Fish Oil Cost-Per-Mg Calculator
What does your omega-3 really cost?
Sticker price hides the truth. A cheap bottle can cost more per usable milligram than a premium one once you account for how much EPA + DHA your body actually absorbs.
The short version:to find a fish oil's true cost, divide the bottle price by the grams of EPA + DHA it delivers, then adjust for absorption. Triglyceride (rTG) oils absorb roughly 75% of their label omega-3; ethyl esters closer to 48%. Cost per 1,000 mg of absorbed EPA + DHA — not cost per pill — is the number that actually compares products.
- Form-adjusted absorption
- Benchmarked vs. 7 popular oils
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The form found in fish and in every Nordic Naturals oil. Highest absorption of the four forms in head-to-head bioavailability studies.
Enter your product to see its true cost
We'll translate the sticker price into the only number that matters: dollars per 1,000 mg of absorbed EPA + DHA, then show how it ranks against popular fish oils.
Cost-per-mg leaderboard
Popular fish oils ranked by true cost.
Every product below is normalized to the same yardstick: dollars per 1,000 mg of absorbedEPA + DHA. Cheap bulk ethyl-ester oils win on sticker price — but watch the softgels you swallow to hit 1 gram, and remember a price tag can't see oxidation.
Illustrative retail figures captured May 2026 for comparison — enter your own product in the calculator above for exact math. Absorption factors are relative-bioavailability midpoints from the sources listed below; real absorption varies with dose, meal fat, and individual physiology.
Why form changes the price
Absorption by omega-3 form.
The same 1,000 mg on two labels are not equal. The molecular form decides how much survives digestion — which is why the calculator weights every product by its form before ranking it.
Sources
- Bioavailability of marine n-3 fatty acid formulations (Dyerberg et al., Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids) (2010) — Re-esterified triglyceride (rTG) fish oil was the most bioavailable form; ethyl esters were the least, absorbing roughly 15–35% less than the natural triglyceride form over two weeks.
- Comparing Omega-3 Supplements: form and absorption (Cooper Complete) (2023) — Of 1,000 mg omega-3 consumed, the triglyceride form delivers roughly 700–800 mg absorbed, while the ethyl ester form delivers closer to 400–500 mg.
- Battle of the omega-3 forms: triglycerides, ethyl esters, or phospholipids? (NutraIngredients) (2013) — Ethyl esters are popular largely because they are cheaper to concentrate, but are about 15% less bioavailable than the triglyceride form.
- Fish Oil Dosage Calculator & label math (OmniCalculator) (2024) — A typical '1,000 mg fish oil' softgel contains only about 180 mg EPA + 120 mg DHA — roughly 300 mg of actual omega-3, not 1,000 mg.
- Fish Oil, Krill Oil, and Algal Oil Omega-3 Supplements Review (ConsumerLab) (2024) — Independent testing finds wide variation in price per gram of omega-3; krill and algal oils generally cost several times more per gram of EPA + DHA than concentrated fish oil.
- GOED Voluntary Monograph — oxidation limits for omega-3 oils (2023) — The industry oxidation ceiling is a TOTOX value of 26 meq/kg; fresher oils test far below it. Oxidized oil delivers fewer intact omega-3s per dollar, even when the label mg looks identical.
Frequently asked
Cost-per-mg, answered.
How do you calculate the true cost of fish oil per mg?
Take the bottle price and divide it by the total EPA + DHA it contains: servings per bottle × the EPA + DHA milligrams per serving. That gives cost per 1,000 mg on the label. Then multiply the omega-3 by the form's absorption factor (about 75% for triglyceride, 48% for ethyl ester) to get cost per 1,000 mg actually absorbed — the number worth comparing.
Why compare cost per absorbed milligram instead of per pill?
Pills vary wildly in strength. A "1,000 mg fish oil" softgel often holds just ~300 mg of omega-3, and if it's an ethyl ester your body absorbs only part of that. Comparing per absorbed milligram cancels out pill size, concentration, and form so you're comparing the only thing that reaches your bloodstream.
Is Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega 2X worth the higher price?
On cost per absorbed milligram, Ultimate Omega 2X beats every premium form — regular-strength, krill, and algae — because it packs 2,150 mg of triglyceride-form EPA + DHA into a 2-softgel serving. Ultra-cheap bulk ethyl-ester oils still cost less per milligram, but you swallow three to four times as many pills and inherit the oxidation risk that makes much of that category rancid on the shelf. Run your own numbers above and decide.
What is the cheapest omega-3 per milligram?
Honestly? High-volume warehouse ethyl-ester oils like Costco Kirkland are the cheapest per raw milligram — the calculator shows that plainly. The catch is concentration and freshness: you take many more softgels per dose, and discount fish oil is the category independent labs most often find oxidized. Cheapest sticker is not the same as cheapest effective dose, or the best oil.
How much EPA + DHA should I be dosing per day?
Most health authorities put the general-wellness target at 250–500 mg of combined EPA + DHA per day, with ~1 g for heart support and 2–3 g for anti-inflammatory goals. Set your daily target in the calculator to see cost per day and how long each bottle lasts. For a personalized number, use our omega-3 dosage calculator.
Why doesn't a 1,000 mg fish oil capsule give 1,000 mg of omega-3?
Because "1,000 mg fish oil" describes the weight of the oil, not the omega-3 in it. A typical concentrate is only about 30% EPA + DHA, so that capsule delivers roughly 300 mg of actual omega-3. Always read the EPA and DHA lines on the Supplement Facts panel — that's the number the calculator wants, and our batch-check tool shows it on a real Certificate of Analysis.
Does triglyceride (rTG) fish oil really absorb better than ethyl ester?
Yes. In head-to-head studies the re-esterified triglyceride form is the most bioavailable, while ethyl ester is the least — roughly 15% lower at steady state, and in single-dose tests the gap is larger (about 700–800 mg absorbed per 1,000 mg as triglyceride versus 400–500 mg as ethyl ester). That difference is exactly what the absorption factor in this calculator captures.
Know the cost — now nail the dose.
See exactly how many milligrams of EPA + DHA you need per day for your goal, then check that the bottle you already own came from an authorized dealer.