Fancy Multivitamins Cost $700 a Year. This $15 Option Is Just as Good.

These three steps can help you quickly zero in on a quality multivitamin for a great price.

First, decide what nutrients you need.

You might not need a multivitamin at all.

But if you could benefit from taking a multivitamin, it’s important to talk to your doctor about what nutrients you might be lacking, given your diet and specific health concerns, said Carol Haggans, a registered dietician who consults for the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS).

You needn’t stand in the aisle poring over labels. Most stores include ingredients lists, with online listings for products, and the ODS also maintains a database of supplement labels.

Next, look for independent verification.

CVS is a great place to shop because nearly all of the supplements are third-party–verified. The same is true for most Walgreens-brand and Costco Kirkland Signature products.

In the absence of independent verification, you’re better off sticking with well-known national brands, such as Centrum and One A Day, whose manufacturers have strict in-house quality-control protocols. Tod Cooperman, MD, founder and president of ConsumerLab.com (which tests supplements and other health and nutrition products), said he’s seen the most problems with smaller companies that cheap out on ingredients and don’t understand or don’t follow scientific testing protocols.

Then, shop by price.

An inexpensive, independently verified multivitamin is just as good as a product that costs 10 to 20 times more, according to our experts.

We recommend Costco’s Kirkland Signature Daily Multi or Adult 50+ Mature Multi. Those supplements will cover the nutritional bases for most people at a cost of only 4¢ per day.

If you don’t shop at Costco, 21st Century multivitamins, which are available at drugstores and online, are another good inexpensive choice.

You also can’t go wrong with Walgreens and CVS Health store-brand multivitamins, which typically cost 10¢ per day or less.

A vitamin’s price is definitely no indication of quality, said Cooperman. You typically need to spend only pennies a day to get a contaminant-free product that efficiently delivers the promised nutrients.

But that doesn’t mean you should just buy whatever is cheapest. There is a huge variation in supplement quality, according to research conducted by Pieter Cohen, MD, an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Cohen and his team found that 22 of 25 melatonin gummy supplements contained different amounts of the sleep-inducing hormone than what was listed on the label, according to a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA (subscription required).

One product contained 347% of the labeled amount of melatonin; another contained none at all.

Similarly, in ConsumerLab.com’s recent tests of multivitamins, more than a quarter of the products contained higher or lower levels of nutrients than their labels claimed.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements as it does food, rather than drugs. That means the agency does not scrutinize the quality of products before they reach the market, Cohen explained. It’s up to manufacturers to ensure that the supplements they sell are safe, accurately labeled, and free of adulterants.

In fact, no one, including the federal government, even keeps track of how many products are out there, said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a trade organization representing the supplements industry. “So, the FDA really doesn’t know the breadth and width of the marketplace,” he said. “And they should.”

The CRN is lobbying Congress to pass legislation requiring supplements makers and marketers to register products with the FDA before they go to market. To crack down on bad actors, the CRN would also like to see Congress expand the FDA’s ability to conduct inspections of manufacturing facilities, as well as grant the agency the authority to recall supplements containing unauthorized—and potentially harmful—drugs.

The FDA does take action in cases of outright fraud—when a company claims that a supplement prevents or treats a health condition, for example, or sells products tainted with potentially harmful drug ingredients not listed on the label. But even then, the agency admits that its list of fraudulent products represents only “a small fraction of the potentially hazardous products marketed to consumers online and in retail establishments.”

In the absence of strong federal oversight, there’s a cottage industry of organizations (both nonprofit and for profit) that serve as certifiers, providing consumers some level of confidence that a product actually contains what’s on the label and not any problematic extras, such as heavy metals.

Cooperman said ConsumerLab.com (which sells subscriptions to its reviews) tries to identify the best supplements to test, not the worst. Even so, one product out of five fails, he said. The most common reasons for this: too much or too little of an ingredient; contamination with substances such as arsenic, cadmium, or lead; or not breaking apart fast enough to be absorbed by the body.

“It’s a buyer beware situation,” Cooperman said.

The best way to ensure the quality of your supplements is to check the label for a mark signifying that an independent company has verified the product.

The four companies listed below are the most widely recognized in the industry. All of them test supplements to ensure that they contain the ingredients and amount per serving listed on the labels, and that they don’t contain harmful contaminants.

NSF

Founded nearly 80 years ago to establish standards for public health and safety, this nonprofit developed a national standard for dietary supplements in 2003. More than 1,450 supplements carry the NSF mark, which indicates that they meet its standards for the presence and potency of ingredients, and that they’re made in facilities that follow good manufacturing practices. NSF also offers a separate certification for supplements intended for use by professional athletes.

US Pharmacopeia (USP)

This 200-year-old nonprofit sets quality standards for food ingredients, medications, and supplements. About 20 years ago, USP began contracting with supplements makers to verify products; this involves ensuring good manufacturing practices and annual testing of products. More than 130 products carry the USP mark.

UL Solutions

This for-profit division of Underwriters Laboratories, the venerable safety-standards organization, began testing supplements just a few years ago. UL Solutions verifies Walgreens’ store-brand supplements for one or more of the following claims: no pesticides, no heavy metals, that they contain verified ingredients and are made in facilities following good manufacturing practices. The company also offers a separate certification (and seal) indicating that manufacturing facilities meet quality standards.

ConsumerLab.com (CL)

Founded in 1999, this for-profit company follows a different business model than the other three, which are paid by supplements makers and sellers to test their products. ConsumerLab.com does test some products for manufacturers, but it mostly chooses a representative sample of what’s available. And it buys everything it tests, just as a consumer would. For an annual membership of $63, you get access to reports as well as evidence-based information on health products. Although manufacturers of approved products can optionally pay to carry the CL mark, complete test results, including the company’s top picks, are behind the paywall.

