Most GLP-1 conversations now revolve around the weekly injections, semaglutide and tirzepatide. Liraglutide came before them, and it works differently in a way that shapes daily life on it: you inject it every day instead of once a week. That affects everything from how quickly it clears your system to what happens when you miss a dose.
The first GLP-1 approved for weight
Saxenda was the first GLP-1 approved specifically for chronic weight management. Liraglutide is sold under two brand names. Victoza is approved for type 2 diabetes and Saxenda for chronic weight management. It's the same molecule with different approved uses and different maximum doses: Victoza tops out at 1.8 mg daily for blood-sugar control, while Saxenda titrates up to 3.0 mg daily for weight. (Our guide on switching between the diabetes and weight-management versions covers what that split means in practice.)
Why daily instead of weekly
The main difference is how often you take it. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are engineered to stay in the body for about a week, so one injection covers seven days. Liraglutide has a half-life of about 13 hours, according to both labels. That's long enough for once-daily dosing but nowhere near a week, so it's a daily injection and its whole rhythm feels different. (Our piece on how each drug's dose ladder is built has the titration details.)
How its results compare
Liraglutide generally produces less weight loss than the newer weekly options. In the SCALE trial, the 56-week study behind Saxenda's approval, people without diabetes taking 3.0 mg daily lost about 8.4 kg on average, compared with 2.8 kg on placebo, and roughly a third lost more than 10% of their body weight.
A later trial compared the two drugs directly. STEP 8 put weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg against daily liraglutide 3.0 mg for 68 weeks: semaglutide produced an average 15.8% weight reduction, liraglutide 6.4%. That gap is the main reason liraglutide is no longer most people's first choice.
Why someone might still choose it
Liraglutide still has a place, for a few practical reasons.
Cost and coverage can favor it. Generic versions are now sold in the U.S. Teva launched an authorized generic of Victoza in June 2024, Hikma's generic of Victoza was approved and launched in December 2024, and Teva launched a generic of Saxenda in August 2025. Formularies differ, and liraglutide may be covered when the newer drugs aren't, but prices and coverage change, so check what applies to you. Supply hasn't always been easier, though. Liraglutide was itself on the FDA's drug shortage list while semaglutide and tirzepatide were, and it was still listed as in shortage in February 2025, after the semaglutide shortage had been declared over. As of September 2026, the FDA's drug shortage database still lists liraglutide injection as in shortage.
Some people find the shorter-acting daily profile easier to live with. Because each dose clears faster, a rough day's side effects may settle sooner than with a weekly drug.
It also gives more room to time a pause. A drug that clears in about a day instead of a week gives you more control if you need to stop for a planned reason. For example, some people planning a pregnancy discuss stopping GLP-1s with their prescriber, and a shorter half-life means a shorter washout.
Which drug fits is a conversation for you and your prescriber.
What the short half-life means day to day
The 13-hour half-life explains most of liraglutide's quirks. Because the drug clears fairly fast, a missed day matters more than a late weekly shot, and blood levels drop off noticeably. It also changes the missed-dose rules. Neither label gives a catch-up window: if you miss a daily dose, skip it and take the next one at the usual time, and never double up. If more than 3 days have passed since your last dose, both the Saxenda and Victoza labels say to restart at 0.6 mg. (Our missed-dose guide covers the general framework.)
The daily rhythm also shapes titration. Liraglutide's dose goes up weekly, while the weekly drugs step up about once a month, so the climb to a maintenance dose can feel faster. Some people find a daily shot a chore. Others like it for the shorter-acting profile.
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Which GLP-1 and dose fit you is a conversation for your prescriber.
Trial evidence in this guide comes from the SCALE trial (NEJM, 2015) and STEP 8 (JAMA, 2022); see the sources below for DOIs.