The Best Multivitamins for Vegans (UK)

A healthy, balanced vegan diet can provide everything that the human body needs to thrive. But, unless you carefully manage the nutrients that you consume, being sure to include foods that are fortified with B12 and other key vitamins and minerals, then you’ll likely benefit from taking a vitamin supplement.

But which vegan multivitamin is the best? To help you decide, I’ve tried and tested all of the most popular vegan multivitamins in the UK.

Most standard vitamin supplements are not suitable for vegans or vegetarians as they contain all sorts of animal-derived ingredients. While there are lots of vegan-friendly vitamin supplements to choose from, it’s important to know that not all supplements are created equally, as some contain a higher quality of ingredients.

This article explains what to look for in a vegan multivitamin supplement as well as showing you the pros and cons of each of the vitamins I’ve tested.

I’ve tried and tested so many different multivitamins! Read on for a full review of each to decide which is the best for you…

The Best Vegan Multivitamins

As well as testing these vitamins myself, I’ve spent over eight hours reading all of the positive and negative reviews and researching the background of each company to make sure that I stand by my recommendations.

🏆 Best For Vegans: Dr. Vegan Daily Multi-Vitamin

CONTAINS: 24 vitamins and minerals

Dr. Vegan Daily Multi-Vitamin is specifically designed for vegans and those with low-meat diets. Formulated by nutritionists, these vegan-friendly capsules include all of the essential nutrients you need for optimal physical and mental performance.

Since I switched to Dr. Vegan multivitamins I’ve had more energy and have even been waking up before my alarm clock with a desire to exercise before work! Friends have even commented on how good my skin and hair are looking.

These easy-to-swallow capsules contain only natural ingredients that are sourced from responsible producers who meet the highest ethical and ecological standards. 

Your first order of Dr Vegan vitamins comes with a free metal pill tin. This handy travel-sized refillable tin can be used to store your vitamins as well as any other medication that you take regularly.

The vitamins themselves come in 100% plastic-free paper packaging which is easy to recycle. The cardboard box fits through your letterbox so you don’t need to worry about being home to accept the delivery. Even the inks are plant-based.

Previously, Dr Vegan vitamins had a strong smell, but I’m pleased to report that they’ve fixed this and the new formula barely smells at all and has no taste.

As well as being the best quality, Dr. Vegan vitamins work out to be a little cheaper than the next best brands. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not happy with the vitamins you’ll get a refund with no problem.

Click here to read my full Dr. Vegan review.

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🥈 Great for Vegetarians: Feel Multivitamin

CONTAINS: 32 vitamins and minerals

Feel is a leading UK-based vitamin brand with celebrity endorsement by singer and TV personality, Cheryl. These vegan-friendly multivitamin capsules contain the very best ingredients that are potent and easily absorbed.

I love these vitamins because they have no taste or smell, are easy to swallow and deliver results. They also contain more nutrients than any other brand I’ve reviewed with extra ingredients like reishi mushroom extract, grape seed extract and black pepper extract that you won’t find in other supplements.

While these capsules aren’t tailored especially to vegans, they don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients and are not tested on animals.

The only real downside to Feel vitamins is that you need to get a monthly subscription. While you can make a one-off purchase, it would cost you double. They’re also a little more expensive than Dr. Vegan, but still good value.

There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee with no questions asked so you’ve really got nothing to lose with trying these vitamins.

Click here to read my full Feel Multivitamin review.

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Best Gummy: Feel Multivitamin Gummies

CONTAINS: 10 vitamins and minerals

If you prefer chewable vegan gummy vitamins over tablets, then I highly recommend Feel Multivitamin Gummies.

These gummy vitamins have a delicious apple flavour and are really chewy, despite being free from gelatine or any other animal-derived ingredients. They’re certified as vegan by The Vegetarian Society and also approved as cruelty-free by PETA.

With 100% of the recommended intake of all of the key vitamins and minerals that you need, these vitamin sweets are an easy way to stay healthy. The packaging is letterbox-friendly, 100% plastic-free and either recyclable or compostable.

I have the kids’ version of Feel multivitamin gummies for my children and they said that they’re the best vitamins that they’ve tried.

Click here to read my full Feel Vitamin Gummies review.

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Best Value: The Protein Works Multi Vitamin Gummies

CONTAINS: 8 vitamins and minerals

I absolutely love the taste of these multivitamin gummies from The Protein Works. They taste better than most vegan sweets! I actually looked forward to eating two of them each day after my lunch.

