Looking for the Best Multivitamins?
Compare over 100 Vitamin Brands and Find the Right One for You
Most multivitamins you buy at your local store are not carefully formulated to give you the optimal nutrition you need. Their manufacturers use low-quality ingredients that are not potent or bioavailable enough to be beneficial. They may meet the government’s recommended daily intake guidelines (or not), but they don’t use the nutrient forms that are most easily absorbed by your body.
For these reasons, the vast majority of multivitamins available today are simply not good enough to spend your hard-earned money on. You want the benefits of the best vitamin and mineral supplement you can find, but you’re not sure how to find the best multivitamins to take. We always recommend doing your own research instead of trying to wade through the marketing noise of most vitamin companies, and this Multivitamin Guide is a good start.
We’ve done exhaustive scientific analysis of over 100 vitamin brands, including popular supplements such as Centrum, One-A-Day, GNC, Shaklee, Nutrilite/Amway, Equate, Nature Made, NOW Foods, Melaleuca, and Puritan’s Pride. We’ve also included many brands that are not so recognizable, including Xtend-Life, Douglas Labs and USANA.
Each of the reviewed vitamins was evaluated against four criteria, including synergistic effect, composition, bioavailability, and potency. Each supplement received a score ranging from 0 to 10 to help you easily compare the effectiveness of the different brands and determine the best multivitamin to take.
How effective are the vitamins you currently take?
The table below provides a summary of the Effectiveness Scores of some of the more popular vitamin supplement brands available on the market. For the best vitamins, look for a score of 8.0 or above, which is considered excellent.
Most widely available supplements scored low in our review, while eight relatively unknown brands were the best scoring products.
Effectiveness scores of the most popular multivitamin brands
| Company | Product | Effectiveness | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21st Century | One Daily Maximum | 0.7 | 94 |
| 4Life | BioVitamins Type III | 4.5 | 55 |
| Absolute Nutrition | Dieters' Multi's | 2.7 | 77 |
| Action Labs | Essential Nutrients | 0.5 | 100 |
| Advanced Physician's Products | Maximum MultiVitamin/Mineral without Iron | 5.8 | 34 |
| amni | Added Protection III | 7.0 | 17 |
| Atkins | Basic #3 | 4.7 | 51 |
| Avon | VitAdvance Complete Multivitamin | 1.2 | 88 |
| Bronson Laboratories | Performance Edge | 4.5 | 56 |
| Centrum | Silver | 4.6 | 54 |
| Colgan Institute | Formula MCS | 6.4 | 26 |
| Country Life | Maxine | 4.4 | 58 |
| DaVinci Laboratories | Spectra | 6.8 | 21 |
| Doctor's Nutrition | Mega Vites | 6.8 | 20 |
| Douglas Laboratories | Ultra Preventive X | 9.4 | 2 |
| Dr. Julian Whitaker's | Forward Multi-Nutrient | 7.6 | 14 |
| EAS | Multi-Blend | 6.3 | 29 |
| EcoNugenics | Longevity Rhythms Gold | 5.8 | 35 |
| Equate | One Daily | 0.6 | 99 |
| Essentials by Megafood | Essentials for Life | 5.2 | 43 |
| Flora | MultiCaps | 1.2 | 89 |
| FoodScience of Vermont | Superior Care | 6.6 | 24 |
| Freeda Vitamins | Ultra Freeda Iron-Free | 2.7 | 79 |
| FreeLife | Reverse! | 8.6 | 6 |
| Garry Null's | Supreme Health Formula | 4.8 | 49 |
| Geritol | Complete | 0.4 | 101 |
| GNC | GNC Mega Men Sport | 6.9 | 19 |
| Good Neighbor Pharmacy | Balanced Care Complete Multi | 0.6 | 97 |
| Great Earth | TNT - Total Nutrition Tablet | 5.0 | 47 |
