I recently stumbled upon Zappy Health while scrolling Instagram and decided to check it out. The influencer account that was promoting Zappy appeared to have had a great experience taking a GLP-1 medication and was more than happy to share it with others.
I am blown away by the sheer number of telehealth platforms selling GLP-1 medications these days. There was a time not too long ago that we thought the days of compounded GLP-1s were over, but that’s proven not to be the case at all. In fact, it seems like new options and platforms are popping up daily.
Zappy is new to me, so I decided to take a look at their intake process, what they offer, pricing, and more, so I can get a good feel for the company, its legitimacy, and whether or not this would be a platform I would recommend to my clients. As a personal trainer and nutrition coach, medicated weight loss is coming up in our conversations more and more, so I aim to stay on the cutting edge of the industry so I can provide the best feedback and advice for my clients.
Zappy Overview
The first thing I noted about Zappy was that they offer more than just weight loss medications; they also have anti-aging, strength and recovery, and skincare options as well - but I was there specifically to research their GLP-1s. Upon first glance, it appeared that Zappy was offering compounded semaglutide as well as name-brand medications.
Name-brand GLP-1 medications are typically quite expensive; however, Zappy is advertising them for prices like $199 for the first month and $499 per month after. If this is true, then that’s a pretty good deal. I believe the name-brand medications come from the medication maker themselves, and the pricing is set by the manufacturer.
Their compounded semaglutide says that it starts at $159/month. I noticed that they didn’t have compounded tirzepatide at this time, which is kind of a bummer because tirzepatide is more effective. I decided to go ahead with Zappy’s onboarding quiz under the compounded semaglutide, as if I were truly seeking the medication; that’s the one I would choose (most budget-friendly).
Taking the Quiz
As soon as you start the quiz, you’ll be asked to indicate what state you’re located in (Zappy is not available in HI). Once you choose your state, you’re redirected to Zappy’s page on the Practice Better platform, which appears to be how they intake and manage patients.
From there, you’ll input all of your basic information like name, email, height, weight, medical conditions, medical history, etc. This is all pretty standard stuff when filling out an online quiz for a GLP-1. The information you input will help the platform qualify you for medication.
I inputted all of my information accurately. I am not overweight or obese. I have a very healthy and normal BMI, which used to be the standard by which providers would approve or deny your medication. However, I have seen a huge shift lately away from using BMI alone to qualify or disqualify patients. In fact, providers like Willow, Josie, and Emerge are all prescribing medications based on factors outside of BMI.
More info on those brands:
After filling in my information, I was brought to a screen that offered me options for medication. I I was interested in compounded semaglutide. Below is the pricing and plans table they shared with me:
Please note: The Starter Pack begins with Semaglutide 0.25 mg.
- Monthly subscription, $249/mo
- 3-Month Package ($229/mo): Total of $687 billed once, three vials shipped together.
- 6-Month Package ($209/mo): Total of $1254 billed once, six vials shipped together.
- 9-Month Package ($199/mo): Total of $1701 billed once, nine vials shipped together.
- 3-Month Starter Package ($159/mo): Total of $477 billed once, three vials shipped together. ONLY for those new to GLP-1 medications.
As you can see, the $159/month that they advertised is for their 3-month starter package, which begins with 0.25mg of semaglutide, which is a very low dose. That said, the monthly subscription option, which doesn’t have any discounts attached, is only $249/month, which is actually very competitive. I am not sure if the monthly price increases if/when your dosage increases.
Here’s the part that I thought was great; once you choose which package you’d like to start with, they send you to a screen that advises that they will review your case and get back to you within 2-3 hours with a decision - this is quick compared to most other companies who can take days to get back to you with a decision. Plus, Zappy doesn’t have you input your credit card information first like most providers do, which is awesome. It’s risk-free. Should the provider not end up prescribing you the medication, you don’t have to worry about trying to get a refund.
Next Steps
I received a response via email and text a short while after I submitted my information, approving my medication and providing me with an invoice so that I could pay for it, so it would begin the shipping process. I was able to log into their web portal and see my prescription plan. It was pretty generic. I am assuming they send out the same message to everyone who gets approved. It was nice that the approval process was really quick, though.
Inside the dashboard, there are options for tracking your food, sending messages to the provider/support team, and seeing all of your documents, invoices, etc. It’s a pretty nice dashboard, but like I mentioned, it’s run by Practice Better, which appears to be a platform that contracts out to providers like Zappy who need an all-in-one solution for telehealth. This tells me that Zappy is probably run by a random person who wanted to start a telehealth brand. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; you can take it how you want.
Regardless, the Practice Better platform will connect you with a real, licensed doctor who can prescribe you the medication and answer your questions. I didn’t pay my invoice and go through with the order as I was not actually seeking treatment, just researching, so I can’t tell you what it’s like once your order is placed. I didn’t see any information on the website about what compounding pharmacies they use or anything like that.
Reading through online reviews of Zappy, it’s pretty hot and cold. There are a lot of influencers promoting Zappy, and I think we all know what that means at this point - they are likely paid pretty well to do so. There’s also some threads online talking about how Zappy basically bribed users to leave 5-star reviews. I can’t confirm any of this, but it’s all out there for you to read and make your own judgments.
My Honest Thoughts and Recommendations
If you’re looking for an easy and hassle-free way to get a compounded semaglutide for a relatively low cost, Zappy will get the job done. I don’t personally think Zappy is the most legitimate brand out there, but I do believe you’ll have access to a real doctor and prescription medication, so if that’s all you’re looking for, go for it. I like that they don’t charge you first and then prescribe later and that their turnaround time is super fast, but I’m not convinced that an actual doctor reviewed my file before approving me.
I don’t like that they don’t have tirzepatide. Also, if you choose to go with the starter pack, be aware that .25mg is a very small dose (which is fine and even recommended often!), but you probably won’t see many changes on that small of a dose.
Personally, I would go with a more trusted brand like Willow, Josie , or Emerge, and I would opt for compounded tirzepatide over compounded semaglutide as it’s more effective.
Visit the Premium GLP-1 providers' websites:
- Join Josie for Menopause GLP-1 - https://joinjosie.com/
- Willow for low BMI - https://startwillow.com
- Emerge for low starting dose - https://www.emergeweight.com/
I’m sure the experience with Zappy is decent. There are definitely some good things I saw, but overall, my personal feeling was that it was a bit spammy.