Analysis
Gummies, tablets, capsules: how amounts differ by physical form
For 8 of the 10 nutrients compared, the median gummy lists less per serving than the median tablet (DSLD version 9.4.0, January 2026). Vitamin C: 45 mg in a gummy serving against 120 mg in a tablet serving.
Published by PlainVitamins on ; written with AI tools under the editorial policy, every figure computed from the label database.
How much does each form list per serving?
| Nutrient | All forms | Gummies | Tablets | Capsules | Softgels | Liquids | Powders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D | 15 mcg | 20 mcg | 10 mcg | 25 mcg | 25 mcg | 11.38 mcg | 10 mcg |
| Vitamin C | 100 mg | 45 mg | 120 mg | 120 mg | 100 mg | 60 mg | 100 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 36 mcg | 4.8 mcg | 40 mcg | 100 mcg | 25 mcg | 50 mcg | 25 mcg |
| Zinc | 11 mg | 3.6 mg | 15 mg | 15 mg | 15 mg | 5 mg | 5.5 mg |
| Biotin | 200 mcg | 60 mcg | 150 mcg | 300 mcg | 300 mcg | 300 mcg | 150 mcg |
| Melatonin | 3 mg | 5 mg | 3 mg | 3 mg | 3 mg | 2 mg | 3 mg |
| Iron | 5 mg | 8.75 mg | 18 mg | 10 mg | 18 mg | 5 mg | 1.7 mg |
| Calcium | 115 mg | 100 mg | 150 mg | 100 mg | 200 mg | 50 mg | 100 mg |
| Magnesium | 86 mg | 10 mg | 100 mg | 100 mg | 50 mg | 50 mg | 60 mg |
| Folate | 400 mcg | 260 mcg | 400 mcg | 400 mcg | 400 mcg | 400 mcg | 200 mcg |
Browse by form: gummies, tablets, capsules, softgels, liquids, powders.
Source: NIH ODS Dietary Supplement Label Database version 9.4.0, current labels. Download the data (CSV).
How this was measured
Products are grouped by the physical form DSLD records for their current label. For each nutrient and form, the median amount per serving is taken over products that give the amount; cells with fewer than 20 products are left blank.
Limits
A serving may be one or several units (two gummies, for example); amounts are per serving as printed, not per unit. Form says nothing here about absorption.
Sources
The data
One row per nutrient and form: products, median amount per serving, measure. Download the CSV. How the labels are grouped and read: methodology.
Other analyses
- Supplement labels above the adult upper limit, nutrient by nutrientWhich nutrients most often pass the adult Tolerable Upper Intake Level at the most servings a label allows, and on which products.
- How supplement amounts compare with the Daily ValueFor each nutrient with an FDA Daily Value: the amount the typical product lists per serving, and how many products give five times the DV or more.
- Proprietary blends: how many supplement labels do not disclose their amountsHow many products list a proprietary blend whose ingredient amounts are not disclosed, by product type and by brand.
- Vitamin D amounts on supplement labels, by yearHow the amount of vitamin D per serving has moved on labels entered into the NIH database each year since 2011.
- Which forms of magnesium, B12, folate and other nutrients supplements useOxide or glycinate, cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin: how many products list each form of twelve nutrients, and at what amounts.
- One formula, many brand names: identical supplement labelsFormulas that appear with the same ingredients in the same amounts under several brand names in the label database: identical label formulas, which do not by themselves show a common maker.