Cheapest Fish Oil per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA 2026
Not medical advice. Prices are current Amazon prices for the exact container and move week to week; doses are each label’s.
Quick answer
Fish oil costs between $0.21 and $1.21 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA across the 6 products we track, a 5.6× spread for the same EPA and DHA. The sticker price is meaningless because bottles run from 60 to 180 servings; only the price per dose compares.
Cheapest: NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3, $0.21 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA ($78.25 a year). Cheapest certified: Viva Naturals Triple Strength Omega-3, $0.30 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, in the IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) registry. See the table →
On this page
Every fish oil we track, ranked by cost per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA
Original research6 fish oil products priced on the same day (2026-09-17) from the current Amazon price of the exact container and the dose on each Supplement Facts panel; 3 of the 6 are in an independent certification registry per our registry check of 6 products against 3,053 NSF, 159 USP and 2,105 Informed Sport listings.
Method: every fish oil product in our catalog with a live Amazon offer (6 of them). Price is the current Amazon price of the exact container (by ASIN), verified 2026-09-17; dose is the Supplement Facts serving; cost per 1,000 mg = price ÷ (servings × EPA+DHA mg per serving) × 1,000. The verification rung comes from our registry snapshots (NSF/ANSI 173, USP Verified, Informed Sport; 2026-08-25) and brand-site certificate checks (2026-09-19). Products with no buyable Amazon offer are left out rather than priced from memory.
| Product | Cost per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA | Active per serving | Serving on label | Servings | Price | Quality signal | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3 | $0.214 | 750 mg EPA+DHA | 1 softgel | 180 | $28.94 | Rung 4: unverified | Check price |
| Viva Naturals Triple Strength Omega-3 | $0.300 | 2070 mg EPA+DHA | 2 softgels | 90 | $55.96 | Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing | Check price |
| Sports Research Triple Strength Omega-3 | $0.338 | 950 mg EPA+DHA | 1 softgel | 90 | $28.87 | Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing | Check price |
| Carlson Elite Omega-3 Gems | $0.466 | 1400 mg EPA+DHA | 2 softgels | 65 | $42.42 | Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing | Check price |
| Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega | $0.626 | 1100 mg EPA+DHA | 2 softgels | 90 | $62.00 | Rung 2: lot-specific public COA | Check price |
| Nordic Naturals Algae Omegaalgal, vegan | $1.21 | 585 mg EPA+DHA | 2 softgels | 60 | $42.49 | Rung 2: lot-specific public COA | Check price |
Cost per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA = current Amazon price for the exact container (verified 2026-09-17) divided by total active content in the container, times 1,000. The spread from NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3 to Nordic Naturals Algae Omega is 5.6× for the same active. Prices move week to week.
Why the number is per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA, and what the price actually buys
The number on the front of a fish oil bottle is usually the oil, not the omega-3: a “1,200 mg” softgel can carry 300 mg of EPA plus DHA or 1,000, and the trials dose EPA and DHA, not oil. So every product here is priced per 1,000 mg of EPA plus DHA from its Supplement Facts panel. The other thing a cheap bottle can hide is oxidation: half of North American over-the-counter omega-3 products exceeded the voluntary oxidation limits when tested (Jackowski 2015, PMID 26688721), which is why the quality column matters more here than in any other category.
Across the 6 products the spread is 5.6× per 1,000 mg. 3 of them are on an IFOS certificate page we opened (the quality column, from our third-party-tested check), where a per-lot report shows EPA and DHA against label and the TOTOX oxidation number; two more offer a lot lookup on the brand's own site. Over a year at 1,000 mg a day the gap between the cheapest and most expensive bottle is $363.60.
Cost per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA, product by product
Each line is the arithmetic behind the table: container price divided by servings, then scaled per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, then multiplied out to a year at one dose a day. Cheapest first.
- NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3: $28.94 for 180 servings of 750 mg EPA+DHA is $0.16 a serving and $0.21 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $78.25 a year. Rung 4: unverified.
- Viva Naturals Triple Strength Omega-3: $55.96 for 90 servings of 2070 mg EPA+DHA is $0.62 a serving and $0.30 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $109.64 a year. Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing.
- Sports Research Triple Strength Omega-3: $28.87 for 90 servings of 950 mg EPA+DHA is $0.32 a serving and $0.34 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $123.25 a year. Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing.
- Carlson Elite Omega-3 Gems: $42.42 for 65 servings of 1400 mg EPA+DHA is $0.65 a serving and $0.47 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $170.15 a year. Rung 1: IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) listing.
- Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega: $62.00 for 90 servings of 1100 mg EPA+DHA is $0.69 a serving and $0.63 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $228.59 a year. Rung 2: lot-specific public COA.
- Nordic Naturals Algae Omega: $42.49 for 60 servings of 585 mg EPA+DHA is $0.71 a serving and $1.21 per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA, or $441.85 a year. Rung 2: lot-specific public COA. Note: algal, vegan.
