Vyvamind Reviews

If there’s just one thing that all work has in common, it’s the need to focus. You need it in the classroom as well as in the cubicle, on the production line, and on the road. It’s often the key factor behind getting your tasks done well and on time.

Maybe that's why nootropics (“smart drugs”) are so popular: their universal potential to be helpful. They certainly make up a profitable industry, one that's expected to grow multifold by the year 2030, though really only a fraction of available products show scientifically supported promise.1

Vyvamind is one among the promising few. While its branding could use improvement, its formulation appears sound. The question is, how does it measure up to the capable competition?

Vyvamind is a two-a-day nootropic capsule formulated with six well-supported ingredients for focus and energy. The ingredient quantities mostly align with clinical doses, and our subjective testing experience resulted in increased focus, energy, and productivity. The base price is a little higher compared to most of its direct competitors, but it’s surely not the highest on the market. We would regard Vyvamind more favorably if the company made third-party testing results available for safety and quality assurance purposes. Also, the website lacks other key information, such as contact information and accurate pricing details. However, on a positive note, we did find that customer service was fairly responsive.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions involving staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

Our review process for Vyvamind followed our standard procedure. We conducted preliminary research to determine whether it held the potential to live up to its claims of improving cognition, mood, and physical performance. We ordered Vyvamind for ourselves, tried it, and immersed ourselves in the customer experience. Throughout, we pored over nearly five dozen scholarly articles and unbiased sources so that we could ground our impressions in the available science.

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

In most respects, our Vyvamind review centered on our normal evaluative criteria:

• Effectiveness, so you know whether the product works as intended
• Safety, so you can be assured of a low-risk experience
• Cost, so you understand the product's monetary value relative to the competition

We often consider convenience as a fourth criterion to give you an idea of a brand's customer dealings and a product's ease of use, but this time, we looked more broadly at the customer experience, which encompasses how the company presents itself to the consumer.

Let's see how Vyvamind did in each category:

Effectiveness

Effectiveness concerns how well Vyvamind delivers on its promises of improved brain function, mood, and energy. Our high rating accounts for both its scientifically supported formulation and our positive subjective testing experience, with a few tenths of a point docked for some underdosing.

The formulation comprises six ingredients with significant research behind each:

• Vitamin B6 (2.5mg): important for biosynthesizing neurotransmitters related to cognitive function;2 it’s also capable of decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression and regulating levels of an amino acid whose overproduction correlates with cognitive decline3 4
• Vitamin B12 (50mcg): an essential vitamin of which deficiencies are associated with cognitive disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's5
• L-Tyrosine (300mg): complements B6 in biosynthesizing key neurotransmitters and plays a key role in dopamine production6 (Vyvamind’s dose is subclinical)
• Citicoline (200mg): has been shown in studies to improve cognitive markers, including memory7 (also subclinical but also within range of most supplemental doses)
• L-Theanine (150mg): an amino acid best known for its calming effect but also capable of improving mental clarity8
• Caffeine: a widely used stimulant that can improve certain cognitive markers (e.g., alertness and vigilance) while working synergistically with L-theanine to modulate the brain state9 10

The caffeine content is special in that none of the competitors we mention in this review have it as an essential component; in fact, only Thesis provides the option to include it. Caffeine doesn’t jibe with some people, but for the non-sensitive, it can provide a crucial jolt that motivates the user to make maximal use of the other ingredients.

Such was the case in our subjective testing experience. We experienced a steady current of energy throughout our workdays, enhanced focus even under inconducive conditions, and greater feelings of accomplishment related to our work.

We feel it's important to reiterate that our testing experience was subjective. Your experience may differ. Nevertheless, it corroborates our research concerning the brain- and energy-enhancing potential of Vyvamind's ingredients.

Safety

Vyvamind’s safety score lands spang in the middle of our rating scale because of what it does right and what it appears not to do at all.

