Saxenda is the weight-management brand of liraglutide, supplied as a multi-dose prefilled pen with a dose dial. Unlike the weekly GLP-1 brands, Saxenda is dosed once daily. This page explains the Saxenda dose schedule, then gives you the calculator you need if you are dosing a compounded liraglutide vial instead.
Last reviewed against the Saxenda prescribing information.
What is the Saxenda daily dose schedule?
Saxenda is taken once a day, and the pen dials the labelled dose, so there is nothing to measure. The label's titration starts low and steps up about once a week until the maintenance dose is reached — a faster cadence than the weekly GLP-1 products because dosing is daily.
Because the pen meters the dose, you never reconstitute or draw a Saxenda pen. The math only appears with a compounded liraglutide vial.
- Once-daily dosing (not weekly)
- Typical steps: 0.6 → 1.2 → 1.8 → 2.4 → 3.0 mg per day
- Pen dials the dose — no reconstitution or unit math
How is a compounded liraglutide vial different from a Saxenda pen?
A compounded liraglutide vial is reconstituted and drawn by hand, unlike a Saxenda pen. With daily dosing, a vial is used across many days, so the reconstitution date and beyond-use date matter — and you convert each daily dose into a draw volume and syringe units yourself.
On Saxenda pens you do not need the calculator. On a compounded vial dosed to a comparable daily schedule, the liraglutide calculator below turns each step into the units to draw.
- Pen = dialled daily dose, no math
- Compounded vial = you calculate the daily draw and units
- Track the beyond-use date — one vial spans many days
Saxenda calculator: compounded liraglutide units for each dose step
The Saxenda pen dials each daily dose, so a “Saxenda calculator” is really a compounded liraglutide calculator: units = dose (mg) ÷ concentration (mg/mL) × 100 on a U-100 syringe.
At 6 mg/mL (the strength of a Saxenda pen), each daily step works out as below. Run your own vial in the calculator above if its strength differs.
- 0.6 mg = 0.1 mL = 10 units
- 1.2 mg = 0.2 mL = 20 units
- 1.8 mg = 0.3 mL = 30 units
- 2.4 mg = 0.4 mL = 40 units
- 3.0 mg = 0.5 mL = 50 units
Compounded liraglutide reference
U-100 units to draw for each common Liraglutide dose, by vial size, reconstituted with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water. Change the water volume in the calculator above to recompute for your own setup.
| Vial | Concentration | 600 mcg | 1.2 mg | 1.8 mg | 2.4 mg | 3 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 5 mg/mL | 12 u(0.12 mL) | 24 u(0.24 mL) | 36 u(0.36 mL) | 48 u(0.48 mL) | 60 u(0.6 mL) |
| 18 mg | 9 mg/mL | 6.7 u(0.07 mL) | 13.3 u(0.13 mL) | 20 u(0.2 mL) | 26.7 u(0.27 mL) | 33.3 u(0.33 mL) |
Swipe the table to see every dose →
Educational reference only — not a dose recommendation. Units assume a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL on U-100). Always confirm against your own vial, diluent, and clinician or pharmacy instructions.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a calculator for Saxenda?
What are the Saxenda dose steps?
Why is Saxenda daily when Ozempic and Wegovy are weekly?
How many units is 0.6 mg of liraglutide?
Primary sources
The Saxenda label for the pen dose schedule, and the FDA's warning on dosing errors with compounded GLP-1 vials. PepSync makes no clinical claims.