What is the cheapest vitamin C?
Our picks, each format ranked separately: Capsules and tablets: Nature Made Vitamin C Extra Strength 1000 mg (300 tablets); gummies and chewables: Nature Made Chewable Vitamin C 500 mg (150 tablets). Where to buy
Vitamin C is sold as capsules and tablets, powders, gummies and liposomal products, and each is ranked only against its own kind. Here is the cheapest per 1,000 mg in each of the 4 formats we price, side by side and not ranked against each other.
Every figure is per 1,000 mg as the brand's Supplement Facts panel prints it, before delivery. That amount is the unit this site prices vitamin C against so that different strengths compare at all; it is not a recommendation about what to take.
| Format | Cheapest per 1,000 mg | Units per 1,000 mg | Priced | Cheapest product |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capsules, softgels and tablets | $0.083 | 1.0 capsule | 27 | Nutricost Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg (240 capsules) Panel also prints rose hip powder 25 mg buy |
| Powder | $0.027 | n/a | 22 | BulkSupplements.com Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Powder (1 kg) buy |
| Gummies and chewables | $0.183 | 2.0 chewables | 16 | Nutricost Vitamin C Chewable 1,000 mg (240 chewable tablets) buy |
| Liposomal | $0.244 | 1.3 capsules | 11 | Nutricost Liposomal Vitamin C 1,500 mg (120 capsules) buy |
Capsules, softgels and tablets
Cheapest of the 27 we can price: Nutricost Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg (240 capsules), whose panel also prints rose hip powder 25 mg, at $0.083 per 1,000 mg. 2 more have no current price. The cheapest confirmed at the package by USP is Nature Made Vitamin C Extra Strength 1000 mg (300 tablets) at $0.138.
| Product | Form on the panel | Per 1,000 mg | Container | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutricost Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg (240 capsules) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints rose hip powder 25 mg | $0.083 | $19.97 | D |
| Sports Research Vitamin C 1,000 mg (240 veggie capsules) | ascorbic acid | $0.096 | $22.95 | D |
| BulkSupplements.com Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 1,000 mg (360 capsules) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.111 | $19.97 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 500 mg (500 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.13 | $32.39 | A? |
| Nutricost Vitamin C 500 mg (240 capsules) | ascorbic acid | $0.133 | $15.97 | D |
| Nutricost Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg (120 capsules) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints rose hip powder 25 mg | $0.133 | $15.97 | D |
| BulkSupplements.com Vitamin C with Zinc 1,000 mg (360 capsules) | Ascorbic Acid; the panel also prints zinc (as zinc glycinate) 15 mg | $0.133 | $23.96 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C Extra Strength 1000 mg (300 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.138 | $41.39 | A |
| Nutricost Vitamin C with Zinc 1,000 mg (240 capsules) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints zinc 45 mg | $0.141 | $16.97 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 500 mg (250 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.144 | $17.99 | A? |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 500 mg (100 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.16 | $7.99 | A |
| Nature Made Vitamin C Extra Strength 1000 mg (100 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.162 | $16.19 | A |
| Micro Ingredients Pure Vitamin C 2,000 mg (240 capsules) | ascorbic acid + ascorbyl palmitate | $0.175 | $27.95 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 500 mg with Rose Hips (130 caplets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.188 | $12.19 | A |
| Nutricost Buffered Vitamin C 1,000 mg (120 capsules) | sodium ascorbate + calcium ascorbate + magnesium ascorbate | $0.249 | $14.97 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 1000 mg Time Release with Rose Hips (60 tablets) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.27 | $16.19 | D |
| Thorne Vitamin C 1,000 mg (60 capsules) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.317 | $19.00 | C |
| Nutricost Vitamin C with Rose Hips 1,000 mg (30 capsules) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints rose hip powder 25 mg | $0.332 | $9.97 | D |
| BUBS Naturals BUBS Boost Vitamin C (90 capsules) | Ascorbic Acid; the panel also prints citrus bioflavonoid complex 75 mg | $0.444 | $20.00 | D |
| Nature Made Vitamin C 500 mg (60 softgels) | Ascorbic Acid | $0.466 | $13.99 | A |
| BulkSupplements.com Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C Ester) 200 mg (240 capsules) | Ascorbyl Palmitate | $0.479 | $22.97 | D |
| Thorne Vitamin C with Flavonoids (90 capsules) | Ascorbic Acid; the panel also prints citrus bioflavonoids 75 mg | $0.511 | $23.00 | C |
| MegaFood Ultra C-400 mg (90 tablets) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints food blend 575 mg (organic orange, organic brown rice, organic cranberry, organic blueberry, organic broccoli head, organic parsley leaf, carrot, organic beetroot) | $1.06 | $37.99 | D |
| MegaFood Complex C (180 tablets) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints food blend 536 mg (organic brown rice, organic orange, organic amla fruit, organic rose hip fruit, organic cranberry, organic green bell pepper, organic wild blueberry) | $1.24 | $55.99 | D |
| MegaFood Ultra C-400 mg (60 tablets) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints food blend 575 mg (organic orange, organic brown rice, organic cranberry, organic blueberry, organic broccoli head, organic parsley leaf, carrot, organic beetroot) | $1.25 | $29.99 | D |
| MegaFood Complex C (90 tablets) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints food blend 536 mg (organic brown rice, organic orange, organic amla fruit, organic rose hip fruit, organic cranberry, organic green bell pepper, organic wild blueberry) | $1.47 | $32.99 | D |
| MegaFood Complex C (60 tablets) | ascorbic acid; the panel also prints food blend 536 mg (organic brown rice, organic orange, organic amla fruit, organic rose hip fruit, organic cranberry, organic green bell pepper, organic wild blueberry) | $1.73 | $25.99 | D |
Powder
Cheapest of the 22 we can price: BulkSupplements.com Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Powder (1 kg) at $0.027 per 1,000 mg. 2 more have no current price.
Gummies and chewables
Cheapest of the 16 we can price: Nutricost Vitamin C Chewable 1,000 mg (240 chewable tablets) at $0.183 per 1,000 mg. The cheapest confirmed at the package by USP is Nature Made Chewable Vitamin C 500 mg (150 tablets) at $0.296.
Liposomal
Cheapest of the 11 we can price: Nutricost Liposomal Vitamin C 1,500 mg (120 capsules) at $0.244 per 1,000 mg. One more has no current price.
Where to buy: the vitamin C shortlist
The pick is the cheapest certified product, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no adverse finding on record, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving; per delivered dose where the retailer publishes a delivery rate. Where none does, it is the cheapest such product before delivery, and it says how far the order is from free delivery. It is the same pick the category page shows. Any answer shown beside it is the cheapest under a different rule and says so on its own line; answers that cost more than the pick fold under one line until you ask for them.
How these lines are chosen
Among 29 products and 29 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
How these lines are chosen
Among 24 products and 24 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
A pick has to be independently certified, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, and carry no recall or failed test. Nothing we track here is yet. Each of these misses at least one bar, and says which:
How these lines are chosen
Among 16 products and 16 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
How these lines are chosen
Among 12 products and 12 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
A pick has to be independently certified, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, and carry no recall or failed test. Nothing we track here is yet. Each of these misses at least one bar, and says which:
Full comparison of every product in this category: Vitamin C. Every question we answer: the question index.
What this rests on: prices we last recorded at the retailer named on each product page, which go stale, and each page says when it was checked; the products we track, not every product sold, and Amazon and Walmart are not among the stores; listings and labels read at the source, each linked from the page. Found an error? Tell us. The full method: How we compare.