Ranking the best vitamin K2 supplements of 2023

Vitamin K2 can help strengthen your bones and improve your cardiovascular health.

Several different molecules belong to the family of compounds known as vitamin K2, and all of them play a critical role in how your body regulates blood clotting, blood vessel structure, and bone health.

Our research team has analyzed the vitamin K2 supplements on the market to determine which are the most potent and most effective—here are our rankings.

Rankings

Last updated: October 27, 2022
K2 supplements considered: 25
Hours of research: 45
Experts reviewed: 14
Scientific papers referenced: 24

1. Live Conscious K2+D3

Check the lowest price

Live Conscious K2+D3 combines 100mcg of Menaquinone-7 vitamin K2 with 125 mcg of vitamin D3 per serving to maximize bioavailability. There are no artificial sweeteners, fillers, or additives.

It’s also manufactured in a GMP-certified facility and is free of soy, gluten, dairy, shellfish, and preservatives.

All things considered, we give Live Conscious K2+D3 the well-deserved #1 spot for our best vitamin K2 supplement.

Check the lowest price

2. Sports Research Natural MK-7 Vitamin K2

Check lowest price

Sports Research makes a high-quality vitamin K2 supplement that uses the proprietary chickpea extract MK-7 as its source for the vitamin.

Each capsule contains 100 micrograms of vitamin K2, and the capsules are made of vegetarian-friendly glycerine.

To top it off, the vitamin K2 is dissolved in extra virgin organic olive oil, which helps substantially with absorption. All of these perks make it one of the best K2 supplements out there.

3. MaryRuth’s Organics Vitamin K2

Check lowest price

MaryRuth’s Organics delivers its vitamin K2 supplement in liquid form, dissolved in organic olive oil.

This means the supplement is extremely pure and extremely well absorbed, because the fat-soluble vitamin K2 is ingested in a dissolved format already.

The liquid format means it’s easy to mix into shakes, smoothies, and drinks. Minimalists will love this supplement too, as its sole ingredients are vitamin K2, organic olive oil, and water.

4. Zhou Nutrition K2 + D3

Check lowest price

If you want to improve your heart health and bone health at the same time, Zhou Nutrition’s K2 + D3 is an excellent choice.

It combines 90 micrograms of vitamin K2 with 5000 IUs of vitamin D3, a critical vitamin for (you guessed it) heart and bone health that many people are chronically lacking, especially in the winter. 

5. InnovixLabs Full Spectrum Vitamin K2

Check lowest price

InnovixLabs offers a moderately high 500 mcg dose of K2 in the MK-4 form as well as an additional 100 micrograms in the MK-7 form, and both are delivered in olive and MCT oil, making it a highly bioavailable option.

6. Life Extension Super K

Check lowest price

Life Extension Super K provides a megadose of all three K vitamins. Though most people would be better suited with a standard dosage, if you know you want a high dosage, Life Extension should be your choice.

7. Jarrow Formulas MK-7

Check lowest price

Jarrow Formulas delivers 90 micrograms of vitamin K2 in a gelatin-based softgel. The vitamin is dissolved in a mix of medium chain triglycerides and soybean oil, so absorption is likely to be good.

That aside, it’s a pretty standard vitamin K2 supplement, neither standing out or failing on any other front.

8. Solgar Vitamin K2

Check lowest price

Solgar Vitamin K2 is a straightforward, simple vitamin K2 supplement with 100 micrograms of vitamin K2 per capsule. Aside from silica as a binder and filler, the supplement design is fairly clean and simple, though not the best.

9. Now MK-7 K2

Check lowest price

Now Foods uses MK-7 extract from chickpeas as its source of K2, but unfortunately the quality of the rest of the supplement is subpar.

It has a few fillers that the best vitamin K2 supplements don’t have, and it doesn’t deliver the supplement alongside any synergistic vitamins or in a format that’s rapidly absorbed.

10. Doctor’s Best Natural Vitamin K2

Check lowest price

Doctor’s Best has a reasonable formulation, but gets outclassed by its competitors when it comes to dosage, clean supplement design, and bioavailability: it doesn’t deliver its vitamin K2 in a fat-based solvent.

Who should buy vitamin K2?

Vitamin K2 is one form of vitamin K, a relatively recently discovered family of vitamins that contributes to bone strength, blood clotting, and cardiovascular health. These benefits dictate who should consider a vitamin K2 supplement:

People who want to improve their bone density. Recent clinical trials have found that vitamin K2 supplementation can increase bone density in the lumbar spine (1), suggesting that vitamin K2 should be considered a key component of any bone density supplement.

People who want better heart health. Vitamin K2 plays an important role in cardiovascular health, as many of the proteins that rely on vitamin K2 help reduce the buildup of plaque inside your arteries (2).

