Cheapest creatine gummies: price per 5 g vs powder
Creatine gummies ranked by price per 5 g of creatine, not per jar. Why 3 g servings mislead, what a month costs, and how gummies compare with powder.
Guides
Supplement buying guides
What the label means, how much people take, and what it costs per serving at cheaper brands.
Reading labels and prices
Best value supplements in 2026: one top pick for every list
The single best-value pick on every Value Servings list today, from creatine to vitamin D3, and why cheap brands are just as good for simple ingredients.
Proprietary blends: what a supplement label can hide
A proprietary blend lists a total weight but not how much of each ingredient is inside. What US label rules require and how to estimate the dose.
How to read a Supplement Facts label: serving size, elemental amounts and blends
A guide to the back of the bottle: serving size, % Daily Value, the 'as' in parentheses, proprietary blends, and traps that make cheap look expensive.
Supplement gummies: what you really pay per dose
Creatine, melatonin, collagen and fish oil gummies cost several times more per dose than powder or pills, and lab tests keep finding doses that are off.
How to tell if a supplement is third-party tested (NSF, USP, Informed Sport, IFOS)
The FDA does not approve supplements before sale. What each seal checks, how to verify one in the certifier's database, and what 'lab tested' really means.
How to compare supplement prices per serving
The sticker price is the package, not the serving. How to work out the real cost per dose for creatine, fish oil, magnesium and more.
Creatine monohydrate
Creatine powder vs capsules: cost per 5 g and pill count
Creatine capsules usually hold 750 mg or 1,000 mg each, so 5 g takes five to seven pills. How to compare them with powder per 5 g, and when they are worth it.
Creatine for women: dose, benefits, water weight and safety
What research says about creatine for women, the 3 to 5 g dose, water weight and bloating, pregnancy caution, and how to compare women's creatine on price.
Best creatine monohydrate in 2026: top 5 picks by price per 5 g
The five best-value creatine monohydrate powders right now, ranked by real cost per 5 g, plus the cheapest third-party tested option.
Does creatine brand matter? Cheap monohydrate vs Creapure vs NSF
Creatine monohydrate is one molecule. What extra money buys at premium brands (Creapure, NSF Certified for Sport) and what the cheapest tubs cost per 5 g.
Are creatine gummies worth it? Price per 5 g and the testing problem
Creatine gummies cost several times more per 5 g than powder, and 2024 lab tests found some had little or no creatine. What to check before you buy.
Creatine HCl (hydrochloride) vs monohydrate: is HCl worth the price?
Creatine hydrochloride (HCl) dissolves better, but no published trials show it works better than monohydrate, and it costs several times more per gram.
Do you need to load creatine? Dose, timing, coffee and cycling
Loading is optional. 3 to 5 g a day fills your muscles in about a month; 20 g a day for a week is faster. Timing, coffee, and why cycling is unnecessary.
Creatine side effects: hair loss, kidneys, bloating and water weight
What the evidence says about common creatine worries. A 2025 trial found no change in DHT or hair; kidney tests can read high without kidney harm.
Fish oil
Is Nature Made fish oil a good deal? Cost per g EPA + DHA
Nature Made 1,000 mg fish oil has 250 mg of EPA + DHA per softgel. What that means per gram of omega-3, how many softgels it takes, and what costs less.
How much EPA and DHA per day? Doses and what they cost
The EPA + DHA amounts behind common advice, what the VITAL, REDUCE-IT and STRENGTH trials used, the atrial fibrillation signal, and what a daily dose costs.
Best fish oil in 2026: top 5 picks by cost per gram of EPA + DHA
The five best-value fish oils right now, ranked by what you pay per gram of EPA + DHA rather than per softgel, including the cheapest IFOS-tested bottle.
Algae oil vs fish oil: omega-3 for people who don't eat fish
Algae oil gives vegans DHA and often EPA directly. It usually costs more per gram of EPA + DHA than fish oil. How to compare them fairly.
