Best NAD+ Supplement

There’s evidence that NAD+ supplements can help stave off some of the effects of age. We don't recommend getting too excited over any product claiming to be the fountain of youth. Still, you could experience heightened energy levels and focus. You might even see improvements in your appearance.

You don't need to look any further than the biohacking community to realize there's genuine interest in the potential for NAD+ to be a cornerstone in physical maintenance. But with that much buzz around it, it can be hard to determine which supplements — and what doses — could be right for you.

In this guide, our expert team compares nine of the most enticing NAD+ boosters so you can make an informed decision. For a quick sense of the landscape, here's a summary of our top picks.

• Best overall: Renue By Science NMN SL
• Best NMN: Renue By Science NMN SL
• Best NR: Thorne NiaCel 400
• Most delivery methods: Renue By Science
• Fastest absorption: Quicksilver Scientific NAD+ Gold
• Best money-back guarantee: Forest Leaf
• Best for restricted diets: Forest Leaf
• Best high-dose capsules: ProHealth Longevity

At Innerbody Research, we extensively test each health product we review, including these NAD+ supplements. All told, our team has spent over 187 hours testing and researching these supplements and their alternatives to provide an accurate, unbiased analysis of how they compare, free of marketing jargon and gimmicks.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions to live healthier lifestyles. We evaluate the service based on adherence to quality, the latest medical evidence and health standards, and a simple question: would we buy the product or service ourselves if it weren't part of our job, and would we recommend it to family and friends?

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

Cost

Winner: Renue By Science

Most NAD+ boosters come in powder form, often packed into dissolvable capsules. NMN and NR supplements have similar effective doses, so we used the cost per gram to compare prices across companies. Some companies prefer chewable tablets or sublingual drops, which absorb more efficiently and require smaller doses than powders. That makes it harder to create a direct comparison, but we were still able to identify Renue By Science as the clear winner in cost per gram in both powder and sublingual liquid deliveries.

Here’s how different companies’ capsule delivery methods compare:

And here’s how their more efficient delivery methods compare:

Effectiveness

Winner: ProHealth Longevity

One of the big questions about the effectiveness of NAD+ boosters is what form it should be taken in: NMN or NR. We'll get into our reasons below, but we would recommend NMN for most users. With that in mind, ProHealth Longevity's 1,000mg capsules offer a high and effective dose of NMN in convenient capsules. You could theoretically achieve even more effective results by taking larger amounts from a bulk NMN powder like Renue By Science's NMN SL. Still, we had to look at recommended serving sizes to compare one company to the next in evaluating efficacy, and ProHealth Longevity won.

Safety

Winner: Renue By Science

NAD+ boosters are generally safe (though we'll get into a few specific concerns below). To compare the safety of these supplements with one another, we considered moderate doses to be among the safest. Renue By Science offers doses that are well within that moderate range. The fact that they also have so many different delivery methods means you can switch from a tablet to a powder or a liposomal gel in case you might tolerate one form better than another. If you're convinced the NR is the way to go over NMN, we consider Tru Niagen a solid runner-up in the safety department.

Convenience

Winner: Renue By Science

In the same way Renue By Science's various delivery methods add to their safety profile, those methods contribute to their taking our top spot for convenience. The biggest knock on their convenience is their lack of a money-back guarantee. Most NAD+ supplement companies have some kind of guarantee, even if it comes with caveats and restocking fees. Still, the tremendous variety of delivery methods far outweighs the lack of a guarantee in our estimation. We recommend Forest Leaf for NMN and Thorne for NR if a guarantee is important to you.

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Without the plus sign, NAD serves as an umbrella term for a group of chemicals, including NAD+ which adds a hydrogen atom to become NADH. But what does any of it do in the body?

NAD is a coenzyme integral to the function of our mitochondria — often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell. Efficient mitochondrial function means better cell performance and waste removal. The amazing thing about boosting mitochondrial efficiency is that it affects just about every part of your body. That means NAD can address multiple systems without the need for you to take a dozen different supplements.

NAD+ is available as a primary ingredient in some supplements, but its bioavailability is severely limited compared to a pair of its precursors: NMN and NR.

By using NAD+ precursors instead of NAD+ itself, you end up with more NAD+ in your body. But there's plenty of disagreement about which precursor is the safest and most effective. Understanding how each precursor works helps us understand how vitamin B3 transforms into NAD+ in the body.

