{
  "dataset": "citicoline-cost-by-brand",
  "title": "Citicoline (CDP-Choline) Supplements Compared — Cognizin vs. generic, cost per mg, and cost at the cognition-trial dose",
  "sourcePage": "https://verifiedsupplementdata.com/citicoline/best-overall/",
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "Verified Supplement Data (2026), Citicoline Cost Comparison",
  "dateModified": "2026-07-18",
  "methodology": "Cognizin® (Kyowa Hakko's branded, trademarked citicoline sodium) is the raw material actually used in the two PubMed-indexed cognition trials in this pack (McGlade 2019, PMID 26179181; Nakazaki 2021, PMID 33978188) — both Kyowa Hakko-funded/co-authored, disclosed every citation. Generic \"CDP-Choline\"/\"citicoline sodium\" is very likely the SAME underlying compound, sold without that trial chain-of-custody disclosure. This is NOT a purity/fraud story the way some other clusters' branded-vs-generic questions are — no comparable third-party citicoline-specific adulteration dataset was found. All six tracked products disclose a full label mg figure with no blend-percentage ambiguity, so costPerMg is computed for every product (unlike alpha-GPC's 50%-blend disclosure gap). HONEST FINDING: Life Extension's Cognizin-branded 500mg product is the cheapest cost-per-mg of all six tracked, including every generic — the \"generic is always cheaper per mg\" pattern seen in other clusters does not hold here. Healthy Origins Cognizin 250mg has the lowest total sticker price ($13.99) among Cognizin-branded products, making it the lowest-commitment way to try the trial ingredient, but it is NOT the cheapest per mg. ESSENTIAL HONEST COUNTERWEIGHT: the largest, best-designed citicoline RCT ever run — ICTUS (Davalos 2012, Lancet, PMID 22691567, N=2,298 acute ischemic stroke patients) — was NULL for global recovery at 90 days (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.86-1.25, p=0.364), using a much higher dose (2,000mg/day oral phase) than any retail cognition product here. Citicoline is NOT a proven stroke treatment despite wide clinical use abroad. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA; these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.",
  "headline": {
    "productsCompared": 6,
    "cognizinBranded": 3,
    "genericLabeled": 3,
    "trialLowMg": 250,
    "trialHighMg": 500,
    "strokeTrialDoseMg": 2000,
    "overallCostPerMgLeaderBrand": "Life Extension",
    "overallCostPerMgLeaderIsCognizin": true,
    "cognizinCostPerMgLeaderBrand": "Life Extension",
    "cognizinCheapestStickerBrand": "Healthy Origins",
    "genericCostPerMgLeaderBrand": "Nutricost",
    "ictusNullResultCitation": "Davalos 2012, The Lancet, PMID 22691567: OR 1.03 (95% CI 0.86-1.25, p=0.364) for 90-day global recovery, N=2,298 acute ischemic stroke patients. NULL — citicoline is not a proven stroke treatment.",
    "note": "Sorted by cost per mg across all six tracked products; Cognizin-branded vs generic is flagged per row, not used to force a tier order — never ranked by commissions."