Nootropics, as a whole, are generally safe for anyone who isn't pregnant or breastfeeding. At-risk populations tend to be limited to people with sensitivities or contraindications to certain ingredients. For example, the 150mg of L-theanine in Vyvamind could interact with medications in the same classes as lorazepam, diazepam, and zolpidem,11 while the 75mg of caffeine could be too much for those who are sensitive. The latter includes people over the age of 65,12 individuals with panic disorders,13 and others who naturally can't stomach much caffeine. If you have no such prescriptions, diagnoses, or intolerances, Vyvamind is unlikely to cause you any serious adverse effects.

However, a supplement's safety has a lot to do with the manufacturer's operational procedures, not just what goes into the formulation. Normally, we evaluate operational procedures on factors such as third-party testing and compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), a set of standards relating to proper controls over production facilities and processes.14 The one safety detail Vyvamind's website divulges is that its product is formulated in "FDA-compliant facilities with cGMP approval." cGMP is a set of regulations, so we assume “approval” means “compliance.” But while cGMP compliance involves testing, there's nothing on the site about third-party assessments, which would help assuage potential safety concerns.

Vyvamind's ingredient bill may give us little reason to suspect any hazards for most users, but we can't verify what Vyvamind does to ensure product purity or potency. Third-party testing may take place, but it's unclear at this time.

In contrast, all three direct competitors we mention throughout this review — Thesis, Noocube, and Mind Lab Pro — fulfill our safety expectations by divulging both their cGMP compliance and third-party testing.

Cost

Vyvamind gets a fair-to-good rating for cost because its $74.99 price point — which includes shipping — is roughly in line with competitors at the base level. Non-subscription Thesis is much more expensive as a $119 one-time purchase, and even the $79 subscription costs more. Mind Lab Pro is more expensive, too, after you account for the nearly $10 shipping fee, which brings a one-bottle order up to around $79. Noocube, at $64.99 with free shipping, is the only true cost-effective alternative we recommend.

Vyvamind’s cost rating would be a little higher if the company offered subscriptions or if its bundling discounts worked as advertised. As it stands, your ordering options are limited to one-time purchases of one, two, or three bottles. The website claims a two-bottle bundle saves you $24, but its $149.98 price tag equals exactly no savings compared to two separate one-bottle orders; its one advantage seems to be reducing your order frequency by a month. The three-bottle bundle is $207, which saves you $17.97 in the end, or less than half the $36.03 discount stated on the site.

The pricing structure is similar to Mind Lab Pro's: no subscriptions and no savings until the top bundling tier. Except with Mind Lab Pro, the top tier gets you a four-month supply and a $69 discount, or four for the price of three. Free shipping kicks in at this level, too.

Noocube has a much better pricing structure than either Vyvamind or Mind Lab Pro. Subscriptions are available, and they knock 15% off the base price at each tier. The first bundling tier is a three-month supply that's effectively three bottles for the price of two, and the top tier is five bottles for the price of three.

Customer experience

Customer experience encompasses convenience factors we normally consider with a capsule supplement — ordering from the website, interacting with customer service, and ingesting the product — only with the added consideration of website user experience (UX).

The customer experience with Vyvamind is another mixed bag. There are positives, for sure:

• Ordering the product was hassle-free.
• The order arrived within a reasonable five business days.
• Customer service representative answered one of our questions satisfactorily in less than 24 hours.
• The capsule errs toward the large side but shouldn't pose any special challenge to anyone who doesn't struggle with swallowing pills.

Had our customer experience stopped there, our rating would be considerably higher. But the website's quality couldn't be ignored. To state the matter plainly, the site doesn't work the way it should:

• Many of the navigation links don't do anything.
• A lot of the web copy seems to be reproduced from boilerplate and never adapted to the company. For example, why does the return policy speak of items being "unworn" and "with tags"?
• The advertised bundling discounts don't add up arithmetically.
• The contact information is buried and unreasonably hard to find.

These issues drag down the UX, the overall feeling one has while using a website. Poor UX does more than create a morass of inconvenience; it also informs the user's impression of the company. Though we felt positively about Vyvamind in the end, our initial opinion — based on the website alone — was low.

