Is liraglutide dosed daily or weekly?

Liraglutide is dosed once daily. This is its main practical difference from weekly semaglutide and tirzepatide, and follows from its roughly 13-hour half-life.

What is the maintenance dose on the Saxenda label?

The Saxenda (liraglutide) label for chronic weight management titrates to a 3.0 mg/day maintenance amount. Victoza for type 2 diabetes typically tops out at 1.8 mg/day.

What is the difference between Victoza and Saxenda?

Both are liraglutide. Victoza is the brand approved for type 2 diabetes (up to 1.8 mg/day); Saxenda is the brand approved for chronic weight management (up to 3.0 mg/day). The molecule is identical — the brands differ in indication and maximum labelled dose.

How many insulin-syringe units is a liraglutide dose?

It depends on the concentration. For an 18 mg vial reconstituted in 3 mL (6 mg/mL), a 0.6 mg amount is 10 units and a 3.0 mg amount is 50 units on a U-100 syringe. Enter your vial size and diluent volume in the calculator to convert any target amount.

Why does the dose start so low and step up weekly?

The weekly titration on the FDA labels is intended to let gastrointestinal tolerability develop gradually before the maintenance amount is reached. Each step is held for about a week before increasing.

Liraglutide Calculator

Liraglutide (also known as Victoza) reconstitution and dosage reference — calculate vial concentration, BAC water volume, and exact syringe units below.

Also known as: Victoza, Saxenda

GLP-1

Key takeaways

At the reference preset of a 18mg Liraglutide vial reconstituted with 3 mL of bacteriostatic water, a 0.6mg dose measures 10 units on a U-100 insulin syringe.

Liraglutide is a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist marketed as Victoza (type 2 diabetes) and Saxenda (chronic weight management).

Concentration: 6 mg/mL
Draw volume: 0.1 mL
Units (U-100): 10
Doses per vial: ≈ 30
Reference preset: 18mg · 3mL · 0.6mg

U-100 scale · draw to 10 units

Reference values from the default preset — adjust the calculator below for your vial.

Default: 18mg / 3mL / 0.6mgAdjust inputs to match your vial

About

What is Liraglutide?

Liraglutide is a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist marketed as Victoza (type 2 diabetes) and Saxenda (chronic weight management). Unlike semaglutide and tirzepatide, liraglutide is dosed daily rather than weekly. The Saxenda titration starts at 0.6 mg/day and steps up weekly to a 3.0 mg maintenance dose. It is most commonly supplied as a pre-filled multi-dose pen, though compounded vials are available.

Common vial sizes

18 mg

lyophilized powder

Reference dose ranges

0.6 mg	≈ 10 U-100 units (at 18mg / 3mL)
1.2 mg	≈ 20 U-100 units (at 18mg / 3mL)
1.8 mg	≈ 30 U-100 units (at 18mg / 3mL)
2.4 mg	≈ 40 U-100 units (at 18mg / 3mL)
3 mg	≈ 50 U-100 units (at 18mg / 3mL)

Reconstitution

How it's typically prepared

Most pre-filled liraglutide pens arrive ready to use and are not reconstituted manually. For compounded vials supplied as a solution or powder, reconstitute with bacteriostatic water, swirl gently rather than shaking, and store refrigerated at 2–8 °C. An 18 mg vial reconstituted in 3 mL gives a 6 mg/mL concentration, so a 0.6 mg starting reference amount corresponds to 0.1 mL — 10 units on a U-100 insulin syringe.

Dosage

Why liraglutide is dosed daily

Liraglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist with a half-life of roughly 13 hours, which is why its labelled schedules are once-daily rather than the once-weekly cadence used by semaglutide and tirzepatide. The FDA labels titrate the dose upward in weekly steps to let gastrointestinal tolerability develop before reaching the maintenance amount — 3.0 mg/day for Saxenda in chronic weight management and up to 1.8 mg/day for Victoza in type 2 diabetes. The titration ladder below is reproduced from the Saxenda prescribing information as an educational reference.

On a U-100 insulin syringe, the draw volume depends entirely on the concentration of the vial or pen. A compounded 18 mg vial reconstituted in 3 mL sits at 6 mg/mL, so each 0.6 mg titration step is 0.1 mL — 10 units — and the 3.0 mg maintenance amount is 0.5 mL, or 50 units. The calculator above recomputes these figures for any vial size and diluent volume entered; the numbers are reference math, not a personalised dose.

Titration

Liraglutide Titration Schedule (Saxenda label)

Reference titration ladder from the Saxenda (liraglutide) FDA prescribing label for chronic weight management. Liraglutide is dosed once daily; each step is held for one week. This schedule is informational, not personalised advice.

Starting week	Dose	Notes
Week 1	0.6 mg/ day	—
Week 2	1.2 mg/ day	—
Week 3	1.8 mg/ day	—
Week 4	2.4 mg/ day	—
Week 5	3 mg/ day	Maintenance

Source: Saxenda (liraglutide) Prescribing Information — FDA

Safety

Liraglutide Side Effects

Adverse events summarised on the Saxenda (weight management) and Victoza (type 2 diabetes) FDA prescribing labels are predominantly gastrointestinal and most common during weekly dose escalation. The list below is an educational summary of those labels, not a complete safety profile. Both labels carry a boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumours based on rodent studies.

Commonly reported

Nausea
Diarrhea
Constipation
Vomiting
Decreased appetite
Dyspepsia (indigestion)
Headache
Fatigue
Dizziness
Injection-site reactions

Less common / serious

Pancreatitis
Gallbladder disease (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis)
Acute kidney injury (usually from dehydration via GI fluid loss)
Hypoglycemia (mainly when combined with insulin or a sulfonylurea)
Increased resting heart rate
Suicidal ideation (labelled monitoring caution for weight-management use)
Thyroid C-cell tumours (boxed warning; based on rodent data)

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is liraglutide dosed daily or weekly?: Liraglutide is dosed once daily. This is its main practical difference from weekly semaglutide and tirzepatide, and follows from its roughly 13-hour half-life.
What is the maintenance dose on the Saxenda label?: The Saxenda (liraglutide) label for chronic weight management titrates to a 3.0 mg/day maintenance amount. Victoza for type 2 diabetes typically tops out at 1.8 mg/day.
What is the difference between Victoza and Saxenda?: Both are liraglutide. Victoza is the brand approved for type 2 diabetes (up to 1.8 mg/day); Saxenda is the brand approved for chronic weight management (up to 3.0 mg/day). The molecule is identical — the brands differ in indication and maximum labelled dose.
How many insulin-syringe units is a liraglutide dose?: It depends on the concentration. For an 18 mg vial reconstituted in 3 mL (6 mg/mL), a 0.6 mg amount is 10 units and a 3.0 mg amount is 50 units on a U-100 syringe. Enter your vial size and diluent volume in the calculator to convert any target amount.
Why does the dose start so low and step up weekly?: The weekly titration on the FDA labels is intended to let gastrointestinal tolerability develop gradually before the maintenance amount is reached. Each step is held for about a week before increasing.

Sources

References

Semaglutide — dosage calculator, reconstitution chart, and sources.
Tirzepatide — dosage calculator, reconstitution chart, and sources.
Orforglipron — dosage calculator, reconstitution chart, and sources.

Notice

PeptideDose is an educational reference. It is not medical advice and does not replace consultation with a licensed healthcare provider. Doses shown in presets are derived from published protocols and product labels — they are not personal recommendations.