Ozempic vs. Jardiance for Type 2 Diabetes: 6 Key Differences You Should Know About

When it comes to managing Type 2 diabetes, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Most people focus on lowering blood glucose (sugar) levels. But some might also need to manage risk factors or related health conditions. And depending on your needs, certain medications may be a better fit than others.

Ozempic (semaglutide) and Jardiance (empagliflozin) are two diabetes medications to consider. They have a few things in common, including cardiovascular benefits for certain people. But there are specific reasons why you might take one over the other — or both. We discuss six key differences between Ozempic and Jardiance below.

1. Ozempic and Jardiance come in different dosage forms

One of the most obvious differences between Ozempic and Jardiance is how you take them. Ozempic is an injection that you administer once a week. Jardiance is an oral pill that you take every day.

Jardiance is also available in several combination pills. These include Synjardy and Synjardy XR with metformin, Glyxambi with linagliptin, and Trijardy XR with metformin and linagliptin.

Ozempic isn’t available in a combination injection, but this may change. Instead, its active ingredient, semaglutide, is available in an oral pill called Rybelsus. Depending on your dose, Rybelsus may be an Ozempic alternative if you don’t like injections.

2. Ozempic and Jardiance work differently for Type 2 diabetes

Ozempic and Jardiance are also different in how they work to manage blood glucose levels.

Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist. It simulates the effects of GLP-1, which is a gut hormone. It triggers insulin release after you eat and reduces glucose production in the liver. It also keeps food in your stomach longer. Additionally, Ozempic works on areas of the brain that regulate appetite and fullness.

Jardiance is a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. It prevents your kidneys from reabsorbing glucose so that it leaves the body in your urine. Jardiance also has this effect on sodium, which may help lower blood pressure.

Does the difference in how Ozempic and Jardiance work affect blood glucose levels? The short answer: Yes. Ozempic can provide greater reductions in hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c or A1C). Ozempic has been shown to lower A1C by about 2%, depending on the dose. Jardiance lowers A1C by about 1%.

3. Jardiance is approved for adults and children, while Ozempic is approved only for adults

Jardiance is one of two oral medications approved for Type 2 diabetes in children. The other is metformin. Jardiance is approved for people as young as 10 years old.

Ozempic is approved only for adults. But several other GLP-1 agonists are approved for use in children. These include Victoza (liraglutide), Trulicity (dulaglutide), and Bydureon BCise (exenatide).

Metformin is a good starting point for most children. A healthcare professional may add a GLP-1 agonist and/or Jardiance if they need more help lowering their blood glucose levels. In some situations, insulin may be recommended.

4. Ozempic can result in greater weight loss than Jardiance

For many people with Type 2 diabetes, losing even a small amount of weight makes blood glucose levels easier to manage. And if chronic weight management is part of your diabetes treatment plan, Ozempic is often more beneficial than Jardiance.

For people with Type 2 diabetes, Ozempic is commonly prescribed because of its effect on body weight. During a 40-week trial, people who received the highest Ozempic dose (2 mg) lost 15 lbs, on average. Some report losing even more weight.

Jardiance can cause weight loss too. But this tends to be about 4 lbs to 6 lbs after 6 months. One study reported about 12 lbs of weight loss when Jardiance was paired with dietary changes, compared with almost 5 lbs of weight loss without dietary changes.

For either medication, it works best when paired with a diabetes diet and regular exercise. Keep in mind that weight loss can vary by factors such as dose and other medications you’re taking.

5. Jardiance is also approved for heart failure and chronic kidney disease

Ozempic and Jardiance have cardiovascular benefits for people with diabetes and heart disease. But Jardiance is also approved to treat heart failure and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in people with and without diabetes.

Jardiance is one of two SGLT2 inhibitors approved to treat the two most common types of heart failure. The other is Farxiga (dapagliflozin). If you have heart failure, Jardiance can help keep you out of the hospital and lower the risk of cardiovascular death.

Jardiance is also approved for CKD. It can help slow down your kidneys from getting worse and lower the risk of end-stage kidney disease, hospitalization, and cardiovascular death. About 1 in 3 people with diabetes develops CKD. In this case, Jardiance can be a good addition. But it may not lower your blood glucose as well if you have severe CKD.

Ozempic isn’t approved for CKD. But there’s some evidence that it has kidney-related benefits. In fact, Ozempic’s phase 3 CKD study was stopped early because of a high likelihood of success. Study results are expected to be available in the first half of 2024, which could be followed by the FDA approving Ozempic for CKD.

6. Ozempic and Jardiance have different side effects

Another difference between Ozempic and Jardiance are their side effects. Many Ozempic side effects are due to how it affects your gastrointestinal tract. Many Jardiance side effects are from urinating out glucose.

Common Ozempic side effects include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. They’re usually worse when you start Ozempic and after increasing your dose. But for many people, they’ll improve over time. Limiting or avoiding certain foods may help in the meantime.

Common Jardiance side effects include urinary tract infections (UTIs) and genital infections. Keep in mind, diabetes increases your risk of UTIs and other infections. Jardiance can also cause increased urination as you pee out more glucose and sodium.

Ozempic and Jardiance may cause serious side effects, but those are less common. With Ozempic, these include pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, and worsening diabetes-related eye problems. There’s also a theoretical risk of thyroid C-cell tumors. With Jardiance, those risks include serious genital infections and ketoacidosis (too much acid in the blood).

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Written by:

Alyssa Billingsley, PharmD

Alyssa Billingsley, PharmD, is the director of pharmacy content for GoodRx. She has over a decade of experience as a pharmacist and has worked in clinical, academic, and administrative roles.

Reviewed by:

Christina Aungst, PharmD

Christina Aungst, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She began writing for GoodRx Health in 2019, transitioning from freelance writer to editor in 2021.

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