TL;DR: AOD-9604 sells for $0.80-1.40/mg across reputable vendors in 2026, with 5mg vials ($35-65) the sweet spot for the standard 300 mcg/day protocol — roughly $20-40/month before any vendor discount.

AOD-9604 is the modified C-terminal fragment of human growth hormone, engineered to keep the lipolytic (fat-burning) signal while stripping out the blood-glucose and IGF-1 effects of full-length hGH. It stalled in Phase IIb for obesity — not on safety, but because the weight-loss signal was too modest to justify a new drug. That ended its pharma career and launched its research-peptide one.

This guide covers what to pay per milligram, how to pick between 2mg and 5mg vials, what a real COA for a 15-residue peptide should show, and the three vendors worth your order. AOD-9604 is cheap to synthesize correctly, so there is no excuse for a vendor to skip third-party testing.

This is not a ranked vendor list — for that, see our Best AOD-9604 Vendors comparison. This guide teaches you how to evaluate any vendor yourself.

Understanding AOD-9604 (5AD) Pricing

AOD-9604 (5AD) ships as a lyophilized powder in sealed glass vials, typically 2mg, 5mg, or 10mg. Three factors move price: vial size (bigger is cheaper per mg), vendor reputation/testing overhead, and whether the vendor runs active promotions. The spread across reputable vendors is tight — roughly $0.80-1.40/mg — and anything below that range on a 15-amino-acid peptide should raise a quality flag.

Current Market Pricing (2026)

The pattern is clear: 5mg is the sweet spot for most users. Jumping to 10mg drops per-mg cost another ~15% but stretches past the stability window unless you split reconstitution.

Cheapest single-vial option: Ascension Peptides’s 50% off drops the 5mg vial to $32.49 ($6.50/mg effective) — the lowest effective price we track for buying one vial. Get the code →

Cost Per Week at Common Doses

For current vendor-specific pricing with exact $/mg breakdowns, see our Best AOD-9604 Vendors comparison.

How to Verify AOD-9604 Quality

AOD-9604 (5AD) is a 16-amino-acid modified hGH fragment (hGH 177-191 + N-terminal tyrosine) with a molecular weight of approximately 1,815.1 Da. It’s small, well-characterized, and straightforward to synthesize — which means contamination or sequence errors on a modern COA are inexcusable, not unavoidable.

What a COA (Certificate of Analysis) Should Include

Identity Confirmation

• Mass spectrometry confirming correct molecular weight (~1,815.1 Da for AOD-9604)
• Amino acid sequence verification matching Tyr-Leu-Arg-Ile-Val-Gln-Cys-Arg-Ser-Val-Glu-Gly-Ser-Cys-Gly-Phe

Purity Testing

• HPLC purity — look for 98%+ purity
• HPLC chromatogram should show a single dominant peak

Contamination Testing

• Endotoxin levels (bacterial contamination)
• Residual solvent analysis (acetonitrile, TFA)
• Heavy metals screening

How to Verify a COA Is Legitimate

1. Check the testing lab — Reputable labs include Janoshik Analytical, MZ Biolabs, and Colmaric Analyticals. “In-house” testing alone is a red flag.
2. Verify on the lab’s website — Janoshik COAs carry a task number verifiable at janoshik.com. No verifiable number means no trust.
3. Check the date — COAs should be within 6 months. Stale COAs may not reflect current batches.
4. Match the batch — The lot number on the COA must match what’s printed on your vial.
5. Look for the full PDF — Screenshots are trivially faked; demand the lab-letterhead PDF.

Red Flags to Avoid

• No COA available — walk away
• Only in-house testing — self-reported numbers are meaningless without independent verification
• Prices significantly below market — AOD under $0.60/mg across every size is a quality concern
• No contact information — legitimate vendors have real customer service
• Cryptocurrency only — top vendors accept crypto but also have card/ACH/Zelle rails
• No return or reship policy — reputable vendors stand behind their product

Choosing the Right Vial Size

Vial size selection is a tradeoff between per-mg cost and the reconstituted stability window.

The 28-Day Rule

Once mixed with bacteriostatic water, AOD-9604 is stable for up to 28 days refrigerated. Sterile water (no preservative) drops this to ~24 hours. That creates a simple rule: don’t reconstitute more than you can use in 28 days.

The 10mg vial at a single 300 mcg/day dose exceeds the 28-day window — split it across two reconstitutions, or step down to 5mg.

Solution: Only reconstitute what you’ll use in 28 days. Unreconstituted powder stays stable for months refrigerated.