Gummy vitamins never contain a range of nutrients as large as capsules do, it’s just not possible. However, these little gummy sweets pack in eight essential nutrients including the important Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 that vegans are often lacking in.

These gummy vitamins come in a child-safe bottle which is a must for anyone with kids. The bottle is plastic, but it’s recyclable with your household waste.

If you prefer to make a one-off purchase rather than subscribe to a regular delivery, then The Protein Works gummies are the best option.

Click here to read my full Protein Works Vitamin Gummies review.

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Best with Omega 3: Form Multi

CONTAINS: 28 vitamins and minerals

When it comes to vegan multivitamins, this supplement by Form Nutrition takes things one step further by including omega 3 – something that is very difficult to get from a vegan or vegetarian diet, but which is usually also absent from multi-vitamin pills.

Form multivitamins containn 40mg of DHA, a vegan-friendly source of omega 3, which means that you don’t have to take a separate omega 3 supplement. This does create a very slight taste of algae, but it’s barely noticeable and these vitamins don’t smell too bad at all.

As well as the standard vitamins you might expect, with these capsules you’ll also get Choline (an often overlooked essential nutrient) plus black pepper, Panax notoginseng and Astragalusa extracts which will improve the absorption of vitamins and boost gut health.

The bottles are made of glass. When you return five empty bottles to be cleaned and reused, you’ll get another bottle free.

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Best for Women: NutriGenesis Multi for Women

CONTAINS: 17 vitamins and minerals

NutriGenesis Multi is tailor-made for women. These capsules have everything we need for hormonal support with a gender-specific formula that includes more calcium, iron, folate and magnesium than the men’s vitamins.

If you feel that you need extra help in this area, perhaps due to PMS, menopause symptoms or hormonal imbalances, then these are for you.

If you’re put off by strong-smelling vitamins, then NutriGenesis multivitamins are ideal as they’re tasteless and odourless.

It’s recommended that you take four capsules per day, which is quite a lot. However, you don’t need to take them with food and as they’re easy to swallow I didn’t find that to be a problem.

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Best for Men: NutriGenesis Multi for Men

CONTAINS: 17 vitamins and minerals

I gave NutriGenesis Multi for men to my husband to test and he reported that he was very impressed with them.

Just as I found with the women’s version, he said that these men’s multivitamins are very easy to swallow with no taste or smell. He said that he has noticed an improvement since taking vitamins and he has more energy. I no longer have to kick him out of bed in the morning!

As these vitamins are tailored specifically for men, they have everything that men need for hormonal support. The gender-specific formula includes more vitamin B1, magnesium, zinc and potassium than the women’s vitamins.

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Nutriburst

CONTAINS: 13 vitamins and minerals

In my opinion, Nutriburst gummy vitamins taste just fine, but they’re not as yummy as some others. That could well be because these ones are sugar-free.

The ingredients in Nutriburst are more comprehensive than most other gummy vitamins – these include folic acid, pantothenic acid, choline, iodine, inositol and zinc in addition to the essential vitamins you might expect.

If you want a large spectrum of vegan-friendly nutrients in gummy form with a child-safe bottle, these are definitely worth a try.

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Hakamount Daily Driver

CONTAINS: 10 vitamins and minerals

Hakamount Daily Driver vitamins are clean and simple, containing essential vitamins designed specifically to reduce fatigue, boost your immune system and support optimal muscle function.

These vitamins are relatively cheap to buy, yet they have no artificial ingredients or additional fillers like some other cheap vitamin brands do. Each capsule is white, rather than the usual beige, and I found them to be easy to swallow and 100% tasteless and odourless.

The only real downside to these vitamins for vegans is that they don’t contain vitamin B12 – one of the nutrients that vegans are commonly low in. But, if you’re not vegan or you already supplement B12 with a separate supplement or lots of nutritional yeast, then these could be ideal.

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Vegan Vitality Multivitamins & Minerals

CONTAINS: 23 vitamins and minerals

A bestseller on Amazon, Vegan Vitality multivitamins are tailor-made for vegans and vegetarians, with high strength doses of vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 plus 20 other vitamins and minerals.

Most vitamin supplements use cyanocobalamin for vitamin B12 as it’s relatively cheap. However, Vegan Vitality uses methylcobalamin which is less toxic and stays in the body longer [Source].

Vegan Vitality is a family-run, UK company offering only 100% vegan supplements. Each product is rigorously tested, not just by the company themselves, but also by some of Europe’s top independent laboratories to ensure safety and purity.

