Ozempic dosage chart by week
Ozempic is approved for three uses, and all of them follow the same dosage schedule: improving blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, and reducing the risk of sustained eGFR decline, end-stage kidney disease, and cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The label caps the drug at 2 mg once weekly. Wegovy, the weight-loss injection built from the same molecule, semaglutide, has a different ceiling and a different purpose.
This chart follows the current Ozempic label, version posted to DailyMed on June 1, 2026, and covers both the weekly injection and the newer Ozempic tablet. Every number below comes from that label or from Novo Nordisk's own dosing pages. None comes from a weight-loss claim, a use the drug was never approved for.
Ozempic dosage chart: the injection schedule by week
The Ozempic injection schedule moves through four doses, but not every step between them runs on a fixed calendar. The table below lists each dose, when it starts, and which pen or syringe delivers it.
| Weeks | Once-weekly dose | Why the dose changes | Delivered by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 0.25 mg | Starting dosage, a fixed step on a set calendar | Pen or prefilled syringe |
| 5 and onward | 0.5 mg | Maintenance dosage, the label's next fixed step after 4 weeks | Pen or prefilled syringe |
| After at least 4 more weeks on 0.5 mg | 1 mg | Conditional increase, only if additional glycemic control is needed | Pen or prefilled syringe |
| After at least 4 more weeks on 1 mg | 2 mg | Conditional increase, the label's maximum recommended dosage | Pen only; the prefilled syringe tops out at 1 mg |
Administer Ozempic "once weekly, on the same day each week, at any time of the day, with or without meals," according to the Ozempic prescribing information. You start at 0.25 mg for the first 4 weeks. The label says the slow climb is there to reduce the risk of stomach and gut side effects. From week 5, the dose moves to 0.5 mg, the first maintenance level, on a fixed timeline that does not depend on how your blood sugar has responded so far. The label calls 2 mg once weekly "the maximum recommended dosage."
Why some Ozempic dose increases are optional
Not every step on the Ozempic chart happens on a calendar. The move from 0.25 mg to 0.5 mg is fixed: everyone who continues the drug crosses that line in week 5, regardless of how their blood sugar has responded so far. The steps beyond 0.5 mg work differently. Wegovy, the weight-loss version of the same drug, follows its own separate schedule. The label raises the dose to 1 mg, and later to 2 mg, only "if additional glycemic control is needed after at least 4 weeks" on the lower dose, which puts each increase in your prescriber's hands rather than on a schedule.
See wegovy dosage for that schedule.
Ozempic pill dosage: 1.5 mg, 4 mg, and 9 mg
Ozempic also comes as a once-daily tablet, on its own fixed 30-day schedule, separate from the injection's weekly climb.
| Days | Once-daily dose |
|---|---|
| 1 through 30 | 1.5 mg, the starting dosage |
| 31 through 60 | 4 mg |
| From day 61, after at least 30 days on 4 mg | 9 mg, if more blood sugar control is needed |
Take the tablet "first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach," per the manufacturer's pill dosing page, "with a small sip of water (up to 4 ounces)." Wait at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking, or taking any other oral medicine. Skip any liquid besides water with the dose itself. The FDA label covering the Ozempic and Rybelsus tablets states the same administration rule, since both brands share one combined label.
Ozempic and Rybelsus share that one label, but each has its own dosing scale. Rybelsus starts at 3 mg and climbs to 7 mg and 14 mg. Those numbers sit close enough to Ozempic's tablet doses to cause confusion, but they describe a separate schedule. One brand's milligram count does not carry over to the other's routine.
Ozempic dosing with chronic kidney disease
Ozempic has an approval that goes beyond blood sugar control. The label states it is indicated "to reduce the risk of sustained eGFR decline, end-stage kidney disease, and cardiovascular death" in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. For that use, dosing still starts at 0.25 mg and moves to 0.5 mg on the same calendar described above, but the label sets a specific maintenance target: "Increase the dosage to the maintenance dosage, 1 mg once weekly, after at least 4 weeks on the 0.5 mg dosage." The manufacturer's own pen dosing page says the same. A health care professional "may recommend increasing the dose to 1 mg" for the kidney indication. A further increase to 2 mg, if it happens at all, falls under the general glycemic-control rule in the chart above. Your prescriber decides that step with you.
What to do about a missed Ozempic dose
Missing an Ozempic dose and changing your injection day are two different situations, and the label gives each its own rule. For a missed injection, the label says to "administer OZEMPIC as soon as possible within 5 days after the missed dose." Once more than 5 days have passed, skip that dose entirely and "administer the next dose on the regularly scheduled day," rather than doubling up to catch up.
Changing which day of the week you inject follows a different rule. The label states that "the day of weekly administration can be changed if necessary," "as long as the time between two doses is at least 2 days (>48 hours)." That 48-hour spacing rule covers a deliberate switch, such as moving your injection from Sunday to Wednesday. It does not cover a dose you forgot.
