Aged garlic extract: reading price per day
Aged garlic extract cost per serving is the price divided by servings, and at 2 capsules per serving with 60 capsules in the bottle that is $0.41 a day on a $24.90 jar. Dividing by capsule count instead gives you a number about twice too small, and it is the reason two bottles that look identical can differ by 60 percent per day.
Why extract servings and capsules are not the same thing
The serving line is printed on the panel, and it is the only count that matches what you actually swallow.
A 60 capsule jar at 2 capsules per serving gives 30 servings. I have seen friends work out a 180 capsule bottle as 180 days of supply because the capsules felt like doses, when the label asked for 3 a day and the real answer was 60 days. The arithmetic is not hard. It is just easy to do the wrong one.
Doing it on the shelf in 20 seconds
Three steps. Capsules in the bottle, divided by capsules per serving, gives servings. Price divided by servings gives cost per serving. If you take 1 serving a day, that is your daily figure, and you are done.
I keep a note on my phone with those 3 numbers for everything I take. It took 10 minutes to build and it has stopped me buying the wrong bottle at least 4 times, which at a few dollars each is not a fortune but is not nothing either.
The larger bottle is usually, but not always, cheaper
Bigger packs almost always win on cost per day, and the exception is the one worth checking. Sometimes the larger size has a different dose count, so the amount per day quietly drops while the sticker price rises. That is not a trick anyone announces. It is right there in the panel if you look at it.
My rule: compare the dose count first, the price second. If the counts differ, do the division before you do the comparison, because the front of the pack will not help you here at all.
Subscriptions and the reorder problem
A subscription knocks a few percent off each order, and its bigger effect is that it removes the decision to reorder. For me that matters more than the discount, because the failure mode I actually hit is running out for 5 days and then forgetting about it for a fortnight.
If you do subscribe, pick an interval that matches your real rate rather than a round number. A 30 day supply on a 45 day delivery cycle means an awkward half-empty shelf and 2 orders a season instead of a rhythm.
What I stopped doing
I used to buy on shelf price and feel efficient about it. Then I worked out that a $16 jar lasting 20 days costs $0.80 a day while a $25 jar lasting 60 days costs $0.41, and the expensive-looking option was the cheap one by a wide margin.
Shelf price rewards you for a decision that lasts 30 seconds. Cost per day rewards you every morning for a month. Only one of those is worth optimising.
Where the money actually goes
Two jars, same shelf, same claim. The first holds 60 capsules at 2 per dose for $24.90. The second holds 120 capsules at 2 per dose for $31.00. Per bottle the second looks 24 percent dearer, and per day it is 21 percent cheaper, because it goes twice as far.
You don't need a calculator for that. You need the panel line, and you need to actually divide instead of guessing. I've guessed and I've divided, and dividing has a better record.
Cost per day is the only figure that touches your life every morning. Everything else is shelf decoration.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare two bottles?Show answerHide answer
Divide price by servings, then check the servings per day the label asks for.
Is buying larger always cheaper?Show answerHide answer
Usually, but check the per-serving dose has not quietly dropped.
Does subscription change the price?Show answerHide answer
It reduces the per-order figure and removes the reorder decision.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
