Direct Meds vs Oak
Two GLP-1 desks, one scoreboard. We put Direct Meds and Oak head-to-head on the published Brief Score — the same six factors, scored the same way.
Direct Meds
FDA warning letter, September 2025 — issued to directmeds.com, Inc. dba DirectMeds. See the FDA's warning letter database.
The verdict
Direct Meds takes this head-to-head.
Direct Meds scores 82 to 43 on our six-factor Brief Score — A newer (2024) compounding desk whose real hook is form: it runs an oral/sublingual line alongside the usual injections, on both molecules, with no membership tacked on.
That doesn't make Oak a bad call — it's best for readers weighing oak specifically who want to know what it does and does not publish before handing over 29 questions' worth of medical history — not readers trying to compare a price today. Weigh the six factors below against your own priorities before you decide.
Assume any provider we list may compensate us — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes the Brief Score.
Factor by factor
Both desks scored on the six published Brief Score factors. The higher score in each row is marked. See the methodology.
Price, coverage & the tracker
| Direct Meds | Oak | |
|---|---|---|
| Brief Score | 82/100 (B−) | 43/100 (C) |
| Semaglutide | $249/mo sublingual · $297/mo injectable | $250/mo (one flat rate at every dose), read on its order form the afternoon of 15 August; it showed $200/mo that morning |
| Tirzepatide | $299/mo sublingual · $399/mo injectable | $300/mo (one flat rate at every dose), read on its order form the afternoon of 15 August; it showed $250/mo that morning |
| Coverage | Not publicly listed | Coverage not published |
| Brand-name access | Compounded only | Compounded only |
| Oral / sublingual | Yes | Yes |
| On the tracker | Stableprice stable | Newnew to the tracker, no prior reading |
Direct Meds: Company-stated rates unchanged this cycle — but we price these off the desk's own listings, not a live-verified checkout, so treat them as indicative.
Oak: Re-read twice on 15 August 2026 with a real browser and no form input, and the figures MOVED BETWEEN THE TWO READS. In the morning its order form showed $200/mo for compounded semaglutide and $250 for tirzepatide; that afternoon, same URL, same entry path, browser storage cleared as a control, it showed $250 and $300 with the strike-throughs gone and every brand line $100 higher. What is stable is WHERE the price is: on the first screen of its order form, before a single question. The tracker previously carried no figure because the ladder was believed to be behind a 29-question intake — it is not, it is in front of it. What remains true is that Oak advertises nine different "starting" prices at once — $119, $133, $160, $167, $180, $185, $190, $199 and $250 — attaches a term to none, and that its headline "$133 / $199" is the three-month prepay under code OAKSAVE200, billed upfront.
● Not sold on either?
CoreAge Rx tops the whole ranking at 94/100.
The steadiest desk in the ranking: one flat, no-step-up price on both molecules, nationwide, and it hasn't moved.
Pricing, states and access reflect each provider's public disclosures at last review; the Brief Score is our editorial judgment per the methodology. Prices change — confirm on each provider's site. Not medical advice; see our disclosure.