Best Glutathione Supplements 2026: Priced Per Milligram

Published: August 27, 2026 · Last updated: September 2, 2026 · By NooBlue Editorial · About our editorial standards · 7 products compared

Glutathione is the single most abundant antioxidant your cells make on their own — and the supplement aisle has responded with roughly forty products that all claim to top it up. Choosing the best glutathione supplement is harder than it looks, because the label number everyone compares (500 mg, 750 mg, 1,000 mg) tells you almost nothing on its own. A 375 mg liposomal softgel and a 500 mg plain capsule are not the same purchase. The price gap between the cheapest and most expensive product here is 8.1× per 100 mg of glutathione. We compared seven options on delivery form, cost normalized to a single unit, published human trial support, and third-party verification.

Best Glutathione Supplements in 2026: The Comparison Table

Every row below uses the same unit: US dollars per 100 mg of glutathione. Each figure comes from that product’s own label serving size. That is the only way to compare a 375 mg liposomal softgel against a 500 mg capsule honestly. The last row is included for context and is deliberately not a glutathione product; it is there because a large share of people searching for glutathione are really chasing cellular energy. They deserve to know the alternative exists.

Cost per dose is the price of one labeled serving as the manufacturer defines it, so a two-capsule serving is counted as one dose. Prices observed August 27, 2026 at the retailer named in each review below. Supplement pricing moves constantly — check the live listing before you buy. Where we could not confirm a current price within our checking window, the row says so. We left the cost-per-100 mg cell blank rather than guess at it.

Does Oral Glutathione Actually Raise Glutathione Levels?

This is the question that should come before any product recommendation, and most roundups skip it entirely. For years the standard objection was that swallowed glutathione is a tripeptide, gets cleaved apart in the gut, and never arrives intact — so oral supplementation was pointless. Two controlled human trials have since made that position hard to defend.

Key numbers from the human trials:

• +30–35% glutathione in erythrocytes, plasma and lymphocytes after six months of oral glutathione at 250 mg or 1,000 mg per day (54 non-smoking adults).
• +260% in buccal mucosal cells in the 1,000 mg/day group of the same trial.
• +40% in whole blood after two weeks of liposomal glutathione at 500–1,000 mg/day in a one-month pilot study.
• +100% in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in that same liposomal pilot.

Research published in the European Journal of Nutrition reported a six-month randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of oral glutathione at 250 mg or 1,000 mg daily in 54 non-smoking adults. Blood glutathione rose at one, three and six months against baseline at both doses, with mean increases of 30–35% in erythrocytes, plasma and lymphocytes (Richie et al., 2015, PMID 24791752).

Separately, research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition tested liposomal glutathione at 500 and 1,000 mg per day in healthy adults over one month. Levels were elevated after one week, peaking at two weeks with a 40% rise in whole blood and a doubling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (Sinha et al., 2018, PMID 28853742). Note the study design honestly. This was a one-month pilot in a small group of healthy volunteers, not a large long-term trial. It was also not a head-to-head against standard capsules.

Two caveats that change how you should read the price table. First, in the six-month trial the 250 mg arm and the 1,000 mg arm landed in broadly the same 30–35% range for blood compartments. Four times the dose did not produce four times the effect. If that pattern holds, buying the biggest milligram number on the shelf is not automatically the smart move. Second, neither trial measured how you feel; they measured glutathione in tissue. Rising blood glutathione is a plausible mechanism, not a promise of a noticeable result. If you want the broader picture of how antioxidant status fits into cellular function, our guide to practical ways to reduce oxidative stress covers the non-supplement levers — sleep, training load, and light exposure — that move the needle at least as much as any capsule.

The Number Every Other Glutathione Roundup Skips: Cost Per 100 mg

Here is the comparison problem in one sentence. The best glutathione supplements are sold in at least four structurally different formats. Almost every published roundup lines them up as though the milligram on the front of the bottle means the same thing in each.

