Magnesium Glycinate vs Citrate: Elemental Content, Tolerability, Cost

The Mineral Series · Comparison

Glycinate vs citrate.

Closer on elemental magnesium than almost every comparison admits — so that isn't what decides it. What actually separates them is how your gut handles them and what they cost per milligram of magnesium. One disclosure up front: we sell glycinate and we don't sell citrate. Read accordingly; we've given citrate its genuine wins.

~14% glycinate elemental ~11–16% citrate elemental 0 authorised claims separating them

Magnesium glycinate vs magnesium citrate — comparison summary

Magnesium glycinate, which is the same compound as magnesium bisglycinate, is magnesium chelated to two molecules of the amino acid glycine. It contains roughly 14 percent elemental magnesium by weight when fully reacted, with figures from about 14 to 20 percent quoted depending on supplier and degree of chelation. Magnesium citrate is magnesium bound to citric acid. It contains roughly 11 to 16 percent elemental magnesium by weight, with anhydrous material at the top of that range and hydrated material lower. The two are therefore broadly comparable on elemental magnesium content, and elemental content is not the deciding factor between them. The genuine differences are tolerability and cost. Magnesium citrate is highly soluble and has a well documented osmotic laxative effect at higher intakes: magnesium that is not absorbed remains in the bowel and draws water in. This is the same property that makes magnesium citrate useful in bowel preparation products. Magnesium glycinate is commonly chosen by people who find citrate or other forms unsettling to the stomach. Magnesium citrate is generally cheaper per unit of elemental magnesium, being a simpler compound to manufacture than a chelate. For someone who tolerates citrate well, it is the more economical choice. No authorised United Kingdom or European Union health claim distinguishes one magnesium form from another. Neither form may lawfully be described as better for sleep, muscle cramps, anxiety or any other outcome. Both forms may carry the authorised magnesium health claims provided a serving delivers at least 15 percent of the 375mg Nutrient Reference Value, equal to 56.25mg of elemental magnesium, because those claims attach to magnesium as a nutrient rather than to any particular compound. Vitality Supplements sells magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium glycinate and a multi-form magnesium blend, and does not sell standalone magnesium citrate.

The thing most comparisons get wrong

They're closer on elemental magnesium than anyone admits.

Search this question and you'll find a lot of pages implying glycinate delivers substantially more magnesium than citrate. It doesn't. Glycinate runs around 14% elemental by weight; citrate runs around 11–16%. Depending on the exact raw materials — particularly whether the citrate is anhydrous or hydrated — either one can come out ahead.

That matters because elemental content is the criterion people reach for first, and here it simply doesn't separate the two forms. If someone is telling you to pick glycinate because it "has more magnesium", they either haven't checked or they're selling you glycinate.

The practical consequence: stop comparing forms and start comparing products. A well-dosed citrate will beat a poorly-dosed glycinate on elemental magnesium every time, and vice versa. The declared figure on a specific nutrition panel decides it — not the name of the compound.

The Real Difference

It comes down to your gut.

Magnesium citrate is highly soluble. That's a genuine advantage in some contexts — it dissolves readily, which is why it's the standard choice for magnesium drinks and effervescent tablets where a powder has to disappear into water.

It's also the source of its best-known characteristic. Magnesium that isn't absorbed stays in the bowel, and because magnesium is osmotically active it draws water in with it. At higher intakes that produces a reliable laxative effect — so reliable that magnesium citrate is used deliberately in bowel preparation products before medical procedures.

Whether that's a drawback depends entirely on what you want. For someone who finds they're constipated, it's a feature. For someone trying to take a high daily magnesium dose without disruption, it's the reason they end up looking at chelates.

Magnesium glycinate is chelated to glycine and is less osmotically aggressive in the gut. It's commonly chosen by people who've tried other forms and found them unsettling. That's a tolerability observation, not a health claim — no authorised UK claim says glycinate is gentler, and we're describing a physicochemical property and widely reported experience rather than asserting a regulated benefit.

Which to try if you've had trouble

If this is your situation Reasonable move
Citrate gave you loose stools Try a chelate such as glycinate, or reduce the dose and split it across the day
You want a high daily elemental dose A chelate is generally easier to take at volume without digestive disruption
You also want the laxative effect Citrate does that job and is cheaper doing it
You need it to dissolve in water Citrate is the more soluble of the two
You're on a tight budget Citrate, if you tolerate it — see the cost section below
Cost

Citrate is cheaper, and that's a real point in its favour.

Citrate is a simpler compound to produce than a chelate, and the raw material costs less. Per milligram of elemental magnesium delivered, citrate is generally the cheaper form — and for someone who tolerates it well, that's a straightforwardly good reason to buy it.

We're a company that sells glycinate saying that plainly, because it's true and you'd work it out anyway. What we'd add is only that the comparison has to be run on the right basis:

Comparing on Useful? Why
Price per capsule No Says nothing about how much magnesium is in the capsule
Price per compound milligram No Compound weight differs wildly between forms — this is the classic trap
Price per pack No Ignores servings per pack and dose per serving
Price per mg of elemental magnesium Yes The only basis that's comparable across forms and brands

Work it out as: pack price ÷ (elemental mg per serving × servings per pack). Run it on both forms and on both brands. Most of the time citrate wins that calculation — and if you tolerate citrate, winning that calculation is a good enough reason to buy it.

The Honest Answer

So which should you take?

