Best fish oil supplements in Australia in 2024

A comprehensive guide on how to select the best omega-3 supplement for you, including:

  • how to compare omega-3 content between supplements
  • how to find the best value supplement based on "cost per dose"
  • detailed comparison of 57 omega-3 supplements readily available in Australia
  • vegan and vegetarian omega-3 supplements with EPA+DHA (e.g., algae oil)
  • what's a good discount on supplements (and what to be aware of)
  • how to avoid paying a premium for kid's fish oil
  • determining what supplement strength will be most convenient for you

Comparison of omega-3 supplements

Brand Product Source Form Serves per bottle EPA+DHA
per serve
Cost per bottle Cost per
500mg EPA+DHA
Bio Island Cod Liver + Fish Oil Kids Fish Capsules 90 36 32.99 5.09
BioCeuticals UltraClean 85 Liquid Fish Liquid 40 3,440 59.99 0.22
Bioglan Odourless Super Fish Oil Double Strength Fish Capsules 200 600 69.99 0.29
Bioglan Red Krill Oil 1000mg Krill Capsules 60 175 91.99 4.38
Bioglan Red Krill Oil 500mg Krill Capsules 120 88 91.99 4.38
Blackmores Vegan Omega-3 Oil Algae Capsules 120 135 46.99 1.45
Blackmores Odourless Fish Oil 1000mg Omega-3 Fish Capsules 500 300 44.99 0.15
Blackmores Omega Triple High Strength Fish Oil Fish Capsules 150 900 72.99 0.27
Blackmores Fish Oil 1000mg Fish Capsules 200 300 31.99 0.27
Blackmores Odourless Fish Oil 1000mg Fish Capsules 200 300 34.99 0.29
Carlson Elita EPA Fish Capsules 120 1,000 107.86 0.45
Carlson Cod Liver Oil Super 1000mg Fish Capsules 250 180 99.95 1.11
Carlson The Very Finest Fish Oil 1600mg 500ml Fish Liquid 100 1,300 85.49 0.33
Carlson Kid's The Very Finest Fish Oil 800mg 200ml Fish Liquid 80 650 74.9 0.72
Caruso's Triple Strength Fish Oil Odourless Fish Capsules 150 900 64.00 0.24
Caruso's King Krill 1000mg Krill Capsules 60 150 74.00 4.11
Ethical Nutrients High Strength Omega-3 Fish Capsules 220 694 111.95 0.37
Ethical Nutrients High Strength Omega-3 Fish Capsules 120 694 71.95 0.43
Ethical Nutrients High Strength Omega-3 Fruit Punch 280ml Fish Liquid 56 2,827 83.95 0.27
Ethical Nutrients High Strength Omega-3 Fruit Punch 170ml Fish Liquid 34 2,827 55.95 0.29
Free Spirit megaOmega Algae Oil Algae Capsules 20 1,061 88.00 2.07
Free Spirit megaOmega Algae Oil Algae Liquid 33 758 88.00 1.74
GO Healthy Fish Oil 1500mg Odourless Fish Capsules 420 450 55.99 0.15
GO Healthy Fish Oil 2000mg Compact Odourless Fish Capsules 230 600 42.99 0.16
GO Healthy Krill Oil 1500mg Krill Capsules 60 263 84.99 2.70
Healthy Care Fish Oil 1000mg Omega 3 Fish Capsules 400 300 20.99 0.09
Healthy Care Odourless Fish Oil 2000mg Fish Capsules 400 600 49.99 0.10
Healthy Care Triple Strength Fish Oil Fish Capsules 150 900 31.99 0.12
Healthy Care Fish Oil + Vitamin D Fish Capsules 200 300 18.99 0.16
Healthy Care Wild Krill Oil 1000mg Krill Capsules 60 175 29.99 1.43
Melrose Omega Fish Oil Health & Heart 500ml Fish Liquid 100 1,353 29.95 0.11
Metagenics MetaPure Algal Oil Algae Capsules 60 450 69.95 1.30
Microgenics Fish Oil 2000mg Odourless Fish Capsules 340 600 34.99 0.09
Microgenics Omega 3 Triple Strength Fish Oil Fish Capsules 150 930 26.99 0.10
Nature's Own Fish Oil 4 in 1 Concentrated with Omega 3 Fish Capsules 90 503 35.99 0.40
Nature's Own Odourless Fish Oil 1500mg Fish Capsules 500 450 42.99 0.10
Nature's Way Fish Oil 1000mg Fish Capsules 200 300 19.00 0.16
Nature's Way Advanced Omega Triple Strength Fish Oil Fish Capsules 60 900 25.00 0.23
Nature's Way Kids Smart Bursts High DHA Omega-3 Fish Oil Fish Capsules 180 161 53.49 0.92
Nature's Way Kids Smart Bursts High DHA Omega-3 Fish Oil Fish Capsules 50 161 17.49 1.09
Naturopathica Vegan Omega 3 Algae Capsules 60 53 30.99 4.92
Nordic Naturals Algae Omega Algae Capsules 30 585 47.80 1.36
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Fish Capsules 180 1,100 141.25 0.36
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Fish Capsules 60 1,100 56.50 0.43
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega 119ml Fish Liquid 24 2,470 84.75 0.72
Nordic Naturals Children's DHA Liquid 119ml Fish Liquid 48 425 34.25 0.85
Swisse Odourless Wild Fish Oil 1000mg Fish Capsules 500 300 31.99 0.11
Swisse Odourless High Strength Wild Fish Oil 1500mg Fish Capsules 200 450 34.99 0.19
Swisse Odourless Super Strength Wild Fish Oil 2000mg Fish Capsules 200 600 46.99 0.20
Swisse Odourless 4 x Strength Wild Fish Oil Concentrate Fish Capsules 60 1,206 51.99 0.36
Swisse Kids Fish Oil Fish Capsules 60 200 25.99 1.08
Swisse Deep Sea Krill Oil 1000mg Krill Capsules 60 310 36.99 0.99
Therapeia Vegan Omega 3 Marine Algae Oil Algae Capsules 60 400 53.55 1.12
Thompson's Omega 3 Fish Oil Fish Capsules 400 300 64.99 0.27
Wagner Fish Oil 1000 Fish Capsules 400 300 19.99 0.08
Wagner Triple Strength Omega-3 Fish Oil Fish Capsules 150 900 34.99 0.13
Wanderlust Plant Omega 3 Algae Capsules 60 450 71.99 1.33

