The best women's multivitamins

• A multivitamin is vital in making sure you get your daily fill of nutrients without having to take a roster of supplements.
• Our top pick, the Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women, contains all the essentials like folate, calcium, magnesium, and probiotics, as well as enzymes to help you digest. 
• Due to fears of the new coronavirus, many of these products are quickly selling out or appearing at prices well above market retail. We're doing our best to keep this guide updated with in-stock purchase links.
• No amount of vitamins can replace current best practices like washing your hands often and avoiding touching your face to prevent illness.

Vitamins, if you bother to take them at all, aren't the easiest supplements to take. Growing up, my parents would set out a cupful of various vitamins at dinnertime, which I carefully distributed throughout the meal to minimize the torture — I was never fond of swallowing pills. 

As an adult, I've largely fallen off the vitamin bandwagon — but considering how important they are to a healthy diet, I've jumped right back on. If you're trying to get back into the habit of supplementing your diet with additional nutrition like me, a multivitamin is a great place to start. All the essentials, packed into just one pill — what more could you want?

But before you grab the first multi for women you see online, it helps to do a little research. Not all multivitamins are created equal and different body chemistries and lifestyles require boosts of different vitamins and minerals.

As detailed by Medical News Today, pregnant women or women over the age of 40 may want to look into specialty multivitamins formulated for their specific needs. Similarly, women who are breastfeeding require much higher levels of Vitamins A and C.

With how important it is to understand your body's needs and how highly personal multivitamins are, it's difficult to recommend just one that works for everyone. To help narrow down what's available, we've rounded up five of our favorite multivitamins for women, including a necessities-only pick, the best for women over 40, and a vitamin for those on a budget.

Here are the best women's multivitamins you can buy:

• Best multivitamin for women overall: Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women
• Best bargain multivitamin for women: Nature Made Multi for Her
• Best necessities-only multivitamin for women: Ritual Essentials for Women
• Best clean multivitamin for women: Rainbow Light Women's One Multivitamin
• Best multivitamin for women over 40: Garden of Life Multivitamin for Women 40+

Updated on 3/23/2020 by Rick Stella: Updated the introduction to include more information from Medical News Today on the different types of vitamins and what women should look for before buying, checked the availability of each vitamin, and updated the prices, formatting, and links. 

The best multivitamin for women overall

The Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women is packed with essential nutrients, plus probiotics and enzymes to aid with digestion.

If you're in search of a multivitamin that does it all, Garden of Life's Vitamin Code for Women is a great choice. It's designed to meet the average woman's nutritional needs, so it's a solid option if you want a basic, effective supplement. Jam-packed with folate, calcium, magnesium, Vitamins A, C, D3, E, and B-Complex, the raw formula also reinforces breast and reproductive health.

A gluten-free and vegetarian vitamin, Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women is made without binders or fillers and contains probiotics and enzymes to help with digestion. This is especially useful for anyone who suffers from stomach distress that can be aggravated by some multivitamins.

Pros: Kosher, gluten-free, vegetarian, contains probiotics, can be taken without food

Cons: Pricey

The best bargain multivitamin for women

Nature Made Multi for Her gives you a boost of iron, calcium, and D3 at a great value.

Vitamins can be expensive. If cost is a top concern for you Nature Made Multi for Her comes at a great value: 300 capsules for less than $25.

Nature Made Multi for Her contains 23 nutrients vital to women's health, including the daily recommended amounts of iron, calcium, and D3. It boasts a USP Verified Mark, demonstrating that the product has been vetted for safety and accurate labeling. They've also been formulated without the use of gluten or yeast, making them a great choice for anyone who suffers from celiac.

Pros: Great value, 23 nutrients, contains daily recommended amount of iron and calcium, yeast- and gluten-free, USP certified

Cons: Some users might find size large

The best necessities-only multivitamin for women

Get the nutrients you absolutely need — nothing more, nothing less — with the paired-down Ritual Essential for Women formula.

More isn't always better when it comes to your multivitamin. Ritual Essential for Women is made with just the necessities in mind and absolutely no added bells-and-whistles or unwanted chemicals or fillers.

The Ritual philosophy, as described on the brand's website, is that "most multis have 20+ ingredients you already get enough of from food." In response, the brand has created a bare-bones formula containing only nine of the most essential nutrients: Iron, Omega-3, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, Folate, Vitamin K2, Boron, Vitamin E, and Magnesium.

Ritual also boasts transparency in ingredient sourcing and provides a ton of background information on each nutrient included in its supplements. The unique-looking gel capsule contains beads of vitamins and minerals suspended in oil, and the design is supposed to aid in digestion.

The capsules are vegan and gluten-,  allergen-, and GMO-free. Ritual offers a subscription model. For $30 each month, the company will send you a fresh bottle of your chosen supplement, so you'll never run out. In addition to Essential for Women, the company currently offers Essential Prenatal for pregnant individuals.

Pros: Subscription model, transparency about ingredient sourcing, no-nausea capsule design, can take on empty stomach

Cons: Pricey

The best clean multivitamin for women

Rainbow Light Women's One Multivitamin is an expert- and shopper-approved all-natural once-a-day multivitamin.

You could eat all your fruits and vegetables … or you could take a single vitamin that contains a bunch of fruits and vegetables and order those French fries. Okay, so ideally you'd be doing a mix of both. But Rainbow Light Women's One Multivitamin makes it that much easier to get all your essential nutrients, even when you're not eating as many kale smoothies as you know you should.

Rainbow Light Women's One is an all-natural, organic multivitamin devoid of artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, or fillers. What it does contain is an array of nutrients derived from fruits and vegetables like kale, spinach, dandelion, and beet; plus B-complex, vitamin D3, and iron to promote heart, bone, skin, and breast health.

Still unconvinced? The formula also helps with hormonal balance and stress, thanks to a mix of spirulina, red clover, and dong quai.

Pros: All-natural, contains superfoods and probiotics, supports hormonal balance

Cons: Pricey

The best multivitamin for women over 40

Garden of Life Multivitamin Organic Women's 40+ is specially formulated to address the changing nutritional needs of women as they age.

It probably goes without saying that our nutritional needs change as we age, but what's less obvious is that when you hit a certain point you should probably look into a new multivitamin. The Garden of Life Multivitamin Organic Women's 40+ is specifically formulated to address the needs of women aged 40 and older.

Each capsule contains 100% daily amount (or higher) of 16 essential vitamins and minerals, plus ingredients like tomato and turmeric for additional breast and hormone support and iodine and selenium for thyroid health.

Pros: Designed for women over 40, provides thyroid and breast nutritional support, contains 16 vitamins and minerals, good for sensitive stomach

Cons: Pricey

Additional vitamin coverage from Insider Reviews:

The best prenatal vitamins you can buy

Prenatal vitamins give moms to be and would-be mothers all the nutrients they need to encourage the conception and healthy development of a child.

After much research, consultation, and personal testing, we've rounded up the best prenatal vitamins you can buy.