Before you buy
The real decision here is not "which premium greens is best." It is whether either one earns a price most people pay for a multivitamin plus a gym membership.
Both Cymbiotika Super Greens and AG1 sell the same promise: a single daily dose that covers the produce you did not eat. Both also share the same weakness – a proprietary blend that hides how much of each green you actually get. That matters, because a greens product is only as good as the doses inside it, and neither brand will tell you those doses.
So this comparison answers three things. First, what each product physically is, because one is a powder and one is a liquid gel. Second, where your money goes and whether the testing or formula justifies it. Third, who should ignore both and buy a cheaper greens that does the same basic job.
If you eat vegetables most days, you can likely stop reading and put the money elsewhere. A greens scoop is a small insurance policy, not a health upgrade. If you still want one, keep going.
What each product is
These two are not the same kind of thing, and that shapes the whole comparison.
AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens) is a powder you mix into water. One scoop is one serving, and the company lists more than 75 ingredients spread across four proprietary blends – a raw superfood complex, an extracts-and-herbs blend, a digestive enzyme and mushroom complex, and a dairy-free probiotic blend reported at around 7.2 billion CFU. It is the maximalist option: vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, mushrooms, and probiotics in one tub.
Cymbiotika Super Greens is a liquid gel in single-serve pouches, sold 30 to a box. You tear it open and either eat it straight or stir it into water. The headline ingredient is chlorophyll (sodium copper chlorophyllin), plus a proprietary Super Greens Complex of organic alfalfa, oat grass, spinach, spirulina, kale, and broccoli seed extract. It is the minimalist option – fewer ingredients, no vitamins or probiotics stacked in, and a citrus-lime taste built around portability.
So the honest framing is this: AG1 is trying to be a meal-replacement-grade multivitamin; Cymbiotika is a greens-and-chlorophyll shot. They compete for the same shelf and the same wallet, but they are not solving the same problem.
The proprietary-blend problem
Here is where both brands lose points, and it is the single most important thing to understand before you pay.
Neither company discloses how much of each greens ingredient you get. Cymbiotika lists a "Super Greens Complex" as one combined number. AG1 lists four blends, each as a single total. Healthline's dietitian review of AG1 put it plainly: because the amounts are not disclosed, it is impossible to know whether any single ingredient is present at a dose that does anything.
This is not a niche complaint. A proprietary blend lets a brand put a pinch of an expensive-sounding ingredient on the label and fill the rest with cheap filler greens like alfalfa and oat grass. You are paying for a name list, not a verified dose sheet.
To be fair to both: this is standard practice across the greens-powder category, and neither brand is uniquely dishonest. But "everyone does it" does not make a $79 to $99 monthly habit a good deal. If dosing transparency is what you care about, neither of these passes, and you should not pay a premium for a blend you cannot verify.
Third-party testing and quality
This is the one dimension where the two genuinely separate.
AG1 is NSF Certified for Sport, which you can confirm on the public NSF Certified for Sport listing. That certification means each lot is tested for around 280 banned substances and screened for label accuracy and contaminants. For a competitive athlete subject to drug testing, that certification is a real, checkable reason to choose AG1 over almost any greens powder.
Cymbiotika takes a lighter approach. Its product page says Super Greens is tested by an outside lab for heavy metals, microbes, and contaminants, and it publishes a Certificate of Analysis. That is meaningful, and more than many brands offer. But a self-published Certificate of Analysis is not the same as an ongoing NSF Certified for Sport program, and Cymbiotika is not on the NSF Certified for Sport list as of writing.
So on testing: AG1 has the stronger, independently verifiable credential. If you are tested for sport, this alone may settle it. If you are not, a Certificate of Analysis from Cymbiotika is reasonable assurance, but it should not command a premium over the AG1 standard.
What a greens powder can and cannot do
Before you judge either price, be clear about what you are actually buying, because the marketing oversells it.
A greens product cannot replace vegetables. UCLA Health and other dietitian sources are consistent on this: a single daily serving delivers only about 2 grams of fiber, while five servings of whole produce gives you roughly 15 grams, plus water and the full nutrient package that real food carries. The powder is a concentrate of some plant compounds, not a substitute for the plants.
What a greens product can do is modest but real:
- Fill small gaps if your diet is genuinely short on certain vitamins or minerals.
- Add a convenient micronutrient top-up for people who travel or struggle to eat produce.
- Provide a few antioxidant compounds and, in AG1's case, added vitamins and probiotics.
That is the honest ceiling. Neither Cymbiotika nor AG1 will make a bad diet good, and no greens scoop has strong clinical evidence that it improves health outcomes in people who already eat reasonably. Hold both products to that bar when you look at the price.
