Reviewed by Sarah Law, Dip CNM, Naturopathic Nutritionist
The best collagen supplement for most people in the UK is an unflavoured hydrolysed bovine peptide powder that gives you at least 10 g of collagen per serving, names the peptide it uses, and third-party tests every batch. That is the short answer. The longer answer is that the format you buy changes the price far more than the brand does: across the nine UK products we compared on 15 September 2026, the same 10 g of collagen cost anywhere from 40p to £3.04 depending on whether it came in a bag, a tub or a liquid sachet [1].
Below is the full comparison table with every price read off each brand's own live page on the day, our nine picks with what each one suits, and the four things worth checking on any label before you buy.
- Dose is the number that matters. UK serving sizes run from 5 g to 20 g of collagen, so two tubs at the same price can differ fourfold in what you actually take.
- Cost per 10 g beats cost per tub. Our table works this out for all nine products, from 40p to £3.04.
- Bovine or marine is a preference, not a ranking. Bovine peptides (Types I and III) carry the most published trials; marine peptides are Type I and pescatarian friendly.
- Hydrolysed, named and tested. Look for "hydrolysed collagen peptides", a named peptide such as BODYBALANCE® rather than an unspecified blend, and third-party testing.
- Vegan collagen contains no collagen. It is a cofactor blend, so judge it on vitamin C and amino acids instead.
Our pick in this guide
15 g of BODYBALANCE® collagen peptides per serving
Ultimate Collagen Peptides
BODYBALANCE® hydrolysed bovine peptides · 15 g per serving · 30 servings · unflavoured
1 tub delivered every month, cancel or skip anytime
✓ BODYBALANCE® branded peptides✓ Third-party tested✓ UK GMP & BRC made✓ 60-day money-back guarantee
The nine UK collagen supplements we compared
These are the products UK shoppers ask us about most, plus our own two. Every price, serving size and collagen dose below was read off the brand's own live product page (or, where a brand does not sell direct at a stable price, a UK pharmacy listing) on 15 September 2026. Prices move, so the figures are dated on purpose. We make two of the nine, which we say plainly in each entry so you can weigh the table rather than the recommendation.
1. Love Life Supplements Ultimate Collagen Peptides, best all-round pick
This is our own product, so read the placement as disclosed rather than neutral, and check it against the table below. What earns it the top slot on our own criteria is the dose and the peptide: 15 g per serving of BODYBALANCE®, a branded bovine peptide used in published trials rather than an unspecified "collagen powder", plus 40 mg of UC-II® undenatured type II collagen from chicken sternum cartilage. It is unflavoured, dissolves in hot or cold liquid, is made in the UK to GMP and BRC standards, and each batch is third-party tested for purity and potency.
Per gram it is not the cheapest here: Myprotein and Vital Proteins both come in lower. What you pay the difference for is the named peptide, the UC-II® addition, UK manufacture and the batch testing. A tub lasts a month at one serving a day, and there is a 60-day money-back guarantee if it does not suit you.
See Ultimate Collagen Peptides
2. Love Life Supplements Marine Collagen Skin Boost+, best skin-focused capsule
Our second product, and a different job from the powder. This is a skin formula built around marine collagen peptides rather than a bulk collagen dose, which is why we have left the cost-per-10-g column blank for it in the table: comparing a low-dose capsule complex with a 15 g powder on grams alone would flatter the wrong product. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, which is the reason it is in there alongside the collagen.
It suits people who will not stick with a powder, or who want the hyaluronic acid and antioxidant side of a skin routine in one capsule. If your goal is joints, bone or muscle, the powder is the better buy.
See Marine Collagen Skin Boost+
3. Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides 567 g, best known bovine powder
The brand most people name first, and the one whose price swings most. Vital Proteins does not sell to UK customers at a stable direct price, so what you pay depends entirely on the retailer: the UK pharmacy price we checked on the day was £31.99 against an RRP of £49.99, and other UK listings sit higher. At the low end it is very good value for a 20 g serving of grass-fed bovine peptides; at RRP it is not.
What you do not get is a named, studied peptide: the label describes bovine collagen powder from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle rather than a specific branded peptide with its own trial record. If you buy on price, check three UK sellers before you commit.
4. Myprotein Collagen Protein Powder 600 g, cheapest per gram
Nothing else in this comparison comes close on price per gram. At the discounted price it is under half the cost per 10 g of any other powder here, and the dose is a full 20 g of hydrolysed Types I and III. If your priority is getting a real collagen dose into your day for as little as possible, this is the buy.
