NOW Collagen Peptides Review
#5 of 12 · Best budgetReal retailer photo, cut out. Label unedited.
Buy it. Real type I/III peptides at the lowest sticker price on the list. Plain hydrolyzed bovine type I/III collagen, NOW's 30-year in-house QC, the lowest sticker price here (~$16 for an 8 oz tub).
$16 / 8 oz tub (227 g, ~21 servings at 10 g)~$0.76 / 10 g serving
Why It Scores 8.5 — And The Label Line Behind Each Number
Form + type matched to job
30% of scoreHydrolyzed bovine type I/III peptides — the correct skin-and-connective form (Proksch 2014, Clark 2008), with no frills to dilute it. Nails its own job as a clean, single-ingredient peptide. Marked just below the grass-fed leaders on source narrative, and like all peptides it's not an osteoarthritis product (that's UC-II at #6).
- Active form
- Hydrolyzed collagen peptides (type I & III)
Dose accuracy
25% of score10 g per serving matches Clark 2008's athlete-joint dose exactly and clears Proksch 2014's skin-trial floor. Two servings reach the full 20 g top of the window. Clean, honest dose math with no proprietary-blend ambiguity. Just note the small 8 oz tub only holds ~21 servings, so the full 20 g/day dose runs it down in about ten days.
- Per serving
- 10 g collagen peptides (2 level tbsp); double for 20 g
- Trial-dose alignment
- 1 serving = Clark 2008's 10 g joint dose; 2 servings = top of the 10-20 g window
Third-party testing + source quality
20% of scoreNOW's in-house QC labs and GMP-certified facilities are among the most consistent in the industry across 30+ years. Solid, well-tested bovine hide. Held below the grass-fed-certified picks only because the sourcing isn't marketed as pasture-raised — a narrative/marketing difference, not a safety or efficacy gap for the peptides.
- Source
- Bovine hide
- Testing
- NOW in-house QC labs · GMP-certified facility
Cost per effective serving
15% of score~$16 for the 8 oz tub is the lowest sticker price on the list — the cheapest way to start a peptide protocol. But per gram (~$0.76 per 10 g) it's mid-pack: about the same as Vital Proteins, and pricier than the bulk tubs (Orgain #10, Garden of Life #3, SR-bovine #9). So NOW wins on lowest entry cost, not on cost-per-gram — and heavy daily users chasing the cheapest gram should size up to a bulk tub.
- Price
- ~$16 / 8 oz tub = ~$0.76 per 10 g serving (lowest sticker price on the list)
Co-factors + real-world response
10% of scoreMixes cleanly hot or cold with no grit and no added sugar or sweeteners — good real-world usability. The single gap: no built-in vitamin C, so you pair the cofactor yourself (a trivial, cheap add). Loses points only relative to the co-formulated picks that bundle C and other actives.
- Co-factors
- None built in — pair with your own vitamin C
- More Specs
- Best for
- Budget skin + connective-tissue buyers — NOT osteoarthritis (see UC-II, #6)
- Tub
- 8 oz / 227 g · ~21 servings at 10 g/day
Marketing Claims Vs. Reality
Pure hydrolyzed collagen peptides, types I and III.
Accurate — it's a single-ingredient product of real hydrolyzed bovine type I/III collagen peptides, the same form the skin and joint trials used (Proksch 2014, Clark 2008). No fillers, sweeteners, or proprietary blends. The 'pure' framing is honest.
Supports healthy skin, hair, nails, and joints.
Skin (Proksch 2014) and general/activity-related joint comfort (Clark 2008) are well-supported for type I/III peptides at the 10 g dose NOW delivers; nails respond too. The hair claim is the weak link — hair-specific collagen evidence is thin and mostly brand-funded — and it's NOT an osteoarthritis product. Honest for skin, nails, and general joints; overstated for hair.
Easily mixes into hot or cold beverages.
It dissolves cleanly hot or cold with no grit and no off-taste — standard, reliable mixability consistent with the product's review base. Being unflavored, you add it to whatever you're already drinking with no flavor change.
Manufactured under NOW's strict in-house quality controls.
Accurate and a genuine strength — NOW operates in-house testing labs and GMP-certified facilities with a 30+ year track record of consistency. For an animal-tissue concentrate, that established QC is a real quality signal, even though the source isn't marketed as grass-fed.
Great value collagen.