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Nutravita Multivitamins & Minerals

CONTAINS: 26 vitamins and minerals

Despite the low price, Nutravita vitamin supplements are manufactured in the UK from the highest-quality ingredients. Each high-strength vegan-friendly tablet contains all of the vitamins and minerals you need to support your body on a daily basis.

Nutravita supports several different charities including Mission Direct. The company donates a portion of profits and also donates supplements to people in need, such as those in Cambodia who have iron deficiencies.

If you’re on a budget, buying a 12-month supply at once is the cheapest way to get multivitamins.

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Vegums

CONTAINS: 6 vitamins and minerals

I was very impressed by Vegums gummy vitamins for vegans. These little bear-shaped vitamins taste amazing with a lovely fruity flavour that everyone will love.

I also love that they come with a free tin to keep them fresh! Inside the cardboard tube, you’ll get two bags of vitamins. The bags look like plastic, but they’re actually biodegradable cellulose. Then, you can transfer your vitamins to the tin.

These vitamins don’t contain every nutrient you may need – just the main ones that vegans are often deficient in. They contain vitamins B12, B6, D3 plus folic acid, iodine and selenium.

Unlike most vitamins, these ones are suitable for kids. They’ll just need to take one per day instead of two. As there’s no child-safe bottle, you’ll need to keep them out of kids reach though to be safe as kids could be tempted to eat the whole packet if unsupervised.

Click here to read my full Vegums review.

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FIGHT Support Immunity Mango-Flavoured Gummies

CONTAINS: 10 vitamins plus zinc

FIGHT is a vitamin supplement manufacturer that produces tasty, vegan gummy vitamins with science-backed ingredients.

These mango-flavoured gummies are packed full of vitamins that will support the normal functioning of your immune system, something that’s of concern to all of us in 2021.

When you buy FIGHT vitamins, you’re not only fuelling your own body, but you’re also helping someone else who doesn’t have access to safe, nutritious food. The company has pledged to distribute at least 100,000 nutritious meals to people in need with the help of the UK charity, FareShare.

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BetterYou Vegan Health Daily Oral Spray

CONTAINS: 4 vitamins and minerals

BetterYou Vegan Health spray delivers four essential vitamins and minerals – Vitamin B12, vitamin D3, iron and iodine. Ideal for those that don’t like to swallow tablets, you simply spray it into your mouth, such as on the inside of your cheek.

Using a spray has the advantage of more effective nutrient uptake, as the tiny droplets are absorbed straight into the buccal membrane of the inner cheek, bypassing the gut.

BetterYou Vegan Health spray is flavoured with natural mixed berries and reviewers have commented on how great it tastes. 

An award-winning British company, BetterYou has partnered with some of the finest research institutions in the world to create innovative products using the highest-quality ingredients. The bottle is made from 70% ocean waste plastic and 30% recycled plastic and is fully recyclable.

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OmniVegan Kids Multi Food Supplement

CONTAINS: 22 vitamins and minerals

Every parent worries that their child is getting enough nutrients. OmniVegan multivitamin and mineral supplement is ideal because kids can take one or two tablets, depending on how well they’ve been eating. Suitable for kids aged three to ten, these chewable tablets have a fresh strawberry flavour.

This kids’ vitamin supplement is made by Nordic Nutraceuticals, a subsidiary of the vitamin manufacturer Biosym Denmark. They source the very best active ingredients for their products which use the fewest possible additives.

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Puretanicals Hyaluron Komplex

CONTAINS: 7 vitamins and minerals

If you’re a vegan who’s worried about hair loss, dull skin or brittle nails, then Puretanicals Hyaluron Komplex is the best multivitamin supplement to take.

Most vitamin tablets for hair, skin and nails contain only biotin, zinc and selenium. Hyaluron Komplex is different as it also contains anti-ageing hyaluronic acid as well as vitamins like B12 which vegans need.

Puretanicals is a German company that makes premium quality vegan-friendly supplements. The capsules are independently tested in German laboratories and are free from additives.

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Best for Pregnancy: Protea Wellness Pregna Sense

CONTAINS: 24 vitamins and minerals

Pregna Sense pregnancy multivitamins are specially formulated to give your body all of the vitamins and minerals that it needs when trying for a baby, as well as during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Tasteless, odourless and easy to swallow, these capsules are certified to comply with UK and EU legislative requirements.

