Zinc Glycinate vs Zinc Picolinate
Prices checked · 4 products · 5 registries searched
Zinc glycinate and zinc picolinate both give you 30 mg of zinc in the bottles we price, but NOW Zinc Glycinate costs $0.09 a day and Thorne Zinc Picolinate costs $0.33.
No study shows picolinate is absorbed better than glycinate. That claim rests on one 1987 study of 15 people. The real differences are price and registry status: Thorne is in the NSF Certified for Sport registry, and NOW lists no certification.
Lowest cost: NOW Foods Zinc Glycinate 30mg, $0.09 a day ($0.031 per 10 mg zinc)
Check price →In a public registry: Thorne Zinc Picolinate 30mg, $0.33 a day; NSF Certified for Sport (listing #1211643)
Check price →As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Ranked by cost per 10 mg of zinc, never commissions. Not medical advice; talk to a clinician before starting a supplement.
Every zinc we price, cheapest per 10 mg first
| Product | Form | Zinc per serving | Cost per day (checked Oct 5, 2026) | Per 10 mg zinc | Registry check | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOW Foods Zinc Glycinate 30mg Best Value | Glycinate | 30 mg | $0.09 | $0.031 | None stated | Check price → |
| Solgar Zinc Citrate 30 mg | Citrate | 30 mg | $0.10 | $0.032 | None stated | Check price → |
| Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw Zinc | Food-grown blend | 30 mg | $0.19 | $0.062 | Non-GMO Verified (not a lab-testing program) | Check price → |
| Thorne Zinc Picolinate 30mg Quality Pick | Picolinate | 30 mg | $0.33 | $0.111 | NSF Certified for Sport NSF #1211643, 60-capsule bottle listed NSF/ANSI 173 “Zinc Picolinate 30 mg” listed | Check price → |
How we compute it: cost per day = Amazon price ÷ servings in the bottle (each label serving is one a day). Per 10 mg zinc = price ÷ (servings × mg of zinc per serving) × 10. We searched NSF Certified for Sport (full list read October 1, 2026), NSF/ANSI 173 (list saved August 25, 2026), Informed Choice (list read September 22, 2026), Informed Sport and USP Verified. NSF lists each product by flavor and pack, so we count an NSF listing only when it covers the product we link.
Head to head: glycinate vs picolinate
| Factor | Zinc Glycinate (Bisglycinate) | Zinc Picolinate |
|---|---|---|
| What the zinc is bound to | Two glycine molecules | Picolinic acid |
| Absorption evidence | Not tested against picolinate with isotope tracers | One small 1987 study (n=15), indirect markers, not repeated (PMID 3630857) |
| Zinc per serving (label) | 30 mg (NOW) | 30 mg (Thorne) |
| Stomach comfort | Usually described as gentle | Usually fine; no head-to-head trial |
| Registry status | NOW: none stated | Thorne: NSF Certified for Sport (listing #1211643) |
| Cost per day | $0.09 | $0.33 |
What each form is
Zinc glycinate, properly called zinc bisglycinate, is zinc bound to two glycine molecules. Glycine is an amino acid. Binding a mineral to an amino acid tends to make it easier on the stomach. That is glycinate’s main selling point.
Zinc picolinate is zinc bound to picolinic acid, a compound your body makes in small amounts. It is often sold as “the best absorbed” zinc.
In both, the zinc does the same job in your body. What differs is the carrier.
The absorption evidence: what it shows and what it does not
Picolinate’s reputation comes from one 1987 trial of 15 people (Barrie et al., PMID 3630857). It measured hair, urine and red-blood-cell zinc. Those are indirect markers, not the isotope-tracer method used to measure mineral absorption. The study has not been repeated, and it never tested glycinate. It compared picolinate with citrate and gluconate.
The best absorption study we have used double isotope tracers. It tested citrate, gluconate and oxide (Wegmüller et al., PMID 24259556). Citrate and gluconate were about equal, at roughly 61%, and both beat oxide. Neither picolinate nor glycinate was in that study.
The plain takeaway: no isotope-tracer study shows picolinate beats glycinate, or that glycinate beats picolinate. Both are reasonable everyday forms. Our zinc forms comparison reaches the same view.
Which should you buy?
Choose glycinate if:
- You want the lowest cost per milligram of zinc
- You want a form usually described as gentle on the stomach
Choose picolinate if:
- You want a product in a public lab-testing registry: Thorne Zinc Picolinate is listed in NSF Certified for Sport
- You prefer picolinate and the higher price is fine with you
Either way, zinc oxide is the one common form with a measured absorption disadvantage. See the full forms comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is zinc glycinate better absorbed than zinc picolinate?
No study shows either one is better absorbed than the other. Picolinate’s “best absorbed” reputation rests on one small 1987 study of 15 people that measured hair, urine and red-cell zinc, not the isotope-tracer method, and it has not been repeated (PMID 3630857). That study compared picolinate with citrate and gluconate. It never tested glycinate. Both are reasonable everyday forms.
What is the difference between zinc glycinate and zinc bisglycinate?
They are the same thing. “Zinc glycinate” on a label almost always means zinc bisglycinate: one zinc atom bound to two glycine molecules. Compare products by the milligrams of zinc on the Supplement Facts panel, not by the name.
Which costs less per milligram of zinc?
NOW Foods Zinc Glycinate 30mg costs $0.031 per 10 mg of zinc, the lowest of the 4 zinc supplements we price. Thorne Zinc Picolinate 30mg costs $0.111 per 10 mg, about 3.6 times as much. Prices were recorded on October 5, 2026.
Why does Thorne zinc picolinate cost more than NOW zinc glycinate?
Thorne Zinc Picolinate costs $0.33 a day and NOW Zinc Glycinate $0.09, about 3.6 times as much for the same 30 mg of zinc. Thorne is in the NSF Certified for Sport registry (listing #1211643, the 60-capsule bottle we price). NOW lists no certification. The price gap is not explained by better absorption.
Which is gentler on the stomach, picolinate or glycinate?
Glycinate is usually described as the gentler of the two, but no trial has compared them head to head on stomach comfort. Taking either one with food matters more than the form.
Are picolinate and glycinate the same as zinc lozenges?
No. Zinc lozenges are usually acetate or gluconate and dissolve in the mouth. Picolinate and glycinate are swallowed forms for everyday zinc intake.
Related guides
- All zinc forms compared: picolinate, glycinate, citrate, gluconate and oxide
- Best zinc supplement: ranked picks
- Zinc dosage guide: the 40 mg upper limit
- All zinc guides
Sources
- Barrie SA, et al. "Comparative absorption of zinc picolinate, zinc citrate and zinc gluconate in humans." Agents Actions. 1987;21(1-2):223-228. PMID: 3630857
- Wegmüller R, et al. "Zinc absorption by young adults from supplemental zinc citrate is comparable with that from zinc gluconate and higher than from zinc oxide." J Nutr. 2014;144(2):132-6. PMID: 24259556
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. "Zinc: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals." ods.od.nih.gov
- NSF Certified for Sport registry, listing #1211643 (Thorne Zinc Picolinate 30 mg, 60 capsules), opened 2026-10-01; NSF/ANSI 173, Informed Choice, Informed Sport and USP Verified lists as dated in the note under the table.
- Amazon prices recorded 2026-10-05; zinc per serving from each product’s label.