The silver lining here is that UX is repairable. We earnestly hope Vyvamind puts more resources into creating a functional, informative, and professional-looking website. The company can fairly easily elevate its brand with thorough and mindful digital redesign.

Vyvamind, also known as NSV-313, is a capsule supplement that falls under the nootropic umbrella. Nootropics (sometimes called “smart drugs”) refer to a broad class of substances believed to enhance mental functions such as cognition, memory, motivation, and concentration.15 While some prescription drugs — like medications for ADHD or certain drugs for dementia — are also nootropics, the term is most commonly applied to non-prescription supplements.62 63

Many nootropic supplements are complexes containing multiple ingredients. Often, the ingredients function cooperatively to enhance the cognitive boost. According to the company website, Vyvamind’s combination of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, L-tyrosine, citicoline, L-theanine, and caffeine can:

• Enhance brain function: alertness, creativity, focus, problem-solving, mental stamina, memory, brain cell regeneration, and attention span
• Improve mood: calmness and performance under stress
• Support physical activity: adrenaline and endurance

The company's reputation

Vyvamind has a claimed profile on Trustpilot, a consumer review site. As of this writing, the page bears 19 customer reviews and a 3-star (out of 5) rating — considered "Average" by Trustpilot’s standards. Around 47% of the reviews are 4- and 5-star ratings by customers extolling Vyvamind’s nootropic effects. The remaining ones are 1- and 2-star complaints, mostly about ineffectiveness, non-receipt of orders, or a lack of customer support.

Although our own experience doesn’t align with the issues described in the complaints, we consider the complaints to be valid. It’s a fact of supplements and business that not everyone takes to the product, orders sometimes don’t get delivered, and customer support doesn’t always respond. To Vyvamind’s credit, it has responded to some complaints about non-receipt by explaining that high demand compounded by supply issues caused delays in 2023.

Nootropics, in general, work by stimulating the brain, though their exact mechanisms aren't clear. According to the Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation, we do know their effects are transient, lasting only as long as the supplement remains in the body, and their cognitive benefits potentially stem from increased blood flow to the brain, higher adrenalin levels, or an expanded number of neurotransmitters available to the brain.16

A nootropic supplement's specific efficacy depends on its ingredients and the quantities thereof. Let's examine Vyvamind's formulation to see whether it and its doses correspond to the product's claims.

Vitamin B6 (2.5mg)

Already, the formulation shows promise. The United States Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) notes that vitamin B6 is important for cognitive development because of its role in the "biosynthesis of neurotransmitters" and maintenance of normal homocysteine levels.2 In other words, it helps produce complex molecules for chemical messaging and regulates measures of an amino acid whose overproduction is associated with cognitive decline.4

Vitamin B6 may also reduce symptoms that relate to depression and anxiety, according to a 2022 study.3 The study's findings corroborate the claim that Vyvamind can improve mood. Moreover, it may support the supplement's use as a cognitive enhancer, as per a 2012 review that associated mood symptoms with cognitive performance.17

Vyvamind delivers 2.5mg of vitamin B6 per serving. That's almost twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for most adults but only about 2-3% of the tolerable upper intake level (UL).2 The dose is identical to the amount in competitor Mind Lab Pro.

Vitamin B12 (50mcg)

The link between vitamin B12 and cognition is strong. For example, a systematic review published in 2012 found associations between B12 deficiency and cognitive disorders such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and vascular dementia, as well as cognitive impairment in general. The same review determined that high-dose (1mg) supplementation could improve cognition in people with preexisting deficiencies.5

The review's findings are supported by more recent research, such as a 2020 cross-sectional, multicenter study of 202 patients with minimal cognitive impairment and B12 deficiency who underwent three months of B12 replacement therapy. At the study’s end, an overwhelming majority of the participants had significant improvements in self-reported symptoms (171, or 84%) and Mini-Mental State Examination scores (158, or 78%). Even many of those who reported no symptomatic improvement demonstrated exam score improvements.18

