Guide 02 · Choosing
Which GLP Is Right for You
Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, or Retatrutide. It looks like a big decision, but it comes down to three honest questions. This guide walks you through each one.
The short version
One decision, not three
If you read Guide 01, you already know the secret: these are not three unrelated treatments. Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, and Retatrutide are three generations of the same family. All three are once-weekly injections, all three quiet appetite the same basic way, and all three start at a low dose and step up gradually.
That means the choice is smaller than it looks. You are not picking between different kinds of medicine. You are picking a point on one spectrum, and the real differences are just three: the average result each one produced in its clinical trial, how mature its tolerability data is, and what it costs you per month.
Each of those maps to a question you can answer for yourself. Here they are, in order.
The decision
Three questions that decide it
1. Have you taken a GLP before?
If the answer is no, here is the reassuring part: this question matters less than you might fear. Every newcomer starts at the lowest dose of whichever medication they pick, without exception. The first weeks are deliberately gentle for all three, so choosing the newest option does not mean choosing a harder start.
If you have taken a GLP before, you have something valuable: you already know how your body handles this family, which makes moving up a generation a much more informed step. Either way, whether a GLP medication is appropriate for you at all is a bigger question than any guide can answer. Everything here is general research context, not medical advice; talk to a licensed healthcare professional about your own health.
2. What pace fits you?
The three generations trade evidence maturity against average trial result. None of these paths is wrong; they are different comfort levels.
Ease in
Semaglutide
~15%avg. body weight lost in STEP-1
Semaglutide is the most-studied of the three, the medication inside Ozempic and Wegovy, with the longest track record of tolerability data. If what you want most is the option with the deepest pile of evidence behind it, this is the steady first step.
Balanced
Tirzepatide
~21%avg. body weight lost in SURMOUNT-1
Tirzepatide, the medication inside Mounjaro and Zepbound, sits in the middle: a larger average trial result than Semaglutide, with several years of study and wide real-world use behind it. A lot of people land here.
Maximum average
Retatrutide
~28%avg. body weight lost in TRIUMPH-1
Retatrutide produced the largest average result of the three in its trial. It is also the newest, which means its tolerability data is still maturing. If you are comfortable being a little earlier on that curve, it offers the highest trial average.
Trial averages, not a prediction. These are average results across participants in each cited clinical trial; individual results vary.
Question three
3. What monthly budget works for you?
These are live from-prices, the lowest-priced kit in each line right now. How long a kit lasts depends on your dose, so treat these as starting points and use the calculator for a true cost per month at the dose you would actually take.
Still torn?
Let the finder decide with you
You do not have to make this call alone at the kitchen table. The finder asks you the same three questions from this guide and turns your answers into a suggestion. The comparison page puts all three medications side by side, and the calculator does the monthly math at your dose. And if you would rather just talk it through in plain words, Deer AI has read every guide and every product page and can answer the odd, specific questions that guides never quite cover.
Trial averages, not a prediction. The averages cited in this guide are the average results across participants in each clinical trial. Individual results vary and depend on eligibility, adherence, dosing, health factors, nutrition, and activity.
Next up: Your First Injection, a calm walkthrough of day one with the pen.