Iron & Calcium

One rack, two minerals: how the 13 listings split

Iron & Calcium is a lopsided rack: 22 products assigned, 13 shown here, six brands. Nature Made supplies six of those 13 on its own; Integrative Therapeutics and Caltrate have two each, and Flintstones, Nature's Bounty and Swisse one each. The titles show the split: of the thirteen listings, eight name calcium and five name iron. Six of the 13 are tablets, two are softgels. Women's Health is tagged on six of the 13, Bone & Joint on five.

Calcium 600 mg: three Nature Made sizes and one chewable

The calcium side is one label claim at different counts. Nature Made Calcium 600 mg with Vitamin D3 120 Tablets is $13.99, the lowest-priced calcium bottle among the 13 listings (the shelf's lowest price overall is the Nature Made Iron 18 mg gummies at $11.99). The 220-count tablets are $16.55 and the 100-count softgels are $16.99; no two prices repeat among the 13 listings, the 600 mg label claim is the same, the bottle and the swallow differ.

Two bottles hold 300 tablets each: Nature Made Calcium Magnesium Zinc with Vitamin D3 at $14.47 and Swisse Calcium with Vitamin D3 & Citrate at $54.90, which puts $40.43 between the two 300-counts. Caltrate Calcium + Vitamin D3 Chewables Strawberry 100 Ct ($29.24) is the strawberry chewable for anyone avoiding a calcium tablet. All eight calcium titles among the thirteen listings pair calcium with vitamin D (seven name D3), so the figure worth comparing on each product page is elemental calcium, not the D3 line.

Iron: two Integrative Therapeutics formats and two multis

Iron is the premium end. Integrative Therapeutics Iron Complex 90 Ct Softgels is $58.00, the highest price among the 13 listings, and Integrative Therapeutics Liquid Iron 6 oz Apple Cinnamon is $47.00 and the one listing of the 13 sold by the ounce rather than by count; check its label for the serving. Nature Made Multivitamin with Iron 130 Tablets is $15.75, just under the rack's $17.45 median, and Flintstones Kids Multivitamin with Iron 60 Chewable Tablets ($22.99) is the only kids' title among the 13 listings, check its label for age guidance. Iron is easy to double up on by accident, so talk to your healthcare provider before adding a standalone iron product to a multi that already contains it.

Price bands across the 13 listings

• $0 to $15: three listings: the iron gummies and two of the Nature Made calcium bottles above.
• $15 to $30: seven listings, from the $15.75 multivitamin with iron to the $29.24 Caltrate chewable.
• $30 to $50: one listing, the liquid iron.
• $50 and up: two listings, the Swisse 300-count and the Iron Complex softgels.

Median $17.45, range $11.99 to $58.00. Five of these products also sit in Bone & Joint, and twelve of the 13 carry the Health & Vitamins tag. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration; these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.