For many parents, a kids' multivitamin can help fill nutritional gaps when even a healthy plate falls short. But sorting out which ones are backed by real science, and which are closer to candy, is harder than it should be.

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That’s why we enlisted the help of Megan DeChatelets (MS, RDN, CDN, IFNCP), a pediatric nutrition expert and Registered Dietitian, to help break down when children can benefit from a multivitamin and the factors that actually matter when choosing one. After all, more than 70% of kids over 6 fall short on key nutrients like vitamins A, C, and D, and folate.¹

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Combining DeChatelets' expertise with hands-on reviews from Motherful parents, we compared the leading kids' multivitamins on ingredients & formulation, safety & third-party testing, taste, and price. One brand was the clear winner - read on to see our top pick.

Should My Child Take a Multivitamin?

According to Megan DeChatelets: yes, for most kids.

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"Even children who eat a 'normal,' varied diet fall short on several nutrients  – not just picky eaters," she explains. “A multivitamin is not a substitute for a balanced and healthy diet, but it  helps fill common nutritional gaps.”

What to Look For in a Kids' Multivitamin

According to DeChatelets, our Registered Dietitian, a good kids’ multivitamin balances appropriate nutrient inclusion with taste & rigorous safety checks. 

• On nutrients: 93% of kids are not getting enough vegetables through meals alone.² "Parents should look for multivitamins that focus on what’s missing from a typical diet instead of picking the option that has the most ingredients.” 
• On form: Look for natural ingredients rather than their synthetic counterparts, as well as nutrient forms that are easy to absorb.
• On dosing: “Kids have much smaller margins of safety than adults. Opt for dosing close to 100% of the recommended dietary allowance for shortfall nutrients, not megadosing.” Too much of some vitamins can cause nausea and headaches, with others like iron and calcium causing more severe complications when overdosed.³ 
• On safety and testing: The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are sold to the public, so third-party testing is essential.⁴
• On sweeteners & fillers: Many “sugar-free” options use sugar alcohols like mannitol or xylitol - common causes of GI upset in kids. A small amount of real sugar is the less processed option.
• On taste: The best vitamin is the one your kids will actually take! Look for a vitamin that is nutritious AND tastes good. 

So how do First Day, Hiya, Grüns, EllaOla, and MaryRuth's compare? Let’s find out.

Kids’ Multivitamins Compared

Ingredients & Formulation: First Day Wins

Kids most often fall short on five key nutrients for overall health. Vitamin D supports bone development and has been linked to mood regulation.⁵ Vitamin A supports vision, skin health, and immune function.⁶ Vitamin C is a cornerstone for immune support and also helps the body absorb iron.⁷ Vitamin B12 is essential for energy production and nervous system development, particularly important for kids on plant-heavy or picky-eater diets.⁸ Finally, Folate plays a critical role in cell growth and cognitive development.⁹

🥇 First Day "No Junk" Kids’ Multi: combines 9 critical vitamins - including all five that kids most often fall short on, plus Vitamins B1, B2, B6, and K2 - with a blend of 21 organic superfoods, including kale, spinach, broccoli, blueberry, and turmeric into two gummies a day.

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In addition to giving kids more daily fruits and veggies, First Day contains zero sugar alcohols, and has one of the shortest, cleanest excipient lists (which can include binders, fillers and preservatives) we found. First Day uses no fake sweeteners. Instead, it uses a small amount of real sugar (2g) in place of a sugar substitute, avoiding the GI-tolerance issues sugar alcohols can cause.¹⁰

🥈 Grüns Low Sugar Kids Superfoods Greens Gummies: Includes 20 vitamins and minerals across 6 gummies a day. While it has no artificial additives, it has 7g of sugar – significantly more than First Day’s 2g. Grüns does include Folate and Vitamin D, C, A, and B12. However, the label shows several nutrients exceeding the daily value (up to 307%) for for 2–3 year-olds, including vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamin, B2, niacin, B6, folate, B12, biotin, calcium d-pantothenate and iron.¹¹ This megadosing - especially in younger kids - can lead to GI issues. 

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❌ Hiya Kids Daily Multivitamin: Offers 16 vitamins and minerals in a chewable tablet with no added sugar. Hiya includes all five of our key nutrients. However, its sweetener blend combines monk fruit with mannitol, meaning it does contain a sugar alcohol, despite being marketed as sweetened with monk fruit. Our dietitian flagged sugar alcohols like xylitol and mannitol as capable of "causing GI upset in some kids at higher intakes.” Additionally, Hiya uses maltodextrin in its formulation, a highly processed carbohydrate filler. 

