173 nutrient × goal combinations across 20 health areas
Find the best supplement for your goal.
Supplement rankings scored on clinical dose, ingredient form bioavailability, and RCT-grade evidence — not marketing claims.
- Dose over breadth. A clinically-dosed specialist beats a 30%-DV multivitamin every time.
- Per-category algorithms. Skin scores collagen at weight 40; Bone scores it at zero. Each of the 20 health areas has its own scoring config.
- Evidence-weighted ingredients. Biotin is weighted at 2 of 100 for hair (zero RCTs in non-deficient adults). Collagen is weighted at 40 (26+ RCTs, multiple meta-analyses).
How we rank
Clinical dose, not label dose
Sub-therapeutic doses are penalized through a sigmoid dose-quality curve: below 25% of the studied therapeutic dose, the ingredient scores near zero. Above 100%, the curve caps — no mega-dose bonus. Biotin's 30 mcg daily value is metabolically trivial; published hair trials use 2,500–5,000 mcg. We score what works, not what fills a label gap.
Per-category algorithms
After four failed iterations of a universal scoring formula, we adopted per-category configs. The relationship between collagen and skin doesn't match the relationship between collagen and bone. Each health area is a separate JSON config with its own ingredient weights and reference ceiling. Skin, Hair, Sleep, and Stress are specialist-dominant. Energy, Immune, and General Health reward breadth.
Bioavailability multipliers
Form matters enormously. Theracurmin is 27× more bioavailable than standard curcumin. Zinc bisglycinate absorbs far better than zinc oxide. Premium forms get a 1.0× multiplier; standard forms ~0.7×; poor forms (oxide, synthetic, gelatin) ~0.4×. A 50 mg dose in a premium form often outscores 200 mg in a poor one.
General Health
Foundational gaps most adults have. Breadth-rewarding — well-dosed multivitamins compete here.
Strongest evidenceVitamin D 2,000–4,000 IU·Magnesium 200–400 mg·Omega-3 1–2 g EPA+DHA
Energy
Mitochondria, methylation, oxygen delivery — sustained energy without stimulants.
Strongest evidenceCoQ10 100–200 mg·Creatine 3–5 g·B-complex·Iron if deficient
Brain
Memory, focus, and neuroprotection. The category where omega-3 DHA and creatine quietly outperform most nootropic herbs.
Strongest evidenceOmega-3 DHA 1 g+·Creatine 5 g·Citicoline 250–500 mg·L-Theanine 200 mg
Immune
Priming the immune system for acute infection and long-term resilience.
Strongest evidenceVitamin D 2,000–4,000 IU·Zinc 15–30 mg·Elderberry 300–500 mg·Quercetin
Heart
Cardiovascular function, lipid balance, and blood pressure — where dose discipline matters most.
Strongest evidenceOmega-3 EPA 1–2 g·CoQ10 100–200 mg·Magnesium 400 mg·Bergamot 500 mg
Skin
Elasticity, hydration, and UV defense from the inside. Specialist-dominant — gummy multis don't compete.
Strongest evidenceCollagen peptides 2.5–10 g·Hyaluronic acid 120 mg·Vitamin C 500 mg·Astaxanthin 4–12 mg
Hair
Follicle health and growth cycles. The category where biotin is industry myth and collagen-keratin combos actually have RCTs.
Strongest evidenceMarine collagen 5–10 g·Hydrolyzed keratin·Saw palmetto 320 mg·Biotin weight 2 — see why
Bone & Joint
Density, cartilage, and joint comfort. Dose-critical — half-doses don't work.
Strongest evidenceVitamin K2-MK7 90–180 mcg·Vitamin D3 2,000–4,000 IU·Magnesium 400 mg·Collagen 5–10 g
Muscle
Strength, recovery, and lean mass. Creatine has more RCTs than the rest of the category combined.
Strongest evidenceCreatine 3–5 g·Whey protein 20–40 g·Beta-alanine 3–6 g·Citrulline malate 6–8 g
Vision
Macular pigment, blue-light defense, and long-term eye function — AREDS-grade formulas.
Strongest evidenceLutein 10 mg·Zeaxanthin 2 mg·Omega-3 DHA·Astaxanthin 4–12 mg
Liver
Detox pathways, bile flow, and liver-cell regeneration. Most marketed claims lack RCT support; these are the exceptions.
Strongest evidenceMilk thistle 140–420 mg·NAC 600–1,200 mg·TUDCA 250–500 mg·Choline 550 mg
Longevity
NAD+ precursors, mitophagy, senolytics — the cellular-aging category. Evidence depth varies by compound.
Strongest evidenceNMN / NR 250–500 mg·Urolithin A 500 mg·Fisetin 100 mg·Spermidine 1 mg
Hormones
Thyroid, testosterone, estrogen balance, and reproductive health. Male-hormone evidence dominates; female-hormone RCTs are sparser.
