If you’re comparing Hims and Ro weight-loss programs, here’s the short version. Both charge separate membership and medication fees, and both currently sell the same FDA-approved drugs at nearly the same prices. Ro edges ahead if you’re willing to prepay for a year. Hims edges ahead if you want a slightly more familiar, more marketed brand. Neither one is cheap, and neither one is a scam. Let’s get into the real numbers.
Quick Verdict
Hims Weight Loss Best for: people who want a well-known brand name and don’t mind paying monthly. Skip it if: you want the lowest possible membership price and you’re ready to commit for a year. Current price checked on Hims’ site: membership is $39 for month one, then $149 a month. Medication starts at $149 a month on top of that.
Ro (Ro Body Program) Best for: people who can prepay and want an insurance check built in. Skip it if you want to pay month-to-month with no long-term commitment. Current price checked on Ro’s site: membership is $39 for month one, then $149 a month, or as low as $74 a month if you prepay for 12 months. Medication starts at $149 a month on top of that.
Both companies are active, licensed, and currently selling GLP-1 medication. Neither one looked closed or shut down when I checked.
Hims vs Ro Weight Loss: The Quick Answer
So which one wins in the Hims vs. Ro weight-loss matchup? Honestly, it’s closer than most blogs make it sound. Both companies dropped their old compounded semaglutide plans and now sell brand-name drugs like Wegovy, Zepbound, and the newer pill Foundayo. Both split the cost into two pieces: a membership fee for the doctor visits and support, and a medication fee that changes based on your dose. The membership pricing is nearly identical. The real difference shows up if you’re willing to prepay.
[link: Best GLP-1 Programs page]
Hims Weight Loss Review
What Hims Costs Right Now
Hims lists the Weight Loss Membership at $39 for your first month, then it renews at $149 a month after that. That fee covers your provider visits, dose changes, and messaging with your care team. It does not include the actual drug.
On top of the membership, here’s what Hims lists for medication, straight from their pricing pages:
- Wegovy Pill: from $149 a month
- Ozempic Pill: from $149 a month
- Foundayo Pill: from $149 a month
- Wegovy Pen: from $199 a month
- Ozempic (injection): from $199 a month
- Zepbound KwikPen: from $299 a month
- Zepbound Vial: from $299 a month
So the real starting cost, membership plus medication, is closer to $298 a month once you’re past the discounted first month. That’s a number a lot of the “starts at $199” headlines leave out.
What Medications Hims Offers
Hims now sells FDA-approved brand-name drugs through a partnership with Novo Nordisk and access to Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect channel. That means Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic (prescribed off-label for weight loss), and Foundayo, the newer pill version of tirzepatide’s cousin drug, orforglipron. Hims sells these as pills, pens, and vials depending on the medication.
How Signup Works
You fill out a health questionnaire online. A licensed provider reviews it and decides if you’re a fit. If you’re approved, Hims ships the medication to your door. No video call is required for most patients, which is one of the faster parts of the process.
Insurance
Hims does not bill insurance. This is a cash-pay, self-pay model. You can use an FSA or HSA card in most cases, but don’t expect Hims to run your insurance for you the way some other telehealth companies do.
How to Cancel
Hims states clearly on its own site that you can cancel anytime, and that canceling your membership also cancels any active medication plan and your access to care through the platform. That’s straightforward, at least. Just know canceling the membership stops the medication too; you can’t keep one without the other.
Common Complaints
The most common gripe I found is confusion over the two-part pricing. People sign up expecting one flat number and get surprised when the membership and the medication show up as separate charges. A few reviewers also mentioned the $39 first month price jumping to $149 catches people off guard if they don’t read the fine print.
Who Should Use Hims (and Who Shouldn’t)
Hims makes sense if you want a big, recognizable name and you’re comfortable paying month to month without a long commitment. Skip it if you’re on a tight monthly budget and want the membership fee as low as possible, because Hims doesn’t offer a prepay discount the way Ro does.
Ro Weight Loss Review
What Ro Costs Right Now
Ro’s Body Program membership also starts at $39 for the first month. After that, it depends on how you pay. Stick to a normal month-to-month plan, and you’ll pay $149 a month, same as Hims. But if you prepay for a full year, Ro drops that down to as low as $74 a month. That’s the single biggest difference between these two companies.
