A membership fee is the recurring charge some GLP-1 telehealth platforms bill for access to the platform itself: the clinician visits, the app, the messaging. The medication is a second charge on top. Other platforms, Pallas among them, fold all of that into one plan price. Neither structure is wrong, but they make advertised numbers hard to compare, and the first-month promotions make it harder. This article shows how to put them side by side.
The short answer
Add the membership fee to the medication price before you compare anything, then check three more things: whether the price rises with your dose, what renews after the first-month promotion, and what is charged at signup if a clinician decides not to prescribe. Pallas has no membership fee: compounded semaglutide injection is $139 first month, then $199 every 4 weeks, charged once a clinician prescribes. Cancel anytime.
What a membership fee buys
On a membership model, the monthly fee typically covers the clinical service: the provider visit, follow-ups, messaging, sometimes a dietitian or a coaching program. The medication is then billed separately, either by the platform at its own price or by a pharmacy at a cash price, and for brand-name pens that second charge is often the larger one by a wide margin.
The model makes sense from the platform's side. It separates what the platform does from what the pharmacy dispenses, and it lets the platform advertise a low entry number. From the patient's side it means the advertised figure is usually one of two.
What the major platforms published (September 24, 2026)
These are quotes of each provider's own pricing page on that date, with the page they were read from. Prices change often; confirm current figures on each site before signing up.
| Provider | Published price | Medication | Charged at signup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ro | $149/mo membership month-to-month; $39 first month; $74/mo on a 12-month prepay | Billed separately. Brand-name only on its pricing page (Wegovy® pen from $199/mo); no compounded semaglutide price published | $39, refunded if not eligible |
| Mochi Health | $79/mo membership; $39 first month | Billed separately. Compounded semaglutide from $60/mo, compounded tirzepatide from $90/mo | $39 due today |
| Henry Meds | From $179/mo, varies by medication and dose | Included, with provider visits and supplies | Not stated on its pricing page |
Sources: ro.co/weight-loss/pricing, joinmochi.com, henrymeds.com. Hims & Hers is not in the table because its pricing pages could not be read on the check date, so no current published price could be verified.
Two of the three bill a membership with the medication on top; one bills a single price that varies by medication and dose. A first-month promotion ($39 at two of them) applies to the membership, not to the medication.
How to compare a membership price with an all-in price
Put every platform on the same footing with four questions.
- What is the full monthly total? Membership plus medication. On a membership model, a $39 first month followed by a $79 or $149 membership plus $60 to $200 or more in medication is the number to compare, not the $39.
- Does the medication price rise with the dose? GLP-1 doses step up over the first months. A price quoted "from" a starting dose can be a different price at maintenance. Ask for the maintenance-dose figure.
- What renews after the promotion? The first-month number is a promotion; the renewal amount and interval are the price. If you can't find the renewal terms next to the promotion, ask before you pay.
- What is charged if the clinician does not prescribe? On a membership model, the first month is usually charged at signup; whether it is refunded when you're not eligible is a line in the terms. Read it.
What Pallas charges, and when
Pallas bills one plan price with no membership fee. Compounded semaglutide injection is $139 first month, then $199 every 4 weeks, charged once a clinician prescribes. Cancel anytime. Compounded tirzepatide injection is $179 first month, then $299 every 4 weeks, charged once a clinician prescribes. Cancel anytime. Those prices include your US-licensed clinician, ongoing check-ins and dose adjustments, care-team messaging in the free Pallas app, the medication and free shipping, and they are the same at every dose.
Nothing is charged at checkout. Your payment method is saved, a clinician reviews your intake, and the plan is charged only once a prescription is written. If the clinician decides treatment isn't appropriate, nothing is charged and there is nothing to cancel.
FDA-approved brand-name pens (Wegovy®, Zepbound®, Ozempic®, Mounjaro®) are also available through Pallas when clinically appropriate, cash-pay from $1,069/mo and not billed to insurance, again with no membership fee.
Compounded medications are prepared on a per-patient basis by US-licensed compounding pharmacies, regulated under federal law (FDCA §503A) and by state boards of pharmacy. While these pharmacies are highly regulated, the compounded medications themselves are not FDA-approved, are not generic versions of brand-name drugs, and have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality. Clinical trial outcomes for the FDA-approved products have not been established for compounded preparations. Individual results vary.
A worked example
Take a patient who stays on treatment for a year on a membership platform that bills $79 a month after a $39 first month, with compounded medication at $90 a month: the year costs $39 + 11 × $79 + 12 × $90, about $2,000, before any dose-based increase. The same patient on Pallas's compounded tirzepatide plan pays $179 for the first month, then $299 every 4 weeks, with no second charge. Whether one is cheaper than the other for you depends on the medication, the dose and the plan you choose; the point of the example is that the two structures only compare once both charges are on the same line.
Trademarks & disclosures
Wegovy® and Ozempic® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S. Zepbound® and Mounjaro® are registered trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company. Ro, Mochi Health, Henry Meds and Hims & Hers are the trademarks of their respective owners; Pallas is not affiliated with any of them, and the figures above are quotes of each company's own published pricing on the date stated. Brand-name GLP-1 medications dispensed through Pallas are cash-pay only and are not billed to insurance.
