Greens Powder vs Multivitamin: What Is the Difference?
More on: Supplement Buyer's Guides
Greens powder vs multivitamin is a comparison people make because both sit on the same shelf and both promise to cover the gaps in a busy diet, but they are very different products.
Short answer: a multivitamin is a set dose of specific vitamins and minerals, listed on the label in milligrams. A greens powder is a blend of dried plant foods, and the vitamins and minerals in it are whatever those foods naturally contain. If you want a guaranteed amount of a named nutrient, a multivitamin tells you exactly what you get. If you want more plant foods in your day, a greens powder is the closer fit.
What is in a multivitamin?
A multivitamin is made from isolated vitamins and minerals, usually produced in a lab or extracted and purified, and then pressed into a tablet or capsule. Each one is added at a set dose, and the label lists the amount of every nutrient per tablet.1
That is the strength of a multivitamin: precision. You know you are getting, for example, a stated amount of vitamin D or zinc in every tablet.
What is in a greens powder?
A greens powder is made from whole plant foods, dried and milled. Typical ingredients include grasses like barley grass and wheatgrass, algae like spirulina and chlorella, leafy greens, and in some blends, fruit, berries, beetroot or cacao.
The nutrients in a greens powder are the ones those plants naturally contain, so the amounts vary with the crop and are usually not listed one by one. What you do get on the label is a nutrition information panel with protein, fibre, sugars and energy per serve, and an ingredient list.
Greens powder vs multivitamin at a glance
| Multivitamin | Greens powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Made from | Isolated vitamins and minerals | Dried whole plant foods |
| Nutrient amounts | Set and listed per tablet | Naturally occurring, usually not listed individually |
| Format | Tablet or capsule | Powder mixed into a drink or food |
| Serve size | Usually 1 to 2 tablets | Usually 5 to 10 g |
| Fibre and protein | None | Small amounts |
| Taste | None | Earthy, grassy or chocolatey, depending on the blend |
Which one should you choose?
Ask yourself what you are trying to fix.
- If your doctor has told you that you are low in a specific nutrient, a greens powder is not the answer. You need a known dose of that nutrient, and your doctor or pharmacist can tell you which product gives it.
- If you simply do not eat many plant foods, a greens powder adds a mix of them in one scoop. It does not replace vegetables (a 7 g scoop is nowhere near a 75 g serve of vegetables)2, but it is an easy daily addition.
- If you dislike swallowing tablets, a powder you drink is easier.
- If you want both, plenty of people take a multivitamin and a greens powder. They are not doing the same job.
Most Australians fall short on plant foods. Fewer than one in ten Australian adults eat the recommended serves of vegetables each day.3 That gap, more than any single vitamin, is what greens powders are bought to address.
Cost per day
A basic multivitamin is often cheaper per day than a greens powder, because a tablet weighs a gram or less and a powder serve weighs several grams of real food. When you compare greens powders with each other, work out the price per serve, not the price per jar, because serve sizes range widely.
For a full checklist, see how to choose a superfood powder in Australia.
What we make
Our daily superfood powder is a blend of eight superfoods: cacao, goji berry, green barley grass, spirulina, beetroot, acai berry, cracked cell chlorella and camu camu. One serve is 7 g (3 slightly rounded teaspoons), there are 30 serves in a 210 g jar, and it is vegan, dairy free and non-GMO. It is packed in Brendale, Queensland, and delivered anywhere in Australia.
It contains no synthetic vitamin blend. Every ingredient is a whole plant food.
Frequently asked questions
Can a greens powder replace a multivitamin?
Not if you need a known amount of a specific vitamin or mineral. A greens powder does not list or guarantee those amounts.
Can I take a greens powder and a multivitamin together?
Yes, many people do. If you take medication, check with your pharmacist first.
Is a greens powder a vitamin?
No. It is a food: a blend of dried plants.
About the author
Grant Jenkins is a director of Propel Health Australia and an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Our range is packed in a licensed facility in Brendale, Queensland. Every figure quoted for our product in this article is the figure on our printed label.
References
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Multivitamin/mineral Supplements: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: NHMRC; 2013. eatforhealth.gov.au
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. Dietary behaviour, 2022. abs.gov.au
Disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, taking medication or have a medical condition.
