GLP-1 Agonists
Victoza vs. Ozempic for Type 2 Diabetes: 7 Differences You Should Know About
Victoza (liraglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide) are both injectable medications used to treat Type 2 diabetes. You need to inject Victoza once a day. Ozempic lasts longer in the body, so you only need to inject it once a week.
Ozempic may be better than Victoza at lowering hemoglobin A1C, which is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels over a 3-month period. It can also result in more weight loss. But Victoza is approved for children ages 10 and older. Ozempic is only approved for adults.
It’s possible to switch from Victoza to Ozempic. Talk to your prescriber about your options if you’re interested in changing to Ozempic.
Victoza and Ozempic are both available as brand-name medications. But Victoza also has a lower-cost authorized generic. Manufacturer copay savings cards, patient assistance programs, and GoodRx coupons can help make your prescription more affordable.
Victoza (liraglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide) are both injectable medications used to treat Type 2 diabetes. They both work in a similar way to lower blood glucose (sugar) levels. And they can decrease the risk of serious cardiovascular events in certain people, too.
Despite these similarities, Victoza and Ozempic are not exactly the same. If you’re trying to decide between them, there are several key differences to consider. We review seven differences between Victoza and Ozempic below.
Victoza and Ozempic last for different amounts of time in your body. Because of this, you need to inject them on different schedules: Victoza is injected daily, while Ozempic is injected weekly.
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Victoza comes in a pre-filled injection pen. It’s injected once a day, under the skin of your stomach, thigh, or upper arm. For convenience, it’s best to inject it around the same time each day. You don’t need to time your Victoza dose around meals.
Ozempic is also available in a pre-filled pen. But it’s only injected once weekly, since it lasts a long time in your body. You should inject Ozempic on the same day each week. Like Victoza, it’s also injected just under the skin on your stomach, thigh, or upper arm. And you don’t need to time your Ozempic dose around meals, either.
Both Ozempic and Victoza belong to the same class, glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, and work in a similar way. Even so, studies suggest that Ozempic may be better at lowering hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C or A1C) — your average blood glucose levels over a 3-month period.
One study directly compared Ozempic (given as 1 mg weekly) to Victoza (given as 1.2 mg daily) over 30 weeks. The results showed a greater A1C reduction (1.7% versus 1%) with Ozempic compared to Victoza. So if you like the convenience of once-weekly injections and need more help lowering your A1C, Ozempic may be a good fit.
Keep in mind that both Ozempic and Victoza are available in doses higher than those included in the study. These doses have not been compared directly to each other.
GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic and Victoza can cause weight loss as a side effect. This is because they work on areas of the brain that regulate appetite and fullness. They also cause food to leave the stomach slowly. As a result, you may feel full for longer and eat fewer calories.
How they compare: Ozempic and Victoza belong to the same medication class, called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Here’s how GLP-1 receptor agonists compare.
What to expect with Ozempic: One woman shares her experience with this diabetes medication and how it changed her relationship with food.
Weight changes: Ozempic and Victoza are two diabetes medications that can result in weight loss. Here’s how other diabetes medications can affect body weight.
Between the two medications, Ozempic has been shown to result in more weight loss compared to Victoza. During the same trial mentioned above, people receiving Ozempic lost about 13 pounds in 30 weeks (about 7 months). People receiving Victoza lost about 4 pounds in the same time period.
What’s more, higher-dose versions of Ozempic and Victoza are approved for weight loss under different brand names: Wegovy and Saxenda. When Wegovy and Saxenda were studied against each other, people receiving Wegovy lost significantly more weight than those in the Saxenda group.
The number of children and teens diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes is on the rise. For children ages 10 and older, metformin is often a first-choice medication, with or without insulin. But if these treatments aren’t working well enough, a GLP-1 receptor agonist may be added.
Victoza is one of three GLP-1 receptor agonists approved for Type 2 diabetes in children ages 10 and older. Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Bydureon BCise (exenatide) are the other two options. Ozempic is only approved for use in adults.
If you have Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, Ozempic and Victoza have additional benefits. They’ve both been shown to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death) in this population.
Ozempic has also shown a benefit for several other uses. For instance, Ozempic has proven benefits for adults with both Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD). It may also help with certain types of heart failure. So if you also have one of these health conditions, your prescriber may recommend Ozempic over Victoza.
Combination medications, which combine more than one medication into a single dosage form, can offer the benefit of convenience. This is common with oral diabetes medications, which come in a variety of combination pills. There are also a few combination injections, including one that contains the active ingredient in Victoza.
Xultophy is a combination of two medications in one injection: liraglutide (Victoza) and insulin degludec (Tresiba). Xultophy comes in a pre-filled pen that’s injected once daily. Since GLP-1 agonists and insulin are sometimes prescribed together, Xultophy can help you cut down your daily injections while providing the same benefits.