Protea is a UK company that specialises in vitamin capsules, rather than tablets. Whilst tablets are cheaper to produce, capsules have the advantage of not needing added ingredients to bind the vitamins and minerals together, and they’re also easier to swallow. If you still struggle to swallow these capsules, they are easy to open and you can then mix the contents with water to create a pregnancy vitamin drink.

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Which is the best multivitamin for vegans?

After trying lots of different vitamins, my recommendation for the best multivitamin is Dr. Vegan Multi-Vitamin. These easy-to-swallow capsules are specially formulated by nutritionists with the optimal levels of each nutrient to support a vegan diet. I also love that they’re made in the UK from sustainably sourced ingredients and come in paper and cardboard packaging.

If you’d prefer a tailored, gender-specific formula especially for men and for women, then I recommend that you instead go for NutriGenesis. These capsules use groundbreaking technology to pack the maximum nutritional value into a small capsule that you won’t mind swallowing.

If you’re still not sure, read on to find out what you should look for when choosing a multivitamin supplement…

How To Choose The Best Vegan Multivitamins

Vegans are most often deficient in four key vitamins and minerals – Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, iron and calcium. I’ll explain more about those later in this guide. But first, here are some other things to look out for when searching for the best vegan vitamins.

1. Capsules are the best format

Vitamin supplements are available as tablets, capsules, gummies or a liquid spray. Capsules are better than tablets as they break down quickly, meaning that the contents can be absorbed more easily. They also don’t require any extra fillers or bulking agents to stick the vitamins and minerals together.

Some people who struggle to swallow tablets like to opt for fruit-flavoured gummies or sprays. These are particularly good for kids. However, these often don’t contain the full range of nutrients that tablets and capsules do. Capsules can be opened and mixed with water if you can’t swallow them whole.

2. Choose environmentally-friendly packaging

Most vitamins come in plastic bottles. Depending on where you live, these may or may not be recyclable with your household rubbish. It’s tricky to know for sure, but putting non-recyclable plastic bottles and bottle caps could contaminate the whole batch of recycling.

The best products come in paper and cardboard packaging as this is easy to recycle and is often made from recycled materials too. Another benefit is that boxes are more space-efficient, which means that you can fit more in a lorry for a lower carbon footprint.

3. Look for UK companies

In the UK, the Food Standards Agency has strict regulations about who can manufacture and distribute food supplements. Products must come from reputable suppliers and be labelled correctly. Some other countries may not have the same regulations, so you should always buy from a trusted UK specialist where possible.

Another advantage of buying vitamins that are made in the UK is that they have a lower carbon footprint as they are not shipped around the world. Plus, buying from UK companies benefits the UK economy, something that’s especially important for 2022 and beyond.

Why standard multivitamins are not suitable for vegans

Unfortunately, most multivitamin supplements are not suitable for vegans (or even vegetarians) because they contain a whole host of animal products.

Is there a multivitamin for vegans?

There are two types of multivitamins for vegans:

1. General multivitamins – These contain vitamins and minerals that would benefit vegans and omnivores alike, but do not contain any animal-derived ingredients.
2. Tailored vegan multivitamins – These are specially formulated to contain more of the nutrients that vegans may lack, such as extra B12 and iron. 

You’ll also find specific multivitamins for certain groups, such as children or pregnant women, as well as supplements that are designed to support specific areas e.g. boosting immunity or improving hair and skin condition.

Whichever you choose, you should check the label to be sure that it says ‘suitable for vegans’. If a vitamin supplement isn’t labelled as vegan, then it most likely is not suitable for vegans.

What vitamins do vegans need to take?

Multivitamins vary in exactly which vitamins and minerals they contain, and how much of them. Depending on how varied your diet is, you might opt for a multivitamin that contains just the essentials or one which has a wider range of nutrients.

If you love fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains, then the chances are that your diet has most things covered already. However, if you’re more of a ‘junk food vegan’ then you’ll probably want to look for a supplement that has at least 20 vitamins and minerals.

These are the essential nutrients of a good vegan multivitamin:

1. Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is the one that we hear about a lot because it’s the only vitamin that is virtually impossible to get from a vegan diet. It’s needed for red blood cell formation, neurological function and DNA synthesis. 

B12 is made by bacteria and is found naturally in soil and in the stomachs of animals. Humans get B12 from the meat and milk of animals like cows and sheep, which leave vegans at risk of a B12 deficiency if they do not use supplements.

Where can vegans get vitamin b12 naturally?