True in one specific sense: at ~$16 for the 8 oz tub it's the lowest sticker price on the list — the cheapest way to start real peptides. But per gram (~$0.76 per 10 g) it's mid-pack, not the cheapest — the bulk tubs (Orgain #10, Garden of Life #3) beat it on cost-per-gram. So 'value' here means lowest entry cost, not lowest cost-per-gram; a heavy daily user is cheaper served by a bigger tub.
What Our Test Actually Found
Same peptides as the premium tubs, at the lowest sticker price
The core finding: NOW's type I/III hydrolysate is the same form as Vital Proteins (#2) and the other premium bovine tubs, at the lowest sticker price on the list (~$16). What the premium picks add is grass-fed sourcing, brand reassurance, and sometimes built-in cofactors — not better peptides. For a budget buyer, NOW does the identical biological job (skin, nails, general connective tissue) for the lowest cash outlay. The honest caveat: NOW's tub is small, so per gram it's actually close to Vital Proteins and pricier than the bulk tubs — the saving is the low entry price, not a cheaper gram.
Clean dose math — one serving is the joint dose, two is the skin window
NOW makes the dosing transparent: 10 g per serving is exactly Clark 2008's athlete-joint dose, and two servings (20 g) covers the full skin-and-connective window, well above Proksch 2014's 2.5-5 g skin floor. No proprietary blends, no guessing. Just plan around the small tub: at 20 g/day the 8 oz / ~21-serving tub lasts only about ten days, so a heavy daily user reorders often — and at that cadence a bulk tub is more economical per gram than restocking the small NOW tub.
The one gap is vitamin C — and it's a trivial, cheap fix
NOW kept this single-ingredient, which is part of why it carries the lowest sticker price — but it means no built-in vitamin C, the rate-limiting cofactor for collagen synthesis. The fix is trivial: take it with a vitamin-C source or ensure adequate dietary C. That tiny add restores the cofactor coverage the co-formulated picks bundle in, while keeping NOW's low entry price. If you'd genuinely rather have C in the scoop, Sports Research Marine, Garden of Life (#3), or Live Conscious (#8) do that.
Not grass-fed-marketed — a sourcing story, not a quality gap
NOW's bovine hide isn't marketed as grass-fed and pasture-raised the way Vital Proteins (#2) or Garden of Life (#3) are. But that's a narrative and certification difference, not a safety or efficacy gap — NOW's 30-year in-house QC and GMP facilities make these well-tested, reliable peptides. If certified grass-fed sourcing is a genuine priority for you, Garden of Life (#3) is the pick. If you want real, well-tested peptides at the lowest entry price and the sourcing story isn't a priority, NOW is exactly right.
It's a skin/connective product — and NOW makes the OA product separately
Like every peptide here, NOW Collagen Peptides does not treat osteoarthritis — that needs undenatured UC-II at 40 mg (Lugo 2016 beat glucosamine + chondroitin on knee-OA). Helpfully, NOW also makes exactly that product: NOW UC-II Type II Collagen (#1). So the buying logic is clean — NOW peptides for skin and general connective tissue, NOW UC-II for osteoarthritis. Don't try to make one do the other's job.
Full analysis: all pros & cons (9), buy if / skip if
- Lowest sticker price on the list (~$16) — the cheapest way to start a real peptide protocol
- NOW's 30+ years of in-house QC is among the most consistent in the industry
- Plain type I/III with no added sugar or sweeteners — double a serving to hit the full 20 g
- Clean dose math: 1 serving = Clark 2008's 10 g joint dose, 2 servings = full skin window
- Single-ingredient bovine hydrolysate — no proprietary blends, exactly what's on the label
- Not grass-fed-marketed like Vital Proteins — sourcing is solid but less premium-branded
- No added vitamin C — you'll want to pair it with your own C source
- Small 8 oz tub (~3 weeks at 10 g); per gram it's mid-pack — bulk tubs like Orgain (#10) are cheaper per gram for heavy daily use
- Plain bovine type I/III only — nothing for osteoarthritis (UC-II, #6) or a marine preference
- You want a real collagen-peptide protocol at the lowest entry price
- You're happy to add your own vitamin C and skip the grass-fed marketing premium
- You value NOW's 30+ years of consistent in-house quality control
- You want a low-commitment 8 oz tub and flexible one-or-two-serving dosing
- You want certified grass-fed, pasture-raised sourcing — Garden of Life (#3) or Vital Proteins (#2)
- You want the vitamin C cofactor and other actives built into the scoop — Thorne (#4) or Live Conscious (#8)
- You want the cheapest cost-per-gram for heavy daily use — a bulk tub like Orgain (#10) beats it
- Your real problem is osteoarthritis — buy NOW UC-II Type II Collagen (#1), a different mechanism
Plain hydrolyzed bovine type I/III collagen, NOW's 30-year in-house QC, the lowest sticker price here (~$16 for an 8 oz tub). One serving is 10 g (the Clark 2008 dose); double it for the full 20 g. You trade the grass-fed story and built-in cofactors — add your own vitamin C and the job is identical. The honest nuance: it's a small tub and per gram it's mid-pack (≈ Vital Proteins, pricier than bulk tubs), so it's the cheapest way to START, not the cheapest per gram. The right pick for a budget buyer who wants real peptides at the proper dose for the lowest outlay.
