Best Glucosamine Chondroitin Supplement
The best glucosamine chondroitin supplement for most people is Cosamin DS: it has the trial dose of 1,500 mg glucosamine and 1,200 mg chondroitin a day, an outside lab checked its label, and it costs $0.67 a day. For the lowest cost at that dose, buy NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin.
By Erin Rose Updated October 22, 2026 How we score
Costs are brand prices per day, checked October 23, 2026.
Our pick for: Most people with achy knees
- Testing list
- NSF/ANSI 173An outside lab checks the label is right
- Glucosamine
- 1,500 mgA day, as in the trials
- Chondroitin
- 1,200 mgA day, as in the trials
- A day
- $0.67Brand price; Amazon’s can differ
- Bottle we link
- 180 capsules3 a day, 60 days
Why we pick it It is the only product here with the full trial dose, 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin a day, that is also on a public testing list. Both amounts are stated on the label, with no blend.
What you give up It costs more than NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin, which has the same dose at $0.38 a day but is on no testing list we read. Give either one about 6 months, the length of the trials, then stop if your knees feel the same.
Which one is right for you?
Two large trials used 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin a day. Many bottles hold less chondroitin or hide it in a blend, so we compare that dose, outside testing, and cost a day.
Want the lowest cost at the trial dose?
NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin has 1,500 mg of glucosamine sulfate and 1,200 mg of chondroitin in 3 capsules, at $0.38 a day, the least of the full-dose products here. The catch: it is on no testing list we read. Doctor's Best Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM also has the full dose, in 4 capsules at $0.51 a day.
NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin
$0.38 a day · 3 capsules · 60 days
Want a USP Verified bottle?
Nature Made TripleFlex + D3 is USP Verified, which checks what is in the bottle. It costs $0.32 a day and adds 2,000 IU of vitamin D3. The catch: it has 800 mg of chondroitin, less than the 1,200 mg the trials used.
Nature Made TripleFlex + D3
$0.32 a day · 2 caplets · 60 days
Take warfarin, or watch your blood sugar?
Talk to your doctor first. The NIH says glucosamine and chondroitin have been linked to a higher risk of bleeding in people on the blood thinner warfarin, and glucosamine may raise blood sugar in some people. Labels also tell people with a shellfish allergy to ask a doctor first. Little is known about using them while pregnant or breastfeeding.
Glucosamine chondroitin supplements we compared
We chose 5 that sell well on Amazon, read each label, and checked them against five testing lists. Our pick is first, then the ones on a testing list, then the rest, cheaper first. The dose column is glucosamine / chondroitin a day.
| Product | A day | Why it is or is not a pick |
|---|---|---|
| Cosamin DS1,500 / 1,200 mg | $0.67 | Our pick: the full trial dose, on NSF/ANSI 173 |
| Nature Made TripleFlex + D31,500 / 800 mg | $0.32 | USP Verified; 800 mg of chondroitin, less than trials used; adds vitamin D3 |
| Thorne Glucosamine & Chondroitin1,500 / 750 mg | $1.33 | On NSF/ANSI 173; 750 mg of chondroitin in 3 capsules; costs the most a day |
| NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin1,500 / 1,200 mg | $0.38 | Full trial dose with glucosamine sulfate; on no testing list we read |
| Doctor's Best Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM1,500 / 1,200 mg | $0.51 | Full trial dose in 4 capsules; on no testing list we read |
Does glucosamine chondroitin work?
For knee arthritis pain, the results are mixed, and they look best in people with more pain. In GAIT, the largest US trial (1,583 people, 24 weeks), the pair was not clearly better than a placebo overall. In the smaller group with moderate to severe pain, 79% on the pair had at least 20% less pain, against 54% on placebo, a result the authors called exploratory (Clegg 2006).
In MOVES, 606 people with moderate to severe knee pain took the pair or the drug celecoxib for 6 months. Pain fell by about half in both groups (Hochberg 2016). A Cochrane review found chondroitin eased pain a little in trials shorter than 6 months, with low-quality evidence (Singh 2015).
The American College of Rheumatology gives its strongest backing to exercise and weight loss, and backs chondroitin only for arthritis in the hand (Kolasinski 2020). A supplement works best alongside those, not in place of them.
How to read the label
Check the amounts for one day, not one pill. Many labels list a serving of 2 to 4 pills. You want 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin a day. Watch for a "complex" or "blend" that lumps chondroitin with MSM: then you cannot tell how much chondroitin you get.
Questions people ask
Glucosamine sulfate or HCl?
Both come in 1,500 mg a day products here. MOVES, the trial with the best result for the pair, used glucosamine HCl with 1,200 mg of chondroitin.
Should I pay more for one with MSM?
No. The trials on this page tested glucosamine and chondroitin, not MSM, so MSM is not a reason to pay more.
Sources
- Clegg DO, et al. “Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis.” N Engl J Med. 2006. PubMed 16495392
- Hochberg MC, et al. “Combined chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine for painful knee osteoarthritis: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial versus celecoxib.” Ann Rheum Dis. 2016. PubMed 25589511
- Singh JA, et al. “Chondroitin for osteoarthritis.” Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015. PubMed 25629804
- Kolasinski SL, et al. “2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.” Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020. PubMed 31908149
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH). “Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis: What You Need To Know.” nccih.nih.gov
- Labels: NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database (our pick’s label) and Nature Made’s product page. Testing lists: NSF/ANSI 173 and USP Verified.