provider_review · verified 2026-07-31
Thorne NiaCel 400 review
Practitioner-grade NR with a sport certification — at the highest per-capsule price here
$74 for 60 capsules from Thorne directly, NSF Certified for Sport, which is the certification that matters if you are drug-tested and irrelevant if you are not.
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at_a_glance
- price
- "$74 / 60 Capsules" on Thorne's own product page, with a subscription discount offered at checkout.
- what you pay
- $74 for 60 capsules — $1.23 per capsule. Your monthly cost depends on whether you take one or two a day, which Thorne's page does not settle for you.
- pharmacy
- Not applicable — a dietary supplement, with no compounding facility involved. Thorne's manufacturing quality claims are the relevant assurance here, and NSF Certified for Sport is a checkable third-party one.
- states
- All 50 states — sold over the counter.
- on our index
- Ranked #19 of 19 on our NAD+ provider index.
verdict
The short version
Thorne's NiaCel 400 is an oral nicotinamide riboside capsule from a brand practitioners have trusted for a long time, and it carries NSF Certified for Sport — a certification that verifies the contents against a banned-substance list, which genuinely matters to tested athletes and is worth nothing to everyone else. Thorne sells it directly at $74 for 60 capsules, which is $1.23 a capsule and the highest per-capsule price in the oral category on our index. It shares the one real advantage of that category: NR is the only approach on this board with randomised human trials showing it raises blood NAD+. We earn nothing on it.
evidence
What the evidence for this route shows
NR is the only route on this board with randomised human trials showing it raises blood NAD+, and that evidence applies to the molecule rather than to any one brand. Two caveats specific to this product. The trials that built the evidence base used the patented Niagen form, and NiaCel 400 uses NR malate — a salt form whose NR content per capsule is not the same as the capsule weight, so a milligram-for-milligram comparison against a Niagen product is not straightforward. And as with all NR, what is demonstrated is a rise in blood NAD+, not the downstream outcomes.
pricing
What it actually costs
- advertised
- "$74 / 60 Capsules" on Thorne's own product page, with a subscription discount offered at checkout.
- you pay
- $74 for 60 capsules — $1.23 per capsule. Your monthly cost depends on whether you take one or two a day, which Thorne's page does not settle for you.
- the catch
- None in the pricing mechanism. The thing to watch is the retail spread: NiaCel is widely resold, prices vary across retailers, and $74 is the manufacturer's own number — which makes it the reference point rather than the best price you will find.
Other money you will meet
- Subscription discount offered at checkout
- Thorne accepts FSA/HSA funds via a third-party service
- No membership, consult or lab fee — it is an over-the-counter supplement
source :: read at thorne.com on 2026-07-31, in a browser that runs JavaScript.
fit
Who this is and is not for
Buy it if
- You are drug-tested in sport and need a certified-for-sport product specifically
- You already buy Thorne and want NR from a brand you have a relationship with
- You want an oral precursor with real trial evidence rather than an unproven prescription route
Look elsewhere if
- You are cost-sensitive: at $1.23 a capsule this is the most expensive oral option here
- You are not drug-tested, in which case you are paying a premium for a certification you cannot use
- You want the specific patented Niagen form the largest trials used
- You want clinician oversight or a titration plan
included
What is inside the price
- consult
- None — this is a supplement, not a prescription product.
- labs
- None required and none offered.
- follow-ups
- None.
- human support
- None. Customer service only.
- supplies
- Not applicable — capsules.
- shipping
- Standard e-commerce shipping.
the_knock
What they would rather you skipped
Thorne's own product page promises that NiaCel 400 "helps keep you feeling younger by benefiting cellular energy production, athletic performance, lean body composition, and supporting how your body handles its chronological age". That is four outcome claims, and the NR trial literature supports none of them. What the trials show is that oral NR raises blood NAD+ — a biochemical measurement — and studies looking for effects on performance, body composition or aging markers in healthy adults have largely not found them. Thorne is a serious manufacturer with real third-party testing, which makes the gap between its quality assurance and its outcome claims more conspicuous, not less. Separately: the URL this site had cited for the product 404s on thorne.com, which is our error to own rather than theirs, and the "$45–$65, varies by retailer" band we previously published was a guess with error bars around it rather than a verified price. It is $74.
And the rest
- $1.23 per capsule is the highest per-capsule price in the oral category on our index
- NR malate rather than the patented Niagen form the largest trials used
- The page's energy, performance, body-composition and aging claims are not supported by NR's trial data
- The sport certification is valuable only if you are actually drug-tested
tools
Work out your own number
Every figure on this page was read on Thorne NiaCel 400’s own site on 2026-07-31 in a browser that runs JavaScript, and prices change without notice. Compare it against the rest of the field on our NAD+ provider index, or read every provider review.
Medical disclaimer: This content is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any treatment.