OZEMPIC dosage chart
Four weeks at 0.25 mg, then 0.5 mg once weekly. From there the label allows 1 mg and then 2 mg, each after at least four weeks on the dose below it, and 2 mg is the maximum it recommends.1
On this page
The chart
| Dose | What the label calls it | When |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 mg | Initiation dosage | The first four weeks |
| 0.5 mg | Maintenance dosage | After four weeks at 0.25 mg |
| 1 mg | Maintenance dosage | After at least four weeks at 0.5 mg, if more glycemic control is needed |
| 2 mg | Maximum recommended dosage | After at least four weeks at 1 mg, if more glycemic control is needed |
OZEMPIC prescribing information, section 2.2 (label revised 5/2026, DailyMed updated 1 June 2026), read September 2026. Listed in full under Sources.
Two things in that table are easy to misread. The first is that 0.25 mg is not a treatment dose in the label’s terms; it is where the schedule starts, and the label moves off it after four weeks. The second is that the steps above 0.5 mg are conditional rather than automatic. The label attaches them to whether additional glycemic control is needed, which is a clinical judgment made with blood tests, not a calendar.1
Why the four weeks are in there
The label says what the escalation is for, in the same paragraph as the first step:
Initiate OZEMPIC with a dosage of 0.25 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks.
The sentence after it sends the reader to the warnings about gastrointestinal reactions, which is the rest of the answer: the climb exists to spread the worst of the stomach effects out. How often those were reported, at which dose, is on the OZEMPIC side effects page, and the label’s own line is that most reports of nausea, vomiting or diarrhea came during dose escalation.1
The kidney-disease variant
One group has a different destination written for it. For adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, the label says to increase to the maintenance dosage of 1 mg once weekly after at least four weeks on 0.5 mg. That is a maintenance dosage named for a condition rather than a step chosen on glycemic control, and it is the reason a dose chart that prints one ladder for everybody is not quite right.1 The kidney-benefit evidence explains the population and outcomes behind that indication.
Which pen holds which dose
The dose is not something you dial from any pen. Each OZEMPIC pen delivers a particular dose and holds a particular number of them, so moving up a step usually means a different pen.
| Presentation | Dose per injection | Total strength |
|---|---|---|
| Pen | 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg | 2 mg / 3 mL |
| Pen | 1 mg | 4 mg / 3 mL |
| Pen | 2 mg | 8 mg / 3 mL |
| Prefilled syringe | 0.25, 0.5 or 1 mg | One dose per syringe |
OZEMPIC prescribing information, section 3, Dosage Forms and Strengths (label revised 5/2026), read September 2026.
How many doses each pen holds, and what comes in the carton with it, is on the OZEMPIC pen page. Where to put the injection and the steps in order are on the page on how and where to inject.
The other semaglutide ladders
WEGOVY climbs further and ends somewhere else, because it is approved for different things: the WEGOVY dose schedule runs to 2.4 mg, with 7.2 mg allowed for weight reduction in adults. WEGOVY vs OZEMPIC sets the two labels side by side, and the semaglutide dosage chart is the molecule-level view across every product.
Questions
What is the maximum dose of OZEMPIC?
2 mg once weekly. The label names it the maximum recommended dosage, and it is reached after at least four weeks on 1 mg, if additional glycemic control is needed.1
How long do you stay on 0.25 mg?
Four weeks. The label calls 0.25 mg an initiation dosage and says to increase to 0.5 mg once weekly after those four weeks.
Is 1 mg a maintenance dose or a step on the way to 2 mg?
Both, depending on the person. The label names 0.5, 1 and 2 mg as maintenance dosages chosen on glycemic control, and for adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease it names 1 mg as the maintenance dosage to increase to.1
Read next
Sources
A reference, not medical advice, and not a substitute for your prescriber or pharmacist. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call your local emergency number.