1,000 mg fish oil is not 1,000 mg omega-3: how to read EPA + DHA
A typical 1,000 mg fish oil softgel has about 300 mg of EPA + DHA. How to read the label, how much people take, fish burps, and the real cost per gram.
Magnesium glycinate
Best magnesium glycinate 2026: top 5 per 100 mg elemental
The best-value magnesium glycinate right now, ranked by cost per 100 mg of elemental magnesium, plus the best powder and softgel and the label traps to avoid.
Magnesium glycinate vs citrate: which one for sleep, stress or constipation?
Glycinate is gentle on the gut; citrate absorbs well but loosens stools. How they compare on elemental magnesium, side effects, uses and price per 100 mg.
Magnesium glycinate: elemental dose, label tricks, and how much for sleep
1,000 mg of magnesium glycinate gives about 140 mg of elemental magnesium (14%). How to find the elemental dose on a label and spot oxide blends.
Whey isolate
Best whey protein isolate 2026: cost per 25 g protein
The best-value whey isolates right now, ranked by what you pay for 25 g of protein rather than per scoop or per tub, plus how to spot a blend sold as isolate.
Whey isolate vs concentrate: is isolate worth it? Price per 25 g protein
Isolate is at least 90% protein with very little lactose; concentrate is cheaper and fine for many people. Compare tubs by cost per 25 g of protein.
Whey concentrate
Protein powder label: scoop weight vs grams of protein
A protein scoop is not all protein. How to find the protein share of a scoop, read the ingredients, spot amino spiking, and compare price per 25 g of protein.
Cheapest whey protein: price per 25 g of protein
The cheapest whey protein has the lowest price per gram of protein. How to work it out from the label, why scoop size misleads, and which tubs cost least now.
Collagen peptides
Vital Proteins collagen alternatives: cost per 10 g
Vital Proteins has 20 g of bovine collagen peptides per scoop. How cheaper collagen peptides compare per 10 g, and what to match on the label before you switch.
Best collagen peptides 2026: price per 10 g
Collagen peptide powders ranked by price per 10 g against Vital Proteins, the cheapest third-party tested pick, and what the research does and doesn't support.
Is collagen worth it? What studies show and what 10 g really costs
A 2025 meta-analysis found collagen's skin benefits disappeared in studies not funded by industry. What collagen can and can't do, and the price per 10 g.
Caffeine pills
Caffeine and L-theanine: dose, ratio, and cost
Why caffeine is paired with L-theanine, the doses and ratios used in studies, what the research found for attention, and combo pills vs separate pills.
Best caffeine pills 2026: cheapest per 200 mg
Caffeine pills ranked by price per 200 mg, with the cheapest tablets and capsules, how they compare with Vivarin and coffee, and the FDA's 400 mg daily limit.
Caffeine pills vs coffee: cost per 200 mg, and why 100 mg may be better
A 200 mg caffeine pill costs a few cents; the same caffeine from a coffee shop costs dollars. Pills vs coffee, 100 vs 200 mg, and the 400 mg daily limit.
Electrolytes
Liquid I.V. vs cheaper electrolytes: cost per 500 mg sodium
Liquid I.V. has 500 mg of sodium per stick. How to compare it with cheaper sticks and tubs per 500 mg of sodium, the sugar question, and when a mix is worth it.
Best electrolyte powders 2026: most sodium per dollar
Electrolyte mixes ranked by price per 500 mg of sodium, with stick packs, capsules and bulk tubs, and how the labels compare with Liquid I.V. and LMNT.
Cheaper LMNT alternatives: electrolyte cost per 500 mg sodium (and DIY)
LMNT costs about $1.50 a stick for 1,000 mg sodium. What the same sodium costs from other mixes and plain salt, and who should be careful.
Psyllium
Psyllium for cholesterol: dose, timing and cost
A meta-analysis of 28 trials found about 10 g of psyllium a day lowered LDL by roughly 13 mg/dL. The dose, medication spacing, and what it costs per day.
Metamucil vs generic psyllium: are you overpaying for fiber?