The body makes most of its NAD from two sources: tryptophan and vitamin B3. While niacin and nicotinamide are among the most popular forms of B3 used in common vitamin supplements, a third form of B3 — nicotinamide riboside or NR — converts into NAD+ more efficiently in the body.

But NR doesn't just magically become NAD+. It first makes its way into your cells and becomes nicotinamide mononucleotide or NMN. NMN then becomes NAD+. That's the purported advantage of NMN: it's one step further along the path to becoming NAD+.

NMN vs. NR

So, if NMN becomes NAD+ more directly than NR, why bother with NR at all? Until recently, research showed that exogenous NMN had to become NR to enter human cells before it could go back to NMN and eventually NAD+. That would be relatively inefficient.

More recent studies have shown that there is a specific amino acid and polyamine transporter that's extremely selective for NMN and allows it to enter a cell without first becoming NR.

Concentrations of this transporter in the guts of mice appear to increase with age, suggesting that the body tries to get extra NMN from its food supply to compensate for deteriorating levels of NAD that coincide with age. It also indicates that NMN's NAD+ production may be more closely tied to the activity and health of the microbiome than was previously thought. But proving this requires a tremendous amount of additional research.

The bottom line is that both NR and NMN can increase levels of NAD+ in the human body. Which one you ultimately choose may have to do with your tolerance for either. If the body becomes better able to absorb NMN directly as it ages, older individuals might want to consider NMN over NR.

We believe NMN has a slight advantage based on the research we've reviewed and our own internal usage. But, again, you may find more pronounced effects from NR, as the differences may come down to individual factors like genetics and age.

How NAD+ supplements absorb

Absorption can dramatically affect the power of an NAD+ supplement. Some companies use traditional capsules filled with a dose of NMN or NR in powder form. Others compound their supplement powder with liposomal technology that uses fats to protect it from degradation in the GI tract. And still others use sublingual powders, drops, lozenges, and even nasal sprays to increase absorption.

Those more efficient delivery methods tend to use lower doses than capsule powders since your body is likely going to get more out of them. When you compare a 500 mg capsule to a 50 mg sublingual drop, the 50 mg drop isn’t necessarily inferior. Unfortunately, the precise compounding process for that liquid is unique to each company, so determining the exact difference in efficacy is impossible without obtaining proprietary information.

To help you compare, we’ve composed a handy graph on the hierarchy of absorption:

In the short term, NAD+ supplements appear to be safe and well-tolerated. As with many forms of vitamin B, NR can cause some flushing, and both NR and NMN can cause digestive upset. But these side effects are rare and usually quite mild.

There are no long-term studies examining the safety of NR or NMN. Right now, our understanding of NAD+ is significantly incomplete. The supplement industry talks about it as though it's the fountain of youth, but cancer researchers have successfully starved tumors of the fuel they need to grow by limiting the presence of NAD+ in patients.

It's entirely possible that NAD+ can stave off the onset of various age-related disorders while also contributing to the growth of cancers in the body. For now, we recommend using NAD+ supplements with care. Talk to your doctor before starting and consider a lower dose if you have a history of cancer in your family.

Renue By Science is one of our top picks, thanks largely to its variety of products and delivery methods. The company sells NR and NMN supplements in capsules, tablets, powders, and sublingual drops. Many of these products contain NR or NMN processed in a liposomal format that protects them against stomach acid and allows them to convert to NAD+ properly.

Anyone interested in maximizing their NAD+ can do so by preserving the NAD+ their body produces, allowing it to be more useful over an extended lifespan. NAD+ preservers don't get the same level of attention as NAD+ boosters do, but they can be just as important. And they can work hand-in-hand with boosters, so you can create more NAD+ that lasts longer.

If you aren't sure whether you need an NAD+ supplement in the first place, or you don't know how much you might need to increase your NAD+ production, you can take one of Renue By Science's blood tests. You'll perform a finger prick at home and send your sample to a lab directly. From there, you should get results in about a week.

