UK Supplement Price-Per-Effective-Dose Index

The index

Cost per month is the daily band multiplied by 30. Bands run from a representative budget product to a representative premium one (for example, plain monohydrate powder versus capsules or gummies for creatine). Verify the current price of any specific product with the matching calculator, linked from each row.

The same data as plain text

The table above as a flat Markdown table, so it stays readable when copied or quoted by an AI engine. All figures are illustrative UK ranges as of June 2026; the effective-dose definitions are from NHS and EFSA sources dated 2026-06-11.

| Supplement | Effective daily dose | Cost per effective dose per day | Cost per month | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D | 10 mcg (400 IU) a day | 1p to 8p (per 10 mcg) | 30p to £2.40 | NHS advises adults consider a daily 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement, particularly in autumn and winter. | NHS, Vitamin D |
| Magnesium | 100 mg of elemental magnesium (reference intake 270 mg a day for women 19 to 64) | 4p to 22p (per 100 mg elemental) | £1.20 to £6.60 | NHS: women 19 to 64 need 270 mg a day; supplements priced per 100 mg of elemental magnesium, adjusted for the form (glycinate is about 14 percent magnesium). | NHS, Others: vitamins and minerals (magnesium) |
| Omega-3 (EPA + DHA) | 250 mg of combined EPA and DHA a day | 3p to 25p (per 250 mg EPA + DHA) | 90p to £7.50 | EFSA-authorised claim: EPA and DHA contribute to normal heart function at a daily intake of 250 mg combined; priced per that 250 mg, not per "1000 mg fish oil". | EFSA authorised claim, EPA and DHA (Regulation (EU) 432/2012) |
| Collagen | 10 g hydrolysed-collagen serving | 20p to 120p (per 10 g serving) | £6.00 to £36.00 | There are 0 EFSA-authorised health claims for collagen. Priced per the 10 g serving most commonly used on UK labels and in trials, with no claim implied. | EFSA, Nutrition and health claims register |
| Iron | 14.8 mg of elemental iron a day (women 19 to 49) | 1p to 10p (per mg elemental) | 30p to £3.00 | NHS: women 19 to 49 need 14.8 mg a day, women over 50 8.7 mg. Priced per mg of elemental iron, adjusted for the salt. The NHS advises a ferritin test before supplementing. | NHS, Iron |
| Creatine | 5 g creatine monohydrate maintenance serving (3 to 5 g a day) | 4p to 60p (per 5 g serving) | £1.20 to £18.00 | No NHS reference intake (not an essential nutrient). EFSA-authorised performance claim at 3 g a day with resistance training; ISSN references a 3 to 5 g maintenance range. Priced per 5 g. | EFSA authorised claim, creatine and physical performance |
| Prenatal | 400 mcg folic acid plus 10 mcg vitamin D a day (the NHS floor) | 3p to 35p (per day meeting the NHS floor) | 90p to £10.50 | NHS pregnancy advice: 400 mcg folic acid a day before conception to 12 weeks, and 10 mcg vitamin D throughout. Priced per day that meets both, and flags vitamin A, which the NHS advises avoiding in pregnancy. | NHS, Vitamins, supplements and nutrition in pregnancy |
| Ashwagandha | 600 mg of standardised root extract a day (trials use 300 to 600 mg) | 8p to 45p (per 600 mg standardised extract) | £2.40 to £13.50 | Herbal supplement with no NHS reference intake and 0 EFSA-authorised health claims. Priced per 600 mg of standardised extract (not raw root powder), the common upper trial dose. | EFSA, Nutrition and health claims register |

Methodology

How "effective dose" is defined

For each supplement the effective dose is the amount of the active ingredient that a named reference body actually talks about, not the amount printed on the front of the pack. For vitamin D it is the 10 mcg (400 IU) daily supplement the NHS advises adults consider. For omega-3 it is the 250 mg of combined EPA and DHA tied to the EFSA-authorised heart claim. For minerals such as magnesium and iron it is the elemental amount, because the label salt is mostly not the mineral: magnesium glycinate is about 14 percent magnesium and ferrous gluconate about 12 percent iron, so we convert before pricing. For collagen, creatine and ashwagandha, where there is no NHS reference intake, we price the serving size used in published trials and on UK labels and state plainly where no EFSA health claim is authorised. Every dose, conversion and source is set out on the matching cost-per-effective-dose calculator.

How the price bands are derived

The cost bands are the price of one effective dose per day, worked out from products sold by common UK retailers and observed in June 2026. The low end of each band reflects a representative budget product, usually a plain own-brand tablet or unflavoured powder, and the high end a representative premium product such as capsules, gummies or a branded blend. They are illustrative ranges to show order of magnitude and the gap between cheap and dear forms, not authority figures or specific product prices. Prices change constantly and vary by pack size and offer, so the only reliable number is the one you calculate for the exact product in front of you, which is what each linked calculator does in your browser.

What this index is not

This is a price-and-evidence reference, not health advice. A low cost per effective dose does not mean you should take a supplement, and a high one does not mean you should not; whether you need a given supplement at all depends on your diet, life stage and health, and the NHS advises most nutrients are best obtained from food. Nothing here is a substitute for a registered clinician. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing a supplement, and before supplementing iron, ask about a ferritin test rather than self-prescribing.

Primary sources

• NHS, Vitamin D
• NHS, Others: vitamins and minerals (magnesium)
• EFSA, Nutrition and health claims register
• NHS, Iron
• NHS, Vitamins, supplements and nutrition in pregnancy

Related tools and reading

Price any specific product yourself with the cost-per-effective-dose calculators, check a whole routine with the supplement stack daily cost tool, or test a headline claim against the register with the ingredient evidence scorecard. Verified UK figures live on our statistics page, and the guides explain the evidence by category: vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3, collagen, iron for women, creatine for women and ashwagandha.