Methodology · Updated September 2026

Methodology

How we collect data and assess provider information, including the limits of our checks. Older pages are being audited against these standards; a published page or editorial score is not proof that every check below has been completed.

Pricing Data Collection

We collect advertised cash-pay prices from official provider pages. A public-source price check is not a completed checkout. When a signup or checkout flow has actually been inspected, the review should say which steps were checked and where inspection stopped.

The price we record is the headline monthly fee a new patient sees on the program's main pricing page. Where a provider charges a separate consultation fee or labs fee, we capture each separately. Where pricing is dose-dependent, we record the starter-dose price and flag it.

We do not claim that every provider price has been checked each month. Use the source and checked date for the particular claim, not a sitewide update label. The current downloadable dataset and its limitations appear in the GLP-1 Cash-Pay Pricing Index.

What we exclude from pricing tables

• Programs without published cash-pay pricing.
• Programs priced below $50 per month, which usually reflect non-medication services (diet companion subscriptions, coaching-only memberships) rather than GLP-1 medication access.
• Promotional first-month-only discounts when the long-term steady-state price is materially higher.
• Insurance-billed pricing. List prices for branded medications run $900 to $1,400 per month before insurance.

ClearScore (0 to 100)

ClearScore is our composite metric for ranking providers. It is calculated from the following inputs:

• Public review snapshot for the overall rating and public review count, checked against available third-party platforms
• ClearMetabolic editorial assessment of value, ease of use, support, medication quality, and results based on public evidence; these category scores are not a patient survey
• Price transparency (whether prices are published clearly without account creation)
• Medication variety (compounded, branded, oral, dose flexibility)
• Geographic coverage (number of US states served)
• Operational signals (verified founding date, headquarters disclosure, public clinician credentials)

ClearScore is recalculated whenever provider data is refreshed. A score below 50 typically reflects either a new provider with limited public data or operational red flags. A score above 80 reflects established operators with strong patient ratings, transparent pricing, and broad medication offerings. ClearScore is not a clinical recommendation. It is a composite of business and patient-experience signals.

We do not estimate or synthesize star-by-star rating distributions. Structured aggregate-rating markup is withheld until the underlying source URLs, checked dates, counts, and calculation are stored in an auditable record.

Review Process

Our provider reviews should state which of these checks were actually completed. These are research steps, not a claim that we performed every step for every provider:

1. Public-data pull: pricing, medications, states served, founding date, clinical leadership
2. Patient-review aggregation: Trustpilot, BBB, Reddit (r/Mounjaro, r/Zepbound, r/loseit), Google Business Profile
3. Where inspected, document the public signup steps without pretending to be a patient or inventing a treatment experience
4. Cross-reference with state pharmacy board records and 503A/503B status where compounded medications are involved
5. Editorial pass for accuracy and consistency

A source-backed correction can be made without claiming firsthand use. Public provider statements establish what is advertised, not clinical quality or independent pharmacy verification. Reviews should distinguish verified facts, calculations, provider claims and unknowns.

Compounded vs Branded Classification

We classify GLP-1 programs into three categories based on the medication delivered:

• Compounded semaglutide: a provider advertises a compounded semaglutide product; this classification does not verify its legality, pharmacy or equivalence to an approved drug
• Compounded tirzepatide: the same advertising-based classification for tirzepatide
• Branded GLP-1: FDA-approved branded products (Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic, Mounjaro, Saxenda) prescribed and dispensed through the program

A program offering both branded and compounded options is counted in both categories where the comparison is informative.

Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. A listing does not establish that a particular prescription meets current compounding requirements. See the FDA's explanation of unapproved GLP-1 drugs.

Updates and Versioning

Publication dates describe the original article. Update dates should describe substantive edits, not an automated build, a changed year or a cosmetic rewrite. A newer date is not evidence of a completed medical review. Corrections should identify what changed and link the supporting evidence.

Data Requests

Researchers and journalists are welcome to request custom data cuts (e.g. "all providers offering oral semaglutide", "median pricing in New York"). Email hello@clearmetabolic.com with the question. We typically respond within 48 hours and provide data free of charge with a citation request.