Both the review and the study promote a 1mg dose of B12 to correct deficiency-linked cognitive dysfunction. Although Vyvamind's 50mcg is only 5% of the recommended amount, the review does note that lower doses of 1-50mcg are sufficient for preventing B12 deficiency or decreasing homocysteine levels (remember, high homocysteine correlates with cognitive decline).5

With respect to daily limits, Vyvamind provides around 20 times more than the RDA specified by the ODS, but that's fine because B12 has a "low potential for toxicity" even at larger doses because the body doesn't store the excess amounts.2

The Vyvamind dose is 20 times more than the amount in Noocube (2.5mcg) and almost seven times higher than that of Mind Lab Pro (7.5mcg). Among the competitors, only Thesis' Motivation blend contains more, with 1,000mcg (equivalent to 1mg — the dose used in the aforementioned studies).

L-Tyrosine (300mg)

L-Tyrosine is a thoughtful inclusion on Vyvamind's part because it’s not only essential for the body to produce neurotransmitters but complementary to vitamin B6, which helps convert the tyrosine into said neurotransmitters.6

One such neurotransmitter is dopamine. Known as the "feel good" hormone, it plays a key role in the brain's reward system. It may not generate pleasure directly, as was once believed, but it does increase one's motivation to seek the rewards associated with a pleasure stimulus.19 Take exercise, for example; as you exercise, your brain distributes dopamine in small amounts that motivate you to continue the effort. In turn, you associate the activity with good feelings that you'll want to experience again. According to the authors of a 2016 review, the same sort of motivational reward-seeking effect applies to thinking, which in itself is an effortful task.20 So tyrosine may bode well for Vyvamind's claims about physical activity as well as brain function.

The issue with Vyvamind's tyrosine is the dose. The lowest clinical dose we could find for cognitive benefit was 2g in one 2014 study;21 other studies have used doses ranging from 100 to 300mg per kg,22 equivalent to 8,000-24,000mg for an 80kg (174lb) adult human. The 300mg in the Vyvamind formulation falls way short.

Nevertheless, we should keep in mind the cooperative effect that tyrosine has with vitamin B6. If one enhances the other, then users may still experience a noticeable cognitive boost from the subclinical amount of tyrosine that Vyvamind provides. At any rate, 300mg is 50mg more than what Noocube and Mind Lab Pro provide and precisely as much as you get from Thesis' Energy blend.

Citicoline (200mg)

Citicoline is a form of the B vitamin choline. Choline, in general, is necessary to produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that's important for brain function, per the ODS. Choline occurs naturally in the body but not in sufficient amounts, so humans must obtain it from external sources such as food or supplements.23

Several studies have examined citicoline's brain-enhancing properties. The results are quite promising, which is probably why competitors Thesis, Noocube, and Mind Lab Pro also include it in their formulations. For example, a 2014 review published in CNS Drugs describes citicoline not just as a nontoxic and "very well-tolerated" substance but also as one that possesses "significant neuroprotective properties."24

Other noteworthy scientific papers include the following:

The above studies used 500mg of citicoline, and Vyvamind’s formulation provides just 200mg. Is it enough? The ODS has the following to say:23

• To achieve Adequate Intake (AI), an adult needs to consume 400-550mg of choline daily, with a UL ranging from 3,000 to 3,500mg.
• Supplemental choline doses normally range from 10 to 250mg.
• Choline is present in numerous dietary sources, including beef, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, brussels sprouts, and milk.

Therefore, as long as you're following a balanced diet, Vyvamind's 200mg dose of citicoline should more than cover any deficiencies without putting you in danger of reaching toxic levels. Here’s some perspective: If you consume just two hard-boiled eggs along with a serving of Vyvamind, you've already exceeded the minimum AI for women and are just one 3oz piece of fish away from the AI for men.23

With that said, both Mind Lab Pro and Thesis' Energy blend contain citicoline at higher doses — 300mg and 250mg, respectively.

