Zepbound Dosage Chart
Zepbound is tirzepatide, dosed once a week and stepped up on a schedule set by its label. Enter your first injection date for a printable chart of the earliest date each step could begin, and read below what the label says about maintenance doses, missed doses, and moving your injection day.
Free · printable · no sign-up or email · the label schedule, never a recommendation
Zepbound dose schedule planner: the label steps on a calendar
Medication
Zepbound (tirzepatide)
Once-weekly injection; steps from the FDA label. Other charts: Mounjaro · Wegovy
Dose timeline
20 wk
from the first dose to the top dose; first maintenance dose at week 5
Zepbound dose schedule, earliest dates per the label
| Step | Dose | Weeks | Earliest start | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.5 mg | 1 to 4 | week 1 | Starting dose; not intended for maintenance |
| 2 | 5 mg | 5 to 8 | week 5 | Maintenance-eligible; many stay here |
| 3 | 7.5 mg | 9 to 12 | week 9 | Step-up dose on the way to the next |
| 4 | 10 mg | 13 to 16 | week 13 | Maintenance-eligible; many stay here |
| 5 | 12.5 mg | 17 to 20 | week 17 | Step-up dose on the way to the next |
| 6 | 15 mg | 21 onward | week 21 | Maximum dose |
Dates are the minimum spacing in the label, laid on a calendar, not a recommendation to step up. Your prescriber sets the pace, and a step can be delayed or held at any dose, for example while side effects settle.
Get dose reminders and log each step in GlucoPal.
Free to download · No account required · iPhone
Quick answer: The Zepbound label starts at 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks, then 5 mg. After at least 4 weeks on any dose it may increase by 2.5 mg, through 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mg, to a maximum of 15 mg. The recommended maintenance doses are 5, 10, and 15 mg. At the label's minimum pace, 5 mg begins at week 5 and 15 mg at week 21; a missed dose can be taken within 4 days, and the injection day can move if 3 days separate doses.
Educational summary of the FDA label, not medical advice. The label sets the minimum time at each step; your prescriber sets your actual schedule, which can be slower at any point. Never change a dose or step up on your own.
What is the Zepbound dosage chart?
Zepbound (tirzepatide) starts at 2.5 mg once weekly and moves up in steps, each held for at least 4 weeks. At the minimum pace the label allows, the top dose of 15 mg is reachable at week 21, and the first maintenance dose at week 5.
| Step | Dose | Weeks (earliest) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.5 mg once weekly | weeks 1 to 4 | Starting dose for treatment initiation; not a maintenance dose |
| 2 | 5 mg once weekly | weeks 5 to 8 | A recommended maintenance dose |
| 3 | 7.5 mg once weekly | weeks 9 to 12 | Step-up dose |
| 4 | 10 mg once weekly | weeks 13 to 16 | A recommended maintenance dose |
| 5 | 12.5 mg once weekly | weeks 17 to 20 | Step-up dose |
| 6 | 15 mg once weekly | week 21 onward | Maximum dose |
What does the Zepbound label say about missed doses and changing your injection day?
Take a missed Zepbound dose as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) of the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip it and take the next dose on the regular day.
The day of the weekly injection can be changed if necessary, as long as at least 3 days (72 hours) separate two doses.
Strengths. Single-dose pens and single-dose vials in 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, and 15 mg, each 0.5 mL.
What are the Zepbound maintenance doses?
The label names 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg as the recommended maintenance doses; 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg are the steps between them. That is why many people settle at 5 or 10 mg rather than climbing to 15: the trial averages behind the label were 15.0% of body weight lost on 5 mg, 19.5% on 10 mg, and 20.9% on 15 mg over 72 weeks, so the biggest gain in the ladder is getting to a maintenance dose at all, not reaching the top of it.
The Zepbound weight loss calculator maps those trial curves to your own starting weight, dose by dose.
Do Zepbound vials follow the same schedule?
Yes. The single-dose vials sold through LillyDirect come in the same six strengths as the pens, each in 0.5 mL, so the schedule is identical; only the injection changes, from a pen to a syringe draw of the whole vial. The vials are single-dose with no preservative and the label says to discard what is left, which is why there is no vial-splitting math on this site.
Compounded tirzepatide is a different product with a concentration on the label rather than a fixed dose; the tirzepatide dose calculator converts each step of this schedule to syringe units for that case.
Can you stay on a Zepbound dose longer than 4 weeks?
Yes. Four weeks is the minimum the label requires before a step, not a deadline. Nothing in the label sets a maximum time at any dose, and holding at a step while side effects settle, or staying at 5 or 10 mg indefinitely as a maintenance dose, is exactly what the schedule allows. The planner marks the earliest possible dates so that a slower pace is visibly a choice rather than a delay.
FAQ
How long do you stay on 2.5 mg of Zepbound?
Four weeks, per the label. 2.5 mg is the starting dose for treatment initiation and is not intended as a maintenance dose; after four weeks the label moves to 5 mg. Your prescriber can keep you at 2.5 mg longer if needed.
When can you go from 5 mg to 7.5 mg of Zepbound?
After at least four weeks on 5 mg, if you and your prescriber decide to step up. The label allows increases in 2.5 mg increments after a minimum of four weeks on the current dose. 5 mg is itself a recommended maintenance dose, so stepping up is optional.
What is the highest dose of Zepbound?
15 mg once weekly. At the label's minimum pace it is reachable at week 21: 2.5 mg for four weeks, then 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mg for at least four weeks each.
What if you miss a Zepbound dose?
Take it as soon as possible within 4 days (96 hours) of the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip it and take the next dose on your regular day. Do not take two doses within 3 days of each other.
Are the dates in the planner a recommendation to step up?
No. They are the minimum spacing the label requires between steps, laid on a calendar from your first injection date. The label sets a floor, not a schedule: your prescriber decides whether and when you move up, and staying longer at any dose is allowed.
Is this dosage chart free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, it is free, and no sign-up or email is required. Pick the medication, enter your first injection date, and the schedule updates instantly; there is a print button for the fridge or the clinic. The GlucoPal iOS app it comes from is also free to download.
Related tools
GLP-1 dose schedule planner
Zepbound, Mounjaro, and Wegovy label schedules side by side.
Mounjaro dosage chart
The same tirzepatide schedule, for UK and Australian readers.
Zepbound half-life calculator
Why each step takes about four weeks to settle: tirzepatide levels build for a month.
Tirzepatide dose calculator
Each step in syringe units for a compounded vial.
Sources
This free dosage chart is built and maintained by GlucoPal, the free iPhone app for tracking GLP-1 weight loss medications. Label dose strengths and vial presentations were read from the current FDA labels on DailyMed on 2 September 2026.
You take your GLP-1s. We'll take care of the rest.
