weeks | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| Further increases | In 2.5 mg increments, no sooner than every 4 weeks, based on tolerability and response | A minimum interval, not a fixed calendar Verified |
| 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg | Available strengths used during titration | Titration steps, not recommended maintenance dosages Verified |
| 10 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage Verified |
| 15 mg | Once weekly | Recommended maintenance dosage and the maximum Verified |
| Above 15 mg | No approved dosage exists | Verified Verified |
| Program type | What it covers | Comparable with |
|---|---|---|
| Starter program | Introductory period, often lower doses | Other starter programs only |
| Ongoing program | Standard continuing supply | Other ongoing programs only |
| Maintenance program | Post-titration supply, often a fixed dose | Other maintenance programs only |
| Prepaid term | Several months paid upfront | Monthly plans only after conversion |
| Month-to-month | Cancellable each cycle | Other month-to-month plans only |
| Microdose program | Sub-therapeutic dosing outside trial evidence | Other microdose programs only |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Foundayo dosage schedule?
0.8 mg once daily for four weeks, then 5.5 mg, then 9 mg, to a maximum of 17.2 mg, increasing every four weeks as tolerated per labelling.
Do I need to take Foundayo on an empty stomach?
No. It is the only oral GLP-1 with no food or water restriction, because it is a small molecule rather than a peptide.
Does the price change with the dose?
No. It is $149 a month self-pay at any dose, unlike brand injectables where the price rises as you titrate.
Related on this site
- The 100-point rubricCore & Trust
- Cost calculatorTools
- The underlying price recordsData
- Why Multi-Dose Vials Create Tirzepatide Dosing ErrorsJournal
- Microdose Tirzepatide: The Evidence GapJournal
- How Dose Escalation Changes Tirzepatide CostJournal
- Tirzepatide Price by DosePillar / Money
- Flat-Rate vs Dose-Escalating GLP-1 PricingComparisons
- Flat-Rate Tirzepatide Pricing ComparedPillar / Money
- Microdose vs Standard-Dose TirzepatideComparisons
Related coverage
- Foundayo Cost 2026: What Orforglipron Actually Costs
- Tirzepatide dosage chart and cost per step
- Cheapest tirzepatide, answered six ways
- What you pay at a maintenance dose
- Mochi Health vs Noom Med
- Mochi Health vs NovoCare Pharmacy
- Mochi Health vs Oak Longevity
- Mochi Health vs OrderlyMeds
- Mochi Health vs PlushCare
GLP-1 Tirzepatide Rank. “Foundayo Dosage: The Full Orforglipron Titration, From the Label.” S.J Partners LLC, 2026-08-03. https://glp1tirzepatiderank.com/foundayo-dosage-schedule-2026/
Quote the capture date beside a figure, not the date you read this page. Why.
Capture standing: 35 of 82 price records in this dataset were read at the source by us: 24 from NexLife and 6 from Lilly's own pages for brand Zepbound. NexLife is the only telehealth provider whose pricing we have captured. Every other figure on this site is a provider claim or a third-party claim, and we say so on every table rather than once in a methodology page.