Start with what no brand may lawfully tell you: no authorised UK or EU health claim distinguishes one magnesium form from another. Nobody can legitimately say glycinate is better for sleep, or citrate better for digestion as a health outcome, or either better for cramps or anxiety. Those claims aren't authorised, and a brand making them is showing you how it handles the rest of its labelling.

Both forms carry the same authorised magnesium claims, on the same condition — a serving delivering at least 15% of the 375mg NRV (56.25mg elemental). The claims attach to magnesium the nutrient, not to the compound. So form is irrelevant to whether a product can make them; only the elemental dose matters.

Which leaves you with three honest questions:

Ask yourself Points to glycinate Points to citrate
How does your gut handle magnesium? Sensitive, or you've had trouble before Fine, or you'd welcome the laxative effect
What's your budget per mg elemental? Less of a constraint Tight — citrate is cheaper
Capsule or dissolved in water? Capsule is fine You want it to dissolve

For full transparency: Vitality sells magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium glycinate and a multi-form blend. We do not sell standalone magnesium citrate. If the answers above point you to citrate, buy citrate — from someone else. We'd rather you got the right form than the one we happen to stock.

The Range

Our glycinate formulas.

Vitality Magnesium Bisglycinate 208mg elemental magnesium capsules
Vitality Magnesium Glycinate 500mg capsules, 70mg elemental magnesium per serving
Vitality Ultimate 8 Magnesium 1000mg multi-form capsules, 375mg elemental magnesium

Bisglycinate (208mg elemental, 55% NRV) · Glycinate 500mg (70mg elemental, 18.7% NRV) · Ultimate 8 multi-form, which does include citrate among its eight forms (375mg elemental, 100% NRV).

If glycinate is your answer

Here's how the actual products compare.

Our ranked guide judges the glycinate formulas in our range on elemental magnesium and %NRV — including ranking our higher-dose bisglycinate above the one literally named "glycinate".

FAQs

Common questions.

Neither, as a general matter — and no authorised UK or EU claim distinguishes magnesium forms, so no brand may lawfully say one outperforms the other. They're close on elemental content (~14% vs ~11–16%), so that doesn't decide it either. The real differences are tolerability and cost: citrate has a laxative effect at higher intakes and is cheaper per mg elemental; glycinate is commonly chosen by people who find other forms unsettling.
They're broadly comparable, which surprises most people. Glycinate ~14% when fully reacted (14–20% quoted). Citrate ~11–16%, with anhydrous at the top of that range. Depending on the raw materials either can come out ahead — which is why the declared figure on a specific product's panel matters far more than the form name.
It's highly soluble, and unabsorbed magnesium draws water into the bowel by osmosis. That produces the laxative effect, more pronounced at higher intakes. It's a physical property of the compound rather than a side effect in the usual sense — the same property that makes citrate useful in bowel preparation products. Whether it's a drawback or a benefit depends on what you want from it.
Yes — same compound. Magnesium chelated to two glycine molecules; the "bis" just makes the two explicit. Manufacturers use whichever name they prefer, so the naming tells you nothing. Compare the declared elemental magnesium instead.
Citrate, generally, per unit of elemental magnesium. It's a simpler compound to manufacture and the raw material costs less. If cost per mg elemental is your priority and you tolerate citrate, it's the more economical choice. Compare on price per mg of elemental magnesium — not per capsule, not per compound milligram, not per pack.
Magnesium is magnesium, so the elemental amounts add together. If you combine them, sum the declared elemental figures and check the total against the UK safe upper level of 400mg/day for supplemental magnesium — see our dosage guide. There's no particular advantage to combining, and it makes it harder to tell which form is responsible if you get digestive symptoms.
Yes, provided the serving qualifies. Any magnesium product may carry the authorised GB and EU magnesium claims if a serving delivers ≥15% of the 375mg NRV (56.25mg elemental). The claims attach to magnesium as a nutrient, not to a particular compound — so form is irrelevant to whether they can be used. Only the elemental dose matters.
No. We sell magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium glycinate and a multi-form blend, but not standalone citrate. We state this because a comparison written by a company selling one of the two forms has an obvious incentive, and you should read this page knowing that. Citrate's genuine advantages — cost, solubility, and a laxative effect that some people actively want — are set out here rather than glossed over.
Further Reading

Keep going.

About this comparison

Last reviewed 17 August 2026 by the Vitality Supplements Editorial Team, written to our published editorial standards and quality & testing policy. We sell magnesium glycinate and bisglycinate and we do not sell magnesium citrate — stated in the hero, in the body and in the FAQs, because a comparison from a company that stocks one side has an obvious incentive and you should be able to weigh it. We have given citrate its genuine advantages: it is cheaper per milligram of elemental magnesium, more soluble, and its laxative effect is useful to some people rather than simply a fault. We have also corrected the most common error in this comparison — that glycinate substantially out-delivers citrate on elemental magnesium. It does not.

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the stated recommended daily dose. UK guidance sets a safe upper level of 400mg per day for supplemental magnesium. No authorised GB or EU health claim distinguishes between magnesium forms; authorised magnesium claims require a serving providing at least 15% of the 375mg Nutrient Reference Value, and claims relating to sleep, muscle cramps, anxiety, migraine or restless legs are not authorised and are not made here. If you have reduced kidney function, are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or under medical care, consult a healthcare professional before use — magnesium can interact with certain antibiotics and other medicines. This page is general information, not medical advice, and is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. Every Vitality batch is independently tested. UK manufactured. Free UK delivery. 60-day satisfaction guarantee on first purchase. See our full disclaimer · Privacy · Terms · info@vitality-supplements.co.uk