Renue By Science offers the following blood tests:

• CoQ10 (antioxidant), $59
• hs-CRP (inflammation), $59
• IC NAD+ (intracellular concentration), $248

Here's a breakdown of our favorite NAD+ boosters from Renue By Science:

Thorne does an excellent job combining their testing infrastructure with their supplement offerings. You can take at-home tests for any of the following:

• Fertility
• Gut health
• Biological age
• Menopause
• Sleep
• Stress
• Thyroid health
• Vitamin D levels
• Weight management

Thorne offers corresponding supplements for all of their tests, but they also have some supplements for which they lack testing. Unfortunately, one of those is their NR supplement NiaCel. The closest thing you can take to something like Renue By Science's IC NAD+ test is Thorne's Biological Age Test. If you score poorly, there's a good chance that increasing your NAD+ levels with their NiaCel 400 NR supplement (or any NAD+ booster) would be wise.

Thorne's NiaCel also includes a moderate dose of betaine, a natural compound made in the body. When you supplement with betaine, you can see improved liver function, better cell reproduction, and increased carnitine levels.

Among Thorne's other supplements, you'll find:

NiaCel is available in 207.5mg and 415mg doses. Here's how they price out:

NiaCel is also available as part of Thorne's Energy bundle. This package costs $94 for a one-time purchase but is also available as a subscription. It includes:

• NiaCel 400
• Cortex Adrenal Support
• Basic B Complex

Ground shipping from Thorne is free, but you have two expedited options if you'd like to receive your purchases more quickly:

• Two-day shipping: $15
• Overnight shipping: $20

Cymbiotika is a wellness company with a wide variety of products. They sell just about everything from green mixtures and probiotics to NAD+ boosters and even a shower filter. They pride themselves on never using GMOs, filler, or other artificial ingredients in their goods. And for their consumable goods, the company submits to 12-month-long third-party testing.

Their NAD+ booster is an NMN capsule that falls under their anti-aging category. It has more ingredients in it than most NAD+ boosters out there. The full list includes:

• NMN 400mg
• Apigenin 98% 200mg
• Green tea leaf extract (20% L-Theanine) 200mg
• Resveratrol (98% transresveratrol) 100mg
• Green coffee bean (10% caffeine) 100mg

Apigenin is the ingredient you're least likely to see in most supplements. It's a flavinoid you can find in many plants including chamomile. It has sedative properties, decreasing your overall stress levels that can also hack away at years of your life. At least one study suggests apigenin could play a critical role in preventing and treating diabetes, amnesia, Alzheimer's, depression, and even cancer.

A one-time purchase of Cymbiotika's NMN supplement is a little pricey, coming in at $77. If you're interested in this product, we recommend joining their Subscribe & Save monthly shipment plan, which brings the cost down to $53.90/month.

Bundling is another way to save, especially if several Cymbiotika products speak to you. When you bundle, you save 10% off any two items and another 5% off your order for each additional item. Savings will accumulate up to 30%.

Tru Niagen is likely the foremost name in NR supplements. Their specific nicotinamide ribose — branded Niagen — has been the subject of rigorous study. Study participants who have taken it saw definite increases in NAD+ levels. We should note that many of those studies looked at doses above what Tru Niagen provides in a serving, sometimes reaching more than three times that quantity.

Tru Niagen recently came out with an immunity support supplement that combines a 150mg dose of NR with vitamins D and C, Zinc, and a bioavailable curcumin derivative. The company sells a bundle of the two supplements together, which would take your effective NR dose up to 450mg/day.

Original Tru Niagen is available in 150mg and 300mg capsules, as well as a powder you can dissolve in water to make a tasty drink. The powder stickpacks are the most expensive form of Tru Niagen, likely due to the added packaging and ingredients to make the drink enjoyable.

Here's how a package of Tru Niagen's products price out:

To read more about Tru Niagen and its offerings, you can check out our comprehensive review.

Forest Leaf offers various supplements covering detoxification, collagen support, and more. Their NMN supplement is a smart choice if you have any food sensitivities. It's free of the following:

• Dairy
• Sugar
• Shellfish
• Nuts
• GMOs
• Tree nuts
• Fish
• Eggs
• Gluten
• Dyes
• Preservatives
• Soy

Forest Leaf's NMN supplement delivers a daily 250mg dose across two capsules. That's on the low end of dosages among NMN and NR supplements. Combined with the product's low allergen profile, this dosage makes Forest Leaf's NMN a good choice for anyone concerned with side effects. However, this probably isn't the best place to start if you're looking for maximum efficacy.

One bottle of Forest Leaf's NMN costs $39.95. If you subscribe, you can bring the cost per bottle down to $29.96. You can also set your shipping frequency and quantity to generate bulk deliveries. If you get two bottles delivered every other month, that's enough to trigger free shipping. Otherwise, you'll pay a $6.95 charge for every shipment.

