Prevagen vs Neuriva Comparison – Which is Better for Your Mind?

Here’s our updated Prevagen vs Neuriva comparison. If you’re unsure which brain supplement will work better for you (and not burn a hole in your wallet), this in-depth article will look into whether Prevagen or Neuriva is the better option.

We’ll also compare Prevagen vs Neuriva Plus – determining how they stack up against the best ‘nootropic’ supplements on the market in terms of improving your memory, focus, information recollection, and overall cognitive function.

Let’s jump straight into the report.

TL;DR Neuriva vs Prevagen Summary
Neuriva and Prevagen are both popular nootropics. Looking deeper, this hasn’t much to do with their formulas, but it’s the result of clever marketing. Prevagen focuses on enhancing memory, while Neuriva claims to boost a broader range of mental functions. However, when you look at the ingredients and dosages, it’s clear those claims don’t hold scientific merit. Prevagen’s main ingredient – apoaequorin – is an unproven jellyfish protein, whereas Neuriva only has a few basic nutrients that don’t provide substantial effects. There are definitely more effective supplements that offer better value for money available on the market today.

Neuriva vs Prevagen – The Basics

Neuriva and Prevagen are both well-known and popular brain performance supplements, also known as ‘nootropics’ or ‘nootropic stacks’.

Both claim to boost certain aspects of your cognitive function.

Whereas Prevagen claims to enhance your memory specifically, and is reportedly most effective for elderly adults and those with mild cognitive impairment.

Neuriva claims to boost a wider array of mental functions, including:

• Focus
• Memory & Learning
• Recall

Neither Neuriva nor Prevagen claims to support mood, long-term brain function, and plasticity like some other nootropic supplements do.

If you’re looking for the short answer, neither Neuriva or Prevagen are worth the steep price tag in our eyes. Both supplements contain weak and underdosed ingredient profiles.

Neuriva contains Phosphatidylserine which is a decent ingredient for long-term brain health, but it doesn’t produce a noticeable effect. The other ingredient in Neuriva is Cofee Fruit Extract which is unproven. Prevagen, on the other hand, relies on Apoaequorin and vitamin D. Apoaequorin is a jellyfish protein that isn’t shown by clinical evidence to do anything at all. As for vitamin D, it’s cheaper to simply get it from your local vitamin store.

So while Neuriva is the better option between the two, neither one can give you substantial mental benefits. Both supplements are missing some important ingredients like Bacopa Monnieri, B vitamins, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, and L-Tyrosine among others. There are definitely better nootropics out there at this price range, no doubt about it.

Keep reading this comprehensive review to see how we’ve come to this conclusion, and to learn more about the science behind Neuriva’s and Prevagen’s ingredients.

What do we recommend?

Who Makes Neuriva & Prevagen?

Schiff Vitamins – Neuriva’s Manufacturer

Let’s dive into Schiff Nutrition International. Way back in 1936, a gentleman named Joe Weider started the company – it was originally called Weider Nutrition. Interestingly, they were the very first to create special foods just for athletes. They’re based in a city called Salt Lake City. Over the years, they’ve come up with some innovative products you might’ve heard of, like Airborne and MegaRed.

In 2012, a large company named Reckitt Benckiser decided to buy Schiff for a whooping 1.4 billion USD. But even with the change, many people still recognize and trust the Schiff name. They’ve been around for a while and really know their stuff when it comes to health products.

Quincy Bioscience – Prevagen’s Manufacturer

Quincy Bioscience is based in Madison, Wisconsin, and they’re all about finding new ways to help our brains stay sharp, especially as we get older. One of their main selling points is using a protein from jellyfish, called apoaequorin. Sounds a bit like sci-fi, doesn’t it? They believe this protein can support our brain’s health. Because of this, they created Prevagen, their star product, which includes this special protein. It’s become super popular and is a top choice for brain health in many stores across the U.S.

But, here’s the catch. There is no solid, reputable evidence to confirm many of these claims. As a result, there’s been an ongoing issue with the company.