NOW Collagen Peptides is the right starting point if you want to run a real collagen-peptide protocol without paying the premium-brand markup. It's plain hydrolyzed bovine type I/III collagen — the same form behind the skin and joint trials — at the lowest sticker price on the list (~$16 for an 8 oz tub), from a brand whose in-house quality control has been among the most consistent in the industry for 30+ years. What you trade for the price is the grass-fed sourcing story and the added cofactors: no pasture-raised marketing, no built-in vitamin C, no sweeteners. Just real peptides that mix clean. The dose math is simple — one serving is 10 g (the Clark 2008 athlete-joint dose), two servings gets you the full 20 g skin window. Two honest notes on the value: it's a small 8 oz tub (~21 servings), and per gram NOW is actually mid-pack — close to Vital Proteins and pricier than the bulk tubs — so its real edge is the lowest entry price, not the cheapest gram. Add your own vitamin C, and for the buyer who wants the cheapest way to start with a trusted-QC brand, here's the full breakdown.
The budget pick — real peptides at the proper dose, at the lowest entry price.
If you want to try a real collagen-peptide protocol without paying the premium-brand markup, NOW is the right starting point. The peptides are real hydrolyzed type I/III — the skin-and-connective form — the dose math works cleanly (one serving for 10 g, two for the full 20 g), and at ~$16 it's the lowest sticker price on the list. You trade the grass-fed story and the added cofactors for the lowest cash outlay, and for a buyer who just wants to start cheaply with a trusted-QC brand, that's exactly the right trade. Own the nuance, though: this is a small 8 oz tub, and per gram NOW is mid-pack — about the same as Vital Proteins and pricier than the bulk tubs — so its edge is the low entry price, not the cheapest gram. Add your own vitamin C (a trivial fix for the one real gap), run 10-20 g daily, and it's the cheapest way to begin. The cases to look elsewhere: certified grass-fed sourcing (Garden of Life #3, Vital Proteins #2), built-in cofactors in one scoop (Thorne #4, Live Conscious #8), the cheapest cost-per-gram for heavy long-term use (a bulk tub like Orgain #10), or — the important one — osteoarthritis, which needs UC-II not peptides (NOW UC-II #1, conveniently from the same brand). For the budget buyer who wants the lowest-cost way in, NOW is the pick. Run it for 8-12 weeks and judge it then.
If This Doesn’t Fit — Try These
02Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
If you want one collagen tub for skin, nails, and overall connective tissue and you don't want to research the category, this is the safe default.
03Garden of Life Grass Fed Collagen
Garden of Life is the pick for buyers who care most about where the collagen came from.
01NOW UC-II Collagen
This is the single most misunderstood product in the category, and the most important to get right.
Quick Answers
Are NOW's peptides actually as good as Vital Proteins'?
Functionally, for the molecule that matters, yes. Both are real hydrolyzed bovine type I/III collagen peptides — the same form behind the skin and joint trials. What NOW doesn't have is the grass-fed, pasture-raised sourcing story and the brand-default positioning of Vital Proteins (#2). What it does have is NOW's 30+ years of in-house quality control, GMP-certified manufacturing, and a far lower sticker price (~$16 for an 8 oz tub versus ~$43 for Vital Proteins' 20 oz). Note the nuance: because NOW's tub is smaller, the two are actually close per gram — NOW's saving is the lower total outlay, not a cheaper gram. For a budget buyer who wants real peptides at the proper dose for the lowest entry price, NOW does the identical biological job.