  },
  "columns": [
    "brand",
    "product",
    "slug",
    "form",
    "mgPerServing",
    "servings",
    "price",
    "costPerServing",
    "costPerDay",
    "costPerMg",
    "costPer250mg",
    "costPer500mg",
    "verdict",
    "thirdParty"
  ],
  "units": {
    "mgPerServing": "mg citicoline (label figure)",
    "price": "USD",
    "costPerServing": "USD/serving",
    "costPerDay": "USD/day",
    "costPerMg": "USD per mg citicoline",
    "costPer250mg": "USD at a 250mg/day dose",
    "costPer500mg": "USD at a 500mg/day dose"
  },
  "citations": [
    {
      "claim": "RCT n=75 healthy adolescent males (51 citicoline/24 placebo), Cognizin 250mg or 500mg/day, 28 days: improved attention (p=0.02) and increased psychomotor speed (p=0.03) vs placebo. Co-authors are Kyowa Hakko Bio/Kyowa Hakko USA employees — Cognizin funding, disclosed every citation.",
      "source": "McGlade EC, et al. 2019 (Epub 2015), J Atten Disord",
      "pmid": "26179181"
    },
    {
      "claim": "RCT n=100 (99 completed) adults 50-85 with age-associated memory impairment, Cognizin 500mg/day, 12 weeks: significantly greater improvement in episodic-memory (secondary) outcome (p=0.0025) and composite memory score (p=0.0052) vs placebo. Funded by Kyowa Hakko Bio; authors are Kyowa Hakko employees — disclosed every citation. Population has AAMI, not a fully \"healthy\" sample.",
      "source": "Nakazaki E, et al. 2021, J Nutr",
      "pmid": "33978188"
    },
    {
      "claim": "RCT n=2,298 (1,148 citicoline/1,150 placebo) moderate-to-severe acute ischemic stroke patients, 1,000mg IV q12h x3 days then 2,000mg/day oral through 6 weeks: global recovery at 90 days NOT significantly different vs placebo (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.86-1.25, p=0.364). The largest, best-designed citicoline RCT ever run — NULL. Independent/academic multicenter design, not industry-funded.",
      "source": "Davalos A, et al. 2012 (ICTUS trial), The Lancet",
      "pmid": "22691567"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Cochrane systematic review of 14 trials, elderly patients with chronic cerebral disorders: some evidence of benefit on memory/behavior and global clinical impression, but NO evidence of a beneficial effect on attention specifically. 2005 review; disease population, not healthy adults.",
      "source": "Fioravanti M, Yanagi M. 2005, Cochrane Database Syst Rev",
      "pmid": "15846601"
    },
    {
      "claim": "7 studies identified, 6 pooled in meta-analysis: SMDs favoring citicoline ranged 0.56-1.57 across cognitive outcomes in dementia-prevention/treatment context, BUT authors explicitly state study quality is \"poor with significant risk of bias in favor of the intervention.\" Never cite the effect sizes without this caveat.",
      "source": "Bonvicini M, et al. 2023, Nutrients",
      "pmid": "36678257"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Open-label (not randomized/blinded), n=349 elderly patients with mild vascular cognitive impairment, citicoline 1,000mg/day, 9 months: MMSE scores significantly improved vs control at 3/9 months. Materially weaker design than the RCTs above; disease population, not healthy adults.",
      "source": "Cotroneo AM, et al. 2013 (IDEALE study), Clin Interv Aging",
      "pmid": "23403474"
    },
    {
      "claim": "RCT n=95 (50-85yo, dementia/memory disorders excluded), 1,000mg/day initial phase, 2,000mg/day crossover subphase: delayed verbal recall improved only in the subgroup with relatively inefficient baseline memory, not the full sample. Academic (MIT/Wurtman lab), not industry-funded — non-Cognizin data point. 1996, dated.",
      "source": "Spiers PA, et al. 1996, Arch Neurol",
      "pmid": "8624220"
    }
  ],
  "products": [
    {
      "brand": "Life Extension",
      "product": "Citicoline (Cognizin) 500 mg",
      "slug": "life-extension-cognizin-500mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 500,
      "servings": 60,
      "price": 25.5,
      "costPerServing": 0.43,
      "costPerDay": 0.43,
      "costPerMg": 0.00085,
      "costPer250mg": 0.2125,
      "costPer500mg": 0.425,
      "verdict": "cognizin-branded",
      "thirdParty": "Cognizin® branded raw material (Kyowa Hakko) — no independent COA check this session",
      "priceNote": "Cognizin-branded AND the cheapest cost per mg of all six products tracked here, including every generic — an honest surprise finding, not the usual 'generic is always cheaper per mg' pattern."
