IM8 vs AG1: the short answer
Both are all-in-one daily powders sold on subscription, both are NSF Certified for Sport, and both replace a shelf of separate bottles with one scoop. The difference that decides the purchase is disclosure. IM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials publishes the dose of its headline compounds, AG1 publishes complex totals. If you want to check a label against research, IM8 lets you and AG1 mostly does not. If you want the product with the longer track record and the larger customer base, that is AG1.
On price the two are closer than the marketing suggests. IM8 lists a 30-serving box at about $112 one-time and $89 every four weeks on subscription, or roughly $2.61 a serving on its 90-day plan. AG1 lists, at the time of writing, about $79 a month on subscription and $99 for a one-time pouch. Verify both on the day you order, because both brands run promotions and both have changed their plans before.
What each product actually is
AG1, formerly Athletic Greens
AG1 is the product that built the category. One 12 g scoop mixed into cold water delivers what the brand describes as 75 vitamins, minerals and whole-food sourced ingredients across four complexes: a raw superfood complex, an extracts and antioxidants complex, a digestive enzyme and mushroom complex, and a dairy-free probiotic component. The formula was updated in 2024 and is manufactured in New Zealand. It carries NSF Certified for Sport certification, is free of iron, gluten, dairy and added sugar, and comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Its label lists the total weight of each complex rather than the amount of every botanical inside it. That is legal and common. It also means that, apart from the vitamins and minerals, you cannot tell how much of any single ingredient you are getting.
IM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials
IM8 was co-founded by David Beckham with a scientific board the brand presents as drawn from the Mayo Clinic and NASA. Its flagship, Daily Ultimate Essentials, is also a 12 g serving in 8 to 12 ounces of cold water, built on about 90 ingredients across vitamins and minerals, greens and superfoods, antioxidants, a pre, pro and postbiotic complex, digestive enzymes and specialty compounds. The brand quantifies the ones that matter: 900 mg of vitamin C, 100 mg of CoQ10, 1,000 mg of MSM, 30 mcg of vegan vitamin D3, magnesium as bisglycinate, vitamin K2 as MK-7, methylated B vitamins and 10 billion CFU of probiotics. It is caffeine-free, contains no iron, collagen or ashwagandha, and is NSF Certified for Sport. The brand references a 12-week randomized controlled trial on its formula indexed by the National Library of Medicine.
Our full IM8 Health review goes through the formula line by line. This page keeps to the comparison.
How we compared them
We read both supplement facts panels as published on the official product pages, checked both products against the NSF Certified for Sport listing, and captured prices, subscription intervals and guarantee terms on the same day. We did not run laboratory tests on either powder. Where a brand states a figure we could not verify independently, the text says so, and where the two labels use different conventions we say which one leaves you unable to compare.
What the two labels have in common
It is worth being fair about the overlap before listing the differences. Both use a 12 g serving. Both carry a full vitamin and mineral layer plus a greens and superfood blend, a probiotic component and digestive enzymes. Both leave iron out on purpose, which is the right call for a product taken daily by adults who have not been tested for deficiency. Both are NSF Certified for Sport, so both have been screened for banned substances and both are manufactured under audited conditions. Both are premium products with a subscription-first pricing model, and both advertise free US shipping on a plan.
Both also share the same weakness. Neither discloses the dose of every botanical in its greens complex, so on that part of the label you are trusting the brand either way. And neither is a substitute for vegetables, protein or sleep, whatever the founder videos suggest.
Where IM8 wins
Disclosure you can check
This is the whole argument. One hundred milligrams of CoQ10 and 1,000 mg of MSM are doses you can compare against published studies. A complex total tells you the powder weighs something; it does not tell you whether any component reaches a research-relevant amount. IM8 is not perfect here either, since its greens and superfood content is also blended, but its headline actives are stated where AG1's are not.
The specialty compounds
CoQ10, MSM, K2 MK-7 and magnesium bisglycinate are ingredients people otherwise buy as separate bottles. AG1 is built around greens, adaptogens and gut support; it does not attempt to cover those. If your current routine already includes a CoQ10 or a magnesium, IM8 replaces more of it.
Vitamin D and vitamin C
Thirty micrograms of D3 is 1,200 IU, a realistic daily amount. Nine hundred milligrams of vitamin C is high but within the tolerable upper intake. These are the kind of numbers that let you decide whether you still need a separate vitamin D, which is exactly the question an all-in-one is supposed to settle.
