Vitamin D
Of 15,046 on-market vitamin d products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 12.5 mcg, and 100.0% list Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) as the primary form.
Form share
Of 13,561 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Vitamin D on the market today.
| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) | Tier 1 | 13,557 | 100.0% |
| Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) | Tier 2 | 4 | 0.0% |
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (mcg), among 13,385 products with a disclosed amount, against the RDA of 15 and UL of 100.
- 0.2% of products don't disclose an amount because Vitamin D is declared inside a proprietary blend.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
| Brand | Products |
|---|---|
| Douglas Laboratories | 303 |
| Nature Made | 199 |
| Wonder Laboratories | 194 |
| DC | 187 |
| Centrum | 180 |
| Nature's Way | 171 |
| The Vitamin Shoppe | 150 |
| Carlson | 149 |
| Source Naturals | 142 |
| Pure Encapsulations | 134 |
| Puritan's Pride | 126 |
| Life Extension | 124 |
| BulkSupplements.com | 123 |
| Bluebonnet | 119 |
| 21st Century | 115 |
| New Chapter | 113 |
| Metagenics | 112 |
| NOW | 110 |
| MegaFood | 110 |
| Vitamin World | 103 |
| Nature's Bounty | 96 |
| Country Life | 92 |
| Bayer One A Day | 89 |
| Solgar | 87 |
| GNC Mega Men | 83 |
Forms explained
Produced significantly greater and more sustained increases in serum 25(OH)D than equal-IU D2 across pooled RCTs.
Source: Tripkovic L et al. 2012, Am J Clin Nutr 95(6):1357-64, PMID 22552031
FDA/label convention treats D2 as bioequivalent to D3, but pooled RCTs found D2 less effective at raising/maintaining serum 25(OH)D, especially with infrequent/bolus dosing; the gap narrows with daily dosing and is debated.
Source: Tripkovic L et al. 2012, PMID 22552031
Reference values
- RDA (adult): 15 mcg — 15mcg/600 IU (ages 19-70); 20mcg/800 IU (71+)
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): 100 mcg — 100mcg/4000 IU for adults 19+
- Studied clinical dose range: ?–50 mcg
- Manson JE et al. 2019 (VITAL trial), NEJM 380:33-44, PMID 30415629 -- 2000 IU/day (50mcg) D3 x5yr in >25,000 US adults; did not significantly reduce invasive cancer or major cardiovascular events vs placebo. No single pinned low-dose comparator RCT was confidently identified -- left null rather than guessed.
- Note: IU conversion: 40 IU = 1 mcg cholecalciferol (FDA Guidance for Industry, Aug 2019, Table 4).