L-Theanine (150mg)

L-Theanine is an amino acid famously found in tea leaves. It's another ingredient that all of Vyvamind's top competitors add to their formulations.

Two of L-theanine's most noteworthy benefits are mental clarity and stress reduction. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial from 2019 illustrates its potential impact on both. In it, 30 subjects received either 200mg of L-theanine or 200mg of placebo every day for four weeks. Outcome markers were measured via clinical assessments of stress and cognition. In the end, while placebo resulted in "no significant difference," L-theanine administration led to "significantly improved" stress-related scores and "significantly increased" cognitive function scores.8

The trial's premise and results raise the question, "Is there a connection between stress and cognitive function?" The signs point to yes. A 2023 cohort study published in JAMA involving 24,448 older adults (45 and older) found that participants with elevated levels of perceived stress had "1.37 times higher odds of poor cognition." The researchers point out this is an independent association, meaning they accounted and adjusted for other variables, such as socioeconomic status, cardiovascular risk factors, and depression.29

The L-theanine content in Vyvamind is lower than the amount used in the 2019 trial and in any Thesis formula with caffeine (the pill containing caffeine also contains L-theanine), but it's still clinically relevant and higher than what you get from Noocube or Mind Lab Pro.30

Caffeine (75mg)

Although caffeine is better known as the substance in coffee that keeps you from falling asleep, a significant body of research also points to its utility as a cognitive aid. It's not a "pure" cognitive enhancer, as one researcher puts it, but rather, it has "indirect action" on related factors like mood and concentration.31

Two scientific papers illustrate the point. The first is a 2020 study in which ten subjects received either placebo or a dose (3mg, 6mg, or 9mg/kg) of caffeine. Upon assessment after an hour post-ingestion, subjects who received the lowest dose (equivalent to 225mg for a 165lb human) exhibited increased blood flow to the brain, a marker associated with improved attention and memory.32 The researchers thus concluded, "Low-dose caffeine may be a selective supplement in enhancing executive function and prefrontal activities."33

The second paper is a review of literature published earlier, in 2016. Here, too, the researchers found support for cognitive improvements with low- to moderate-dose caffeine. Amounts as small as 0.5mg/kg (37.5mg for a 165lb human) led to improvements in "alertness, vigilance, attention, reaction time, and attention."9

Separate research has found a synergistic effect between caffeine and L-theanine. For example, a 2021 review concluded that the combination appeared to improve short-term attention and overall cognition,34 while a 2008 study determined that a 2:1 ratio of L-theanine to caffeine could level out their respective calming and energizing effects.10 Vyvamind just so happens to have precisely a 2:1 ratio.

Noocube and Mind Lab Pro don't include caffeine, and Thesis lets you omit it. Whether that’s a positive or a negative for Vyvamind depends on your caffeine tolerance.

Vyvamind states its product is safe for adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Based on the ingredient bill alone, we can say that's likely true. Nootropic supplements generally present fairly little risk to users; to quote a 2022 review, they're "usually very well tolerated," and their side effects are "uncommon and ... rarely serious."35

However, no dietary supplement is completely safe for everyone. Certain ingredients in Vyvamind's formulation can pose health risks to specific populations.

For example, we know that L-theanine can interact with certain classes of drugs, such as benzodiazepines (e.g., lorazepam, diazepam) and nonbenzodiazepines (e.g., zolpidem),11 and combining Vyvamind with any such medication could exacerbate drowsiness and increase the risk of harm to yourself or others.

Vyvamind's caffeine content may pose a hazard as well. As popular as caffeine may be, many people overuse it, and those who are caffeine-sensitive should restrict their intake only to very small doses. The Mayo Clinic places the safe limit of consumption at 400mg per day, or about four small cups of coffee, for non-sensitive users.36 The threshold for the caffeine-sensitive population is much lower, such that even one cup of coffee could be too much. Be mindful, too, that you could be more sensitive to caffeine than you realize, especially if you're older or have a panic disorder.12 13

If you are caffeine-sensitive but wish to try a nootropic, it may be worth considering caffeine-free brands like Noocube, Mind Lab Pro, or Thesis. Should you choose Thesis, know that you'll have to toggle the caffeine-free option when you put together your order. (However, even if you accidentally order Thesis with caffeine, it’s housed — along with L-theanine — in a separate, distinctively white pill that you can just skip taking.)