Ozempic pen strengths and where to inject
The label lists three pen sizes. The smallest holds 2 mg of semaglutide across 3 mL and supplies either four 0.25 mg doses followed by two 0.5 mg doses, or four 0.5 mg doses on its own. The middle size holds 4 mg across 3 mL for four 1 mg doses. The largest holds 8 mg across the same 3 mL for four 2 mg doses. A separate prefilled syringe covers only the lower end of the schedule. It delivers 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, or 1 mg per 0.5 mL as a single dose each, and there is no 2 mg version.
Where you inject matters less than which dose you are on, and the approved sites and rotation rules are largely shared across every semaglutide pen, Ozempic included. Our guide to where to inject ozempic covers the approved sites, site rotation, and injection technique in more depth than fits here.
Without insurance, Novo Nordisk's self-pay Ozempic pens cost $349 a month for existing patients on the 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, or 1 mg doses and $499 a month for existing patients on the 2 mg dose. New patients instead pay a limited-time $199 a month for the first 2 months on the 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg doses, per the manufacturer's savings and resources page.
What the label says happens at each dose
Ozempic's diabetes trials were not designed to measure weight loss, but weight was tracked as a secondary measure, and the numbers appear in the label. Over 40 weeks, people on the 1 mg dose lost a mean of 5.6 kg and people on the 2 mg dose lost a mean of 6.4 kg, according to the FDA label's clinical studies section. Those are secondary figures from a trial built to measure blood sugar control. They are not a weight-loss result, and Ozempic has no FDA-approved dose for weight loss.
If weight loss is the reason you are researching semaglutide, Wegovy is the medication approved for that use. It uses the same molecule but follows its own schedule, with a ceiling that differs from Ozempic's 2 mg. Our Wegovy vs Ozempic comparison lays out exactly where the two labels diverge, and the Ozempic drug page covers its full safety and cost profile.
Frequently asked questions
What is the starting dose of Ozempic?
The starting dose of Ozempic is 0.25 mg, injected once a week for the first 4 weeks. The FDA label treats 0.25 mg as a starting dose, not a maintenance dose. The slow climb is there to reduce the risk of stomach and gut side effects as the dose rises. After 4 weeks, the label moves you to 0.5 mg, the first maintenance dose, on a fixed schedule that does not depend on your blood sugar numbers at that point. If you take the Ozempic tablet rather than the injection, the starting dose is different: 1.5 mg once daily for the first 30 days.
What is the maximum dose of Ozempic?
The maximum recommended dose of the Ozempic injection is 2 mg once weekly, a ceiling stated directly in the FDA prescribing information. You reach it only after climbing through 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, and 1 mg, and only if your prescriber decides you need more glycemic control at each step. Not everyone reaches it. The Ozempic tablet has its own separate ceiling, up to 9 mg once daily, reached after at least 30 days each on the 1.5 mg and 4 mg steps. Neither ceiling exists for weight loss, since Ozempic has no FDA-approved weight-loss dose.
What happens if you miss a dose of Ozempic?
If you miss an Ozempic injection, the label says to take it as soon as possible within 5 days of the missed dose. Once more than 5 days have passed, skip that dose entirely and take your next one on your regular scheduled day, rather than doubling up to catch up. This is a separate rule from changing your injection day on purpose: the label allows that as long as at least 2 days, or 48 hours, separate the two doses, and that rule says nothing about a missed dose. Mixing the two up can mean a dose taken too soon, or one skipped when it did not need to be.
Is there an Ozempic dose for weight loss?
No. Ozempic's FDA label covers only type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular risk reduction in people who already have heart disease, and slowing chronic kidney disease. None of its four doses, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg, is approved for weight loss. Some weight change does appear in the label's diabetes trials, a mean of 5.6 kg at 1 mg and 6.4 kg at 2 mg over 40 weeks. That is a secondary measurement from a blood-sugar trial, not a weight-loss result. It is not what a prescriber approves when writing an Ozempic prescription. Wegovy is the medication built on the same molecule and approved for weight loss, on its own separate dosing schedule. See our Wegovy vs Ozempic comparison for the fuller picture.
Is the Ozempic pill the same dose as the pen?
No, the Ozempic tablet and the Ozempic injection use two different milligram scales, and they are not interchangeable number for number. The injection starts at 0.25 mg and tops out at a 2 mg maximum dose, while the tablet starts at 1.5 mg and climbs as high as 9 mg once daily. A 1 mg injection dose and a 1.5 mg tablet dose are not equivalent amounts of the drug, since each number only means something within its own form's own schedule. The tablet also shares its FDA label with Rybelsus, a separate brand that uses yet another scale, 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg. That makes three numbering systems for one active ingredient.