Medication pricing on Ro, checked straight from their pricing page:
- Wegovy Pill: from $149 a month
- Foundayo Pill: from $149 a month
- Wegovy Pen: from $199 a month
- Zepbound KwikPen: from $299 a month
Ro says these cash pay prices match what you’d pay directly through NovoCare, LillyDirect, and TrumpRx, the manufacturers’ own discount programs. That’s a nice thing to be able to check yourself if you’re skeptical.
What Medications Ro Offers
Ro sells the same core lineup as Hims: Wegovy pill and pen, Zepbound KwikPen, Foundayo pill, and Ozempic (off-label). All FDA-approved, all brand name, no compounded versions being pushed here anymore.
How Signup Works
Same basic flow as Hims. Online intake form, a licensed provider reviews it, and if you’re eligible, Ro ships your medication. Ro also runs required lab work through your membership fee, either at a Quest location for free or with an at-home collection kit.
Insurance
This is where Ro pulls ahead a bit. Ro offers a free insurance check for Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound pens, and their team handles the paperwork and prior authorization on your behalf if you do have coverage. Hims doesn’t offer anything like this. If insurance might cover part of your medication, that’s worth something.
How to Cancel
Gonna be honest here, I couldn’t find a clear step-by-step cancellation process laid out on Ro’s official pricing page itself. Based on how the account and membership are structured, cancellation happens through your online account or by contacting support, which is standard for this kind of subscription. But since Ro didn’t spell it out clearly on the page I checked, I’d confirm the exact steps with their support team before you sign up if that matters to you.
Common Complaints
The two-part pricing structure draws the same complaints here as it does for Hims. People expect one number and get two bills instead. A few reviews also point to slower customer service response times during busy periods.
Who Should Use Ro (and Who Shouldn’t)
Ro is the better pick if you can afford to prepay a year of membership up front and want the lowest possible ongoing rate. It’s also the stronger option if you want help checking your insurance. Skip it if you’d rather pay month to month with nothing locked in, since the $74 rate only kicks in with the annual plan.
Hims vs Ro: Price Comparison Table
| First month membership | $39 | $39 |
| Membership after month 1 | $149/mo | $149/mo (monthly plan) or as low as $74/mo (12 month prepaid) |
| Wegovy Pill | from $149/mo | from $149/mo |
| Wegovy Pen | from $199/mo | from $199/mo |
| Zepbound KwikPen | from $299/mo | from $299/mo |
| Foundayo Pill | from $149/mo | from $149/mo |
| Insurance help | Not offered, cash pay only | Free insurance check for select pens |
| Cancel anytime | Yes, confirmed on site | Likely yes, not clearly spelled out on the pricing page |
Pick Hims if you want a well-known brand, you’re not interested in prepaying a year up front, and you’re fine paying cash with no insurance involved.
Pick Ro if you can prepay for 12 months to bring the membership down to $74 a month, or if you want a free check on whether your insurance covers part of the medication cost.
[link: Wegovy vs Zepbound Comparison]
FAQ
Is Hims or Ro cheaper for GLP-1 medication? The medication prices are basically identical right now, $149 and up depending on the drug and dose. The membership fee is where they split. Ro can get as low as $74 a month if you prepay a year. Hims stays at $149 a month no matter how you pay.
Do Hims and Ro still offer compounded semaglutide? Not really, not the way they used to. Both companies have shifted to FDA-approved brand-name medications like Wegovy, Zepbound, and Ozempic instead of leading with compounded versions.
Does either company accept insurance? Ro offers a free insurance check for select GLP-1 pens and helps with the paperwork if you’re covered. Hims runs as a cash-pay service and doesn’t bill insurance.
Can I switch from Hims to Ro, or the other way around? Yes. There’s no contract locking you into one company. You’d just cancel your current membership and sign up fresh with the other one, though you may need a new provider visit to get evaluated again.
Why do the medication prices look different on different pages of the same site? [link: GLP-1 Cost Guide] Both companies show a starting price on the main pricing page, then a full breakdown by dose on the individual medication pages. The dose you’re actually prescribed is what determines your real monthly bill, so don’t assume the lowest listed number is what you’ll pay long term.
My Honest Take
If I had to pick one right now, I’d lean Ro, mostly because of that $74 a month prepaid rate and the free insurance check. That’s real money back in your pocket if you can swing the upfront cost. But if paying $888 up front for a year sounds like a lot, and it kind of is, Hims is just as legitimate, and you’ll pay the same for the actual medication either way. Neither company is going to hand you a magic discount on Wegovy or Zepbound that the other one can’t match, since both are pulling from the same manufacturer programs. Talk with your own doctor about which medication and dose actually make sense for you before you commit to either platform.