Magnesium glycinate vs citrate: what is the difference?
Our pick for each type, capsules and powder ranked separately: Glycinate, capsules: Nature Made High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200 mg (60 capsules); Glycinate, powder: Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate (60 servings); Citrate, capsules: Nature Made High Absorption Magnesium Citrate 250 mg (120 softgels); Citrate, powder: BulkSupplements.com Magnesium Citrate Powder (1 kg) (before delivery); L-Threonate: Momentous Magnesium L-Threonate (90 capsules) (before delivery). Types with no certified product are listed below. Where to buy
On the two things this site measures, what a dose costs and how much you have to swallow to get it, they are close. The cheapest single-salt glycinate capsule we track is $0.125 per 200 mg of elemental magnesium; the cheapest citrate capsule is $0.128.
Capsules here include softgels and tablets. Powders are priced only against other powders, on each type's own page.
The usual reason given for preferring glycinate is absorption and gentleness on the stomach, and citrate is commonly described as having a laxative effect at higher doses. Those are claims about physiology. We do not measure them and this page does not settle them. What it can tell you is the part people cannot easily check: what each actually costs per unit of magnesium, and what the panels say is in the bottle.
| Form | Cheapest capsule per 200 mg | Units per dose | Single-salt capsules | What the panel names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glycinate | $0.125 | 1.5 | 17 | Magnesium Glycinate |
| Citrate | $0.128 | 2.0 | 9 | Magnesium Citrate |
5 products whose own panel names a second magnesium salt are left out of these figures, so each column prices one form. They are still listed on the category pages: which products are blends.
The difference worth checking before the absorption argument
Before choosing between the two on bioavailability, it is worth checking that the glycinate you are comparing is entirely glycinate. Some products sold under that name list a second, cheaper salt on their own panel. See which magnesium products are one salt and which are blends.
Where to buy: the pick for each type
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.
How these lines are chosen
Among 19 products and 19 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 8 products and 8 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 9 products and 9 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 5 products and 5 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. No product here publishes a delivery rate below its free-delivery threshold, so the pick is priced before delivery.
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:
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:
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:
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 7 products and 7 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. No product here publishes a delivery rate below its free-delivery threshold, so the pick is priced before delivery.
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:
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:
- Is magnesium glycinate actually all glycinate?
- Which magnesium brands are third-party tested?
- Magnesium glycinate vs malate: what is the difference?
- Why is magnesium L-threonate so much more expensive?
- Magnesium citrate vs oxide: what is the difference?
- Magnesium glycinate vs taurate: what is the difference?
Full comparison of every product in this category: Magnesium. 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.