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Dose converter · mg ↔ units

How many units is your dose?

Your prescription is in milligrams; your syringe is marked in units. Enter your prescribed dose and the concentration on your vial label — we'll show the volume in mL and exactly where that lands on a U-100 syringe.

Convert your dose

Enter your prescribed dose and the concentration printed on your vial label.

Common strengths:

Chips are typing shortcuts, not recommendations — your clinician sets your dose.

Common:

Your conversion appears here as soon as both fields are filled.

The formula (so you can check our math)

A U-100 insulin syringe divides 1 mL into 100 units. So:

units = (dose in mg ÷ concentration in mg/mL) × 100

Example: a 0.5 mg dose from a vial labeled 2.5 mg/mL → 0.5 ÷ 2.5 = 0.2 mL → 0.2 × 100 = 20 units. The most common mistake is using the vial’s total milligrams instead of its concentration — if your label shows total mg and total mL, use the calculator’s “total mg and mL” entry mode and it divides for you.

Quick-reference charts

Commonly prescribed dose strengths at common compounding-pharmacy concentrations. These charts are a reference, not a recommendation — your clinician sets your dose, and your vial’s label always wins.

Semaglutide

Doseat 1 mg/mLat 2.5 mg/mLat 5 mg/mL
0.25 mg25 units10 units5 units
0.5 mg50 units20 units10 units
1 mg100 units40 units20 units
1.7 mg170 units68 units34 units
2.4 mg240 units96 units48 units

Tirzepatide

Doseat 10 mg/mLat 17 mg/mL
2.5 mg25 units14.7 units
5 mg50 units29.4 units
7.5 mg75 units44.1 units
10 mg100 units58.8 units
12.5 mg125 units73.5 units
15 mg150 units88.2 units

Switching from a pen to a vial?

Most people land here mid-switch — insurance stopped covering a brand-name pen, or the cash price stopped making sense. Pallas offers clinician-prescribed weight-loss care with transparent cash-pay pricing, prescribed only when a US-licensed clinician determines treatment is appropriate for you:

  • Compounded semaglutide — $139 for your first month, then $597 every 12 weeks ($199/mo average). Cancel anytime.
  • Compounded tirzepatide — $179 for your first month, then $897 every 12 weeks ($299/mo average). Cancel anytime.
Check your eligibilitySee all plans, including brand-name options

Pallas offers both FDA-approved and compounded medications. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and are not generic versions of brand-name drugs. Eligibility and treatment are determined by a US-licensed clinician; results vary. Private pay only (no insurance). Operated by Brentmoor, Inc.

Before you draw anything

  • Your vial label and prescription label are the source of truth — this page is an educational reference, not medical advice.
  • Concentrations vary between pharmacies and between refills. Re-check the label on every new vial, even from the same pharmacy.
  • If a result here doesn’t match what your pharmacy told you, stop and call the pharmacy. Don’t split the difference.
  • Never adjust your dose or schedule on your own — dose changes are your clinician’s call.

Common dosing-conversion questions

It depends entirely on the concentration printed on your vial label. On a U-100 syringe, 0.5 mg equals 50 units at 1 mg/mL, 20 units at 2.5 mg/mL, and 10 units at 5 mg/mL. Pharmacies dispense different concentrations, so always calculate from your own label and confirm with your pharmacist.

At a concentration of 10 mg/mL, 2.5 mg equals 25 units on a U-100 syringe. At 17 mg/mL it's about 14.7 units. Check the concentration on your vial label before drawing anything — it varies by pharmacy.

U-100 means the syringe scale divides 1 mL into 100 units — so 100 units = 1 mL, 50 units = 0.5 mL, and 10 units = 0.1 mL. A 'unit' on these syringes is a volume marking, not a milligram of medication. The same number of units contains different amounts of medication at different concentrations.

Prefilled pens deliver a labeled milligram dose mechanically, so you never handle volume. With a vial, you draw the dose yourself using a U-100 insulin syringe, and the syringe is marked in volume units. Your pharmacy translates your prescribed milligrams into units for the specific concentration they dispense — this calculator shows the same arithmetic so you can double-check your understanding.

No. Units measure volume, not medication, and the two medications are dispensed at different concentrations and prescribed at different milligram doses. A unit count that's correct for one prescription can be wrong for another — always calculate from your own prescription and vial label.

Don't round on your own. Call your pharmacist — they may recommend a different syringe size with finer markings, or confirm how your specific dose should be measured. Small volumes are exactly where measurement errors happen.

Your prescribing clinician sets your dose and schedule individually — never carry a pen schedule over to a vial on your own. Compounded preparations are different products dispensed at pharmacy-specific concentrations, and a clinician determines the appropriate dose, titration, and follow-up for you personally.

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