Verified
“Non-constipating 25 mg bisglycinate”
Bisglycinate is a chelated form with markedly fewer GI complaints than ferrous salts (Milman 2014; Tolkien 2015), supporting the 'Gentle Iron' positioning at this dose.
Reviewed
Verified by SAC team
+20
XP on completion
Best Everyday Gentle Iron
Solgar
Solgar Gentle Iron 25 mg Review
8.2/10SAC Product Score™
Solgar's Gentle Iron is the category staple you can grab almost anywhere: 25 mg of non-constipating bisglycinate in a vegan capsule, free of the common allergens. It does nothing wrong. It simply lacks the published batch testing of Nutricost and the product-level certification of Thorne, so it lands mid-pack on verification rather than on quality.
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Read the complete Iron guide →How we built the SAC Product Score™ — 8.2/10
Form & Bioavailability30%8.5/10
Iron bisglycinate — the same gentle, well-absorbed chelate class as our leaders. Solid bioavailability without the inhibitor problems of ferrous salts.
Dose Appropriateness20%9/10
25 mg elemental in one veg capsule is a proper repletion dose, taken once daily with a meal.
GI Tolerance & Safety20%9/10
The 'Gentle Iron' positioning is earned — bisglycinate is non-constipating and among the best-tolerated oral forms.
Third-Party Testing & Purity20%6.5/10
Free of gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar and vegan/Kosher, but no independent product-level seal or published batch testing is stated — you buy on brand reputation.
Value per Serving10%7.5/10
At ~$0.15 per capsule over 90 servings it is fairly priced, but essentially a pricier, lower-count Nutricost with the same molecule.
The product at a glance
- Form
- Iron bisglycinate
- Elemental iron
- 25 mg per veg capsule
- Size
- 90 veg capsules (90 servings)
- Free-from
- Gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast, sugar
- Diet
- Vegan, Kosher, Non-GMO
- Serving
- 1 veg capsule daily
- Price (approx.)
- ~$13.50
- Cost / serving
- ~$0.15
Marketing claims vs. reality
Verified
“Free of common allergens; vegan and Kosher”
Consistent with the stated free-from panel (gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast, sugar) and dietary certifications — verifiable formulation claims.
Not verified
“Carries an independent product-level seal (NSF/USP)”
No product-level NSF or USP certification is stated for this product; verification rests on Solgar's brand reputation rather than a published seal or batch COA.
Partial
“Trusted heritage brand quality”
Solgar is a long-established brand, which supports general confidence, but brand heritage is a reputational claim, not a substitute for product-level third-party testing.
What our test actually found
01Availability is its real edge
Unlike some bulk-online chelates, Solgar Gentle Iron is stocked in most pharmacies and health stores. When you want the gentle form today rather than in two days, that convenience is worth something.
02The form and dose are textbook
25 mg of bisglycinate, once daily, vegan and allergen-free — there is nothing to fault in the actual product. It sits right alongside the top picks on form and dose.
03Verification is where it slips
Solgar does not state a product-level NSF/USP seal or publish batch COAs for this item. That is the sole reason it ranks below Thorne and Nutricost — you are trusting the brand, not a document.
04Priced fairly, not aggressively
At about $0.15 a capsule it is reasonable, but Nutricost delivers the same molecule for roughly half. You pay a modest premium for the heritage name and retail availability.
Pros & cons, no sugar-coating
Pros
- Non-constipating 25 mg bisglycinate — the category staple
- Free of the common allergens; vegan and Kosher
- Trusted heritage brand, one capsule daily with a meal
- Fair mid-range price
- Widely stocked in stores
Cons
- No independent product-level seal (NSF/USP) stated — you buy on brand reputation
- Essentially a pricier, lower-count Nutricost with the same molecule
A dependable gentle chelate, mid-pack on verification
A rock-solid, widely-stocked gentle chelate you can grab almost anywhere. It does nothing wrong — it just lacks the published testing of Nutricost or the certification of Thorne, so it lands mid-pack on verification, not on quality.
Check Solgar on AmazonIf this doesn’t fit — try these
Nutricost Iron Bisglycinate 25 mg
8.8/10The same molecule at roughly half the cost with published batch testing.
See it on the list →Thorne Iron Bisglycinate 25 mg
9.2/10Step up for a product-level NSF Certified for Sport seal.
See it on the list →NOW Foods Iron 18 mg
7.8/10A gentler low-dose maintenance option in the same chelate form.
See it on the list →Sources & further reading
- Milman N, et al. J Perinat Med. 2014;42(2):197-206.Milman N, Jønsson L, Dyre P, Pedersen PL, Larsen LG · 2014 · Journal of Perinatal Medicine · PMID 24152889
Ferrous bisglycinate 25 mg iron is as effective as ferrous sulfate 50 mg iron in the prophylaxis of iron deficiency and anemia during pregnancy in a randomized trial
Confirms the gentle, effective profile of the 25 mg bisglycinate form this product uses.
- Tolkien Z, et al. PLoS One. 2015;10(2):e0117383.Tolkien Z, Stecher L, Mander AP, Pereira DIA, Powell JJ · 2015 · PLoS One · PMID 25700159
Ferrous sulfate supplementation causes significant gastrointestinal side-effects in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Establishes the GI-tolerance advantage of chelates over the ferrous salts this product avoids.