In addition, CVS’s Tested to Be Trusted program requires independent lab testing for nearly all CVS Health brand and national-brand supplements it sells in stores and online—about 2,500 products in all. CVS contracts with UL to test products not already verified by USP or NSF, though you will not see the UL-verified mark on the label.

Prices for multivitamins vary wildly, even for those independently verified for quality (such as those in the table below). We’re highlighting one or two products from several brands, but most companies make formulations for different ages and genders. Some also sell multiple lines of products.

Maybe you don’t need one at all.

“Generally speaking, it’s best to get nutrients from food,” said Haggans. In particular, fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods contain fiber and good-for-you compounds not found in supplements, she said.

Of course, some people may benefit from taking a multivitamin, including those who are on low-calorie diets, have a poor appetite, or avoid certain foods like meat or dairy, according to the ODS.

In addition, if you might be or are expecting to become pregnant, getting 400 micrograms of folic acid daily from supplements or fortified foods can reduce the baby’s risk of developing birth defects of the brain and spine. You may also need more vitamin D, iron, choline, and iodine during pregnancy.

People older than 50 frequently don’t get enough vitamin B12, vitamin D, or calcium, Haggans said. A multivitamin can help make up for those shortfalls.

Despite the touted health benefits of supplements, there isn’t good evidence that taking a multivitamin will reduce your risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or any other cause. However, a multivitamin formulated for seniors may help modestly improve memory and slow cognitive decline for older adults, according to two recent studies.

The daily values, or recommended daily intakes for nutrients, refer to everything you get from food, drink, and supplements, Haggans said. “They are not recommended amounts of supplements.” So you shouldn’t think that a supplement needs to cover 100% of your nutrient needs.

In fact, for some nutrients, doses well above the daily value can be dangerous, especially when added to what you are already getting from food.

One weakness of supplement regulations is that manufacturers are not required to indicate when an ingredient exceeds safe levels, what’s known as the tolerable upper limit, Cooperman said. “The risk of adverse events increases above these limits.” For example, high doses of vitamin B6 can damage nerves. Too much vitamin A (other than as beta-carotene) may cause headaches, liver damage, weakened bones, and birth defects. And excess iron may give you an upset stomach and, over time, damage the liver and other organs.

Store shelves present a bewildering array of formulations. While a standard multivitamin is fine for most adults, in some cases it makes sense to go for a product tailored to your age and gender, Haggans said.

Menstruating women need iron to help replenish red blood cells, for example, and formulations for women younger than 50 typically contain more iron than those for men and seniors.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, a prenatal multivitamin can help cover any extra nutrient needs.

And people who are 50 and older can benefit from the calcium (a bulky ingredient not found in all multivitamins) as well as the extra vitamin D, vitamin B12, and antioxidants commonly found in products for older adults.

But aside from choosing a multivitamin specifically formulated for age and gender, buying a multivitamin marketed for specific health conditions is generally not worth it. The advertising for those products is often intentionally vague because, in most cases, it’s illegal for companies to claim that a supplement will prevent or treat a disease. For example, a company might boost the levels of zinc and vitamins C and D in a multi sold for “immune support.” And even though deficiencies of those nutrients can reduce your immunity, “it doesn’t mean that taking more than the recommended amount is going to help you,” Haggans said.

In a few situations, your doctor may recommend a specific type of supplement. For example, research shows that certain formulations can slow vision loss for people with age-related macular degeneration, and people with fragile bones due to osteoporosis may need more calcium and vitamin D.

Of course, you can pay a lot for supplements. But often it’s not worth it.

For example, Thorne products (available online and from some specialty grocery and health stores) cost anywhere from $1.20 per day for the Basic Nutrients 2/Day to $1.66 per day for Men’s 50+ and Women’s 50+ multivitamins. Garden of Life MyKind Organics multivitamins, sold at Whole Foods and other retailers, also cost $1 to $2 per day, depending on the type of vitamin.

So what justifies that high cost?

“The prices of Thorne supplements reflect the costs of making a superior product,” Tamarah Strauss, Thorne’s director of public relations and corporate communications, wrote in an email. Strauss said that Thorne products contain the most bioavailable forms of nutrients (meaning the body will absorb them better), undergo extensive testing during manufacturing, and are verified by independent companies.

Other makers of expensive supplements also tout the quality of their ingredients, claiming, for example, that nutrients are extracted from foods (often marketed as “whole food” vitamins), rather than created synthetically.

But in many cases, this distinction won’t matter. For example, a vitamin C (ascorbic acid) molecule extracted and chemically refined from a plant is the same as one created synthetically, said Alexander Michels, a research associate with Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute.

Products containing whole food extracts do include traces of so-called phytochemicals, potentially beneficial compounds from plants, said Michels, who has consulted for supplements makers. “You’re getting some,” he said. “Just not as much as eating the actual fruit or vegetable.”

How effectively your body absorbs nutrients depends not only on the form of the ingredient but also on other factors, such as your age, diet, and health condition, according to Haggans, who consults for the NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements. She noted that the recommended intakes account for that variation.

Now, Thorne supplements and some other expensive products do contain hefty doses of vitamins and minerals—sometimes tens to hundreds of times more than the recommended intake (and, in some cases, at levels exceeding the upper limit). Does that justify paying more?

Probably not. Experts I spoke with said that recommended intakes are generous enough to accommodate the nutritional needs of nearly everyone. Except in cases where a health provider has recommended higher doses to correct a nutritional deficiency, the science doesn’t support megadosing, and the safety is unproven.

Haggans emphasized that the best thing you can do to meet those recommended intakes is to eat a nutritious variety of foods. And if you need to fill in nutritional gaps, then consider taking a supplement.

This article was edited by Christine Cyr Clisset and Ben Frumin.