People who have had weight loss surgery. Gastric bypass and other bariatric surgery procedures affect your body’s ability to absorb vitamin K, so adding a vitamin K supplement to your diet after weight loss surgery is a common recommendation from doctors (3).

How we ranked

We formulated our rankings based on strict criteria governing the overall efficacy of K2 supplementation routines:

Effective K2 dosage. We looked for supplements that provided enough vitamin K2 to take even a poor quality diet up into the range of adequate dietary intake of vitamin K2, according to the most recent dietary guidelines from the Food and Nutrition Board.

That meant restricting our field to products that provided at least 90 micrograms (mcg) per capsule of vitamin K2.

Highly bioavailable forms of K2. We also examined at how the supplemental vitamin K2 was delivered.

Vitamin K2 is fat-soluble, not water-soluble. This means that K2 is more effectively delivered in supplemental form when it is paired with or dissolved in an oil or fat.

That’s why we rated vitamin K2 supplements higher if they used a high quality oil like olive oil or MCT oil to deliver vitamin K2, and rated supplements lower if they used a lower quality oil like a generic vegetable oil (or no oil at all).

Clean, simple supplement design. We also considered the purity of the overall supplement design. Unnecessary binders, fillers, coloring agents, or (for liquid supplements) flavoring agents all detracted from the overall score—these compounds don’t make the supplement more effective.

In most cases, we found capsules (ideally vegetable-based cellulose capsules) to be more versatile than liquid based vitamin K2 supplements, but we did make an exception for MaryRuth’s Organic K2 liquid.

Synergistic ingredients. We rewarded products that combined vitamin K2 with vitamin D3, like Live Conscious and Zhou Nutrition, since this combination has been very successful at increasing bone density, especially in older women. 

Finally, we ranked the remaining products based on dose, delivery, purity, and format. Our team feels that these are the best options available right now if you are looking for a vitamin K2 supplement. 

FAQ 

Q: What is the difference between vitamin K and vitamin K2? 

A: Like vitamin B, vitamin K is an umbrella term that refers to a family of related compounds: vitamin K1, and the two subtypes of vitamin K2 (MK-4 and MK-7) (4).

The MK-4 form is found in butter, eggs, lard, and other animal products (often because a synthetic form of MK-4 is added to animal feeds).

It’s also synthesized by bacteria in your gut, but whether this leads to any meaningful change in your body’s vitamin K absorption is debated in the scientific community.

The MK-7 form lasts slightly longer in your body, and can be found in fermented foods and cheeses.

Supplemental vitamin K2 can be in either the MK-4 or the MK-7 form, and aside from slight differences in how long each form stays in your body, there is very little evidence as to whether it matters what form you get your vitamin K2 in. 

Q: Does vitamin K2 interact with vitamin D3? 

A: Vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 are commonly combined in supplements because of a potential synergistic effect on bone density. Both vitamin D and vitamin K contribute to bone density.

Multiple scientific studies on postmenopausal women suggest that combined D3 + K2 supplements can improve bone density, possibly reducing the risk of fractures as you get older (5).

Of course, none of these make sense without adequate calcium intake, but that almost goes without saying if you are trying to increase your bone strength. 

Q: What is vitamin K2 MK-7? 

A: Vitamin K2 comes in two forms: MK-4 and MK-7. The MK-4 form is synthesized by bacteria that are found in animal digestive tracts (including yours), and this MK-4 form is often added to animal feed.

Animals that eat this feed, like chickens and cows, end up with MK-4 form of vitamin K2 in the food they produce, like eggs, butter, or meat. In contrast, the MK-7 form is found in fermented foods, particularly soy-based foods like natto.

The MK-7 form has a longer elimination half-life in your body, but aside from this difference, scientists don’t know yet if there are any meaningful nutritional differences between the MK-4 and MK-7 forms of vitamin K2 (or indeed, any meaningful differences between vitamins K1, K2, and K3) (6). 

Q: Where does vitamin K2 come from?

A: Vitamin K2 in supplements is going to be one of two forms: MK-4 or MK-7. The MK-4 form is extracted from specific bacteria that produce this form of vitamin K2, while the MK-7 form is isolated from natto, a fermented soy product.

Related articles

• Vitamin D
• Calcium
• Green drinks
• Bone density supplements

Recap

Vitamin K2 is an essential micronutrient that plays a pivotal role in cardiovascular health and bone strength.

If you want to improve your bone density or improve your heart health, you should consider adding a vitamin K2 supplement to your daily routine, especially if your diet is low in green leafy vegetables.

For best results, take a supplement that provides at least 90-120 mcg of vitamin K2 per day.

For BodyNutrition’s #1 vitamin K2 recommendation, click here.