Contrave has no marketed generic in the US, so its cost is a brand-only price set by your insurance formulary and your pharmacy, not by generic competition. telos rx does not sell Contrave; its compounded oral GLP-1 is a separate option with published pricing.
Most cost pages open with a dollar figure and stop there. That figure means little alone, because two people filling the same prescription at two pharmacies on the same day can pay very different amounts. What follows is the structure underneath the number.
The Biggest Cost Driver: There Is No Generic Contrave
Contrave is a brand-name, FDA-approved extended-release tablet combining 8 mg naltrexone hydrochloride with 90 mg bupropion hydrochloride.
As of publication, no FDA-approved generic naltrexone and bupropion extended-release tablet is marketed in the US. One abbreviated application for the 8 mg/90 mg strength holds tentative approval only: the FDA has found it meets approval standards but it cannot yet be sold, typically because brand patent or exclusivity protections have not expired.
The FDA explains that distinction in its generic drug overview. The consequence for your wallet is simple: no lower-cost equivalent competes on price. Approval status can change, so confirm the current position with your pharmacist rather than any article, including this one. Buying the ingredients separately is not a workaround, and substitution questions belong with a prescriber.
What Actually Determines Your Price
Four things move the number.
- Brand-only status. With no marketed generic, there is no cheaper equivalent pulling the list price down.
- Tablet count. The label describes a four-week escalation reaching a maintenance dosage of two tablets twice daily. That is label information, not guidance, and only a prescriber decides what is right for you. It matters because pharmacies price per tablet.
- Plan design. Whether it is on the formulary, at which tier, and whether prior authorization applies.
- Which pharmacy fills it. Cash prices for the same brand product vary between pharmacies in the same city.
We publish no dollar figure for Contrave, because any average would not describe your plan, pharmacy or quantity. Only a quote against your own prescription means anything.
Contrave Cost With Insurance
Before tier or copay comes a question that catches many people out: does your plan cover weight-management medicines at all? Many commercial plans, and some public programmes, exclude the whole category as a benefit-design decision, separately from any judgment about the individual drug.
If the category is excluded, the tier is irrelevant and you are effectively a cash payer. If it is covered, formulary placement decides your share, and prior authorization may require documented BMI or a trial of another agent first. Call the number on your card and ask about the drug by name, or ask your pharmacy to run a test claim.
Contrave Cost Without Insurance
Without coverage you pay a cash price for a brand-only product, which is why cost of Contrave without insurance is so heavily searched. Three things are worth knowing.
Cash prices are quotable in advance, so calling three or four pharmacies gives a real local range. Quantity dispensed changes the total, so compare identical fills.
Manufacturers of brand weight-management medicines also commonly run patient support or affordability programmes with published eligibility rules. We do not publish codes, links or offer amounts for any of them. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist what exists, and take the terms from the official source rather than a third-party aggregator.
Contrave Is Not a GLP-1
Contrave does not act on GLP-1 receptors. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist and bupropion is an aminoketone antidepressant, and the combination acts on appetite regulation and reward signalling, as covered in Is Contrave a GLP-1? and What Is Contrave? These are different drug classes with different evidence bases and safety profiles, so comparing prices alone will mislead you. For how the pill options compare, see Contrave vs Qsymia vs phentermine.
The Safety Information That Belongs Beside Any Price
Contrave carries a boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The label states that antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children, adolescents and young adults in short-term trials, that patients of all ages started on Contrave should be monitored closely, and that Contrave is not approved for use in pediatric patients.
Contraindications include uncontrolled hypertension, seizure disorder or a history of seizures, bulimia or anorexia nervosa, chronic opioid use or acute opiate withdrawal, and use of an MAOI within 14 days. The full text is in the prescribing information on DailyMed, with more in Contrave side effects and the boxed warning. None of this makes Contrave a bad medicine; it is an approved option that suits some people well. It does mean candidacy is a clinical decision, and cost is the last question.