The trade-offs are the ones you would expect at that price: a generic peptide rather than a branded, trialled one, a large pouch rather than a scooped tub, and a list price that is nearly double the promotional price, so what you pay depends heavily on when you buy.
5. Correxiko Marine Collagen Peptides 300 g, best marine powder
If you want marine collagen at a proper research-sized dose rather than a sachet, this is the straightest option in the comparison: 10 g per serving, 30 servings, one ingredient. The sourcing is stated clearly, which is worth more than it sounds with marine collagen, where "marine" can cover anything from wild-caught fish skin to farmed by-product.
It costs more per gram than the bovine powders, which is normal for marine collagen, and the pouch runs out in a month.
6. Planet Paleo Multi Collagen 225 g, best for multiple collagen types
This is the one to look at if you have searched for a collagen with all five types. It combines grass-fed bovine peptides (Types I and III), wild-caught marine collagen (Type II) and free-range eggshell membrane (Types V and X) in a 9 g serving that delivers 8.6 g of collagen peptides.
Worth being clear-eyed about what the extra types buy you: almost all of the published collagen peptide research uses Type I and III bovine or Type I marine peptides at 10 g or more, and undenatured Type II is studied at tiny doses of around 40 mg rather than as a bulk powder. A multi-type blend is a reasonable preference; it is not a documented upgrade.
7. Ancient + Brave True Collagen, best minimal-dose powder
A well-made single-ingredient powder from grass-fed EU herds, independently tested batch by batch according to the brand, and the easiest of the powders to mix into a coffee without noticing it. The catch is the serving size: the recommended dose is 5 g, which is half what most of the skin and joint trials used, so at the 10 g most research uses a pouch lasts 20 days rather than 40 and the cost per 10 g doubles to £1.60.
If you want a small daily habit and are relaxed about matching trial doses, it is a pleasant product. If you are buying on evidence, read the serving size before the price.
8. Absolute Collagen Marine Liquid, most convenient
Liquid sachets solve one real problem: you cannot forget to measure a scoop, and there is nothing to mix. Absolute Collagen is the best known of them in the UK and points to a 130-participant, placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed trial of its own product, which is more than most brands at any price can say.
The cost is the cost. At £33.99 for 14 sachets you are paying about £2.43 a day, roughly five times the cost per gram of a bovine powder, for 8 g rather than 10 g of collagen. Convenience is a legitimate thing to buy; just buy it knowingly.
9. Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus, highest sachet dose
The highest per-sachet dose of the two liquids here, at a full 10 g of marine collagen, which is the amount most of the skin research uses. If you have decided on sachets, this is the one that actually matches a trial dose.
It is also the most expensive product in the comparison per day at £3.00, and the range is large and heavily variant-based (original, enhanced, pro, menopause and vegan versions at different doses and prices), so check which one you are adding to the basket.
UK collagen supplements compared: dose, price and cost per 10 g
| Product | Format | Collagen per serving | Servings | Price (15 Sep 2026) | Per serving | Per 10 g collagen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLS Ultimate Collagen Peptides | Powder | 15 g BODYBALANCE® bovine, plus 40 mg UC-II® | 30 | £48.95 (£44.06 subscription) | £1.63 (£1.47) | £1.09 (98p) |
| LLS Marine Collagen Skin Boost+ | Capsules | Cartidyss® marine collagen complex, 2 capsules | 60 days | £36.95 (£33.26 subscription) | 62p per day | Not a bulk peptide dose |
| Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides 567 g | Powder | 20 g bovine peptides | 28 | £31.99 UK pharmacy price, RRP £49.99 | £1.14 | 57p |
| Myprotein Collagen Protein Powder 600 g | Powder | 20 g bovine peptides, Types I and III | 30 | £23.99 promotional, RRP £42.99 | 80p | 40p |
| Correxiko Marine Collagen Peptides 300 g | Powder | 10 g marine peptides | 30 | £39.95 | £1.33 | £1.33 |
| Planet Paleo Multi Collagen 225 g | Powder | 8.6 g, Types I, II, III, V and X | 25 | £33.99 | £1.36 | £1.58 |
| Ancient + Brave True Collagen | Powder | 5 g bovine peptides (Type I) | about 40 | £32.00 (£25.60 subscription) | 80p | £1.60 |
| Absolute Collagen Marine Liquid | Liquid sachet | 8 g marine collagen | 14 | £33.99 (£27.99 subscription) | £2.43 | £3.04 |
| Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus | Liquid sachet | 10 g marine collagen (Type 1) | 14 | £41.99 | £3.00 | £3.00 |
Three things fall out of that table. Format sets the price: every powder here costs between 40p and £1.60 per 10 g, and both liquids cost around £3.00. Serving size is doing the work, not the tub size: Ancient + Brave and Myprotein cost the same per serving, but the Myprotein serving contains four times the collagen. And promotional pricing distorts the ranking: the two cheapest products per gram were both discounted on the day, one at 44% off RRP, so the order changes depending on when you look.