Where AG1 wins
Track record and scale
AG1 has been sold since 2010 and has a customer base an order of magnitude larger than IM8's. That is not a formulation argument, but it matters for supply consistency, for the maturity of the subscription and support systems, and for the volume of independent feedback available. IM8 has more than 1,400 Trustpilot reviews; AG1 has far more, across many more years.
Simplicity of purpose
AG1 is a greens and gut powder with a multivitamin layer. It does one thing and its formula has stayed recognizable through its updates. IM8's breadth is a strength for someone consolidating five bottles and a source of overlap for someone who only wanted greens.
The guarantee
AG1's 90-day money-back policy applies to first orders across the board. IM8's guarantee runs 30 days on one-time orders and 90 days for subscribers, so the terms depend on how you buy.
IM8 vs AG1 side by side
| Criteria | Compared by TBSIM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials | AG1 |
|---|---|---|
| Serving | ✅12 g in cold water, once a day | ✅12 g in cold water, once a day |
| Ingredient count | ✅About 90, with headline doses stated | ❌About 75, listed as complex totals |
| Dose disclosure | ✅CoQ10 100 mg, MSM 1,000 mg, vitamin C 900 mg, D3 30 mcg | ❌Vitamins and minerals only; botanicals blended |
| Specialty compounds | ✅CoQ10, MSM, K2 MK-7, magnesium bisglycinate | ❌Greens, adaptogens and gut support; no CoQ10 or MSM |
| Probiotics | ✅10 billion CFU plus a postbiotic | ✅Dairy-free probiotic component, reformulated in 2024 |
| Caffeine and iron | ✅None and none | ✅None and none |
| NSF Certified for Sport | ✅Yes | ✅Yes |
| Published trial | ✅12-week RCT referenced by the brand | ❌No finished-formula RCT we could verify |
| One-time price | ❌About $112 for 30 servings | ✅About $99 for 30 servings |
| Subscription | ❌$89 every 4 weeks, or $235 every 12 weeks | ✅About $79 a month |
| Guarantee | ❌30 days, 90 for subscribers | ✅90 days |
| Track record | ❌Launched 2024, 1,400+ Trustpilot reviews | ✅Sold since 2010, far larger customer base |
| US shipping | ✅Free on subscription | ✅Free on subscription |
Green cells mark the product that comes out ahead on that line, or an equal footing when both are marked. Read the price lines with the disclosure lines: AG1 is cheaper, IM8 tells you more about what you are paying for.
Cost per day, honestly
On subscription the gap is about $10 a month in AG1's favor, or roughly 33 cents a day. On IM8's 90-day plan the two are within a few cents of each other. Our IM8 promo code takes 10% off, which brings a one-time box to about $101, but it does not stack with subscription pricing, so compare the code against the plan before choosing.
The more useful calculation is what each one replaces. If IM8 lets you drop a CoQ10, a magnesium and a vitamin D, the monthly saving on those three alone usually exceeds the price difference. If you were only ever going to buy a greens powder, AG1 is the cheaper way to get one.
Who should pick which
Pick IM8 if you want to read the label and compare it to research, if you already take CoQ10, MSM, magnesium or vitamin D separately, or if a caffeine-free formula with a published trial matters to you. Pick AG1 if you want the category's reference product with the longest track record, the most generous guarantee, and a formula centered on greens and gut support rather than on specialty compounds.
Neither is a treatment for anything, and neither replaces a varied diet. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition should check either formula with a clinician, since both contain vitamin K and both interact with the same categories of medication.
For the wider field, our ranking of the best AG1 alternatives puts IM8 against four other daily formulas that ship to the United States.
Frequently asked questions
Is IM8 better than AG1?
On label transparency and specialty compounds, yes. On track record, guarantee and simplicity, AG1 keeps the edge. Which matters more depends on what you are replacing.
Can I take IM8 and AG1 together?
We would not. Both contain a full vitamin and mineral layer, so stacking them doubles several micronutrients for no benefit.
Does IM8 contain caffeine?
No. Daily Ultimate Essentials is caffeine-free, as is AG1.
Which one is NSF Certified for Sport?
Both. Tested athletes can use either.
Which is cheaper?
AG1 on a monthly subscription, by about $10. On IM8's 90-day plan the two are nearly identical per serving.
Sources
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