Is one scoop enough, or do I need two?
Depends on your goal. One serving is 10 g — exactly the dose Clark 2008 (PMID 18416885) used to reduce activity-related joint pain in athletes over 24 weeks, and well above Proksch 2014's 2.5-5 g skin dose. So one serving clears the joint trial and the skin trial floor. For the full 10-20 g connective-tissue window, or to match the 20 g serving the premium tubs advertise, run two servings. Just know the math on the small tub: at 20 g/day the 8 oz tub lasts only about ten days, so heavy daily users will rebuy often — and at that cadence a larger bulk tub (Orgain #10, Garden of Life #3) works out cheaper per gram.
Why doesn't it have vitamin C like some others?
NOW kept it a single-ingredient peptide product — plain type I/III collagen with no added cofactors or sweeteners — which is part of why it carries the lowest sticker price. Vitamin C is the rate-limiting cofactor for your body's own collagen synthesis, so you'll want to pair NOW with a vitamin-C source (a cheap separate vitamin C, or just adequate dietary intake). That's a trivial add. If you'd rather have the cofactor already in the scoop, the co-formulated picks — Sports Research Marine, Garden of Life (#3), or Live Conscious (#8) — build it in, though you're then buying a different product.
Is NOW's sourcing trustworthy if it's not grass-fed?
Yes — NOW's quality control is among the most consistent in the industry, with in-house testing labs and GMP-certified facilities built over 30+ years. The peptides are solid bovine hide; what they're not is marketed as grass-fed and pasture-raised the way Vital Proteins (#2) or Garden of Life (#3) are. That's a sourcing-story and marketing difference, not a safety or efficacy gap for the peptides themselves. If certified grass-fed sourcing is a priority for you, Garden of Life (#3) is the pick; if you want real, well-tested peptides at the lowest entry price, NOW is exactly right.
Will it help my osteoarthritis?
No — NOW Collagen Peptides is a skin-and-connective-tissue product, not an osteoarthritis treatment. OA responds to undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) at 40 mg/day via immune tolerance; in Lugo 2016 (PMID 26822714) that form beat glucosamine + chondroitin on knee-OA WOMAC over 180 days. These type I/III peptides can support general/activity-related joint comfort (the Clark 2008 lever) but won't replicate the OA-specific mechanism. Conveniently, NOW also makes the UC-II product you'd want for that — NOW UC-II Type II Collagen (#1). Buy the peptides for skin, the UC-II for osteoarthritis.
How long does the tub last, and is it good value?
It's an 8 oz (227 g) tub — roughly 21 servings at a 10 g serving, so about three weeks at one serving daily, or about ten days at the full two-serving 20 g dose. So the value story is specific: NOW is the lowest sticker price on the list (~$16), which makes it the cheapest way to START a collagen protocol or to try peptides without a big outlay. But per gram it's mid-pack — about the same as Vital Proteins and pricier than bulk tubs like Orgain (#10) — and the small tub means frequent reorders at higher doses. Buy NOW for the lowest entry cost and NOW's QC; if you settle into heavy daily use, a bigger bulk tub is more economical per gram.
Sources & Further Reading
3 peer-reviewed sources, each linked to PubMed
- [1] Proksch 2014 PMID 23949208 — Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. 69 women, 8 weeks: 2.5-5 g/day collagen peptides improved skin elasticity versus placebo, persisting after dosing. NOW's type I/III peptides are this exact form, delivered at 10 g per serving — well above the trial dose — at the lowest sticker price on the list.
- [2] Clark 2008 PMID 18416885 — 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain. 147 athletes, 24 weeks: 10 g/day collagen hydrolysate reduced activity-related joint pain versus placebo. One NOW serving is exactly this 10 g dose — the basis for the general joint-comfort claim, distinct from osteoarthritis (UC-II).
- [3] Lugo 2016 PMID 26822714 — Efficacy and tolerability of an undenatured type II collagen supplement in modulating knee osteoarthritis symptoms: a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. 191 knee-OA subjects, 180 days: 40 mg/day UC-II beat both placebo AND glucosamine+chondroitin on WOMAC. Cited as the contrast — NOW's peptides are a skin product; for osteoarthritis, NOW's own UC-II (#6) is the right tool.
Affiliate disclosure: every Amazon link uses our Associates tag (superachieverclub-20). We earn a small commission at no cost to you; it funds independent reviews. We never accept payment to change a ranking.