How we judged them
Four criteria, applied in this order.
1. Grams of collagen per serving. Most published trials of hydrolysed collagen peptides use around 10 g a day [1], with muscle and body-composition work using 15 g alongside resistance training [3]. A product that serves 5 g is not wrong, it just means two scoops if you want to match the research, which doubles your real cost.
2. Whether the peptide is named. "Collagen powder" tells you a source animal. A named peptide such as BODYBALANCE® tells you which specific hydrolysate was used, and lets you go and read the trial it appeared in. Most of the well-known collagen trials were run on specific branded peptides, not on generic collagen, which is why the naming matters more than the marketing.
3. Third-party testing and manufacture. Collagen is an animal-derived bulk ingredient, so identity, heavy metals and microbiological testing are the checks worth having. Look for a brand that says who tests it and how often, rather than "quality assured". Ours is made in the UK to GMP and BRC standards and tested batch by batch; you can read our testing procedures in full.
4. Cost per 10 g, not cost per tub. The seventh column above. It is the only fair way to line up a 5 g scoop against a 20 g one.
"With collagen, two things separate a product that does something from one that does not: a real, studied dose of hydrolysed peptides, and consistency. I tell clients to look for around 10 g per serving and to give it a full eight to twelve weeks. The source, marine or bovine, matters less than getting the dose and the daily habit right."
Sarah Law, Naturopathic Nutritionist & Functional Practitioner | Optimised Female
Is marine or bovine collagen better?
Neither is better in general: dose and consistency matter more than source. Bovine peptides supply Types I and III, the types found in skin, tendon, bone and blood vessels, and carry the largest body of published trials across skin, joint, bone and muscle outcomes [1],[2],[3],[4]. Marine peptides are typically Type I, come from fish skin or scales, are pescatarian friendly, and are the usual choice where someone avoids beef products or prefers the lighter taste.
In this comparison the practical difference shows up in price rather than biology: the marine options cost between £1.33 and £3.04 per 10 g, the bovine powders between 40p and £1.60. If you have no preference either way, bovine is the cheaper route to the same daily dose. For a full head-to-head including vegan alternatives, read our marine vs bovine vs vegan collagen guide.
How much collagen should you take a day?
Around 10 g a day of hydrolysed collagen peptides is the dose most trials use, with 15 g used in the muscle and body-composition work. Proksch and colleagues used specific collagen peptides daily over eight weeks for skin elasticity and hydration outcomes [1]; Clark and colleagues ran 24 weeks of collagen hydrolysate in athletes with activity-related joint discomfort [2]; Zdzieblik and colleagues combined 15 g of collagen peptides with resistance training in older men [3]; and König and colleagues ran 12 months of specific collagen peptides in postmenopausal women and measured bone mineral density [4].
The practical point for a UK shopper: check the grams of collagen per serving, because they range from 5 g to 20 g across the products above. Our own serving is 15 g, which is why a 547 g tub gives 30 days rather than 50. If you want the detail on timing and absorption, we have a separate guide to collagen dosage and timing.
How long does collagen take to work?
Plan on 8 to 12 weeks of daily use before you judge it. That is the window the skin and joint trials used, and the bone trial ran for a full year [1],[2],[4]. Collagen is not a supplement where you take one serving and notice something that afternoon.
Two things make the 12 weeks more likely to tell you something useful. Keep the dose the same throughout rather than drifting down to half scoops, and pick one outcome to watch, such as nail or hair condition, skin comfort, or how your knees feel after a run. Changing product every three weeks is the most common reason people conclude that collagen did nothing.
Is there a vegan collagen?
No. Collagen is an animal protein, so any product sold as vegan collagen contains no collagen. What these products supply is a cofactor blend, usually vitamin C, specific amino acids such as glycine and proline, and sometimes silica or biotin, intended to support the collagen your own body makes. Vitamin C genuinely does contribute to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones and cartilage, which is an authorised claim in the UK, and that is the mechanism these blends work on.