    },
    {
      "brand": "Nutricost",
      "product": "CDP-Choline (Citicoline) 300 mg",
      "slug": "nutricost-cdp-choline-300mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 300,
      "servings": 60,
      "price": 16.95,
      "costPerServing": 0.28,
      "costPerDay": 0.28,
      "costPerMg": 0.000942,
      "costPer250mg": 0.2355,
      "costPer500mg": 0.471,
      "verdict": "generic-citicoline",
      "thirdParty": "Not independently verified this session (no live label/COA check)",
      "priceNote": "Generic citicoline — no Cognizin claim. Cheapest generic per mg tracked here, and the second-cheapest product overall per mg (behind Life Extension's Cognizin pick)."
    },
    {
      "brand": "Double Wood",
      "product": "Supplements CDP Choline (Citicoline) 300 mg",
      "slug": "double-wood-cdp-choline-300mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 300,
      "servings": 60,
      "price": 19.95,
      "costPerServing": 0.33,
      "costPerDay": 0.33,
      "costPerMg": 0.001108,
      "costPer250mg": 0.277,
      "costPer500mg": 0.554,
      "verdict": "generic-citicoline",
      "thirdParty": "Brand states “pharmaceutical grade” and third-party-tested on label — not independently verified this session (no live COA check)",
      "priceNote": "Generic citicoline with a “pharmaceutical grade” and third-party-tested label claim — the only tracked product making that claim, though it is a brand statement, not an independently reviewed COA in this pass."
    },
    {
      "brand": "Nutricost",
      "product": "Cognizin Citicoline 1000 mg (2×500 mg)",
      "slug": "nutricost-cognizin-1000mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 1000,
      "servings": 30,
      "price": 33.5,
      "costPerServing": 1.12,
      "costPerDay": 1.12,
      "costPerMg": 0.001117,
      "costPer250mg": 0.2793,
      "costPer500mg": 0.5585,
      "verdict": "cognizin-branded",
      "thirdParty": "Cognizin® branded raw material (Kyowa Hakko) — no independent COA check this session",
      "priceNote": "Cognizin-branded, high-dose (1,000 mg/day at 2 capsules) — well above the 250-500 mg/day cognition-trial range (McGlade 2019, Nakazaki 2021). Useful for a direct generic-vs-Cognizin cost/mg comparison within one manufacturer (see Nutricost's own 300 mg generic pick)."
    },
    {
      "brand": "Jarrow Formulas",
      "product": "Citicoline CDP 250 mg",
      "slug": "jarrow-citicoline-cdp-250mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 250,
      "servings": 120,
      "price": 44.94,
      "costPerServing": 0.37,
      "costPerDay": 0.37,
      "costPerMg": 0.001498,
      "costPer250mg": 0.3745,
      "costPer500mg": 0.749,
      "verdict": "generic-citicoline",
      "thirdParty": "Not independently verified this session (no live label/COA check)",
      "priceNote": "Generic citicoline (CDP-choline) — the label makes NO Cognizin claim, despite this brand being widely assumed to be Cognizin-branded. The most expensive product tracked here by cost per mg."
    },
    {
      "brand": "Healthy Origins",
      "product": "Cognizin (Citicoline) 250 mg",
      "slug": "healthy-origins-cognizin-250mg",
      "form": "Capsule",
      "mgPerServing": 250,
      "servings": 30,
      "price": 13.99,
      "costPerServing": 0.47,
      "costPerDay": 0.47,
      "costPerMg": 0.001865,
      "costPer250mg": 0.4663,
      "costPer500mg": 0.9325,
      "verdict": "cognizin-branded",
      "thirdParty": "Cognizin® branded raw material (Kyowa Hakko) — no independent COA check this session",
      "priceNote": "Lowest total sticker price of any Cognizin-branded product here ($13.99 for 30 capsules) — the lowest-commitment way to try the actual trial ingredient. NOT the cheapest cost per mg among Cognizin picks; see Life Extension for that."
    }
  ]
}