The Actives Index / price per gram of active
Every skincare active, ranked by the price of what actually works
The working ingredient in a serum is a commodity. We took every product that discloses its active concentration, computed the price per gram of that active, and ranked them. Below: the cheapest effective dose of 20 actives across 111 disclosed-percentage products — and how far the price of the same molecule stretches.
Widest gap: Tocopherol (Vitamin E) ranges from $2.09 to $237.20 per gram of active — a 114× spread for the same disclosed ingredient.
Antioxidants & vitamin C 3
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) | The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% Serum with Pure L-Ascorbic Acid | 23% | $1.19 | $1.19–$37.91· 25 picks · 32× |
| Ferulic Acid | Trader Joe's Vitamin C Serum | 0.5% | $2.09 | $2.09–$106.00· 6 picks · 51× |
| Tocopherol (Vitamin E) | Trader Joe's Vitamin C Serum | 1% | $2.09 | $2.09–$237.20· 5 picks · 114× |
Brightening & dark spots 4
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) | The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Serum for Oily Skin - 1.0 oz | 10% | $2.03 | $2.03–$50.72· 12 picks · 25× |
| Azelaic Acid | Good Molecules 10% Azelaic Acid Treatment | 10% | $4.06 | $4.06–$14.20· 3 picks · 3× |
| Tranexamic Acid | FARMACY Brighten Up 3% TXA Dark Spot Toner - 4.0 oz | 3% | $9.58 | $9.58–$13.52· 2 picks · 1× |
| Alpha-Arbutin | The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + Hyaluronic Acid for Hyperpigmentation | 2% | $19.44 | $19.44–$25.00· 2 picks · 1× |
Retinoids & firming 4
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retinol (Vitamin A) | The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane, Intermediate Retinol Serum | 0.5% | $62.89 | $62.89–$954.75· 7 picks · 15× |
| Bakuchiol | HERBIVORE MOON DEW 1% Bakuchiol + Peptides Retinol Alternative Eye Cream | 1% | $324.61 | single disclosed pick |
| Retinaldehyde | The Ordinary Retinal 0.2% Emulsion | 0.2% | $496.67 | $496.67–$1066.33· 3 picks · 2× |
| Adapalene 0.1% gel | Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% | 0.1% | $532.67 | $532.67–$733.11· 3 picks · 1× |
Exfoliants & acne actives 5
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glycolic Acid (AHA) | The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating and Brightening Daily Toner - 8.0 oz | 7% | $0.82 | $0.82–$23.87· 9 picks · 29× |
| Benzoyl Peroxide | PanOxyl Acne Treatment Bar with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide | 10% | $0.93 | $0.93–$4.39· 7 picks · 5× |
| Salicylic Acid (BHA) | Pacifica Acne Fighting Body Wash With 2% Salicylic Acid | 2% | $1.13 | $1.13–$68.31· 15 picks · 61× |
| Mandelic Acid (AHA) | The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA Gentle Facial Exfoliating Serum for Hydration | 10% | $2.64 | single disclosed pick |
| Lactic Acid | The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA | 10% | $3.11 | single disclosed pick |
Barrier & hydration 2
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squalane | Good Molecules Squalane Oil | 100% | $0.27 | $0.27–$1.13· 3 picks · 4× |
| Hyaluronic Acid | The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydrating Serum with Ceramides - Hydrating Serum 1.0 oz | 2% | $16.74 | $16.74–$90.17· 3 picks · 5× |
Soothing botanicals & K-beauty 2
| Active | Cheapest verified pick | Disclosed | $ / g active | Range across picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferment Filtrates | MIZON Skin Power Original First Essence | 94.5% | $0.17 | single disclosed pick |
| Rice (Oryza Sativa) Extract | I'm From Rice Toner | 77.78% | $0.24 | $0.24–$46.63· 2 picks · 194× |
What the ranking shows
Three things fall out of the table above, and none of them are what the marketing implies.
The same molecule routinely costs an order of magnitude more from one bottle to the next. Of the 16 actives here with more than one disclosed-percentage product, 8 span a tenfold or wider price range per gram of active, and the median active spans 15.2×. That gap is not a formulation difference — these are products disclosing the same percentage of the same ingredient. It is packaging, brand and margin.
Cheap and effective are not opposites. The least expensive active on this page is Ferment Filtrates at $0.17 per gram; the most expensive is Adapalene 0.1% gel at $532.67. Neither number tells you which one works — that is what the dossier behind each name is for. What it tells you is what you are paying for a gram of the thing doing the work, which is the number no brand prints on the box.
Most of the market refuses to be measured at all. Every active on this page earned its place by having at least one product that publishes its concentration. That is a minority of what is on the shelf: 4 of these 20 actives are held up by a single disclosing product, and the ingredients missing from this page entirely are missing because nobody would say how much they used. Which brands do and don't publish a dose is graded in the Disclosure Scorecard.
Paste a label into the INCI Decoder to find which of these actives a product actually contains, then come back here to see what that gram should cost.
How this is computed
$ / g of active is the product's price divided by the grams of the disclosed active in the bottle (concentration × volume). It is the only honest way to compare a $7 serum and a $70 one: the marketing, the bottle, and the supporting cast differ, but a gram of niacinamide is a gram of niacinamide.
We include only products that publish their active concentration. Formulas that hide the number can't be ranked honestly — which is the entire point of this site (see which brands publish and which don't in The Disclosure Scorecard, or paste a label into the INCI Decoder to spot the actives in any product). Percentages are manufacturer-disclosed; prices are the verified retail price at last check and move over time. Each active links to its full dossier, where every ranked product, the effective-concentration evidence, and where to buy it live.
Get the data: every row on this page, as a file — CSV · JSON (20 actives, 111 disclosed-percentage products)