The four form classes you will actually encounter:

• Reduced glutathione (GSH) — plain free glutathione in a capsule. The cheapest per milligram, and the format used in the six-month oral trial above.
• Liposomal glutathione — glutathione encapsulated in a phospholipid carrier. More expensive per milligram; the format with the most direct pilot-trial support.
• S-acetyl glutathione — an acetylated derivative marketed on stability grounds. Priced like liposomal, with thinner published human data than either of the above.
• Precursor combinations — low-dose glutathione paired with cysteine, glycine or vitamin C, on the theory that you are supplying raw material rather than the finished molecule. The glutathione number on these labels is small by design.

Normalize all of them to dollars per 100 mg and the ranking rearranges immediately. Nutricost’s plain 500 mg capsules work out to roughly $0.04 per 100 mg. Pure Encapsulations’ liposomal softgels come to roughly $0.30 per 100 mg — 8.1 times more expensive for the same nominal milligram. That premium may well be justified by the delivery form, but you should be making that trade knowingly rather than by accident.

The corollary matters for the precursor combos: a product carrying 50 mg of glutathione is not competing on milligram cost at all and should never be compared on that axis. Judge it on the cofactor stack instead. This is the same normalization trap we ran into when comparing alpha lipoic acid supplements, where R-isomer content rather than total milligrams decided the real cost ranking.

#1. Pure Encapsulations Liposomal Glutathione — Best Overall

Key specs: 60 softgels · 375 mg Setria glutathione per softgel · liposomal delivery · $67.50 observed August 27, 2026 · $1.13 per serving · $0.30 per 100 mg.

This is the pick if you want the format with the most direct human data behind it. The liposomal pilot trial above used exactly this delivery approach. Pure Encapsulations uses Setria, a branded glutathione ingredient. It shows up in a fair share of the published supplement literature, rather than being bulk material of unknown origin. The brand also publishes hypoallergenic sourcing detail and third-party testing information, which is more transparency than most of this category offers.

Pros:

• Delivery format with the most directly relevant published human pilot data.
• Branded, traceable glutathione raw material rather than unspecified bulk.
• Strong third-party testing and allergen documentation.
• One softgel per serving — no multi-capsule serving arithmetic.

Cons:

• By far the most expensive option here per milligram — 8.1× the cheapest.
• 375 mg per softgel is below the doses used in both trials, so matching trial intake means two softgels and roughly $2.26 a day.
• Softgel base will not suit strict vegans.

Best for: buyers who want the best-evidenced delivery form and are willing to pay a real premium for it.

#2. Nutricost Glutathione 500 mg — Best Value

Key specs: 240 capsules · 500 mg reduced glutathione per capsule · $43.97 observed August 27, 2026 at the manufacturer’s own store · $0.18 per serving · $0.04 per 100 mg.

Nothing else on this list comes close on cost per milligram, and the gap is not marginal. Nutricost costs roughly a quarter of the next plain capsule on the list, and about an eighth of the liposomal option. The 240-count bottle is the reason. Buying eight months of supply at once drives the unit cost down. It is the most reliable way to save money in this category.

The format is plain reduced glutathione, which is exactly what the six-month oral trial used. If you accept that trial’s finding, plain capsules are a defensible choice and the liposomal premium becomes optional rather than necessary.

Pros:

• Lowest cost per 100 mg in this comparison by a wide margin.
• Simple, single-ingredient formulation — nothing to argue with on the label.
• Matches the form used in the longest published oral glutathione trial.
• Manufacturer publishes third-party testing.

Cons:

• Requires a 240-count commitment to reach that price — a poor first purchase if you are unsure.
• Plain reduced glutathione, no absorption-enhancing delivery.
• Value-brand packaging and minimal formulation guidance.

Best for: anyone who has already decided glutathione is part of their routine and wants the cheapest defensible way to take it long-term.

