Clean Vitamins for Kids Compared: See How 4 Top Brands Stack Up

If you've ever stood in the vitamin aisle squinting at ingredient labels, you already know the frustration. Every brand seems to say the right things on the front of the package. “Made with real fruits and vegetables.” “Whole-food formula.” “Clean ingredients.” Flip the bottle over, though, and the story gets more complicated.

Ingredient labels are listed in descending order by weight, so whatever appears first makes up the largest portion of the product. That single detail tells you more about how a vitamin is actually built than any claim on the front of the package. So that's where this comparison starts.

These four brands have all made a credible case for being cleaner than the candy-colored mainstream kids’ vitamins:

First Day

MaryRuth's

Hiya

Llama Naturals

But they're not all doing the same thing, and the differences matter.

Full Comparison at a Glance

What the First Ingredient Tells You

A product can include an impressive-sounding organic superfood blend while still relying on supplemental vitamin forms to hit its nutrient numbers. And a gummy can claim to be "made with real fruit" while starting with syrup as its first ingredient. The first ingredient, the nutrient source, and the sweetener all tell different parts of the same story: what is this vitamin actually made of?

First Day and MaryRuth's are both conventional gummies, and both start with sugar. First Day leads with organic tapioca syrup and organic cane sugar, with its 21-ingredient organic superfood blend appearing further down the list. Its 9 vitamins use synthetic forms like beta carotene, ascorbic acid, and cholecalciferol. MaryRuth's similarly leads with organic glucose syrup and organic cane sugar. Its 11 vitamins and minerals are standard supplemental forms like retinyl palmitate and ascorbic acid, with a small amount of organic fruit and vegetable juice used primarily for color.

Hiya sidesteps the gummy format entirely. As a chewable tablet, it doesn't need a syrup base. Its 15 vitamins and minerals are synthetic compounds like cholecalciferol, methylcobalamin, and zinc citrate, paired with a 12-ingredient organic fruit and veggie blend. There's no added sugar, though it does use monk fruit extract and mannitol as alternatives.

Llama Naturals is a fundamentally different product. The first three ingredients are organic apple juice, organic apple puree, and organic strawberry. The fruit is the gummy. Its 13 vitamins come from a concentrated blend of USDA Organic produce: spinach, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, oranges, apples, strawberries, sunflower seeds, and two types of mushrooms. No synthetic vitamin forms appear on the label. No added sugar. No sweeteners of any kind. The sweetness comes entirely from the organic fruit the gummy is made from.

Supplemental vitamin forms aren't harmful. They're a different approach from extracting nutrients directly from whole foods. The distinction comes down to whether you're giving your kid food that contains vitamins or vitamins in a manufactured base.

Format and Age Range

First Day and MaryRuth's are both conventional gummies for ages 4 and up, so neither is an option for toddlers.

Hiya's tablet format avoids the gummy additives and sticky residue that concern some parents and pediatric dentists. It's suitable for ages 2 and up, though some younger kids may find it harder to chew.

Llama Naturals is a real-fruit gummy suitable for ages 2 and up. Because the base is actual fruit rather than a syrup, it has a softer, less sticky texture than conventional gummies. For parents with toddlers, it's one of only two products on this list that works for kids under 4.

Allergens and Certifications

First Day is free from the top nine allergens including sesame, and is Clean Label Project certified.

MaryRuth's is free from major allergens and holds both USDA Organic certification and B Corp certification.

Hiya is free from gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, shellfish, fish, and wheat, but it contains coconut oil powder, which the FDA classifies as a tree nut. If tree nut allergies are a concern, this is worth flagging. Hiya is Clean Label Project certified.

Llama Naturals is free from peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, and shellfish. It carries USDA Organic certification and Plastic Negative Certification through rePurpose Global.

What Each Costs

First Day's subscription lands around $29/month, or roughly $0.97/day. MaryRuth's is $22.95 for 60 gummies, the lowest daily cost at about $0.77/day for kids 4 and up. Neither works for toddlers. Hiya runs $30/month, which comes to $1.00/day regardless of age, and it does cover ages 2 and up, but at the highest per-day cost on this list.

A bottle of Llama Naturals is $26.99 for 90 gummies. For kids ages 2 to 3, that's roughly $0.60/day, about 40% less than Hiya in the same age range. For kids 4 and up, it's about $0.90/day. Llama Naturals also offers the longest money-back guarantee on this list at 100 days, more than double First Day's 45-day window and more than triple MaryRuth's 30-day policy.

So, Which One Should You Buy?

Llama Naturals

Kids Whole Food Multivitamin Gummies

5 stars

SHOP NOW — $25.19

SHOP NOW — $25.19

All four of these brands are a meaningful step up from the gummies most kids grew up on. None of them lead with high-fructose corn syrup or artificial dyes, and each has made deliberate choices that the mainstream options simply haven't. That's worth acknowledging.

But there's a difference between products that are food with vitamins in them and products that are vitamins in a sweetened base. Both can be thoughtfully made. They're just not the same thing, and marketing that treats them as equivalent makes the decision harder than it needs to be.

If the breadth of First Day's superfood list appeals to you, or if MaryRuth's organic certification and B Corp status are the priority, either can work. Just know going in that both are built on a sweetened base with superfoods or vitamins added in. If you want zero added sugar and don't mind a chewable tablet, Hiya is a solid pick.

If what you're looking for is a gummy that actually starts with fruit, where the first ingredient is organic apple and the vitamins come from real food rather than a lab, only one product on this list fits that description. Llama Naturals Kids Whole Food Multivitamin Gummies are built from organic produce from the first ingredient to the last, with no added sugar and no synthetic vitamin forms. Kids can start as young as 2, and they're free from all major allergens.

Thirty seconds with the ingredient label is usually all it takes. What's at the top is where the product actually starts.

Ready to try a vitamin built from real fruit?

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All details verified at time of writing but subject to change without notice.

Kristin Templin