Comparison guide

Which multivitamin should you take?

Most demographic multivitamins are the same basic formula under a different label, and the main real difference between them is iron. Pregnancy is the exception: there, specific nutrients such as folic acid, iodine and iron have strong evidence behind them.

The options, compared

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
Multivitamin	Limited evidence	Adults with restricted or patchy diets	Trials show no reduction in heart disease or mortality in well-nourished adults; its defensible use is cheap insurance for restricted or monotonous diets. Choose about 100% of daily values, not a megadose formula.	View
Men's Multivitamin	Limited evidence	Men wanting an iron-free formula	Essentially a standard multivitamin without iron. The Physicians' Health Study II found an 8% lower total cancer incidence but no effect on cardiovascular events or cognition over more than a decade.	View
Women's Multivitamin	Moderate evidence	Women who could become pregnant	The value lies in the folic acid (400 micrograms daily for anyone who might conceive) and, for iron-deficient menstruating women, the iron. As a general habit for women who eat adequately it has little behind it, and iron should not be taken long term without a ferritin check.	View
Senior Multivitamin (50+)	Moderate evidence	Adults over 50	Usually iron-free with extra B12 and vitamin D, which covers common age-related gaps. The COSMOS trials found a small memory benefit, but routine use shows no cardiovascular protection.	View
Children's Multivitamin	Limited evidence	Picky or restricted eaters only	Most well-fed children already meet their nutrient needs, and gummies add sugar, often omit iron and iodine, and invite over-eating. For a typical child, vitamin D is the defensible supplement; talk to a paediatrician before anything more.	View
Prenatal Multivitamin	Strong evidence	Before conception through breastfeeding	Strong evidence: folic acid started before conception cuts neural tube defects by roughly 70%, and a full prenatal beats iron and folic acid alone for birthweight. Check the label for iodine and for vitamin A as beta carotene rather than retinol; most people need a separate choline source.	View
Postnatal Multivitamin	Limited evidence	Not tested as a product	No trial has tested a postnatal blend for recovery, energy or mood; what is shown is that some nutrients, such as B12, reach breast milk. The maternal vitamin D dose that covered the infant in a trial (6400 IU daily) is far above what any multivitamin supplies.	View

Our verdict

If you are pregnant or could become pregnant, take a prenatal with folic acid, iodine and iron; it is the one version with strong evidence, and you can continue it through breastfeeding. Everyone else can buy a plain adult multivitamin at about 100% of daily values, iron-free for men and postmenopausal women, because men's, women's and senior labels otherwise differ mostly in marketing. Skip children's gummies for children who eat a varied diet.