Metamucil and generic psyllium husk are the same fiber. Compare by grams of fiber, not scoops. Powder vs caps, sweeteners, gas, and how much water.
Melatonin
Melatonin for jet lag: dose and timing that actually work
A Cochrane review found 0.5 to 5 mg of melatonin at destination bedtime reduced jet lag after long eastward flights. When to take it, what dose, and the cost.
Melatonin dose: why 0.5–1 mg often beats 10 mg (and the hangover)
Studies used 0.3 to 5 mg, yet stores stock 10 mg. Why high doses cause next-day grogginess, what gummy tests found, and how to buy a small dose cheaply.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 drops vs softgels: absorption, dose and cost
Vitamin D3 drops and softgels often both carry D3 in oil. How they compare on absorption, how exact a drop is, and how to work out the cost per 2,000 IU.
Vitamin D3 with K2: do you need the combo?
Why D3 + K2 combos are popular, what the MK-7 bone trials found, the warfarin warning, and how to check whether a D3 + K2 combo is worth paying for.
Best vitamin D3 in 2026: top 5 picks by price per 2,000 IU
The best-value vitamin D3 supplements right now, ranked by cost per 2,000 IU, plus how to choose a dose that stays under the 4,000 IU upper limit.
Vitamin D3: 2,000 or 5,000 IU? Dose, K2, testing and cost
The US upper limit for vitamin D is 4,000 IU a day, yet 5,000 IU is the internet default. What guidelines say, K2, blood tests, and cost per 2,000 IU.
Zinc
Best zinc supplements 2026: price per 15 mg elemental
Zinc glycinate ranked by price per 15 mg of elemental zinc, why the cheapest bottles are 50 mg, the 40 mg upper limit, and when Thorne is worth the price.
Zinc for colds: do lozenges work, and how much is too much?
What the 2024 Cochrane review and lozenge trials found on zinc for colds, the doses used, why nasal zinc is out, the 40 mg limit, and daily zinc cost.
Zinc nausea: why zinc makes you sick and which zinc to buy
Zinc on an empty stomach often causes nausea. How much zinc adults need, glycinate vs picolinate vs oxide, the 40 mg limit, and cost per 15 mg.
L-theanine
L-theanine for sleep and stress: doses, trials and cost
What trials found for L-theanine and sleep or stress, the 200 to 400 mg doses they used, where the evidence stops, and what 200 mg costs today.
Cheapest L-theanine: price per 200 mg, powder vs capsules
How to find the cheapest L-theanine by price per 200 mg, why bulk powder costs less than capsules, and what to check on the label before you buy.
Ashwagandha (KSM-66)
Ashwagandha side effects: liver, thyroid, who should avoid
What NIH's NCCIH and published studies say about ashwagandha side effects: rare liver injury, thyroid changes, pregnancy, surgery and drug interactions.
Ashwagandha gummies vs capsules: cost per 600 mg
Ashwagandha gummies hold less KSM-66 per piece than capsules. How many you need for 600 mg, the sugar that comes with it, and the cost per 600 mg vs capsules.
KSM-66 vs ashwagandha root powder: dose and cost
KSM-66 is a branded root extract and root powder is plain ground root. What that means for dose, what the trials used, and how to compare prices.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine tingle: why, how much, and cost per 3.2 g
Why beta-alanine tingles at larger single doses, what the ISSN and NIH say about daily amounts and splitting the dose, and what it costs per 3.2 g today.
L-citrulline
L-citrulline vs citrulline malate: dose and cost per 6 g
Citrulline malate is part malic acid, so 8 g of it is not 8 g of citrulline. How to convert doses, why the label ratio matters, and the cost per 6 g.
Creatine gummies
Cheapest creatine gummies: price per 5 g vs powder
Creatine gummies ranked by price per 5 g of creatine, not per jar. Why 3 g servings mislead, what a month costs, and how gummies compare with powder.
How much creatine is in a gummy? The label math
How to read a creatine gummy label, work out the grams of creatine per gummy, spot a serving below 3 g, and why the dose on the label can differ from a test.
