Tirzepatide Dosage Chart and Titration Schedule
By DoseGauge Editorial · Updated 2026-06-12 · 7 min read
The tirzepatide dosage chart follows a fixed dose ladder set by the FDA label. You start at 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks, then move up in 2.5 mg steps no sooner than every 4 weeks. The six approved doses are 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 mg, and 15 mg once weekly is the maximum. The chart below is the FDA titration schedule for the approved tirzepatide products (Mounjaro and Zepbound), not a dose anyone should pick on their own.
The tirzepatide dosing chart
The FDA labels for Mounjaro and Zepbound describe the same titration: start at 2.5 mg, increase to 5 mg after 4 weeks, then raise the dose in 2.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks on the current dose, up to a maximum of 15 mg once weekly. The table maps that schedule to the typical week ranges.
| Phase | Weekly dose |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 4 (initiation) | 2.5 mg |
| Weeks 5 to 8 | 5 mg |
| Weeks 9 to 12 | 7.5 mg |
| Weeks 13 to 16 | 10 mg |
| Weeks 17 to 20 | 12.5 mg |
| Week 21 and beyond | 15 mg (maximum) |
A few points the label makes explicit. The 2.5 mg dose is a starting dose for initiation, not a maintenance dose. You do not have to reach 15 mg. The label allows stopping the increase once you reach a dose that works, so 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, and 12.5 mg are all valid maintenance doses. The 4-week interval is a minimum, so steps can be slower, but the next step should not come sooner.
How each dose converts to syringe units
The dosage chart tells you the milligrams. It does not tell you how far to draw the plunger, because that depends on how you reconstituted the vial. Tirzepatide ships as a lyophilized powder that you dissolve in bacteriostatic water. The volume of water you add sets the concentration:
concentration (mg/mL) = vial strength (mg) / water added (mL)
draw volume (mL) = dose (mg) / concentration (mg/mL)
units (U-100 syringe) = draw volume (mL) x 100
Worked example. Put 2 mL of bacteriostatic water into a 10 mg vial and the concentration is 5 mg/mL. A 2.5 mg dose is then 2.5 / 5 = 0.5 mL, which is 50 units on a U-100 insulin syringe. Change the water volume and every number changes: the same 10 mg vial in 1 mL is 10 mg/mL, so 2.5 mg becomes 0.25 mL, or 25 units.
Because the units depend on your specific vial and water amounts, the safest way to get the number is to compute it from your own inputs rather than copy someone else's.
To make the relationship concrete, here is the full dose ladder converted to units at two common concentrations. These are arithmetic conversions of the chart above, not dose suggestions.
| Weekly dose | At 5 mg/mL (e.g. 10 mg in 2 mL) | At 10 mg/mL (e.g. 30 mg in 3 mL) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 mg | 0.50 mL = 50 units | 0.25 mL = 25 units |
| 5 mg | 1.00 mL = 100 units | 0.50 mL = 50 units |
| 7.5 mg | 1.50 mL = 150 units | 0.75 mL = 75 units |
| 10 mg | 2.00 mL = 200 units | 1.00 mL = 100 units |
| 12.5 mg | 2.50 mL = 250 units | 1.25 mL = 125 units |
| 15 mg | 3.00 mL = 300 units | 1.50 mL = 150 units |
A standard U-100 insulin syringe holds 100 units (1 mL), so the higher doses at 5 mg/mL exceed one syringe and would need a more concentrated mix or more than one draw. That is one reason the concentration you pick at reconstitution matters as much as the dose itself. The calculator flags the draw volume so you can see whether a dose fits your syringe before you commit to a water volume.
CalculatorOpen the Tirzepatide dosage calculator ->Why titration matters
The step-up schedule exists for tolerability. The most common adverse reactions on tirzepatide are gastrointestinal: nausea, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting, constipation, dyspepsia, and abdominal pain. These tend to appear or intensify around dose increases, which is why the label spaces increases at least 4 weeks apart and starts at a low 2.5 mg dose that it does not count toward glycemic control.
Titrating slowly does not change the destination dose. It changes the path. The label frames the gradual increase as a way to reach the maintenance dose while limiting gastrointestinal effects, and it permits staying at a lower dose if that dose is doing the job.
The schedule also separates two ideas that are easy to confuse: the dose you are escalating toward and the dose you actually need. The label does not require everyone to climb to 15 mg. It describes increasing only if additional glycemic control is needed, after at least 4 weeks on the current dose. So a person can stabilize at 5 mg or 7.5 mg and never move higher, and that is consistent with the labeled schedule. The chart shows the full range of steps that exist, not a target every person is meant to hit.
One more practical note. The week ranges in the chart assume each step is held for the minimum 4 weeks. If a step is held longer, the calendar shifts later but the order of doses does not change. The sequence (2.5, then 5, then 2.5 mg increments) is fixed by the label; the pace is set in the clinic.
Frequently asked questions
Can you skip a titration step?
The label describes increasing the dose in 2.5 mg increments, not jumping multiple steps at once. It also sets the interval between increases at a minimum of 4 weeks. Moving faster or larger than that is outside the labeled schedule. A clinician makes that call, not a chart.
What is the maximum tirzepatide dose?
The maximum dose is 15 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for adults. There is no approved dose above 15 mg weekly, and the pediatric maximum in the diabetes label is lower at 10 mg weekly.
Do you have to reach 15 mg?
No. The label allows increasing only as far as needed and staying at a tolerated, effective dose. The maintenance dose can be 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 mg once weekly.
Why does the same dose give different units for different people?
Because units measure volume, not milligrams. The number of units depends on the concentration of your reconstituted vial, and concentration depends on how much bacteriostatic water you added. Two people on the same 5 mg dose will draw different unit counts if one mixed at 5 mg/mL and the other at 10 mg/mL. This is exactly why a chart of milligrams cannot also be a chart of units, and why the conversion has to use your own vial and water amounts.
Is the dosage chart the same for Mounjaro and Zepbound?
The titration structure is the same across the tirzepatide labels: start at 2.5 mg, step up in 2.5 mg increments at least 4 weeks apart, to a maximum of 15 mg once weekly. The indications and some details differ between the products, so the controlling document for any given person is the label for the specific product they were prescribed.
Informational and educational only. Not medical advice. DoseGauge computes from the values you enter and does not recommend a dose. Talk to a licensed clinician before using any peptide or GLP-1 medication.