Forest Leaf has one of the most generous money-back guarantees in its class. It lasts 60 days.

Much of what Quicksilver Scientific has to offer is designed for longevity. There are anti-inflammatory supplements, as well as products to increase collagen production, balance hormones, regulate your digestion, and more.

NAD+ Gold is the company's NAD+ booster. It contains an additive called trimethylglycine. TMG is a methyl donor, which means it can provide the carbon and hydrogen necessary for methylation — a process vital to NAD+ activity.

NAD+ Gold comes in a convenient pump bottle in either a 30 or 50ml size. The big drawback here is that you have to refrigerate the bottle to keep the NMN mixture fresh and effective. This makes returns impossible and prevents you from being able to take your supplements on the road if you travel.

Here are the prices for each size:

• 30ml - $42.50
• 50ml - $65

You can save 10% off these prices by subscribing, and the company calculates your shipping charges based on location.

Quicksilver Scientific's other supplement categories include:

• Cellular health
• Cognition
• Detox
• GI Health
• Hormones
• Immunity
• Inflammation
• Longevity
• Metabolism
• Sleep
• Vitamins and Minerals

Life Extension sells a lot of different supplements. Their range is so broad that they offer a convenient quiz to help you figure out switch ones you might need. For anyone interested in NAD+ supplements, Life Extension offers two products that contain Niagen, the key patented form of NR you'll find in Tru Niagen. Their 30-count bottle of just Niagen is a little less expensive than Tru Niagen's, but as soon as you get into long-term subscriptions or bulk ordering, Life Extension's savings give way to Tru Niagen's better prices.

Life Extension's NAD+ Cell Regenerator and Resveratrol combination offers a handful of ingredients in addition to Niagen and Resveratrol. These include:

• Bio-Quercitin 15mg - a flavonoid good for immunity and cardiovascular health
• Red grape and wild berry 40mg - an effective polyphenol blend
• Fisetin 10mg - a flavonoid good for bone health and anti-inflammation

Here's what Life Extension NAD+ price structure looks like:

Life Extension's other products include supplements for:

• Bone health
• Memory and cognition
• Sleep
• Eye health
• Sexual wellness
• Mood support
• Inflammation
• Liver health
• Stress management

Life Extension offers the greatest variety of lab testing among its peers. Any tests requiring a blood sample will need you to go into a LabCorp facility to have blood drawn. The tests from Renue By Science, by comparison, let you collect blood from a finger prick at home.

Life Extension tests can measure:

• Testosterone
• Autoimmune response
• Allergies
• Vitamin and mineral concentrations
• Stress indicators
• Nutrient concentrations
• Bowel inflammation
• Iron concentrations
• Food sensitivities
• Blood sugar

All told, there are over 200 tests available to you from Life Extension, each with its specific price. Costs can range from around $20 up to the hundreds. For more on Life Extension, you can check out our full review here.

Elysium offers fewer supplements than some of the competition, but their products are well-made and thoroughly tested. You can access third-party testing results for every manufacturing lot the company produces. That means you can compare the lot number on your bottle of any Elysium product to the list online and read test results specific to the pills in your hand.

Elysium Basis is the company's NR supplement. In addition to nicotinamide riboside, Basis includes pterostilbene. This is a powerful antioxidant found in blueberries. Combined with NR, it helps prevent oxidative stress that can damage cells and speed up aging.

Here's what Elysium Basis costs:

• One-time purchase: $60
• Monthly subscription $50/month
• Semi-annual subscription: $45/month
• Annual subscription: $40/month

While these are the product's monthly costs, a semi-annual subscription will charge you every six months, and an annual subscription will charge you every year. If you want to cancel your annual subscription three months in, you won't get any of your money back. Instead, the company will continue shipping Basis to you every month until your prepaid subscription period ends.

ProHealth Longevity offers several supplements designed to fight the aging process and provide you with extra energy. Their NMN supplements come in various forms, so you can choose which one you find easiest to take or decide based on absorption efficiency. Powders and lozenges will be the most efficient, and you can buy powders in bulk sizes up to one kilogram.

Here's a closer look at ProHealth Longevity's NMN offerings:

Free shipping doesn't kick in until you spend at least $75. Before that point, shipping will cost you:

• First-class: $4.99
• FedEx 2-day: $12