If you avoid animal products, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to buy. Just compare it on vitamin C and amino acid content and price, not against a 10 g collagen dose, because there is no collagen in it to compare.
What does third-party tested actually mean?
It means an independent laboratory, not the manufacturer, has verified what is in the tub. For collagen the checks that matter are identity (is it the collagen and source it says), heavy metals, and microbiological safety, because collagen is a bulk animal-derived ingredient bought in from specialist processors.
The useful question to ask any brand is not "is it tested" but "who tests it, how often, and can I see a result". Ours is manufactured in the UK to GMP and BRC standards and tested batch by batch, with results published on the product pages. Three of the nine products above state batch or independent testing on the product page itself; the rest describe quality in general terms. That is not proof of a problem, but it is a difference you can see before you buy.
Which collagen is right for you?
How to take collagen
Mix your serving into water, coffee, tea or a smoothie. Unflavoured hydrolysed peptides dissolve in hot or cold liquid and are close to tasteless, which is what makes a daily habit realistic. Ours also works stirred into soups or used in baking.
Take it at any time of day: consistency matters more than timing. Pairing it with a source of vitamin C is sensible, since vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation. If you train, taking it in the hour before or after a session is a common choice, and it is the pattern used in the resistance-training research [3]. Then leave it alone for 8 to 12 weeks before deciding whether it is doing anything for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best collagen supplement in the UK?
For most people, an unflavoured hydrolysed bovine peptide powder giving at least 10 g per serving from a brand that names its peptide and third-party tests each batch. On the nine products compared here, cost per 10 g ranged from 40p to £3.04, so the format you pick changes the price far more than the brand does.
Which is the best collagen powder in the UK for value?
On 15 September 2026, Myprotein Collagen Protein Powder at £23.99 for 30 servings of 20 g worked out cheapest at about 40p per 10 g of collagen, with Vital Proteins next at about 57p at the UK pharmacy price we found. Both were on promotion, so check the current price against RRP before buying.
Are collagen peptides actually worth it?
The published trials that report benefits used hydrolysed peptides at around 10 g a day for 8 to 12 weeks or longer [1],[2]. A product that is under-dosed or taken sporadically is unlikely to reproduce that. We look at the evidence in more detail in are collagen peptides actually worth it.
Is hydrolysed collagen better than gelatin?
For supplementing, yes. Hydrolysis breaks collagen into short peptide chains that dissolve in cold liquid and are absorbed as peptides and amino acids. Gelatin is partially broken down, gels when cold, and is not what the peptide research used. If a label says gelatin rather than hydrolysed collagen peptides, it is a cooking ingredient rather than a studied supplement.
Does collagen have to be taken forever?
Collagen peptides are a dietary protein source, not a course of anything, so there is no fixed stopping point. Trial benefits were measured while participants were taking it, and the trials that followed up after stopping generally saw measures drift back, so most people keep it as an ongoing daily habit, or stop and restart around the seasons when skin feels drier.
Can you take collagen with other supplements?
Collagen peptides are protein, so they sit alongside most things without issue, and vitamin C is a sensible partner. If you take prescribed medication, are pregnant or nursing, or have a fish or beef allergy, check the source on the label and speak to your GP or pharmacist first.
References
- Proksch E, et al. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014. PubMed
- Clark KL, et al. 24-week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008. PubMed
- Zdzieblik D, et al. Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men. Br J Nutr. 2015. PubMed
- König D, et al. Specific collagen peptides improve bone mineral density and bone markers in postmenopausal women. Nutrients. 2018. PubMed
References verified September 2026. Competitor prices, serving sizes and doses read from each brand's live product page, or a UK pharmacy listing where a brand does not sell direct, on 15 September 2026.
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Shop Marine Collagen Skin Boost+
About the reviewer: Sarah Law, Dip CNM
Sarah Law is a Certified Naturopathic Nutritionist and Functional Practitioner specialising in hormonal health, gut health, and evidence-based nutrition. She holds a Diploma in Naturopathic Nutrition from the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM, London) and is a Certified Functional Health Coach. Sarah combines naturopathic principles with modern functional nutrition science to help her clients make informed health decisions.
About the author: Ben Law
Ben Law is the founder of Love Life Supplements and host of the Optimised Health Show. A qualified Advanced Dietary Supplement Advisor and Primal Blueprint Certified Expert, he advocates for science-backed, transparent manufacturing and premium ingredients tested for purity. Over the last decade he has helped thousands of UK customers optimise performance and recovery with formulations made to UK GMP and BRC standards.