#3. NOW Foods Glutathione 500 mg — Best With Built-In Cofactors

Key specs: 60 veg capsules · 500 mg glutathione with milk thistle extract and alpha lipoic acid · $31.99 observed August 27, 2026 on the manufacturer’s site (listed as reduced from $39.99) · $0.53 per serving · $0.11 per 100 mg.

NOW’s version is the one to buy if you would otherwise be purchasing alpha lipoic acid separately. Alpha lipoic acid is one of the few antioxidants that helps regenerate other antioxidants rather than being used up once. Pairing it with glutathione is a sound formulation choice, not label decoration. NOW also runs one of the larger in-house analytical testing operations in the supplement industry and publishes certificates on request.

Pros:

• Cofactor stack is mechanistically sensible, not filler.
• Second-cheapest per 100 mg on this list.
• Established manufacturer with in-house analytical testing.
• Vegetarian capsule.

Cons:

• Observed price was a sale price — the $39.99 list price moves it to $0.13 per 100 mg, level with Jarrow.
• Added botanicals make it a poor choice if you are isolating variables.
• Only 60 capsules per bottle.

Best for: buyers who want a small antioxidant stack in one capsule instead of three bottles. If that describes you, our comparison of antioxidant supplements for oxidative stress is the logical next read.

#4. Jarrow Formulas Glutathione Reduced 500 mg — Best Plain Reduced-GSH Capsule

Key specs: 60 veggie capsules · 500 mg reduced glutathione · $38.54 observed August 27, 2026 at Walmart ($40.44 at H-E-B) · $0.64 per serving · $0.13 per 100 mg.

Jarrow is the default pick in a lot of practitioner circles. The reason is consistency rather than novelty: one ingredient, vegan capsule, long track record, widely stocked on shelves. If you want to buy glutathione today from a shelf rather than wait for delivery, this is usually the one that is actually there.

The catch is purely arithmetic. At $0.13 per 100 mg it costs more than three times what Nutricost does for a chemically equivalent product. You are paying for brand track record and retail availability, which is a legitimate thing to pay for — just know that is what the premium buys.

Pros:

• Single-ingredient, vegan, no formulation complications.
• Widely available in physical retail and across major online sellers.
• Long-established brand with consistent quality reputation.

Cons:

• Over 3× the per-milligram cost of the value pick for an equivalent product.
• Observed prices ranged $29.99–$40.44 across sellers — shop the listing, not the brand.
• No delivery-form advantage over cheaper plain capsules.

Best for: buyers who prioritize brand track record and same-day availability over cost per milligram.

#5. Life Extension Glutathione, Cysteine & C — Best Precursor-Plus-Glutathione Combo

Key specs: 100 capsules · 50 mg Setria L-glutathione plus cysteine and 500 mg vitamin C · price not verified at publish time.

This product answers a different question from the rest of the list. Instead of a large dose of finished glutathione, it supplies a small amount alongside cysteine. Cysteine is the rate-limiting amino acid your body needs to build glutathione of its own. Vitamin C then helps keep that glutathione in its reduced, working state. It is a synthesis-support formula wearing a glutathione label.

We could not confirm a current retail price within our verification window, so this row carries no cost-per-milligram figure. We would rather leave a cell blank than publish an estimate you might make a purchase decision on.

Pros:

• Targets endogenous synthesis rather than direct replacement — a genuinely different strategy.
• Uses the same branded Setria glutathione as our top pick.
• 100 capsules per bottle.

Cons:

• 50 mg of glutathione is a fraction of the doses used in the published trials.
• Price not verified at publish time, so no cost comparison is possible here.
• Not the right product if you specifically want a high glutathione dose.

Best for: buyers who believe supporting synthesis beats direct dosing, and who want vitamin C in the same capsule.

#6. Nutricost Liposomal Glutathione — Best Budget Liposomal Option

Key specs: 60 capsules · 720 mg per 2-capsule serving · 30 servings per bottle · liposomal delivery · price not verified at publish time.

