Athletic Greens AG1 vs Ka’Chava: Comparison, Benefits and Drawbacks

Formerly known as Athletic Greens, AG1 is the most popular greens powder on the market today. (It’s also the first one that I ever tried!) Replete with 75 whole-food-based ingredients, AG1 is said to be great for your energy levels, athletic performance, and immunity.

Ka'Chava, on the other hand, is one of the most original and popular “superfood meals,” — and it also contains a hefty serving of greens. Ka’Chava is similar to AG1 because it makes big claims and has built an even bigger fan base.

In this comparison review, we’ll examine how both products stack up against their brands’ claims…and against each other.

What to Look for In Greens Powders

Before getting right into it, we should briefly overview what greens powders are all about.

Their foremost benefit is probably their ability to provide better-balanced nutrition.

Not everyone has the time to prepare a 20+ ingredient fruit and veggie smoothie every day, but almost everyone can manage to mix a greens powder into their morning lemon water.

Greens powders concentrate the power of plants into a radically more convenient formula.

That means they make filling out your nutrient intake profile easy, particularly regarding hard-to-get nutrients. Greens powders can also balance your diet’s pH, reduce your inflammatory load, provide easily-absorbed cellular energy, and more.(Source)

As good as greens powders are in theory, there’s one major problem with how most major brands put them into practice.

Most greens powders on the market today place their ingredients into proprietary blends, making it hard to ascertain exactly how much spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass, etc., you’re getting. You’ll read more about ingredient transparency in the sections that follow…

I’ve covered the superfood powders before. I’ve even covered the best greens powders for increasing your protein intake.

But in this comparison review, we’ll dive deep into the similarities, differences, pros, cons, etc. of just two: AG1 and Ka’Chava.

Here are the details.

What is AG1?

AG1 greens is an all-in-one greens powder that’s hugely popular among its customers

AG1 isn’t just a two-in-one, three-in-one, or even 5-in-one product. It contains nine synergistic blends containing 75 ingredients in total!

AG1’s top proponents include elite athletes, busy executives, and everyday health enthusiasts. AG1 claims to deliver the equivalent of 12 servings of vegetables in each scoop.

Athletic Greens claim on their website:

AG1 utilizes vitamins, minerals, prebiotics and probiotics, digestive enzymes, adaptogens, and well-researched plant extracts to encourage a daily health ritual supporting our health foundations.

What is Ka’Chava?

Ka’Chava is an almost artfully designed product backed by an established, eduction-focused brand.

Looking at the Ka’Chava website, you’ll see fit, healthy, smiling people everywhere.

Presumably, these people are as healthy and happy as they are because they’re taking Ka’Chava!

I like how well the brand explains the benefits of its product (and its product’s many ingredients).

You can find several Kachava reviews online. You can get my thoughts on this brand reading mine.

Related: Best Meal Replacement Shakes.

AG1 vs. Ka’Chava: Ingredients Overview

Reader, be warned: a lot is going on in this section.

But AG1 and Ka’Chava have lots of ingredients. So many ingredients per small serving are likely some of these ingredients aren’t present in large enough quantities to be truly effective.

Here are the details.

AG1 Ingredients List

As I said above, AG1 has 75 ingredients spanning 9 key categories.

On the plus side, we know exactly how many vitamins and minerals Athletic Greens contains 700% of your RDV for vitamin C and 300% of your RDV for vitamin E.

It’s also high in zinc, magnesium, and other key nutrients.

In other good news, AG1 is NSF Certified for Sport® and manufactured in a TGA-registered NSF Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Registered facility in New Zealand. Every pack of AG1 is 100% traceable.

Now for some less-than-good news.

Like many other greens powders, AG1's ingredients exist in proprietary blends.

For example, we don’t know exactly how much Reishi Mushroom powder is in the “Digestive Enzyme & Super Mushroom Complex,” because only the full Complex’s quantity is listed.

Based on the available data points, there probably needs to be ten times more Reishi in AG1’s formula for it to have measurable benefits.(Source)

Here is the Athletic Greens AG1 supplement label:

Related: Better alternatives to AG1 Greens

Ka’Chava Ingredients List

Ka’Chava formula has nearly as many ingredients as Athletic Greens, stopping the clock with 70.

Among the highlights are ‘super’ greens, fruit powders, protein, probiotics, various enzymes, and adaptogens.

Unfortunately, every single active ingredient in Ka’Chava exists within a proprietary blend.

That means we can’t know exactly how much of anything is in Ka’Chava.

On the bright side, Ka’Chava is cruelty-free, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and free from artificial ingredients.

28 of its 70 ingredients are certified organic.

Here is the Ka'Chava supplement label:

AG1 vs. Ka’Chava: Top Benefits

AG1 Greens and Ka'Chava both make some pretty substantial claims about what their products can do.

