If you’ve spent time online searching for a super green, you’ll have most likely come across both Athletic Greens and Green Vibrance whilst you’ve been on the search.
Athletic Greens and Green Vibrance are both sought-after formulas on the super greens market, although each is compositionally different and provides consumers with different health benefits.
I’m going to compare Athletic Greens and Green Vibrance by looking at some of the most important factors of every super greens formula, finally deciding which one is the better supplement.
So, check out my comprehensive comparison of Athletic Greens Vs Green Vibrance.
What Is Athletic Greens?
Athletic Greens is an extremely popular super greens formula on the health and wellbeing market and the formula’s popularity is only growing exponentially due to the positive feedback from real customers and athletes, celebrities, and fitness influencers.
The formula was first released to the world in 2008, and the brand's success has been incredible since then, with an estimated revenue of between $20-$50 million. As of 2019, the formula was named the official supplement of the USA cycling team.
Packed with over 70 impressive all-natural ingredients, including a wide range of whole food super greens and probiotics, prebiotics, adaptogens, and enzymes, it’s not difficult to see why this formula attracts so many people an initial glance.
Unfortunately, though, all of these impressive ingredients exist within proprietary blends – such a shame as the brand pretty much ticks every other box! However, more on that later.
First, let’s look at a list of pros and cons of the formula as a whole before we dive a little deeper into more specific areas of it.
Pros
- Contains 75 ingredients, including prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes, and adaptogens
- Vegan-friendly, gluten-free, sugar-free, and nut-free
- Easily dissolvable and tastes good!
- Popular with athletes, celebrities, and fitness influencers
Cons
- Made using proprietary blends (no fully disclosed list of ingredients)
- More expensive than other formulas, with a $3.23 cost per serving
Read my Athletic Greens review.
What Is Green Vibrance?
Green Vibrance by Vibrant Health, has been on the market since 1992 and it’s won the highest number of prestigious awards for its brilliance. Obviously, this brand must be doing something right to not only be in business so long but also to be the most awarded greens supplement on the market.
Green Vibrance also contains over 70 ingredients, including potent super greens ingredients, fruits, enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, herbs, extracts, and more.
Unlike the Athletic Greens formula, the amount of each and every ingredient within the formula is listed on both the Green Vibrance tub and on the Vibrant Health website, showing great transparency from the brand!
Before we take a closer look at more specific areas of the formula, let’s look at its pros and cons.
Pros
- Over 70 fully-disclosed ingredients
- Award-winning since 1992
- Low cost
Cons
- Not a sufficient quantity of every single ingredient
- Although you can get different flavors of the formula, the original one does taste rather grassy
Read my Green Vibrance review.
Athletic Greens Vs. Green Vibrance Benefits
Athletic Greens
I really appreciate the fact that Athletic Greens has gone to the effort of dedicating an entire part of its website to the benefits of the formula. Rather than vaguely stating that the formula provides a few benefits, the brand has listed every benefit linked to each ingredient.
As well as the specific health benefits from each ingredient, the brand claims that the formula will boost the immune system, protect cells from radical damage, support the digestive system, reduce stress levels, and enhance nutrient absorption.
This is all amazing, but I do have one problem with it. It seems strange to me that the brand has chosen to go into so much detail about the benefits of each ingredient but not disclosed the information regarding the amounts of each ingredient – are they overcompensating here?
Possibly!
Green Vibrance
Green Vibrance targets whole-body wellness, with health benefits from the formula focusing on the four main pillars of wellness – nutrition, circulation, digestion, and immunity.
The brand claims that the formula will help the body to function in the most efficient way possible, increase energy levels and boost the immune system, as well as provide specific health benefits that are associated with each ingredient.
Three ingredients are highlighted for their impressive health benefits – probiotics, wheatgrass, and spirulina. As well as the more all-around benefits of the formula, Vibrant Health also wants to let the consumer know that these three ingredients have extra special properties!
For example, the 25 billion probiotics from 12 strains support digestion and transport nutrients. The wheatgrass detoxifies, alkalizes, and supports the immune system. The spirulina provides protein and increases immunity.
I definitely prefer the way that Athletic Greens displays the formula’s health benefits, but it’s unclear whether these health benefits will actually exist because the formula is made using proprietary blends.
Recommended Greens Powders
I have tried over 40 different greens powders, check out my recommendations.
Athletic Greens Vs Green Vibrance Ingredients
Athletic Greens
Athletic Greens contains 75 ingredients in total, including whole super greens ingredients, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens, and enzymes. The formula is vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, and non-GMO, making it suitable for a wide range of people.
Athletic Greens recommended serving size is 12g, which is actually nearly the exact same serving size as Green Vibrance.
There’s such a long list of really impressive ingredients, but unfortunately, proprietary blends are used in the formula. This means that as consumers, we can’t see the amount of each ingredient in the formula.
