Neuriva Plus vs Neuriva Ultra: Which is The Better Value?

Neuriva Ultra vs Neuriva Plus Summary
Looking for a quality brain supplement to improve your mental clarity? You probably came across the popular Neuriva Ultra and Neuriva Plus, made by Schiff Vitamins. They claim to fuel 7 indicators of cognitive performance including your focus and memory. While online reviews of these two products look promising, their ingredients tell another story.
There’s very little human evidence behind Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra’s ingredients. Phosphatidylserine and B vitamins alone aren’t enough. Neuriva Ultra is basically the same as Neuriva Plus just with the added ingredient called Cognivive. But Cognivive is similar to ginger with no substantial brain benefits. For the prices that are being charged for Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra ($49.49 and $59.99 respectively), you can find better nootropics on the market.
What do we recommend?
– Click to See The Current Top 3 Best-Reviewed Nootropics 2023 –
About Neuriva Plus and Ultra
Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra are both supplements from the giant U.S. company Schiff Vitamins.
Neuriva Ultra is the latest addition to the “Neuriva” supplement range, whereas Neuriva Plus is a little bit older, coming after the original Neuriva.
Both supplements claim similar features, let’s have a quick look.
Neuriva Plus:
- Claims to fuel 6 areas of your brain function: memory, focus, accuracy, learning, reasoning, and concentration.
- Contains clinically tested ingredients such as coffee cherry (Neurofactor) and plant-based phosphatidylserine (PS) for long-range brain support.
Neuriva Ultra:
- Fuels 7 areas of your brain performance: with two daily capsules, you’re getting benefits like improved accuracy, learning, concentration, focus, memory, reasoning, and mental alertness.
According to Schiff, Neuriva Ultra’s advantage over its predecessors is in the key ingredient Cognivive, which we’ll talk about soon.
The two big questions we’ll be answering today are: can Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra deliver on their claims, and between the two, which one is safer, more effective, and better value for money?
Ingredients – Which Formula is Healthier & More Effective?
Neuriva Plus’ Formula
Neuriva’s recommended dosage is 2 capsules per day. In those two capsules, you’re getting:
- Vitamin B6 (1.7mg)
- Folate (680mcg)
- Vitamin B12 (2.4mcg)
- Coffee Fruit Extract (200mg)
- Phosphatidylserine (100mg)
Let’s have a closer look at each ingredient.

- Vitamin B6 (1.7mg) – This is a basic nutrient found in many foods ranging from tuna to beef liver to chickpeas. So even vegans can get it easily if their diet is diverse and nutrient dense. It is important for brain function, but adding more than necessary doesn’t provide the extra benefit. B6 only benefits your brain function if you’re deficient.
- Folate (680mcg) – This is another B vitamin, and as such, it’s essential for many aspects of our health, including our brain. Based on current evidence, 680mcg seems to be within safe limits, but too much is not a good thing. Also, much like vitamin B6, there’s no extra benefit from supplementing more folate than you need. If you eat broccoli, asparagus, eggs, and citrus foods in decent amounts, you’re unlikely to benefit from this supplement.
- Vitamin B12 (2.4mcg) – Many of us know that vitamin B12 plays a crucial role in energy and red blood cell production. This is a safe and healthy amount in Neuriva Plus; it doesn’t hurt having it here.
- Coffee Fruit Extract (200mg) – Okay, so this is one of the “star” ingredients in Neuriva line up of supplements in general. As per Schiff Vitamin’s claims, this ingredient is highly beneficial for BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which helps your brain cells regenerate and stay young. The issue is, there is only one study they are pointing to that suggests this, and the study doesn’t seem to use the same ingredient as Neuriva. It doesn’t use a specific extract, but whole coffee fruit powder. The difference is that an extract is only a part of coffee fruit – it can be anything (water, fiber, trace nutrients, etc.), whereas whole coffee fruit powder is the whole package of nutrients from coffee fruit. We’re highly skeptical of this ingredient in Neuriva Plus.
- Phosphatidylserine (100mg) – Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid naturally found in your brain cells. It’s actually found in your brain cell membranes which shield brain cells from external influences and also improve brain cell communications. PS is one of the only FDA-approved supplements. 100mg is a light dose but we like it that way, it makes it healthy for long-term daily consumption. This is the only ingredient that we can really praise in Neuriva, as it’s been known to enhance long-term brain function. You may not notice benefits immediately but over time it may enhance your concentration, memory, and cognitive clarity.
As a whole, Neuriva Plus is missing a lot from its formula to be able to call it a comprehensive brain supplement. With just Phosphatidylserine and some B vitamins as its study-supported ingredients, it’s severely lacking in the cognitive benefits department. You may get some benefits, but it’s definitely not comparable to other brain supplements that use ingredients like CDP-Choline, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Pine Bark Extract, and L-Theanine among others.
Neuriva Ultra’s Formula
Neuriva Ultra has a very similar ingredient profile to Neuriva Plus, there is just one minor difference, let’s have a closer look.
In 2 capsules per serving you’re getting:
- Vitamin B6 – 1.7mg
- Folate – 680mcg
- Vitamin B12 – 2.4mcg
- Alpinia galanga Extract (300mg)
- Coffee Fruit Extract (200mg)
- Phosphatidylserine (100mg)