Two Cost Structures, Side by Side
telos rx does not sell, prescribe or supply Contrave. The comparison below is only about how each price is set.
| Contrave (brand) | telos rx compounded oral GLP-1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory status | FDA-approved prescription medicine | Compounded and not FDA-approved |
| Generic available in the US | No, one application is tentatively approved only | Not applicable; compounded preparations are not generics |
| Who sets what you pay | Your plan, your pharmacy and the manufacturer | Published plan price, visible before you start |
| Insurance | May be covered, tiered, prior-authorized, or excluded as a category | Self-pay, not billed to insurance |
| What the price covers | The medicine dispensed; any office visit billed separately | Medication, the online visit, shipping and ondansetron |
| Form | Extended-release tablet, 8 mg/90 mg | Daily dose held under the tongue about 60 to 90 seconds, then swallowed |
telos rx does not sell, prescribe or supply Contrave. What telos rx offers is a compounded oral GLP-1, a different medicine in a different drug class. Contrave is FDA-approved; the compounded oral GLP-1 is not. The plan price is published up front, and every request is subject to medical approval by a licensed provider.
See the oral GLP-1 plan pricingHow the telos rx Price Is Built
As of publication, the oral GLP-1 page lists pricing from $9 a day on the prepaid three-month plan, with one-month, six-month and twelve-month options too. The page states that you only pay for your plan and everything else is $0, covering the online visit, dispensing and shipping, ondansetron, dose adjustments and care-team support. The page is the authority and pricing can change.
The number is plan-length based and visible before you commit, rather than assembled afterwards from a copay, a dispensing fee and a separate consultation charge. That is a difference in presentation, not a claim of being cheaper than Contrave, which we cannot know without your plan details.
The honest trade is this: Contrave is FDA-approved and the telos rx compounded oral GLP-1 is not. Compounded medications are prepared by licensed US compounding pharmacies under federal compounding regulations against an individual prescription, and have not been through the FDA review of safety and effectiveness that an approved product has. That is a real advantage for Contrave, and anyone weighing the two should count it. Sublingual absorption is also lower than a subcutaneous injection, and the provider accounts for that when setting a dose. See oral versus injectable GLP-1s, the semaglutide and tirzepatide cost guides.
Getting Your Own Number
Ask your insurer whether weight-management medicines are a covered category, and if so at which tier and with what prior-authorization rules. Ask two or three pharmacies for a cash quote on the exact quantity prescribed. Then ask about manufacturer patient-support programmes and whether you fit the eligibility rules. Those three calls give you a figure no published average can.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Contrave without insurance?
It varies by pharmacy and by quantity dispensed, so the only reliable figure is a quote on your own prescription. Because there is no marketed generic in the US, you are paying a brand cash price. Call several pharmacies with the exact quantity your prescriber wrote to get a real local range.
Is there a generic version of Contrave?
As of publication, no FDA-approved generic naltrexone and bupropion extended-release tablet is marketed in the US. One abbreviated application holds tentative approval, meaning the FDA found it meets approval standards but it cannot yet be sold. Status can change, so confirm the current position with your pharmacist.
Does insurance cover Contrave?
It depends first on whether your plan covers weight-management medicines as a category, which many plans exclude by design. If it is covered, formulary tier and prior-authorization rules decide your share. Call the number on your insurance card and ask about the drug by name, or ask your pharmacy to run a test claim.
Why is Contrave more expensive than older weight-loss pills?
Mainly because it is brand-only. Older agents such as phentermine have long-established generics competing on price, while Contrave has no marketed generic equivalent. The label maintenance dosage is also two tablets twice daily, so a month is a larger quantity. That is label information, not guidance.
Is Contrave a GLP-1 like Ozempic or Wegovy?
No. Contrave combines naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, with bupropion, an aminoketone antidepressant, and does not act on GLP-1 receptors. It is a different drug class with a different evidence base and safety profile, including a boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Comparing the two on price alone misleads.
Does telos rx sell Contrave?
No. telos rx does not sell, prescribe or supply Contrave, and this article is educational. telos rx offers a compounded oral GLP-1, a different medicine that is not FDA-approved. It is an online-first, asynchronous service, and every request is subject to medical approval by a licensed provider.
TelosRX is LegitScript-certified. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and are prepared under federal compounding regulations. Approval is subject to evaluation by a licensed provider; approval is not guaranteed. Individual results vary. TelosRX operates as an online-first, asynchronous telehealth service.
telos rx does not sell, prescribe or supply Contrave, and nothing below is a route to it. If what you are pricing is a compounded oral GLP-1 instead, that is a different medicine acting on a different pathway, it is not FDA-approved, and it is not a substitute for Contrave. Review the plan pricing for the compounded oral GLP-1 on the oral GLP-1 page, then complete the written intake: start an online visit for the oral GLP-1. Eligibility generally starts at a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with a weight-related condition, and a licensed provider reviews every request. Approval is not guaranteed.