Also, as always, we recommend that you speak with your primary care provider before adding Vyvamind or any nootropic to your regimen. Their knowledge, training, and familiarity with your medical history can help them guide you to the best supplement for your needs.

Third-party testing?

We couldn't confirm whether Vyvamind subjects its product to third-party testing, a standard safety measure for verifying purity and labeling.37 Attempts to clarify the issue with customer service came to naught, and the closest things we could find on the company website were statements about "investing a lot of capital into clinical testing," being "Graded Safe and Effective [sic]," and production taking place in "FDA-compliant facilities with cGMP approval." The cGMP approval is reassuring because it speaks to appropriate controls of manufacturing processes,14 but we'd have liked some information about analysis by unbiased parties.

We can't disconfirm Vyvamind's safety protocols, either; there simply isn't enough information to go on. Possibly, the relative absence of safety information is due to the cobbled-together nature of the Vyvamind website, which is a problem we discuss at length in a later section ("Our Vyvamind customer experience"). We hope the company rectifies the informational absence sometime in the future, preferably sooner rather than later.

Vyvamind is suitable for any non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding adult who engages in focus-centered activities. We’re talking about a large target audience that encompasses students as well as professionals in various fields, including but not limited to:

Basically, if your occupation requires long hours of thought or concentration, Vyvamind may help, especially if you struggle with staying focused on your tasks.

Who should avoid Vyvamind?

As we discussed earlier, there are populations for whom Vyvamind could cause harm, namely people who are:

• Pregnant or planning to become pregnant
• Breastfeeding
• On certain prescription medications
• Sensitive to specific ingredients

If any of that sounds like you, you should either avoid nootropics altogether or seek an alternative without any contraindicated ingredients. (But definitely check with your doctor first before starting any new supplements.)

Even some subsets of people in focus-centered work would be better off with an alternative. A good example would be people diagnosed with certain forms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For them, an over-the-(digital)-counter nootropic isn’t likely to provide much benefit, or at least not to the degree that combined therapy and prescription medication can.38

To illustrate, one of our testers, who takes a prescription ADHD medication, had to switch to Thesis Logic for about a week because of a med shortage. They experienced a fair bit of symptom relief, but the nootropic didn’t help as much as the prescription.

As of October 2024, a single 60-capsule (30-serving) bottle of Vyvamind costs $74.99, which works out to around $2.50 per serving. It's a lot but also roughly in line with direct competition at the base level. Noocube and Mind Lab Pro are only about $5-$10 less, while Thesis costs $44 more as a one-time purchase.

In contrast with Thesis and Noocube, Vyvamind doesn’t deal in subscriptions. Instead, the company lets you bundle your purchase in two- and three-bottle orders. The website says the bundles save you $24.02 and $36.03, respectively, but the math is way off. Really, only the three-bottle option amounts to a discount, but it's less than half the advertised amount. This table lays it out:

The three-bottle bundle is your best bet if you can manage the up-front cost, as it brings the per-unit price down to match Mind Lab Pro. Also, because Vyvamind is available only as a one-time purchase through the company website, it would save you the hassle of re-upping your supply every one or two months.

Noocube and Mind Lab Pro also offer bundling options. Mind Lab Pro follows a similar structure to Vyvamind, with a discount applied only to the top bundling tier. Noocube, on the other hand, offers savings at every level, including one-bottle orders when purchased on subscription. We provide the cost breakdowns for Noocube and Mind Lab Pro, as well as Thesis, in their respective subsections under "Alternatives to Vyvamind."

Shipping and returns

All Vyvamind domestic orders ship for free, as with Thesis and Noocube. Vyvamind claims to ship internationally, but only the United States appears in the Country/Region drop-down list on the checkout screen. Either overseas customers need to contact Vyvamind to get their orders through, or international shipping really isn't available at this time.