Liposomal glutathione has historically been a premium-only category, and Nutricost entering it is the interesting development. At 720 mg per serving this sits closer to the doses used in the liposomal pilot trial than our #1 pick does at 375 mg. That matters if you are trying to match a study protocol.

Two honest caveats. The serving is two capsules, not one. So a 60-count bottle is a 30-day supply, and you should halve any per-bottle price before you compare it to a single-capsule product. And as with the Life Extension entry, we could not verify a live price in time, so there is no cost-per-milligram figure in the table.

Pros:

• Liposomal delivery from a brand that competes hard on price.
• 720 mg per serving is closer to published trial dosing than most liposomal products.
• Vegan-friendly capsule format rather than a softgel.

Cons:

• Two capsules per serving halves the apparent bottle value.
• Price not verified at publish time.
• Less published formulation detail than the established liposomal brands.

Best for: buyers who want liposomal delivery at a value-brand price and are comfortable with a two-capsule serving.

#7. NooBlue Methylene Blue — Different Mechanism, Not a Glutathione Supplement

We want to be completely direct about this section: NooBlue does not sell a glutathione supplement, and methylene blue is not glutathione. It is here because a large share of people shopping this category are not really chasing an antioxidant number — they are chasing afternoon energy, mental clarity and mitochondrial function. Glutathione is simply the first thing search results hand them. If that is you, the honest answer is that a different pathway may fit the goal better.

Glutathione works by neutralizing reactive oxygen species after they form. Methylene blue works further upstream, participating in electron transfer within mitochondrial redox cycling — a mechanism mapped in a 2008 FASEB Journal paper (PMID 17928358). Neither replaces the other, and neither is a treatment for anything. They are different levers on cellular function, and choosing between them should depend on which problem you are actually trying to solve. Our explainer on what cellular energy actually means lays out where each fits.

NooBlue makes three formats, all USP-grade with a published third-party certificate of analysis:

• NooBlue Methylene Blue Gummies — $49.99 for 60 gummies ($0.83 per serving). Each gummy carries 10 mg USP methylene blue plus 25 mg vitamin C. The vitamin C reduces the methylene blue to leucomethylene blue inside the gummy, which means it arrives colorless — no blue-mouth mess — already in its reduced, electron-loaded form with a more lipid-soluble character. It is zero sugar, pectin-based, and the purple color comes from Wild Blueberry extract rather than the methylene blue itself. This is NooBlue’s easiest daily ritual and the format most people should start with.
• Ultimate Methylene Blue Capsules 60×5 mg — $37.99. The 5 mg titration rung for anyone who wants to start lower than a standard 10 mg daily dose, or step up gradually.
• Ultimate Methylene Blue Solution 1% 50 ml — $29.99. The finest dose control and the lowest cost per milligram of the three, at the cost of measuring drops yourself.

Pros:

• Addresses mitochondrial redox rather than downstream antioxidant capacity — a genuinely different mechanism.
• USP grade with a published third-party COA, which is more verification than most of this category provides.
• Three formats spanning precision dosing, convenience and cost per milligram.
• Free worldwide shipping over $100.

Cons:

• Not a glutathione supplement — if raising glutathione specifically is your goal, buy from rows 1–6 instead.
• Smaller brand with a shorter retail history than Jarrow or NOW Foods.
• Methylene blue interacts with serotonergic medications and is not appropriate for everyone — check with your doctor first.
• Fewer third-party marketplace reviews than the mass-market antioxidant brands.

Best for: mitochondrial redox support when cellular energy rather than antioxidant status is the actual goal. Purity questions are worth taking seriously in this category — our guide to what genuine methylene blue packaging should look like and our breakdown of what high-quality methylene blue actually costs both cover what to check before buying. Shop Liquid if you want the finest dose control of the three.

