Which of these brands scored highest overall?

Thorne averaged 85.6/100 across 7 scored products — the highest of the 2 brands compared. Higher-scoring brands generally combine full ingredient dose disclosure, formulation choices backed by RCT evidence at studied doses, and public third-party testing.

Is Thorne better than NOW Foods?

On our 6-dimension rubric, yes — Thorne averaged 85.6/100 across 7 scored products versus NOW Foods's 67.9/100 across 9 products, a 17.7-point gap. The gap comes primarily from evidence quality, dose disclosure, and formulation choices — see the per-brand deep-dive for the specific products driving each brand's average.

What is the highest-scoring Thorne product on Vyvata?

Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day scores 89/100 (Elite tier) — the top-scored Thorne product in our catalog. Full breakdown on the product page.

Does NOW Foods have any Rejected products?

Yes — 1 of 9 scored NOW Foods products hit an auto-fail rule (proprietary blend, sub-therapeutic dose, unverified claim, or outside the supplement rubric). Rejected products stay listed with reasons — see the deep-dive.

Do third-party certifications like NSF and USP guarantee a high score?

They're a strong signal on manufacturing integrity but only cover part of the Vyvata rubric. A product can be NSF-certified and still have weak evidence for its active ingredient, sub-therapeutic dosing, or misleading marketing. NSF/USP is one input into the Manufacturing dimension; the other five dimensions are independent.

Is this comparison biased by which products Vyvata carries?

Yes, in the sense that we only score products we list. We list products across all 2 brands compared here, but a brand with a wider catalog we carry can look "better" purely from statistical mass. The individual per-product scores are independent — see the deep dives above for the specific products and reasoning per brand.

How often does this comparison update?

Whenever any of these brands' products get rescored. New evidence (published trials, third-party testing releases, label updates) can shift individual products up or down, which changes the brand averages. Every score carries a "last scored" timestamp on the product page.

Brand comparison

Thorne vs NOW Foods: Practitioner-Tier vs Mass-Market, Scored Head-to-Head

By the Vyvata Scoring Team · Updated October 6, 2026

Thorne and NOW Foods sit at opposite ends of the supplement-brand spectrum — Thorne is NSF Certified for Sport and practitioner-channel, recently acquired by Procter & Gamble for $3.8 billion; NOW Foods is the mass-market, family-owned value brand found in nearly every health-food store. Both make real quality claims. Here's how every scored product from each brand actually performs on the same 6-dimension rubric — evidence, formulation, manufacturing, safety, transparency, sustainability. Read the rubric →

Head-to-head summary

#	Brand	Avg score	Scored	Tier mix	Top product
1	Thorne	85.6	7 of 7	6 Elite 1 Verified	Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day · 89
2	NOW Foods	67.9	9 of 9	1 Elite 2 Verified 5 Standard 1 Rejected	NOW Foods L-Theanine 200 mg · 80

Overall winner on average score: Thorne at 85.6/100 across 7 scored products.

Per-brand deep dive

Thorneavg 85.6/100 across 7 scored products

Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day 89/100 · Elite

Foundational multi built on active B-vitamin forms (5-MTHF folate, methylcobalamin, P-5-P B6) and chelated minerals — the anchor product for the Elite tier.
Thorne Methyl-Guard Plus Dietary Supplement, 90 Capsules EXP 10/2026 88/100 · Elite

[Rescored via evidence crawl] Previous score 84 → new 88.
Thorne Selenium 200 mcg Dietary Supplement EXP 7/2027 87/100 · Elite

Genuine Thorne Selenium 200 mcg as selenomethionine (highly bioavailable form).
Thorne Creatine Monohydrate 85/100 · Elite

[Rescored via evidence crawl] Previous score 78 → new 85.
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate 85/100 · Elite

[Rescored via evidence crawl] Previous score 81 → new 85.

NOW Foodsavg 67.9/100 across 9 scored products

NOW Foods L-Theanine 200 mg 80/100 · Elite

[Rescored via evidence crawl] Previous score 74 → new 80.
NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3 78/100 · Verified

[Rescored via evidence crawl] Previous score 73 → new 78.
NOW Foods Magnesium Citrate 70/100 · Verified

Magnesium citrate at 133 mg elemental per cap — well-absorbed form (Walker et al.
NOW Foods Nattokinase 100mg – 2,000 FU | 60 Veg Caps | Circulation & Cardiovascular Support | Non-GMO 69/100 · Standard

NOW Foods is a well-established, GMP-audited manufacturer with strong in-house and third-party testing infrastructure, and this nattokinase delivers a clearly disclosed 100mg/2,000 FU dose that falls within the range used in published fibrinolytic-activity …
Now Foods Magnesium Malate 1000 mg for Muscle Energy 180 Tablets 68/100 · Standard

NOW Foods Magnesium Malate delivers 1,000 mg of magnesium malate per serving (yielding ~115 mg elemental magnesium plus ~885 mg malic acid).

How the scoring works

Every product is scored on six dimensions — evidence (RCT quality supporting the active ingredients at the label dose), formulation (dose adequacy, bioavailability form, redundancy), manufacturing (third-party testing, GMP, facility audits), safety (adverse-event profile, interactions, dose ceiling), transparency (dose disclosure vs proprietary blends, honest marketing), and sustainability (sourcing, packaging, corporate practice). Tier thresholds: Elite 85+, Verified 70–84, Standard 50–69, Rejected 0–49. Rejected products stay listed with reasons. Full rubric →

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