Is that $50 pack of kids’ multivitamins really better than the $15 pack, or are we all just buying into the branding? Let’s put three popular multivitamins head-to-head. One luxury, two more accessible, and see what your money is actually paying for.
No sponsorships. I bought all of these things. Just the science. Today, we are doing our own version of luxury versus drugstore showdown. But for kids’ multivitamins. Think of it like the makeup comparison videos that you might have seen. But for parents who care about nutrition and neuroscience.
The contenders
We have the luxury pick, Ella Ola Kids Multivitamin. Very nice box. $50 a month is their price point.
Next, we have the mid-range Equazen VitaSpectrum by Klaire Labs. $30 a month. Often recommended by integrative doctors.
The more accessible BrainMD Neurovite Kids Chewables. This turns out to be $15 a month, and it’s easy to find online.
All three of these are sugar-free.
Ella Ola
They have whole food vitamins in here. There are 19 essential vitamins and minerals plus a 15-fruit and veggie blend in an unflavored, easy-to-mix format.
This is marketed towards picky eaters because it’s flavorless and odorless. It looks great on the label, but the dosages of B vitamins and magnesium, and some of the other things, are definitely on the lighter side.
It is an individual pack, very small. You just tear it and pour some into some water. A pretty small amount.
No smell whatsoever, and it turns cloudy when you mix it. Definitely cloudy. There’s really not that much of a taste. Maybe just a teensy weensy little bit of grittiness.
That is the Ella Ola, priced $50.
Equazen VitaSpectrum
This is a powerhouse, but it smells like a powerhouse. This is what it looks like in a liquid. It turned the water yellowish, and it makes it kind of thick. I think it might be from the choline. It is a powerhouse.
So if you look at the label on the back, there’s a lot going on in here. This is some good nutrition. But I don’t know the smell just… I wish I didn’t dislike the smell so much because I know it’s good for me, but I just…
I think it’s hard to put that into liquids. You could put it totally into food. Put that in scrambled eggs. No one would notice. Different kinds of hummus, things like that. You could put this in food. It’s not really going to go into liquid. I mean, I don’t even want to drink that.
Neurovite
This has a solid foundation of B vitamins, antioxidants, and this one is a chewable. It’s a cute little penguin. Oh, so cute.
Tastes fine. It definitely tastes sweet, although there’s no sugar in it. You have to take two of those penguins, but there’s really no downside. Pretty easy. If your child likes to take those chewable things, they would like it.
Who should take what
If your child has additional needs like focus or language delays, sensory issues, a whole variety of things like that, then the VitaSpectrum gives you more therapeutic support per dose. But again, it is a little bit more difficult to get in there. You’d have to be creative.
Ella Ola is beautiful. And I could drink that, no problem. But it’s much lighter in the actual amount and variety of vitamins.
Neurovite is the easiest of all three of them to take.
What are you paying for
With the Ella Ola, you really are paying for sleek packaging. You’re paying for a lot of marketing, and it is a palatable formula. But this is really more about general wellness rather than neurodevelopment. So many times, for a child who is an extreme picky eater, this multivitamin is just not gonna do enough. So this is really more your general multivitamin. It’s looking pretty on the counter. You don’t really have to buy many other vitamins because your child doesn’t need them. You probably wouldn’t need a functional medicine doctor or integrative doctor, too.
VitaSpectrum is really more designed for cognition, metabolic support. This is really much more of a powerhouse. If you’re considering something like this or if you’re being recommended this, you’re probably going to a functional medicine doctor or an integrative doctor for specific needs. So either there’s a developmental delay, a speech delay, or there’s some issue, right? So then you need more nutrients. And this is really geared towards cognition. It has a focus on mitochondria because of the elevated B vitamins.
Neurovite, I would say, is the biggest surprise of all. The ingredients on the label are really strong for its price point. It’s the cheapest out of all of them, but it’s definitely a very thoughtful formulation. It’s much more potent than the Ella Ola, slightly less potent than the VitaSpectrum, but this is easy to take, so that is definitely a great starter option.
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The final verdict
If you want a pretty countertop and your child only needs small help in their overall health, go with Ella Ola, especially if you want to spend $50 on a multivitamin.
If you need therapeutic support and more clinical strength, go with VitaSpectrum; however, it’s not the easiest to take. It’s going to be very hard to put that in just regular liquid. You’re going to need to have that in food, maybe a smoothie, something like that. But this is a powerhouse.
Neurovite is a very awesome all-around option that won’t break the bank. It’s the cheapest out of all three, and it’s got some great things in here. It’s your decision how you want to spend your money, but you certainly don’t have to spend $50. You could spend $15 and actually get quite a bit more.