Ozempic, on the other hand, is only available on its own. However, several combination injections that contain semaglutide are being developed. So this may be an option in the future.
For some people, cost can be a barrier to accessing medications like Victoza and Ozempic. Both are currently available as brand-name products. But Victoza is also available as a lower-cost authorized generic. This product is exactly the same as Victoza, but without the brand name on the label.
That said, it’s a good idea to check with your insurance plan to see if either medication (or the authorized generic) is covered and what you can expect to pay. It’s possible that one medication may be preferred over the other.
Yes. It’s possible to switch from once-daily Victoza to once-weekly Ozempic. After injecting your last Victoza dose, you may be able to start Ozempic the following day. If you’re switching due to side effects, your prescriber may hold off on starting Ozempic until your symptoms resolve, and then start with the lowest Ozempic dosage.
After switching, tell your prescriber if you experience side effects that last for longer than expected or become severe. For most people, these usually improve over a few weeks. And there are things you can do to manage side effects like nausea and diarrhea in the meantime.
As mentioned above, Victoza and Ozempic are both available as brand-name medications. Victoza also has an authorized generic called liraglutide. If you’ve been prescribed one of them to treat Type 2 diabetes, there’s a good chance it’ll be covered by insurance. But you may have a higher copay or coinsurance.
If you need more help affording your prescription, GoodRx coupons, manufacturer copay cards, and patient assistance programs can help.
Save with GoodRx: With a free GoodRx coupon, you could pay as little as $499 per month for Ozempic. You could also pay as little as $808.26 for brand-name Victoza and $284.70 for liraglutide.
Save with manufacturer copay cards: If you’re eligible, you could pay as little as $25 for Ozempic with a manufacturer copay card.
Save with patient assistance programs: There is also a patient assistance program that provides Ozempic and Victoza at no charge.
There isn’t anything that you need to avoid entirely when taking Victoza. But there are certain foods and drinks that may be best to minimize. That’s because they can worsen side effects, impact your blood glucose levels, and/or offset potential weight loss. Examples include:
Fatty or fried foods, such as french fries and pizza
Sugary foods and drinks, such as baked goods and soda
Ultra-processed carbohydrates, such as white bread
Alcohol
There isn’t anything that you need to avoid entirely when taking Victoza. But there are certain foods and drinks that may be best to minimize. That’s because they can worsen side effects, impact your blood glucose levels, and/or offset potential weight loss. Examples include:
Fatty or fried foods, such as french fries and pizza
Sugary foods and drinks, such as baked goods and soda
Ultra-processed carbohydrates, such as white bread
Alcohol
Like other medications in its class, Victoza is meant to be used long term. So your prescriber will likely have you continue taking it as long as it’s working for you and the side effects aren’t a significant issue.
No, increased urination hasn’t been reported with Victoza. But other diabetes medications, such as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors like Jardiance (empagliflozin), can make you pee more. It’s possible that you may be prescribed Victoza and an SGLT2 inhibitor together.
Victoza (liraglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide) are both injectable medications for Type 2 diabetes. They belong to the same class but have a few notable differences. This includes how often you inject them, their potential benefits, and if they’re approved for children.
Victoza is injected once a day, and Ozempic is injected once a week. Ozempic may also be better at lowering hemoglobin A1C and can result in more weight loss than Victoza. But Victoza is approved for children ages 10 and older, while Ozempic is only approved for adults.
If you are interested in taking Victoza or Ozempic, talk with your healthcare team. Depending on your treatment goals, they may recommend one over the other. They can discuss what these differences can mean for you.
Almandoz, J. P., et al. (2020). Switching between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists: Rationale and practical guidance. Clinical Diabetes.
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee (2024). 9. Pharmacologic Approaches to glycemic treatment: Standards of care in diabetes—2024. Diabetes Care.
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee (2024). 14. Children and adolescents: Standards of care in diabetes—2024. Diabetes Care.
Capehorn, M.S., et al. (2020). Efficacy and safety of once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg vs once-daily liraglutide 1.2 mg as add-on to 1–3 oral antidiabetic drugs in subjects with type 2 diabetes (SUSTAIN 10). Diabetes and Metabolism.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Diabetes in young people is on the rise.
Kosiborod, M. N., et al. (2024). Semaglutide in patients with obesity-related heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. The New England Journal of Medicine.
Marso, S. P., et al. (2016). Liraglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in Type 2 diabetes. The New England Journal of Medicine.
Marso, S. P., et al. (2016). Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with Type 2 diabetes. The New England Journal of Medicine.
Rubino, D. M., et al. (2022). Effect of weekly subcutaneous semaglutide vs daily liraglutide on body weight in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes: The STEP 8 randomized clinical trial. JAMA.
