Form Comparison

Nicotinamide vs Nicotinamide Riboside

Q: What is the difference between Nicotinamide and Nicotinamide Riboside?

Nicotinamide has high absorption and low cost; nicotinamide riboside has variable absorption and high cost. Choose nicotinamide when cost matters and you want the precursor with outcome data; choose nicotinamide riboside when you want the best-characterized NAD+ precursor.

How nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside differ in potency, absorption, tolerance, and cost.

This page contains affiliate links. Titrate earns a small commission when you purchase through them, at no cost to you. This does not affect our recommendations.

Quick verdict. Much of an oral NR dose is converted to nicotinamide before reaching tissues, so the gap between them is smaller than the price suggests. Nicotinamide is cheap and is the only NAD+ precursor with a positive phase 3 outcome trial (500 mg twice daily reduced nonmelanoma skin cancers in high-risk patients), though multigram doses have caused liver toxicity. Choose nicotinamide for outcome evidence and cost, and NR if you want the precursor with the most human NAD+ data, accepting that its metabolic trials have been mostly null.

Side by Side

	Nicotinamide	Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)
Absorption	High	Variable
How it is absorbed	Well absorbed and the main circulating NAD+ precursor. It is also what NAD+-consuming enzymes release.	Raises whole-blood NAD+ in a dose-dependent way in humans. Much of an oral dose is converted to nicotinamide before reaching tissues.
Typical dose	500 mg twice daily in the skin cancer trial	250-1,000 mg daily
Common uses	NAD+ support, skin cancer prevention in high-risk patients	NAD+ support
Side effects	No flushing. Doses of several grams daily have caused liver toxicity.	None consistent in trials up to 2 g daily.
Cost	Low	High
Also called	niacinamide	Niagen, nicotinamide riboside chloride

When to Choose Nicotinamide

Choose nicotinamide when cost matters and you want the precursor with outcome data. The only NAD+ precursor with a positive phase 3 outcome trial (fewer nonmelanoma skin cancers). High concentrations inhibit sirtuins in cell studies.

Nicotinamide

Pennies per day and the only precursor with a phase 3 outcome trial, in skin cancer prevention.

What to look for: Nicotinamide (niacinamide) 500 mg tablets. Not nicotinic acid, which causes flushing.

Find on iHerb Affiliate link

When to Choose Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)

Choose nicotinamide riboside when you want the best-characterized NAD+ precursor. The precursor with the most human pharmacokinetic data. Trials in obese men found no improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)

The best-characterized precursor. Reliably raises blood NAD+; clinical benefit is unproven.

What to look for: Niagen or nicotinamide riboside chloride, 250-1,000 mg daily, with third-party testing.

Find on iHerb Affiliate link

Products on Titrate

200 of the 214,745 labels in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database list NMN and NAD+ as an active ingredient (144 on market). 121 are sold as NMN and NAD+ products by name.

Open supplement search

NMN and NAD+ does not have its own search category yet. Each product above links to its full label in the NIH database.

References

Chen AC, Martin AJ, Choy B, et al. A phase 3 randomized trial of nicotinamide for skin-cancer chemoprevention. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(17):1618-1626.

Trammell SA, Schmidt MS, Weidemann BJ, et al. Nicotinamide riboside is uniquely and orally bioavailable in mice and humans. Nat Commun. 2016;7:12948.

Martens CR, Denman BA, Mazzo MR, et al. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):1286.

Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al. A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men: safety, insulin-sensitivity, and lipid-mobilizing effects. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018;108(2):343-353.

Yoshino M, Yoshino J, Kayser BD, et al. Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. Science. 2021;372(6547):1224-1229.

Pencina KM, Lavu S, Dos Santos M, et al. MIB-626, an oral formulation of a microcrystalline unique polymorph of beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide, increases circulating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and its metabolome in middle-aged and older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2023;78(1):90-96.