Why 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA is the unit, and what the trials dosed
One thousand milligrams is a unit, not a recommendation; the evidence runs across a range and the price scales with it. A meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials in 127,477 participants found marine omega-3 supplementation lowered the risk of myocardial infarction, coronary death and total coronary disease, with risk falling roughly in line with dose (Hu 2019, PMID 31567003). An update across 40 trials and 135,267 participants put the relative risk of myocardial infarction at 0.87 and again found the effect dose-dependent (Bernasconi 2021, PMID 32951855). For raised triglycerides the American Heart Association advisory describes prescription doses of 4 g a day of EPA plus DHA cutting triglycerides by 30% or more in people with very high levels, a use that belongs under a clinician (Skulas-Ray 2019, PMID 31422671). So read the table as a rate: at 2,000 mg a day double every figure, at 4,000 mg quadruple it, and a bottle that looks cheap per softgel can be the expensive one once the EPA and DHA per softgel is counted.
Reading the quality column
The quality column is the same four-rung ladder as the third-party-tested page, compressed to a phrase. Rung 1 means the exact product appears in an independent certification registry in our snapshots; rung 2 means the brand publishes a lot-specific certificate of analysis you can match to the number on your container; rung 3 means a representative or undated report; rung 4 means a claim on the label or website with nothing behind it that we could open, or a brand site that blocked our check. The rung does not change the cost per dose, but it changes what the cost per dose is buying: at rung 4 you are paying for the molecule and the brand’s word; at rung 1 you are paying for the molecule and someone else’s test of it.
How to run the same calculation on any bottle
- Take the price and the servings count from the container: $28.94 and 180 servings for NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3.
- Divide price by servings: $28.94 ÷ 180 = $0.16 a serving.
- Scale the serving to the dose you actually take: the label serving is 750 mg EPA+DHA, so per 1,000 mg of EPA+DHA the cost is $0.16 × 1000 ÷ 750 = $0.21.
- Multiply by 365 for the yearly figure: $78.25. Compare that number, never the sticker price.
What moves this ranking is concentration, then price. Softgels run from roughly 30% to 80% EPA plus DHA, so the same sticker price can hide a two-fold difference in dose per capsule; a 60-count bottle of concentrated oil often beats a 180-count bottle of standard oil per 1,000 mg. Triglyceride versus ethyl-ester form, and the oxidation state of the oil, are not in the price and only a lot report shows them, which is why the quality column matters more here than the spread. The algal product is priced on the same EPA plus DHA scale. Every figure is computed from the catalog at build time, none is typed.
Which fish oil to buy
Product links go to Amazon and we may earn a commission if you buy. It never changes which product we pick or what we say about it. How we choose.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest fish oil per dose?
NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3 at $0.21 per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA at current Amazon prices ($28.94 for 180 servings), or about $78.25 a year. The most expensive bottle we track, Nordic Naturals Algae Omega, is $1.21 per dose, 5.6 times as much, for the same EPA and DHA.
What is the cheapest fish oil that is actually third-party certified?
Viva Naturals Triple Strength Omega-3 at $0.30 per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA, listed as "Triple Strength Omega-3 Fish Oil | Viva Naturals Inc." in the IFOS (SGS Nutrasource) registry. That is $0.09 a dose more than the cheapest uncertified bottle. The full verification ladder is on the third-party-tested page.
Why price fish oil per 1,000 mg EPA+DHA instead of per serving?
Because the oil weight on the front is not the dose. Softgels range from about 30% to 80% EPA+DHA, so two bottles at the same price and capsule count can differ two-fold in what you get. Price divided by the total EPA plus DHA in the bottle, times 1,000 mg, is the only fair comparison; the algal product is on the same scale.
Is expensive fish oil better?
Sometimes, and for a measurable reason: oxidation and label accuracy vary product to product, and only a lot report tells you where a bottle stands (only 3 of 32 New Zealand fish oils met their labelled EPA and DHA in one study, Albert 2015). A product with an IFOS certificate page or a lot lookup has shown you its numbers; a cheap bottle without one has not. Pay for the report, not the brand.
How much does a year of fish oil cost?
At one 5 g dose a day: $78.25 for NOW Foods Ultra Omega-3, $109.64 for the cheapest certified product, and $441.85 for Nordic Naturals Algae Omega. Loading for a week adds about 15 doses.
Related guides
- Third-party tested fish oil: IFOS pages and lot reports
- Best fish oil, ranked
- EPA vs DHA
- Omega-3 dosage guide
Sources
- Jackowski SA, et al. “Oxidation levels of North American over-the-counter n-3 (omega-3) supplements and the influence of supplement formulation and delivery form on evaluating oxidative safety.” J Nutr Sci. 2015. PMID: 26688721
- Albert BB, et al. “Fish oil supplements in New Zealand are highly oxidised and do not meet label content of n-3 PUFA.” Sci Rep. 2015. PMID: 25604397
- Hu Y, et al. “Marine Omega-3 Supplementation and Cardiovascular Disease: An Updated Meta-Analysis of 13 Randomized Controlled Trials Involving 127 477 Participants.” J Am Heart Assoc. 2019. PMID: 31567003
- Bernasconi AA, et al. “Effect of Omega-3 Dosage on Cardiovascular Outcomes: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Interventional Trials.” Mayo Clin Proc. 2021. PMID: 32951855
- Skulas-Ray AC, et al. “Omega-3 Fatty Acids for the Management of Hypertriglyceridemia: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association.” Circulation. 2019. PMID: 31422671
- Product labels and current Amazon prices for each container, verified 2026-09-17; verification rungs from our registry and brand-site check (see the third-party-tested page).