Let’s take a look at each brand one by one.

AG1 Top Benefits

Many of the ingredients in Athletic Greens will be difficult to consume when eating ‘normally.’

AG1’s ability to round out nutritional gaps means its users will probably experience health benefits.

Ka’Chava Top Benefits

Remember from this review’s intro that Ka’Chava isn’t just a greens powder.

It’s a superfood blend!

That gives it an even wider range of (potential) health benefits than you might think.

This all sounds great…until one stops considering that none of these benefits can be scientifically verified without more transparent ingredient lists.

Many Ka-Chava users do report experiencing these things, though.

AG1 vs. Ka’Chava: How Do They Taste?

The taste tends to be hit-or-miss regarding greens-containing supplements; these two are no exception.

AG1 Taste

Most people, myself included, feel that AG1 tastes pretty good.

It doesn’t have some other greens powders' grassy flavor or chalky consistency.

But that doesn’t mean everybody likes it. Some customer reviews describe artificial aftertaste.

One review went so far as to say AG1 tasted like it contained “lawn clippings thrown in.”

Related: Best tasting greens supplements

Ka’Chava Taste

Ka’Chava is available in two flavors: chocolate and vanilla.

Both tastes are popular, with the chocolate option seemingly taking the cake.

Some customers aren’t so enthusiastic about the formula’s sweetness, however.

AG1 vs. Ka’Chava: Are They Reasonably Priced?

This is one area where both AG1 and Ka’Chava seem to miss the mark.

While we understand that greens powders can be pricey to manufacture, there’s a fine line between healthy profit margins and price gouging.

AG1 Pricing and Refund Policy

AG1 is one of the most expensive products of its kind.

A single pack contains $99 — that’s $3.30 per serving.

Subscribing brings the price down to a slightly more manageable $2.63, but AG1 is nonetheless quite expensive.

SHOP AG1

Ka’Chava Pricing and Refund Policy

Ka’Chava is even more expensive, but then again, it’s more than a mere greens powder.

Each 15-serving pack costs $69.95 — that’s $4.67 per serving! Subscribing brings the price down to $4.00 per serving.

SHOP KA'CHAVA

What Customers Say About AG1 and Ka’Chava

AG1 Top Reviews

AGI has over 14,000 reviews on its website. The average reviewer gives AG1 a relatively high 4.5 stars.

One busy customer loves the convenience factor:

“I’m an ER nurse and working a lot these days due to RN shortages. I love AG1 and feel like I can get most of my nutrients by drinking this every day! Especially when we are too busy to eat.”

AG1 also has its fair share of 1-star reviews, however, many of them question the exorbitantly high price.

Ka’Chava Top Reviews

Ka’Chava is incredibly popular on Amazon, where it has well over 4,000 Amazon reviews. 72% of the reviews are 5-star, and the average review is 4.5 out of 5.

For some reason, Ka’Chava’s Amazon price is $147.95 per pack right now.

Even if each pack contained the 15 meals Ka’Chava claims — which, calorie-wise, it definitely does not — this pricing is ridiculous.

“According to my math, these are $7.40/serving,” one reviewer says. “It’d have to cure my cancer at that price.”

It appears that supply chain issues may be impacting Ka’Chava’s cost and shipping times.

Customers that bought Ka’Chava before these problems began seemed to think its price was more than worth it.

Athletic Greens AG1 vs Ka’Chava: My Verdict

In general, I’m a fan of Athletic Greens.

The product’s taste, transparency, and affordability are all decent.

I’m much less impressed by Ka’Chava, despite the solid first impressions this brand’s website gives.

Ka-Chava needs improvement regarding transparent labeling…and it’s become extremely expensive.

That’s not a combo that makes me want to pull out my wallet.

A better option than both AG1 and Ka’Chava — at least from the perspective of brand transparency — would be the Supergreen Tonik I created.

LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation

Some Call This An "Extreme" Step...

Most super greens supplements are disappointing.

I learned this the hard way. After creating this blog in 2018, I spent months buying and testing all the most popular brands.

I wasn’t happy with the results so I did something you might call "extreme"....

In 2019 I created my own brand that ticks every single box of what I look for in a super greens product:

• No hidden ingredient amounts - we have full disclosure labelling, so you know EXACTLY whats inside
• Ingredient amounts that make a difference - we include the minimum effective amounts supported by research, and most of the time, MORE
• Ingredients that help immunity, boost mental clarity and shake off brain fog - making for a much more productive and happy lifestyle

No more worrying about ineffective ingredients or too low dosages. I finally have a product I KNOW does the job it’s made to do.

I use it every day and, after years of battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I now have my energy (and my life!) back.

The good news? I made my brand available to the public so you can see and feel the difference for yourself.

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