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❌  EllaOla Kids' Essential Tasteless Multivitamin: Delivers 19 vitamins and minerals in an unflavored powder stick pack with zero sugar and no artificial sweeteners. It has all 5 key ingredients, but also includes tapioca dextrin, a starch-derived filler similar in category to Hiya's maltodextrin.

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❌MaryRuth’s Kids Multivitamin Gummies: Provides 11 vitamins and minerals, including our 5 key ingredients, in a sugar-free gummy. However, most nutrients land under 50% of the daily value for kids ages 4+, and the formula includes sugar alcohols. 

Safety & Third-Party Testing: First Day, Hiya, MaryRuth’s, and EllaOla Tie

The FDA does not regulate supplements for safety or efficacy, so third-party safety testing is important.⁴

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Third-party certifications like Clean Label Project (CLP) test for contaminants that do not appear on the label, such as heavy metals, pesticide residues, and plasticizers. In addition, Clinician’s Choice badging adds an additional seal of validation as licensed clinicians conduct unbiased safety reviews. 

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🥇 First Day "No Junk" Kids’ Multi, Hiya Kids Daily Multivitamin, MaryRuth’s Kids Multivitamin Gummies, and EllaOla Kids' Essential Tasteless Multivitamin are all independently third-party tested and Clean Label Project certified. First Day is the only one with Clinician's Choice badging.

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DeChatelets on what that certification means: "It's addressing contamination that isn't disclosed anywhere on a standard label and that federal supplement regulation doesn't require testing for.".

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❌ Grüns Low Sugar Kids Superfoods Greens Gummies: Grüns website says their product is third-party tested, but doesn't disclose its testing partner. It does not have any Clean Label certifications. It also does not have Clinician’s Choice badging.

Taste & Promoting Healthy Habits: First Day Wins 

"A vitamin a child won't take provides zero benefit," says DeChatelets. Motherful mom Julie taste-tested all five brands with her son Theo (6), taking each according to package directions.

🥇 First Day "No Junk" Kids’ Multi: Theo’s favorite taste - he was looking forward to eating these by day two. The gummy has a soft, easy-to-chew texture, not the rubbery chew Julie found with other brands, and a strawberry-orange flavor Theo compared to fruit snacks - but with much less sugar than the real thing. 

🥈 MaryRuth’s Kids Multivitamin Gummies: These have a mild berry taste that Theo enjoyed, but Julie noticed a texture inconsistency between gummies in the same bottle with some soft, while others were noticeably chewier.

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🥉 Hiya Kids Daily Multivitamin: Chewable tablet that Theo described as “sour and chalky.”

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❌ Grüns Low Sugar Kids Superfoods Greens Gummies: Six gummies is a lot to get through, and Theo didn’t want to finish them because he didn’t like the taste. Julie described the texture as slightly gritty, with an earthy aftertaste.

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❌ EllaOla Kids' Essential Tasteless Multivitamin: Julie mixed the unflavored powder into Theo’s juice, but chalky residue remained at the bottom of the cup - and Theo stopped drinking once he noticed it.

Price & Value: First Day and MaryRuth’s Tie

🥇MaryRuht’s Kids Multivitamin Gummies is the cheapest option at $22.99/month, but it includes sugar alcohols and lower nutrient density than First Day.

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🥇 First Day "No Junk" Kids’ Multi is also affordable at $23.40/month with Motherful’s discount.

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🥉Hiya Kids Daily Multivitamin chewable tablets are mid-range at $30/month.

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❌ EllaOla Kids' Essential Tasteless Multivitamin is $50/month – more than double the price of First Day and MaryRuth’s.

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❌Grüns Low Sugar Kids Superfoods Greens Gummies is the most expensive option at $66.99/month.

Our Winner: First Day

Which kids’ multivitamin is actually best? After comparing ingredients, safety, taste, and price side by side, we recommend the vitamin that delivers nutrients in their natural forms with no fake sugars or fillers, the most robust safety testing, and the best taste. And that’s First Day. 

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Megan DeChatelets, our Registered Dietitian, agrees. "I recommend First Day. It uses active, bioavailable nutrients, has no artificial sweeteners, and has independent lab testing for safety and efficacy.”

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Ready to try First Day?

References

1. Nutrient deficiency in kids
2. More vegetables
3. Oversupplementation 
4. FDA
5. Vitamin D
6. Vitamin A
7. Vitamin C
8. Vitamin B12
9. Folate
10. Nutrition
11. Grüns ingredients