Start by naming the price
One brand-name medicine may carry several prices at once: list, direct cash, discount card, copay card for insured buyers, and a government-program price.
A price without its category is not ready for comparison.
When this guide checked drug makers’ own websites on September 26, 2026, their cash prices mostly ran from about $149 to $499 a month.
The price depended on which medicine and which strength.
Those offers can change, and several of those prices were set to run only through December 31, 2026.
Build the real monthly total
Care access
Plenty of online weight-care programs charge a monthly membership fee and bill the medicine on top.
Medicine
Record the generic name, the form (such as a pen or vial), the strength, how often refills come, and whether the price is only for new patients.
Tests
On September 26, 2026, single blood tests bought for cash from lab companies cost about $29 to $59 each. Packages of several tests cost about $75 to $189, depending on which tests were included.
Extras
Add supplies, shipping, follow-up visits, and any fee charged when a refill is late.
A five-line worksheet
Write one line each for care, medicine, tests, supplies, and shipping.
Mark each line as one-time, monthly, per refill, or conditional.
Then compare the total at the same point in treatment rather than comparing two headline numbers.