Vyvamind's return policy allows for returns within a 30-day window from the date of receipt. The return window is 16 days longer than Mind Lab Pro's and the same length as Thesis', but a whole month shorter than Noocube's. Confusingly, Vyvamind's policy states the item must be "unworn or unused, with tags" to be eligible for a return. We assume that means your order must be unopened (and that Vyvamind copied its policy from some boilerplate but never adapted it to the company).

The return process begins with you emailing Vyvamind to request a refund. If Vyvamind accepts your request, it'll send you a return shipping label, which is a plus. Vyvamind will then inspect your item to make a final determination of its refund eligibility. Any refund is credited to your original payment method.

Our Vyvamind customer experience is a multi-parter. Much of it was unsatisfactory, but it was good where it mattered most. Here's how it went:

Navigating the website

A company's website is one of the most important interfaces between the brand and its target audience. A positive user experience (UX) often informs a person's impression of the company and determines whether they convert to a customer.

Having said that, we felt that Vyvamind’s website left a great deal to be desired when we first encountered it. The first thing we noticed was the lack of basic functionality. At the top of the main page are six navigation links:

• "Order Vyvamind"
• "Research and Formulation"
• "Vyvamind Reviews"
• "Blog"
• Search (magnifying glass icon)
• Shopping cart (shopping bag icon)
• Account (silhouette icon)

Only three of them actually worked. "Order Vyvamind" jumped us to the relevant section on the main page, while "Blog" and the shopping cart took us to their respective internal pages — but the others did nothing. Even the working nav links weren't always accessible, depending on which page we clicked from. If we were in the blog or the shopping cart, the "Order Vyvamind" link went nowhere.

(Note: Sometime after our initial encounters with the site, Vyvamind seems to have repaired some of the nav link functionality. “Research and Formulation” and “Vyvamind Reviews” now jump you to different areas of the main page, too. The Search and Account options still do nothing, though.)

Elsewhere, certain subtle details in the website copy stood out as odd. We talked about this already in the previous section, "How much does Vyvamind cost?": The bundle "savings" don't make sense arithmetically, and the return policy seems to refer to clothing. It was all unprofessional to the point of seeming suspect.

Contacting Vyvamind

You'll not find an email address or a link to a customer service portal on the main page. You have to read through either your order confirmation email or the company’s Privacy, Shipping, or Refund Policy to find any contact information.

Obscuring the contact information isn’t a move that inspires confidence in Vyvamind's customer service. To say the least, it adds a thick layer of inconvenience concerning overseas orders and return requests, actions that require emails to initiate. We hope the company considers redesigning its site to make relevant information more visible and the site itself more functional.

By the way, we did send an email asking whether the nav-link issue could be fixed. To Vyvamind's credit, we received a reply in less than 24 hours. The representative thanked us for submitting our query and said, "We will surely raise this concern to our team and will do our best to resolve the issue as soon as possible." We appreciate the fast customer service turnaround, and as we mentioned earlier, two of the nav links appear to have been fixed.

We also sent an email asking about the product's safety pedigree, as we wanted to confirm it was third-party tested and that certificates of analysis could be made available. The response turnaround here was three days, which is neither terrible nor great. The representative said they’d check to see whether certificates of analysis were available. At the time of this writing, we’ve yet to hear back on the matter.

Using Vyvamind

Our Vyvamind order arrived in five business days, in a discreet mailer with only the sender's line to suggest its contents. (We're big fans of discreet packaging.) The bottle inside bore a cellophane-wrapped lid, under which was a protective seal and cotton stuffing.

The capsules are on the large side, a little over three-quarters of an inch long and a quarter inch wide at their broadest circumference. If you have trouble swallowing pills, Vyvamind may pose a challenge.

With the product in our possession, we proceeded with our use testing. Here's where the customer experience took a turn for the better.