Quincy Bioscience were looked into by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New York State’s top lawyer. They were questioned for saying that Prevagen could help improve memory and thinking without strong proof. The FTC and New York’s lawyer believed that the company wasn’t being honest about how good Prevagen was for the brain. During this time, there were many legal steps and documents involved. Michael Beaman, who helped start Quincy Bioscience, and another person, Mark Underwood, were the main people talked about in this legal situation. It’s important for people to know about these issues when they’re thinking about buying health products.

The Ingredient Profiles

We’ll cut straight to the chase – neither Neuriva’s or Prevagen’s ingredients look too convincing.

Neuriva’s formula only has one ingredient that has been shown to affect brain health, whereas Prevagen only has vitamin D, which helps to support your mood. The rest of their formulas are completely ineffective.

One positive note about Prevagen and Neuriva, however, is that they’re free of proprietary blends. This means you can see the dose of each ingredient on the label.

Here’s a closer look at the formulas of both products:

Neuriva Ingredients

Neuriva consists of only two ingredients:

• Coffee Fruit Extract (100mg)
• Phosphatidylserine (100mg)

What do these do, you ask?

Coffee Fruit Extract is an unproven ingredient. It’s an “extract” of a single compound of coffee fruit. Which compound that is, we can’t tell.

Neuriva’s makers say Coffee Fruit extract can boost BDNF levels. BDNF is a protein that stimulates the birth of new brain cells.

They draw on one study to support these claims; however, this study used a “whole coffee fruit concentrate” which contained multiple compounds in it. [1] By contrast, a coffee fruit “extract” is just a single compound extracted from the plant. We don’t even know what compound that is!

What about the other ingredient in Neuriva, Phosphatidylserine (PS)? PS is a fat found in high amounts in your brain. More specifically, in your brain cell membranes.

When your brain cell dies, PS helps dispose it and prevent it from doing damage to other cells. PS also aids in long-term brain cell health and communication. [2, 3]

All in all, Phosphatidylserine is an excellent ingredient. It can help fight cognitive decline.

That said, you won’t probably feel it working. This ingredient isn’t meant for short-term focus boost, or memory enhancement.

As a whole, Neuriva’s formula doesn’t look too good. It only contains one good ingredient – Phosphatidylserine. But it’s missing a lot that would make it much more effective at doing what it claims – which is increasing focus, improving memory and enhancing overall cognitive function.

Prevagen Ingredients

Prevagen too uses only 2 ingredients – Apoaequorin and vitamin D.

This isn’t ideal; the best nootropic formulas will often use multiple ingredients to enhance cognitive function from multiple angles. Two ingredients alone can rarely do much.

But is Prevagen an exception? Let’s check what its ingredients can (and can’t) do for you.

Vitamin D is known to affect brain function, especially mood. People who don’t get enough vitamin D tend to become depressed. Vitamin D is also important for your overall brain function. [4, 5, 6] But Prevagen only contains 50mcg (2,000IU) of vitamin D, which is too low to induce any notable changes in your blood vitamin D levels.

Anyone who’s supplemented vitamin D and tracked their blood levels knows you need at least 5,000IU, taken daily for months, to notice any changes.

But what about Apoaequorin? What does this ingredient do?

It’s a type of protein found in a glowing jellyfish. It was discovered only recently, in 1962, when a group of researchers found that calcium combined with Apoaequorin produces a glow that these jellyfish are known for.

In some laboratory cell studies and animal studies, Apoaequorin seemed to have promising cognitive benefits.

However, there are very few human trials on Apoaequorin. The majority of them showed no benefits compared to a placebo.

The only study which showed positive effects of Apoaequorin was funded by Prevagen’s company, Quincy Bioscience. For us, this blows the credibility of the study out of the water.

Ultimately, Prevagen only contains two ingredients. One of which is a vitamin you get from the sun, and the other isn’t proven to work. In other words, Prevagen is an ineffective supplement with misleading marketing claims.

Editor’s Pick:

-The 3 of The Best Nootropic Stacks of This Year–

Serving Sizes

Neuriva comes with a dosage of 1 capsule per day, ideally before bedtime. Each capsule provides you with 100mg of Coffee Fruit Extract and 100mg of Phosphatidylserine.