How We Evaluated These Glutathione Supplements

Five weighted criteria decided which is the best glutathione supplement here, applied identically to every product:

• Form and delivery evidence (40%) — does the format have published human data behind it, and does the product actually use that format? Liposomal and plain reduced glutathione both clear this bar; S-acetyl and low-dose precursor blends have thinner support.
• Third-party testing and traceability (20%) — is there a published certificate of analysis, and is the glutathione a traceable branded ingredient or anonymous bulk?
• Cost per 100 mg (20%) — normalized across every product using its own label serving size, never per capsule against per serving.
• Formulation coherence (10%) — do added ingredients have a mechanistic reason to be there, or are they label decoration?
• Availability and practicality (10%) — serving count, capsule burden, and how easy it actually is to buy.

We compared published specifications, label serving sizes and live retail prices; we did not run laboratory assays on these products and we make no first-hand testing claims. Every price below was read from a live listing on August 27, 2026 and is cited with the retailer it came from. Where a price could not be confirmed, the row says so.

What Separates a Good Glutathione Supplement From a Bad One

Four things separate the best glutathione supplements from the rest, in order of how much they matter:

1. The form class is stated plainly. A label that says “glutathione 500 mg” without specifying reduced, liposomal, S-acetyl or precursor blend is hiding the single most important variable. Good products name the format on the front.

2. The serving size is honest. Watch for products advertising a big milligram number that turns out to require three or four capsules. Divide the bottle count by the capsules per serving before you compare anything.

3. There is a certificate of analysis you can actually read. “Third-party tested” printed on a bottle is a marketing phrase. A published COA with a batch number is a verifiable document. The gap between those two things is where most of this category lives.

4. The claims stay inside what the evidence supports. The published trials show glutathione levels rising in blood compartments. They do not show glutathione curing anything, and a brand that implies otherwise is telling you how it treats evidence generally. The same discipline applies across supplement categories — it is the standard we used when assessing CoQ10 supplements and the broader mitochondrial support supplement category.

Two Routes This Ranking Leaves Out: Sustained-Release Glutathione and NAC

Two options appear in almost every other roundup and are deliberately absent from the table above. The first is sustained-release glutathione — Thorne’s Glutathione-SR is the best-known example and the one Healthline currently leads with. The pitch is a slower release through the gut to limit breakdown before absorption. We could not find independent human data comparing it against a plain reduced-glutathione capsule, so it is unranked here rather than dismissed; if you buy it, you are paying for a plausible idea, not a demonstrated one. The second is N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which is not glutathione at all but supplies cysteine, the rate-limiting building block your cells use to make their own. It is far cheaper per gram than any product above and is the route many clinicians reach for first. It belongs in a precursor comparison, not a glutathione one, which is why it sits outside this cost-per-100 mg table.

Frequently Asked Questions About Glutathione Supplements

What is the best glutathione supplement?

Pure Encapsulations Liposomal Glutathione is our overall pick. Liposomal delivery has the most direct published human trial support for raising blood glutathione. It also uses a traceable branded raw material. If cost matters more than delivery format, Nutricost Glutathione 500 mg is the better buy at roughly $0.04 per 100 mg — about one-eighth the per-milligram price.

Does swallowing glutathione actually raise glutathione levels?

Two controlled human trials say yes. A six-month randomized trial in 54 adults found 30–35% increases in erythrocyte, plasma and lymphocyte glutathione at both 250 mg and 1,000 mg daily. A separate one-month pilot using liposomal glutathione reported a 40% rise in whole blood at two weeks. Both measured tissue levels rather than symptoms, so this is evidence of a mechanism, not of how you will feel.

Liposomal vs regular glutathione — which should I buy?

Regular reduced glutathione is roughly one-eighth the cost per milligram and was the form used in the longer six-month trial, so it is entirely defensible. Liposomal delivery has the more direct short-term pilot data and reached measurable increases faster. Buy liposomal if you want the best-evidenced delivery and accept the premium. Buy plain reduced glutathione if you plan to take it daily for a year and care about total cost.

What dose of glutathione should I take?