Strongest evidenceAshwagandha 300–600 mg·Tongkat ali 200–400 mg·Vitamin D·Zinc 15–30 mg
Sleep
Sleep onset and quality. Specialist-dominant — the right single-ingredient product beats every multivitamin.
Strongest evidenceMagnesium glycinate 200–400 mg·Glycine 3 g·L-Theanine 200 mg·Tart cherry 480 mg
Stress & Mood
Stress resilience and mood. Adaptogens with real RCT support, not just tradition.
Strongest evidenceAshwagandha 300–600 mg·L-Theanine 200 mg·Rhodiola 200–400 mg·Saffron 28–30 mg
Digestion
Gut comfort, motility, and microbiome. Specific probiotic strains matter far more than total CFU count.
Strongest evidenceProbiotics 5–50 B CFU·Psyllium 5–10 g·Digestive enzymes·L-Glutamine 5–15 g
Dental
Mineralization, gum health, and oral microbiome balance.
Strongest evidenceVitamin K2-MK7·Vitamin D·CoQ10 100 mg·Probiotics S. salivarius
Metabolism
Blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. Berberine is the standout — head-to-head with metformin in several RCTs.
Strongest evidenceBerberine 500 mg ×3·Chromium 200 mcg·Inositol 2–4 g·Alpha-lipoic acid 300–600 mg
Hydration
Electrolyte ratios for fluid balance and recovery. Evidence-anchored ratios, not sugary sports-drink legacy.
Strongest evidenceSodium 300–1,000 mg·Potassium 200–400 mg·Magnesium 100–300 mg
Pregnancy
Prenatal essentials. Critical period — dose adequacy matters more than breadth.
Strongest evidenceMethylated folate 600–800 mcg·DHA 200–300 mg·Choline 450 mg·Vitamin D
What competitors miss
The biggest brand-trust scorecard in supplements (Suppco) ranks products by certifications, third-party lab testing, and manufacturing standards. Those are real signals — but they answer the wrong question. A perfectly certified brand can sell 10 mg betaine when the clinical dose is 2,500 mg. Their score misses this. Ours catches it.
We audited Yunani Parasites Cleanse Bitters — 27 herbs, zero disclosed doses, a label that literally reads “16 oz total blend, no individual amounts listed.” It scored 0/100 here. On a brand-trust scorecard, the same product passes most checks. That gap — clinical efficacy at the ingredient and dose level — is what no funded competitor scores well.
Frequently asked
How are supplements ranked on BioStacks?
Each of the 20 health areas uses its own per-category scoring config. For every ingredient in a product we score (1) dose quality against the clinically studied range, (2) bioavailability of the specific form (e.g. magnesium glycinate vs oxide), and (3) the evidence weight of the ingredient in that category. The final formulation score blends those three layers, normalized so a realistically excellent specialist product caps near 90 of 100.
Why doesn't a multivitamin top your sleep rankings?
Sleep is what we call a specialist-dominant category. A multivitamin delivering 30% DV of 10 vitamins doesn't supply a clinically meaningful dose of any single sleep-relevant compound. A dedicated product with 200–400 mg magnesium glycinate plus 200 mg L-theanine and 3 g glycine will outscore it every time. Dose over breadth is the core principle.
How is BioStacks different from Suppco, Labdoor, or ConsumerLab?
They score brand trust — certifications, third-party lab testing, manufacturing standards. We score product efficacy — whether the ingredients are present at clinically meaningful doses, in bioavailable forms, with RCT support for the claimed health goal. Both layers matter, but no funded competitor scores efficacy at the ingredient and dose level. A perfectly certified brand can sell 10 mg betaine when the clinical dose is 2,500 mg.
Why are proprietary blends scored low?
Without disclosed per-ingredient doses, there's no way to verify any of them are at clinically meaningful amounts. A blend labeled "5 g of 27 herbs" averages 185 mg per ingredient — sub-therapeutic for nearly all of them. We score what's provable; everything else is marketing.
Why is biotin weighted so low in your hair rankings?
Zero published RCTs show biotin grows hair in non-deficient adults. The 30 mcg daily value is metabolically trivial; hair-growth trials use 2,500–5,000 mcg with mixed results in real deficiency only. Competitor sites overweight biotin because labels overweight it. We score what the evidence supports — biotin sits at weight 2 of 100 in our hair config.
How often are rankings updated?
The product list is recomputed on a 24-hour ISR cadence. New product scans enter the rankings on the next revalidation cycle. Scoring weights are updated as we recalibrate per-category configs based on new meta-analyses.
Explore the science
Deep-dive into the research behind individual nutrients: Magnesium, Collagen, Vitamin D, Creatine, Omega-3, Ashwagandha, L-Theanine, Curcumin, Berberine, CoQ10.