| Greens+ | Multi+ | 3.9 | 63 |
| Herbalife | Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex | 5.3 | 40 |
| Jamieson | Super Vita-Vim | 3.7 | 67 |
| Jarrow | Multi E-Z Powder | 5.0 | 46 |
| Jean Carper's | Stop Aging Now! | 6.0 | 32 |
| KAL | Multiple Energy | 5.2 | 42 |
| Karuna | Maxxum 4 | 7.9 | 10 |
| Kirkland Signature (Costco) | Daily Multi | 1.9 | 84 |
| Kroger | Advanced Formula Complete | 0.6 | 98 |
| Life Brand | Optimum | 0.6 | 96 |
| Life Extension Foundation | Life Extension Mix | 8.2 | 8 |
| Lifestyles | Lifecycles | 1.6 | 86 |
| Mannatech | PhytoMatrix | 6.2 | 30 |
| Matol | Matolife | 4.1 | 62 |
| Melaleuca | Vitality Pak | 5.3 | 39 |
| Metagenics | Multigenics Intensive Care | 7.2 | 15 |
| Michael's Naturopathic Programs | Pedia Vites | 3.8 | 64 |
| Mountain Naturals of Vermont | Superior Care | 7.1 | 16 |
| Natrol | My Favorite Multiple Original | 3.8 | 65 |
| Natural Factors | MultiStart | 5.9 | 33 |
| Nature Made | Multi Complete | 4.3 | 59 |
| Nature's Blend | Vitaminix Ultimate | 5.6 | 37 |
| Nature's Bounty | Green Source Vegetarian Formula | 4.1 | 61 |
| Nature's Plus | Uitra One | 2.0 | 83 |
| Nature's Sunshine | Super Supplemental Vitamins and Minerals | 2.7 | 78 |
| Nature's Way | Alive! Whole Food Energizer | 6.1 | 31 |
| Nikken | Kenzen Mega Daily 4 | 4.9 | 48 |
| NOW Foods | Multiple Vitamins - Liquid Gels | 6.4 | 28 |
| Nu-life | Ultimate One | 3.7 | 66 |
| Nutrilite (Amway, Quixtar) | Double X | 8.3 | 7 |
| Nutrition Dynamics | Optimum Health Essentials | 6.8 | 22 |
| One A Day | Essential | 4.5 | 57 |
| Optimox | Androvite | 5.1 | 44 |
| Perfect Choice | Multivitamin Specially Formulated | 2.9 | 73 |
| Pharmanex (Nu Skin) | LifePak Prime | 5.4 | 38 |
| PhytoPharmica | Clinical Nutrients | 4.7 | 53 |
| Pilgrim's | Silver Stars Multi | 2.7 | 76 |
| Puritan's Pride | High Potency Ultra Vita Time Release | 6.5 | 25 |
| Purity Products | Perfect Multi Focus Formula | 7.0 | 18 |
| QCI Nutritionals | Ultra Vitality #1 | 5.2 | 41 |
| Quest | Maximum Once A Day | 4.2 | 60 |
| Rainbow Light | Advanced Nutritional System | 6.4 | 27 |
| Reliv | Classic | 1.1 | 90 |
| Ripple Creek | Mega-100 (Slow Release) | 3.3 | 70 |
| Rite Aid | Whole Source | 0.8 | 93 |
| Safeway Select | Super Multivitamin | 2.9 | 72 |
| Schiff | Single Day | 2.4 | 82 |
| Shaklee | Vitalizer Gold | 8.9 | 4 |
| Sisu | Only One | 2.5 | 81 |
| Solaray | Iron-Free Spectro Multi-Vita-Min | 5.8 | 36 |
| Solgar | Omnium | 7.8 | 11 |
| Source Naturals | Life Force Multiple | 8.7 | 5 |
| SportPharma | Multiguard | 7.6 | 13 |
| Spring Valley | Maximum One Dally | 0.6 | 95 |
| Sundown | Complete Ultra | 0.9 | 91 |
| Sunkist | Multi-Men's | 1.7 | 85 |
| Swanson Ultra | Whole Food Multi without Iron | 5.0 | 45 |
| Swiss Natural Sources | Super Adult Chewable | 3.4 | 69 |
| Thompson | Human Nature Green Multi | 3.0 | 71 |
| Thorne Research | Al's Formula | 4.8 | 50 |
| TwinLab | Daily One Caps with Iron | 6.7 | 23 |
| Ultimate Nutrition | Super Complete | 7.7 | 12 |
| USANA Health Sciences | Essentials | 9.3 | 3 |
| Vitamin Power | Power Source 100 | 2.8 | 75 |
| Vitamin Research Products | Extended Plus | 7.9 | 9 |
| Vitamin World | Daily 3 With Antioxidant Factors | 4.7 | 52 |
| Walgreens | Ultra Choice Premium | 3.5 | 68 |
| Watkins | Superfood Multiple | 2.8 | 74 |
| Western Family | Multra Forte | 1.3 | 87 |
| Xtend-Life | Total Balance | 9.6 | 1 |
| YourLife | Super Multi with Herbs | 0.9 | 92 |
| ZonePerfect | Multi Vitamin & Mineral | 2.6 | 80 |
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