Cost per serving compared
This is the table that should drive your decision. All prices are approximate and as of writing – check current price before you buy.
| Dimension | Cymbiotika Super Greens | AG1 | Budget Amazon greens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Liquid gel pouches | Powder to mix | Powder to mix |
| Servings per box | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Price (subscription) | ~$70/month | ~$79/month | ~$15 to $30 |
| Cost per serving | ~$2.34 to $2.60 | ~$2.63 | ~$0.50 to $0.85 |
| Ingredient count | ~6 greens + chlorophyll | 75+ across 4 blends | 20+ greens |
| Doses disclosed? | No (proprietary) | No (proprietary) | Usually no |
| NSF Certified for Sport | No | Yes | Rarely |
The gap is hard to ignore. Both premium brands cost three to five times more per serving than a perfectly usable Amazon greens like Amazing Grass (around $0.80 per serving) or Nested Naturals (around $0.83 per serving), both as of writing. You are paying mostly for branding, format, and in AG1's case the NSF certification.
The value pick for most buyers
If you have read this far and still want a daily greens, the smart-money move for most people is not Cymbiotika or AG1. It is a cheaper Amazon greens that gives you the same kind of green-vegetable concentrate without the premium markup.
The reasoning is simple. Since none of these products disclose their real doses, and none replaces vegetables, you are mostly paying for convenience and marketing. A $0.50-per-serving powder delivers the same modest benefit. Spend the saved $50 a month on actual produce, which does have evidence behind it.
The exceptions are narrow. Choose AG1 if you are drug-tested and need NSF Certified for Sport coverage, or if you genuinely want the all-in-one vitamin and probiotic stack and will use it daily. Choose Cymbiotika only if the no-mixing liquid pouch format is the thing that makes you actually take it while traveling.
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If you want the full breakdown on Cymbiotika's pricing model, our take on whether Cymbiotika is worth it goes deeper on the brand. And if you like the liposomal idea but not the price, the cheaper Amazon liposomal picks guide covers the rest of the lineup.
FAQ
Is AG1 or Cymbiotika better value? Per serving they are close, around $2.34 to $2.63 as of writing, so neither is a clear value win. AG1 gives you more ingredients and NSF Certified for Sport testing for roughly the same price, so it is the better value of the two – but a budget Amazon greens beats both on cost.
Can a greens powder replace eating vegetables? No. A single serving provides only about 2 grams of fiber versus roughly 15 grams from five servings of whole produce, and it lacks the water and full nutrient package of real food. Treat any greens product as a top-up, not a substitute.
Why don’t these brands list how much of each ingredient is in them? Both use proprietary blends, which let a brand list a combined total instead of individual doses. The downside is you cannot tell whether any single ingredient is present at a meaningful amount, so you are paying for an ingredient list rather than verified doses.
Is Cymbiotika Super Greens third-party tested? Cymbiotika says the product is tested by an outside lab for heavy metals, microbes, and contaminants, and it publishes a Certificate of Analysis. That is reasonable assurance, but it is not the same as AG1’s ongoing NSF Certified for Sport program.
Should an athlete pick AG1 or Cymbiotika? An athlete subject to drug testing should pick AG1, because it is NSF Certified for Sport and screened for banned substances each lot. Cymbiotika does not carry that certification as of writing.
Do I need a greens powder at all? Probably not if you eat vegetables most days. Greens powders may help fill gaps for people who travel often or struggle to eat produce, but they have no strong evidence of improving health in people who already eat a reasonable diet. Check the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheets for any specific nutrient you think you are missing.
The verdict
Strip away the branding and this is two expensive ways to buy the same modest thing.
Cymbiotika Super Greens is a portable liquid greens-and-chlorophyll shot with a self-published Certificate of Analysis and a proprietary blend you cannot dose-check. AG1 is a maximalist powder with 75-plus listed ingredients, NSF Certified for Sport testing, and the same proprietary-blend opacity. At roughly the same per-serving cost, AG1 is the stronger of the two, mainly because of that independent certification and its broader formula.
But the more honest answer is that most people should skip both. Neither replaces vegetables, neither discloses real doses, and a $0.50-per-serving Amazon greens delivers the same insurance for a fraction of the price. Buy the premium brand only for a specific reason – NSF certification for AG1, or the no-mix pouch format for Cymbiotika.
Your next step: if you eat produce most days, put the $50-plus monthly difference toward more vegetables and a basic, third-party-tested multivitamin. If you are set on a greens scoop, start with a cheap Amazon option and only trade up if you have a reason the premium price actually buys you. For brand-specific detail, our drug and supplement interaction guide and the interaction checker are worth a look before you add anything daily.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet, and you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting any new product, especially if you take medication or have a health condition.
Reviewed by the UsefulVitamins Editorial Team.
