The Very Best Multivitamins

The market for vitamins can be complicated. Vitamins aren’t regulated by the FDA, so they don’t have the same strict regulations as, say, prescription drugs — instead, they’re seen as “generally safe until proven otherwise,” Maeng explains. Shapiro suggests choosing options that have been third-party tested “to make sure they contain what they say they contain.” Leann Poston, a physician and medical-content expert for Invigor Medical, suggests checking products for the seal from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Another thing to check for is the National Science Foundation’s Good Manufacturing Practices (NSF-GMP) certification, which naturopath Maura Henninger recommended when we went in search of the best drugstore vitamins. Labels like USP and NSF mean that a company has voluntarily gone “through rigorous audit processes to evaluate the quality of products,” Maeng points out.

Another way to assess multivitamin quality is to check that the vitamins inside are in their bioactive forms, which will be completely absorbed and used by your body. Typically, multivitamins will contain vitamins A through E, along with other metals and minerals like calcium, copper, and iron, explains Nicole Sohayegh, a registered dietitian with New York City Nutrition. Margeson says you want to see vitamin A listed as beta-carotene; iron as a citrate or other ferrous fumarate, sulfate, or gluconate; and folate as L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or 5 MTHF. “If these three ingredients are in the bioactive forms, then you can be sure most of the other ingredients are also bioactive,” she says. In addition, Poston advises shoppers to “look for multivitamins without additives such as herbs, dyes, and fillers.” All of the multivitamins on this list were recommended for their high-quality, absorbable ingredients.

Different people need different amounts of nutrients, according to Maeng — for example, iron and B12 are important for people who menstruate because they make essential red blood cells (not having enough of them can cause anemia). Since lots of blood can be lost during that time of the month, a multivitamin can help replenish iron and B12, which are essential for reproductive health and energy in general, Maeng says. And according to Morgan, multivitamins may be even more essential for older adults, because “as we age, the body can’t absorb quite as many nutrients as when we were young.” Miller suggests age-specific vitamins that include “higher levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D, and B vitamins.”

If you were a fan of Flintstones vitamins in your youth, here’s some good news: The market for gummy multivitamins has “truly exploded during the last few years,” according to Margeson. Gummy vitamins are an appealing option if you don’t like tablets and capsules. “They are easier to chew for certain populations, and everyone is more compliant with taking them because swallowing pills is difficult,” says gastroenterologist Niket Sonpal. But if you’re adding gummy multivitamins to your day-to-day menu, you’ll want to keep in mind their one downfall: They tend not to have the same levels of minerals as most tablets or capsules, Margeson says. Registered dietitian Robin Barrie Kaiden also mentions being wary of gummies made with lots of sugar, corn syrup, or highly processed oils like partially hydrogenated soybean oil (watch out for what’s listed on those back labels).

The more traditional forms of multivitamins are tablets and capsules, both of which are taken orally and deliver nutrients through digestion. There are a few differences between the two, however, that can make one or the other more preferable depending on your lifestyle and your needs. Tablets are made up of powdered ingredients that are formed into a hard pill. They have a longer shelf life than capsules and can be broken in half. They can also fit more vitamins and minerals in a single pill than can usually fit into one capsule. Capsules, meanwhile, tend to absorb more quickly and more effectively than tablets. And if you hate the taste of your tablet vitamins, switching to a capsule will help you avoid any bitter taste. Lastly, if you are vegan, you’ll want to check that your capsule vitamins don’t contain gelatin.

Taking three pills every morning might not bother you if your multivitamin is all you take on a daily basis. But if you’re regularly taking other medications, it can all start to add up to a queasy stomach. So for those people who really care about the number of tablets, capsules, or gummies needed to get the full dose of any given multivitamin, we’ve noted the daily dose for each product below.

Depending on the recommended dosage, one bottle could last you anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. We’ve calculated the approximate price per dose based on each product’s suggested dose per day.