Whilst vegans can ingest B12 from eating unwashed vegetables which are covered in soil, this isn’t recommended. Instead, you’ll find that some plant milks, soy products and breakfast cereals are fortified with B12. Another good source is nutritional yeast which you can add yourself to all kinds of meals.

2. Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is common across the UK population, not just in vegans. The NHS recommends that everyone take a vitamin D supplement each day between October and March. The rest of the year, people should be able to get all of the vitamin D that they need from sunlight. Those that don’t go outside or that don’t expose their skin to the sun should take vitamin D supplements all year round.

Food-wise, vitamin D is commonly found in oily fish, red meat and eggs, which is why vegans should take extra care to ensure that they have enough.

Vitamin D isn’t a single vitamin, rather a family of similar nutrients. Two of the most common types that you’ll come across in food and in supplements are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. 

• Vitamin D3 comes from animals
• Vitamin D2 comes from plants

Some foods like breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin D. It rarely specifies on the packaging whether the vitamin D that’s added to fortified foods is D2 or D3, but we can assume that it’s D3 because cereal contains a lot of fibre which can prevent D2 from being absorbed.

Where can vegans get vitamin D naturally?

The best source of vitamin D is sunlight, but in the UK there isn’t enough UVB radiation in winter sunlight for our skin to make it.

Mushrooms contain significant amounts of vitamin D, but only if they are exposed to sunlight. Another vegan source of vitamin D is fortified plant milk – Unlike fortified cereals, these are more likely to be suitable for vegans

UK-grown mushrooms often don’t contain much vitamin D as they aren’t grown in sunshine or UV light as they are in some other countries such as the US and Australia. Look out for mushrooms that are labelled as being ‘enriched with Vitamin D’ or ‘UV treated’ for a vitamin D boost [Source].

Enriching mushrooms with vitamin D can be easy to do at home. You just unwrap the mushrooms and place them outside in the sun for 30 minutes before cooking. However, this is most effective in the late spring, summer and early autumn – a time when we naturally get more vitamin D from sunlight on our skin anyway.

3. Iron

Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells. There are two types of iron – heme and non-heme.

Heme iron comes from meat and fish and is easily absorbed by the body. Non-heme iron comes from plants and is harder to absorb. Because vegans consume only non-heme iron, the Institute of Medicine recommends that they consume 1.8 times as much iron as omnivores [Source].

Vitamin C works alongside iron to facilitate its absorption, so those taking iron supplements should also ensure that they are not deficient in vitamin C. One good way to do this is to take any iron supplements with a glass of orange juice.

Iron is particularly important for women and children. Women lose iron during their menstrual period, with 1mg of iron lost for every day of bleeding. Those with heavy periods will lose more. As iron is important to muscle growth, it is of particular importance to growing children as well as athletes and bodybuilders.

Where can vegans get iron naturally?

Whilst iron is commonly associated with red meat and liver, there are many plant-based sources of iron.

Vegan sources of iron include:

• Pulses like beans, peas and lentils 
• Wholemeal bread and flour
• Fortified breakfast cereals
• Green, leafy vegetables
• Nuts
• Dried fruits like prunes and apricots

4. Calcium

Calcium plays a role in building strong bones and teeth as well as keeping your heart beating regularly and your blood clotting normally. Non-vegans get most of their calcium from dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Where can vegans get calcium naturally?

It’s a myth that calcium only comes from milk, as there are lots of vegan sources of calcium.

Vegan calcium sources include:

• Green, leafy vegetables
• Pulses like beans, peas and lentils 
• Dried fruits like prunes and apricots
• Fortified plant milk
• Bread (in the UK this always has calcium added)

The Bottom Line

Most vegans would benefit from taking vitamin supplements, in particular those that contain vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron and calcium. Which other nutrients to include will depend on things like your age, gender and lifestyle.

The best vitamin supplements come in capsules, are made in the UK and are delivered in recyclable packaging. Whichever brand you choose from the hundreds that are out there, it’s important to read the reviews and to make sure that you buy from a reputable company that you can trust. 

The vegan multivitamin supplement that I recommend is Dr. Vegan because it has everything that vegans need in capsule form. It comes in recyclable packaging and it offers great value for money with a free metal pill tin. Remember to use discount code CV30 to get 30% off your order.

Related posts:

• Best Vegan Omega 3 Supplements
• Best Vegan Vitamin D Supplements
• Best Vitamin Supplements for Vegan Women
• Best Vegan Hair Growth Products