Recommended Vial Size by Protocol

Tolerance testing or stack trials (2mg/day range):

• Start with a 2mg vial — low upfront cost to confirm tolerance before committing.

Standard fat-loss protocol (300 mcg/day):

• 5mg vial — lasts ~16 days at 300 mcg/day, inside the stability window, and the best per-mg value for most users.

Higher doses or GLP-1 stacks (300 mcg 2x/day):

• 10mg vial, reconstituted in halves — pair with a semaglutide or tirzepatide protocol for layered metabolic stacking.

Buying Multiple Smaller vs One Large Vial

Our recommendation: For nearly all users, a 5mg vial per ~16-day cycle hits the best balance of cost, freshness, and simplicity. Only move to 10mg if you’re dosing twice daily or running AOD-9604 (5AD) alongside a GLP-1.

Vendor Evaluation Methodology

When comparing AOD-9604 (5AD) vendors, we weight three factors.

Price Competitiveness (40%)

We normalize to cost per milligram across vial sizes. A vendor selling 10mg at $75 ($7.50/mg) beats one selling 5mg at $55 ($11/mg), all else equal.

COA & Testing (30%)

We check that COAs are from recognized third-party labs, recent (≤6 months), verifiable on the lab’s website, and cover identity, purity, and contamination.

Reputation (30%)

Peptide-forum feedback, shipping reliability, customer-service responsiveness, and multi-year operating history. Batch-recall history counts against a vendor even when the underlying issue was resolved.

Shipping and Storage

What to Expect When Your Order Arrives

Lyophilized AOD-9604 arrives as a white or off-white powder cake in a sealed glass vial. Check:

• Vial integrity — no cracks, rubber stopper seated, aluminum cap intact
• Powder appearance — solid cake or loose powder, NOT liquid or discolored
• Labeling — batch/lot, milligram content, “for research use only”
• Cold pack — reputable vendors ship with cold packs in warm months

Storage Guidelines

Key point: Keep unreconstituted vials refrigerated and only mix what you’ll use within 28 days. See our AOD-9604 reconstitution approach for mixing specifics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AOD-9604 legal to buy?

AOD-9604 is sold as a research chemical and is legal to purchase in most jurisdictions for laboratory use. It is not FDA-approved for human use — Phase IIb obesity trials ended because efficacy didn’t justify an NDA — and vendors label product “not for human consumption.”

How much does AOD-9604 cost per month?

At the community-standard 300 mcg/day, AOD-9604 runs about $20-40/month from a reputable vendor using 5mg vials. Twice-daily protocols or stacks push that to $60-110/month using 10mg vials.

What vial size should I buy?

For 300 mcg/day, a 5mg vial lasts about 16 days — inside the 28-day stability window and the best per-mg value. Choose 2mg only for tolerance testing, and 10mg only for twice-daily dosing or stacking.

What purity should I look for?

Look for vendors providing third-party COA testing showing 98%+ purity via HPLC, plus mass spec confirming the ~1,815.1 Da molecular weight. Use labs like Janoshik or MZ Biolabs whose results you can verify online.

Can I buy AOD-9604 from a pharmacy?

Historically some US compounding pharmacies carried AOD-9604, but with FDA’s 2026 peptide reclassification most have dropped it. It is now primarily available through research peptide vendors. Verify pharmacy availability in your state before assuming that’s an option.

How do I know if a vendor is trustworthy?

Check for third-party COA testing, verifiable lab results, responsive customer service, community reputation on peptide forums, consistent market-rate pricing (not suspiciously cheap), and a clear return/reship policy. See our Best AOD-9604 Vendors for pre-vetted options.

Related Guides

• Best AOD-9604 Vendors — ranked vendor comparison with live pricing
• AOD-9604 Dosing Guide — 300 mcg/day protocol, timing, and cycling
• AOD-9604 Benefits — what the fragment actually does vs full-length hGH
• AOD-9604 Results Timeline — week-by-week expectations
• Compare AOD-9604 Prices by $/mg — every vendor ranked side by side
• Calculate Your AOD-9604 Cycle Cost — estimate vials and total cost
• Current Peptide Deals & Coupons — active vendor discount codes

Related Reading

• Semaglutide Dosing Guide — the GLP-1 half of the common AOD + GLP-1 stack
• Tirzepatide Dosing Guide — dual-agonist pairing with AOD for layered fat loss
• Best Peptides for Fat Loss — where AOD fits in a full weight-loss toolkit

References

This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before using any peptide.