The published trials used 250 mg to 1,000 mg per day. Notably, the six-month trial found the 250 mg arm produced blood increases in broadly the same range as the 1,000 mg arm, so higher is not reliably better. Most products on this list deliver 375–500 mg per serving, which sits inside the studied range. Start at the label serving and talk to your doctor if you take any prescription medication.

Is glutathione safe to take daily?

The six-month randomized trial administered daily oral glutathione for half a year in healthy non-smoking adults without reported safety problems, which is the longest controlled human data available. That said, none of these products are meant to prevent or treat any condition. Anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding or taking prescription medicine should speak to a doctor before starting.

Is methylene blue a glutathione supplement?

No. Methylene blue is not glutathione and does not raise glutathione levels — it participates in mitochondrial redox cycling, which is a different mechanism operating further upstream. NooBlue’s methylene blue products are included only as a clearly-labeled alternative for readers whose actual goal is cellular energy rather than antioxidant status. If you specifically want more glutathione, buy one of the six glutathione products above.

What should I look for when buying a glutathione supplement?

Check four things, in this order. First, the form class stated on the label: reduced, liposomal, S-acetyl or precursor blend. Second, the number of capsules per serving. Third, whether a batch-level certificate of analysis is actually published. Fourth, the cost per 100 mg rather than per bottle. Nutricost wins the last of those at $0.04 per 100 mg; Pure Encapsulations wins the first.

Where can I buy a glutathione supplement?

All six glutathione products above are sold through the manufacturers’ own stores and major online retailers, with Jarrow and NOW Foods also widely stocked in physical health-food retail. NooBlue’s methylene blue range — a different product category — ships direct from nooblue.com worldwide, with free shipping over $100. Prices here were observed August 27, 2026 and move frequently, so check the live listing.

What is the downside of taking glutathione?

Three practical ones. Cost is the first: the delivery forms with the best evidence are the expensive ones, and a year of liposomal glutathione at trial-matching doses runs to several hundred dollars. Second, the evidence measures blood levels, not how you feel — no trial here showed a symptom benefit, so you may spend that money and notice nothing. Third, mild digestive upset and, for sulfur-sensitive people, an unpleasant odor or bloating are the most common complaints; both usually settle when taken with food. Anyone on prescription medication should ask a doctor before starting any form.

Does glutathione whiten skin?

It is marketed that way in some countries, and the theory is real: glutathione can nudge melanin production toward the lighter pheomelanin pathway. The human evidence is a handful of small, short trials with mixed results, mostly using oral or topical glutathione, and none of the products in this guide are sold or dosed for that purpose. Injectable glutathione for skin lightening is a different, riskier proposition that reputable clinicians do not recommend casually. Treat it as an unproven cosmetic use, not a reason to buy — and be wary of any seller that leads with it.

The Verdict: Which Glutathione Supplement Should You Buy in 2026?

For most buyers, the best glutathione supplement here is Pure Encapsulations Liposomal Glutathione. It is the only product here whose exact delivery format was tested in a published human trial that measured blood glutathione directly. It also uses a traceable branded ingredient rather than bulk material of unknown origin. You pay $0.30 per 100 mg for that.

If you have already decided glutathione belongs in your routine and you are optimizing for cost over a year, Nutricost Glutathione 500 mg is the clear budget winner at $0.04 per 100 mg. It uses the same reduced glutathione form as the longest published oral trial, at an eighth of the liposomal price. If you would otherwise buy alpha lipoic acid separately, NOW Foods Glutathione 500 mg bundles a mechanistically coherent cofactor stack at $0.11 per 100 mg.

And if you have read this far and realized you want more energy rather than a higher antioxidant number, glutathione may not be your category at all. NooBlue Methylene Blue Gummies target mitochondrial redox instead — a different mechanism, a different goal, and an honest recommendation only because it is labeled as exactly that. Readers weighing that trade-off should start with our cellular health supplement comparison.