Prevagen also comes with a serving of 1 capsule per day. It doesn’t matter when you take it, according to the manufacturers. Each capsule of Prevagen supplies you with 10mg of Apoaequorin and 50mcg of vitamin D. That said, there’s an “extra strength” version of Prevagen available that offers 20mg of Apoaequorin. We’re not sure if this makes any difference as Apoaequorin isn’t shown to work.

Side Effects – Which Product is Safer?

The good side to both products is that they’re safe.

Neuriva and Prevagen use ingredients that aren’t known to cause any issues in humans, even though some of these ingredients may not work.

The doses of ingredients in both products are within safe limits, as well.

Cost & Where to Buy?

Neuriva cost varies depending on the version and dosage. Neuriva Original costs $32.99, while Neuriva Plus is $49.49 for a 30-ct bottle on the official website. You can buy Neuriva on multiple websites as well as in physical stores. Including Amazon, Walmart, Walgreens and other popular stores. Neuriva ships worldwide.

A 30-ct bottle of Prevagen Regular Strength costs $39.95 on its official website. The same product costs $41.92 at Walmart. For the Extra Strength version (which only has a higher dosage of Apoaequorin), you’ll need to fork out $60 per bottle (30 capsules). Prevagen too can be bought in different stores, including the official website.

Prevagen vs Neuriva Plus

So far, we’ve compared the Original Neuriva and Prevagen. If you already aren’t aware, we’ve established that Neuriva is the better option, even though it doesn’t quite make it among the best brain supplements of today.

But what about Neuriva Plus? Is it superior to the Original Neuriva, and is it also better than Prevagen?

It definitely is. In addition to Phosphatidylserine and Coffee Fruit Extract, Neuriva Plus also has B vitamins which aren’t present in the original Neuriva formula. B vitamins contribute to energy and brain cell metabolism.

But while it’s a decent upgrade, Neuriva Plus is still far from a complete nootropic formula. It’s missing Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Citicoline, L-Tyrosine, Pine Bark Extract, and other proven natural cognitive enhancers. With these ingredients, it would be able to compete with more serious brain supplements currently on the market.

You can see our complete Neuriva Plus Review here.

Conclusion on Prevagen vs Neuriva

This concludes our Neuriva vs Prevagen comparison.

Which one is better; Prevagen or Neuriva? In our eyes, Neuriva is the better option. It has Phosphatidylserine which is a proven brain health ingredient, along with coffee fruit extract which may aid brain cell health.

Despite being not as effective as some of the market’s highest-rated brain supplements, Neuriva is still better than Prevagen which only has vitamin D and Apoaequorin, the latter of which isn’t proven to work.

For the current top-rated nootropic supplements, follow this link.

*Please remember that PDPPro doesn’t offer advice; our posts are for entertainment and informational purposes only! Always get a go-ahead from a qualified professional before considering a new supplement.

Related:

• Neuriva vs Neuriva Plus
• Cognium vs Neuriva
• Neuriva Review
• NeuroQ vs Neuriva
• Neuriva Plus Review
• Neuriva vs Lion’s Mane

References

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   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23312069/
2. Glade MJ, Smith K. Phosphatidylserine and the human brain. Nutrition. 2015 Jun;31(6):781-6. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.10.014. Epub 2014 Nov 4. PMID: 25933483.
   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25933483/
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   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4258547/
4. Menon V, Kar SK, Suthar N, Nebhinani N. Vitamin D and Depression: A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence and Future Directions. Indian J Psychol Med. 2020 Jan 6;42(1):11-21. doi: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_160_19. PMID: 31997861; PMCID: PMC6970300.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6970300/
5. Anjum I, Jaffery SS, Fayyaz M, Samoo Z, Anjum S. The Role of Vitamin D in Brain Health: A Mini Literature Review. Cureus. 2018 Jul 10;10(7):e2960. doi: 10.7759/cureus.2960. PMID: 30214848; PMCID: PMC6132681.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132681/
6. Cui X, Eyles DW. Vitamin D and the Central Nervous System: Causative and Preventative Mechanisms in Brain Disorders. Nutrients. 2022 Oct 17;14(20):4353. doi: 10.3390/nu14204353. PMID: 36297037; PMCID: PMC9610817.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9610817/