Essentially, Neuriva Ultra is the same ingredient profile as Neuriva Plus, with just Alpinia galanga Extract (Cognivive) added.
We’re not going to go all over again explaining each ingredient, we’ll just focus on this one here.
Alpinia galanga is a spice native to Asia. It’s related to Ginger. Studies show it may have some anti-inflammatory benefits, but as far as brain health goes, it’s not that well-researched nor supported by current evidence.
Essentially, the benefits you can expect from ginger are similar to the benefits you may get from Alpinia galanga (Cognivive). It’s an ingredient better suited for a joint supplement.
That, then, brings us to the similar conclusion about Neuriva Ultra that we had about Neuriva Plus. Sure, it may give you some slight brain benefits thanks to Phosphatidylserine, and B vitamins (if you’re deficient in them), but if you’re looking for something that will really improve your mood, focus, and memory retention, there are a lot more ingredients missing from Neuriva Ultra to achieve this.
Not to mention that both Neuriva Ultra and Neuriva Plus contain titanium dioxide which is a potentially harmful filler. Between the two, it’s clear Neuriva Ultra is better because of the added ingredient Cognivive, but it’s better in terms of reducing inflammation in your body, not strictly in the sense it will be better at improving your brain health in any way. It ultimately will come down to their price differences as to which is better. We’ll cover that soon.
Fact-Checking Claims
Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra claim to fuel 6 and 7 indicators of brain health, respectively. Let’s see if they really do that.
- Concentration – True. Phosphatidylserine can help with that, but only to a minor extent, and you’ll need to take it for a while to potentially notice the difference. Other ingredients in Neuriva Plus and Ultra aren’t proven to do much in this regard.
- Accuracy – True. Again, only Phosphatidylserine is able to achieve this benefit in Neurivas, none of the other ingredients will make any difference.
- Learning – True. Phosphatidylserine is again the only ingredient that benefits this area of brain health.
- Focus – True. We might sound like a broken record, but this is thanks to phosphatidylserine.
- Memory – True. Phosphatidylserine can help to a small extent, but it needs support from other proven nootropics, none of which are found in Neuriva Plus or Neuriva Ultra.
- Reasoning – Yes to an extent, again, due to phosphatidylserine.
- Mental alertness – True. Can you take a guess thanks to which ingredient that is? You’re correct – it’s phosphatidylserine.
As you can see, all of these claims by Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra hold some merit, it’s just that they all come as a result of a single ingredient – Phosphatidylserine. A lot more is needed to really have an impact on these areas of brain health. Sure, PS will “fuel” these brain health indicators, but will you notice any difference? That’s the big question!
In our opinion, most people won’t notice much difference taking either Neuriva Plus or Neuriva Ultra, apart from a possible placebo effect.
Recommendations for Different Groups
For Older Folks – We don’t recommend either version of Neuriva. Phosphatidylserine is helpful for age-related cognitive decline (and it’s actually FDA-approved), but it can’t do the heavy lifting alone. Many other ingredients are missing from Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra. You can find better brain supplements for less money.
For Average Adult – Same story. Phosphatidylserine and B vitamins can be helpful if you lead a busy life and can’t get enough from your daily diet, but these two alone won’t make a huge difference to your productivity, focus, or brain energy.
Gamers/Businessmen/High-Performers – A lot ingredients are missing from both Neurivas that would enhance mental energy, concentration, reaction time, and motivation. Neither one is a great option for this group of people, especially considering their price. For that kind of money, you can get far better nootropics.
Safety Profile
The good news is that both Neuriva Ultra and Neuriva Plus should be safe for most people. Ingredients are generally shown to be safe and in the dosages that are included in these two supplements, they shouldn’t be causing any side effects. The only issue is in titanium dioxide, which is classified as a potential carcinogen.
What do Others Say?
Neuriva Plus has been on the market for quite a while so it has naturally amassed more reviews than its in-house competitor. It has 4.2/5 stars out of over 28,500 reviews. It’s hard to say how many of these are legitimate, but generally speaking, it seems to be well-accepted. There’s a mix of positive and negative experiences with Neuriva Plus, with the positives outweighing the negatives for the majority of people who used it.
As for Neuriva Ultra, it has a slightly higher 4.3/5 stars out of over 990 reviews on Amazon. It’s best to do the research on testimonials for yourself and make your own judgement on which ones are legitimate and which ones are paid ads. It can be hard to tell! The best gauge is your own experience in the end, and the second best is doing the research on the ingredients themselves and seeing the evidence behind them. We’ve tried our best to do the second one for you today.
Final Thoughts
To us Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra are both overhyped brain supplements.
Yes, they do have Phosphatidylserine and some B vitamins, which are indeed helpful for memory, focus, and cognitive health, but are they going to make a substantial difference? The answer is no.
The biggest letdown is the inclusion of ineffective and unproven ingredients in both formulas. If these were replaced with proven compounds like CDP-Choline and Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Neuriva Plus and Neuriva Ultra would be far more potent supplements.
The great reviews, for us, are the results of either paid ads or placebo effects. If you want to give Neuriva Ultra a try yourself and money is not a problem, then definitely do so, as it may provide some additional benefits compared to Neuriva Plus.
But for the $59.99-$79.99 that it is charging, you can find far more effective and healthier brain supplements on the market.
What do we recommend?
– Click to See The Current Top 3 Best-Reviewed Nootropics 2023 –