Proprietary blends are honestly my biggest nightmare when it comes to super greens formulas, especially when a formula is impressive in every other category because it means that it all of a sudden makes it impossible for me to recommend it.
It’s vital that a brand is transparent with its consumers and provides a fully disclosed list of ingredients (with the amounts) because how else is a consumer supposed to believe that formula will actually work?
Most of the time when it comes to brands using proprietary blends, some ingredients won’t be sufficiently weighted to provide the health benefits the brand claims the formula will.
With Athletic Greens, even though we can’t see the exact amount of each ingredient, the proprietary blends exist in large amounts, so there might be hope! There might actually be a sufficient amount of ingredients within this formula.
Green Vibrance
Green Vibrance contains over 70 ingredients, just like the Athletic Greens formula. Containing everything from super greens and probiotics to herbs and enzymes, the formula is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and non-GMO.
Although the formula isn’t certified organic, a large proportion of the ingredients within the formula are certified organic which is a bonus.
Like music to my ears, the Green Vibrance ingredients list is fully disclosed and shows the amount of every ingredient within the formula. This means that the consumer can not only figure out how much of each ingredient they’re consuming, but they can also figure out whether the formula will work or not!
In this case, I’m going to do that!
Spirulina is always a good super greens ingredient to look at, and with a daily recommended dose of between 1-3g, the 600mg within this formula just doesn’t quite cut it. However, if you consumed two servings, you would reach the low end of the daily dose recommendation.
This is also the same for an array of ingredients within the formula, and although this might seem disappointing, at least the consumer knows how much they’re actually consuming, so they can double up if they need to!
I would much rather have a formula that’s underdosed with a fully disclosed ingredients label than one with proprietary blends and no clue how much of any ingredient is included in the mix.
Athletic Greens Vs Green Vibrance Taste
Athletic Greens
The Athletic Greens formula is actually one of my favorite tasting super greens formulas, and I even rated it on my ‘best tasting super greens’ list.
Athletic Greens is naturally sweetened using stevia extract and it’s also flavored using papaya, broccoli powder, cherry powder, carrot, natural pineapple flavor, and natural vanilla flavor.
Although there are a lot of flavorings used to alter the taste of this formula, it doesn't overpower it and the formula still tastes natural and refreshing – and the reason it's my number one tasting greens formula!
The formula also mixes well and there’s no grit when the formula settles.
Green Vibrance
Green Vibrance is available in three flavors – original, chocolate coconut, and matcha tea.
The original flavor does still contains a flavoring ingredient – Vanifolia natural flavor. The chocolate coconut flavor uses natural caramel chocolate coconut flavoring, monk fruit, cocoa powder, and Vanifolia natural flavoring.
The matcha tea flavor contains monk fruit extract, vanilla natural flavoring, and the basic Vanifolia natural flavoring.
Regardless of what flavor of the Green Vibrance you decide to buy, it tastes good!
The formula isn’t overly delicious but pleasant and easy to drink. It also mixes well and doesn’t leave any grit in the glass after settling.
Athletic Greens Vs Green Vibrance Cost
Athletic Greens
Athletic Greens is one of the more expensive super greens formulas on the market, making it unaffordable for a lot of people.
A 30-day servings pouch of Athletic Greens costs $97, which works out at a cost per serving of $3.23. This is much more expensive than other super greens formulas on the market, especially when it contains proprietary blends.
If you are set on this having this formula, you can choose to subscribe to the product and save 21%. If you did this, the cost per serving would go down to $2.56, which immediately seems more reasonable.
Green Vibrance
Green Vibrance is actually relatively low cost in comparison to Athletic Greens. One tub of 30-servings (337.8g) Green Vibrance costs $56.00. This works out at a cost per serving of $1.86.
If you subscribe to the formula you can save 20% and get free shipping. This works out at a cost per serving of $1.49.
Both of these costs are significantly cheaper than Athletic Greens, even though both of the formulas have a very similar serving size and this formula is the one with a fully disclosed ingredients label!
Athletic Greens Vs Green Vibrance: Which is Better?
Honestly, apart from the price and obviously the difference in ingredients list transparency, I have to say that these two formulas are pretty neck and neck.
I could probably get past the price difference, but I definitely can’t get past the use of proprietary blends in Athletic Greens. It’s impossible for anyone but the brand itself to know the amounts of each ingredient within the formula and therefore it puts the consumer at an unfair advantage.
However, with Green Vibrance, the brand has been completely transparent with the consumer. Therefore, the consumer can not only put more trust in the brand but also feel comfortable consuming a formula because they know what’s in it.
Comparing the two, I have to choose Green Vibrance over Athletic Greens.
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.
I want to take an overall gut health / digestive supplement like vibrant greens, Supergreen tonic, etc., but my problem is I have an autoimmune disorder that attacks my thyroid, and all these green drinks contain goitrogens, mostly in the form of cruciferous vegetables–spinach, broccoli, kale. Any recommendations?