Mounjaro UK conversion to mL and units
…and why pen strength (mg) changes how many units you draw
Heads-up: this is general information for UK readers. Always follow your own prescriber's advice.
Why this matters: In the UK, Mounjaro (tirzepatide) pens deliver a fixed 0.6 mL per injection. Syringes often show units rather than mL on a U-100 scale. The tables and examples below show how units ↔ mL ↔ mg relate for each UK pen strength, so you can understand the maths.
UK quick facts
- Dose volume per injection: 0.6 mL for all strengths
- Doses per pen: 4 per pen → total 2.4 mL per pen
- Available strengths (per dose): 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, 15 mg
The three quantities: units, mL, mg
- mL is the volume of liquid.
- mg is the amount of medicine in that liquid.
- Units on a U-100 insulin syringe are just another way to show volume: 100 units = 1.00 mL.
A simple analogy:
Think of making squash in a measuring jug.
- The jug volume is in mL.
- The strength depends on how much concentrate you add. That's like mg per mL in a pen.
- The tick marks on the jug help you pour precisely. A U-100 syringe is like a jug with 100 tiny ticks per mL.
So 1 unit = 0.01 mL.
Same mL can contain different mg depending on the pen's strength. That is why pen strength (mg) changes how many units you draw to reach the same mg.

What is a U-100 syringe?
A U-100 syringe shows volume in units where:
- 100 units = 1.00 mL
- 10 units = 0.10 mL
- 60 units = 0.60 mL
This aligns neatly with UK Mounjaro's per-injection volume of 0.6 mL.

Worked examples
Example 1: 40 units from a 5 mg UK pen
If you draw 40 units, that is 0.40 mL. A UK 5 mg pen delivers 5 mg in 0.6 mL, so 0.40 mL corresponds to about 3.33 mg. In words: forty units from a 5 mg pen gives roughly three and a third milligrams.
Example 2: aiming for about 3 mg at different strengths
From a 5 mg pen, about 3 mg is 36 units. From a 10 mg pen, about 3 mg is 18 units. Same mg, fewer units from the stronger pen.
Example 3: reading back from units to mg
If you took 24 units from a 7.5 mg pen, that is 0.24 mL. Because the 7.5 mg pen is stronger per mL, 0.24 mL equals about 3 mg.
Master conversion table (UK)
How to read this: If you want about 3 mg from a 5 mg pen, look down the 5 mg pen column. You'll see 36 units ≈ 3.000 mg and 40 units ≈ 3.333 mg. For the same ~3 mg from a 10 mg pen, the 10 mg pen column shows 18 units = 3.000 mg.
This shows why pen strength matters: stronger pens need fewer units for the same mg.
U-100 syringe; rows are units (5 → 60). "mL" is the same for all pens. Each pen column shows what that volume contains in mg for that UK strength (0.6 mL per injection).
Units | mL | 2.5 mg pen | 5 mg pen | 7.5 mg pen | 10 mg pen | 12.5 mg pen | 15 mg pen |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 0.05 | 0.208 | 0.417 | 0.625 | 0.833 | 1.042 | 1.250 |
10 | 0.10 | 0.417 | 0.833 | 1.250 | 1.667 | 2.083 | 2.500 |
15 | 0.15 | 0.625 | 1.250 | 1.875 | 2.500 | 3.125 | 3.750 |
20 | 0.20 | 0.833 | 1.667 | 2.500 | 3.333 | 4.167 | 5.000 |
25 | 0.25 | 1.042 | 2.083 | 3.125 | 4.167 | 5.208 | 6.250 |
30 | 0.30 | 1.250 | 2.500 | 3.750 | 5.000 | 6.250 | 7.500 |
35 | 0.35 | 1.458 | 2.917 | 4.375 | 5.833 | 7.292 | 8.750 |
40 | 0.40 | 1.667 | 3.333 | 5.000 | 6.667 | 8.333 | 10.000 |
45 | 0.45 | 1.875 | 3.750 | 5.625 | 7.500 | 9.375 | 11.250 |
50 | 0.50 | 2.083 | 4.167 | 6.250 | 8.333 | 10.417 | 12.500 |
55 | 0.55 | 2.292 | 4.583 | 6.875 | 9.167 | 11.458 | 13.750 |
60 | 0.60 | 2.500 | 5.000 | 7.500 | 10.000 | 12.500 | 15.000 |
Target dose look-up (by pen strength)
You can also read the maths this way: pick your target mg, then read across to find the units for each pen strength.
Using the same example: with a 5 mg pen and about 3 mg, the row shows 36 units. With a 10 mg pen for about 3 mg, the row shows 18 units.
Pen strength | 0.5 mg | 1.0 mg | 2.5 mg | 3.0 mg | 5.0 mg |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2.5 mg | 12 u | 24 u | 60 u | 72 u* | — |
5 mg | 6 u | 12 u | 30 u | 36 u | 60 u |
7.5 mg | 4 u | 8 u | 20 u | 24 u | 40 u |
10 mg | 3 u | 6 u | 15 u | 18 u | 30 u |
12.5 mg | 2–3 u | 5 u | 12 u | 14–15 u | 24 u |
15 mg | 2 u | 4 u | 10 u | 12 u | 20 u |
*72 units exceeds 0.6 mL, which is more than one labelled UK dose volume.
Try the dose tracker free – log units, mL and mg with automatic UK conversions.
Get StartedWhy "real-world use" can differ from the theoretical maths
The tables show pure arithmetic based on volume and strength. For example, a 5 mg pen contains about 20 mg in total, so you can calculate how many draws you'd get at a given mg.
In real-world use, the device and label rules limit that arithmetic:
- The UK pen is designed for four weekly injections of 0.6 mL each.
- Leftover liquid may remain after four doses to ensure accurate delivery, but you are instructed to discard the pen and not use any remainder.
- There is an in-use time limit after first use (for example, discard after 30 days), which can cap how much is usable from a pen.
So even if the maths suggests "more is left", the instructions for use take priority.
References
European Medicines Agency
KDL Nursing Centre
Written by Anna Bromley, Healthcount Founder
Last reviewed: October 2025