In the tester’s final opinion, Vyvamind was effective at facilitating motivation and locking them into a task once they started. With regard to their writing work, for example, they felt their mindset became "I'll do a few more paragraphs after this one before taking a break," whereas previously it might have been “I’ll take a break after this paragraph.”

Please note: Our tester's experiences are entirely subjective. People tend to react to supplements differently, so your own experience may differ. Indeed, Vyvamind's Trustpilot page showcases a balance of hits and misses in terms of efficacy.

Also, you yourself may want to avoid doing as our tester did and adjust your caffeine routine to keep from feeling overly energized.

A subpar UX and a lack of safety validation are understandable dealbreakers for many nootropics consumers. Luckily, you'll find no scarcity of Vyvamind alternatives on the nootropics market. Some don't specify their ingredient quantities, which makes it tough to validate their efficacy or even compare their potential to Vyvamind's. That being the case, we focused our list of alternative recommendations on brands that do list their ingredient bills and doses.

Noocube

Noocube's 12-ingredient formulation comes at a relatively low cost. Bought directly through the company website, a single bottle is just $64.99 for a one-time purchase and $55.24 for a subscription — around $10-$20 less than Vyvamind. Bundles are available in three- and five-month supplies, both with subscription options attached. Here's how the bundling works out with prices rounded up to the nearest cent:

The Noocube formulation shares four ingredients with Vyvamind. The B12 (2.5mcg), L-tyrosine (250mg), and L-theanine (100mg) are in lower but still clinically relevant doses. There’s also a branded form of choline called VitaCholine at a 250mg dose, a bit higher than Vyvamind’s citicoline.

The eight other ingredients have good amounts of research backing to support them, but several of Noocube's doses are subclinical:

If we’ve piqued your interest in Noocube, consider reading our full Noocube review.

Mind Lab Pro

Mind Lab Pro as a single-bottle order costs $69 — or $5 less than Vyvamind. As we said, the pricing structure is similar to Vyvamind's. There are no subscriptions, and the first bundling tier is just two bottles at the normal cost per bottle ($138 total). Only the top tier introduces a 25% discount, giving you four bottles for $207, or $51.75 per bottle. Shipping runs high at around $10, except at the top bundling tier, which also gives you free shipping.

Mind Lab Pro has some ingredients in common with Vyvamind and Noocube:

• Vitamin B6 (2.5mg): the same as Vyvamind
• Vitamin B12 (7.5mcg): more than Noocube but less than Vyvamind
• L-Theanine (100mg): the same as Noocube, less than Vyvamind
• L-Tyrosine (175mg): less than Vyvamind and Noocube, but provided in a form that’s more easily absorbed in the body, N-acetyl L-tyrosine
• Bacopa monnieri (150mg): less than Noocube
• Citicoline (250mg): more than Vyvamind

The rest of its ingredient bill looks like this:

Taken as a whole, the Mind Lab Pro formulation has the potential to improve learning and memory, but Vyvamind, Noocube, and Thesis seem like brighter options. To learn more, read our full Mind Lab Pro review.

Thesis

Thesis is the most expensive recommendation in this review. A one-time purchase costs $119, which is roughly 41-84% more than Vyvamind, Noocube, or Mind Lab Pro. A subscription drops the price precipitously to $79, which is still costlier but much more in line with the competition. You can subscribe and cancel before your next shipment to approximate a discounted one-time purchase, and you’ll be charged no penalty.

Even with the higher cost, Thesis remains one of our favorite nootropic products. There are six different Thesis blends, each formulated for a different effect:

• Clarity: enhanced focus, attention, and ability to enter the flow state
• Creativity: inspiration and confidence with increased verbal fluency
• Logic: better memory, deep thinking, and processing speed
• Energy: increased energy and focus, less fatigue
• Motivation: increased willpower, ability to tackle tasks, and capacity to manage stress
• Confidence: calmness, mental flexibility, and soothed nerves

We have a dedicated Thesis review that explores each blend based on research and our use of them. See how Thesis earned its place as our favorite cognitive-enhancing supplement on the market.