Focus on the active ingredients when comparing

When comparing supplements, you want to focus on comparing the active ingredients as that's what delivers the health benefit. In fish oil, the key active ingredients are:

  • Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA); and
  • Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Many fish oil supplements simply put the total fish oil content on the front of the bottle (e.g., 1000mg fish oil), but that's NOT the figure you want to use when comparing supplements. You can have very different amounts of EPA and DHA in the 1000mg, especially if you're comparing across sources (e.g., fish oil vs krill oil).

For example, fish oil contains nearly twice as much valuable omega-3 as the krill oil. Standard grade fish oil tends to contain roughly 180mg of EPA and 120mg of DHA per 1000mg of fish oil. In comparison, standard grade krill oil only contains roughly 120mg EPA and 55mg DHA per 1000mg of krill oil.

Getting your recommended omega-3 intake can be expensive

Health guidelines tend to recommend 500mg (0.5 grams) per day of EPA and DHA combined, which adds up to roughly 180 grams per year per person.

If you chose to get your annual 180g of EPA+DHA from eating Australian salmon, then it'd likely cost you over $2,500 per person per year (i.e., assuming 500mg DHA+EPA per 180g serving of Australian salmon at $40/kg). For a family of 4, that's almost $10k per year!

If you instead chose to get your 180g of EPA+DHA from supplements, then it could cost you as little as $30 per person per year, or as much $1,850 per person per year, depending on which supplement you choose!

Compare the cost per dose of EPA+DHA

With the large range of omega-3 supplements on the market in Australia it can get confusing to work out what's the best value option. We've compared over 50 readily available products, but there's still even more out there.

In order to work out the best value option for you, focus on the cost per 500mg dose of EPA+DHA.

While each product will have its own amazing health claims on their label, you can cut through the bullsh!t by focusing on the active ingredients (i.e., EPA and DHA) when comparing omega-3 supplements. You should be able to find the EPA and DHA content (in milligrams) listed on the back label under "Active Ingredients" or "Supplement Facts".

The EPA and DHA content will be quoted in "mg per serving", so you need to be sure to check their definition of a "serving". Most companies keep it simple with 1 capsule = 1 serving, but some companies treat 2 or 3 capsules as a 1 serving. This allows them to pump up the headline EPA and DHA "per serving" on the front label in big text and you only realise they're lower strength capsules when you dig into the fine print on the back label!

While brands may boast about the superior "quality" of their products, a study of fish and krill oil supplements in Australia found that "all products and categories adhered closely to manufacturer specifications and none exceeded chemical guideline thresholds" (Bengtson Nash, Schlabach, and Nichols; 2014), so is there really much point paying more than you have to per dose?

A different study by Heller et al (2018) did find that 33% of the Australian fish oil products tested exceeded the recommended limit for total oxidation. However, I would be cautious about assuming that these brands will consistently have higher oxidation levels than the other brands. In my opinion, the oxidation is more likely to have occurred in the supply chain between the manufacturer and the retailer and therefore the risk of oxidation applies equally to all products. The study’s author noted as much when they indicated “the products found to be exceeding oxidation markers may have been within the acceptable oxidation limits at manufacture. Oxidation may have occurred post-manufacture i.e. in transit to or storage by the retailer, as it is known that fish oxidises rapidly upon storage, particularly when exposed to light”.

Look out for specials, but check the expiry date

You can often find supplements selling well below recommended retail price (RRP). When we completed our latest price check, over half the products were on special and the average discount was just over 30% off the RRP.

If buying products on special, just be sure to check the expiry date on the packaging. Fish oil can oxidise and become rancid over time (esp. with exposure to heat, air, or light). While it's unclear whether rancid fish oil is harmful to consume, it will smell rotten and potentially be less beneficial, so it's probably not worth the risk.

If you're buying a liquid fish oil (rather than capsules), the larger bottles are often cheaper per dose, but you need to check you can actually consume it all within the 2-3 month you typically have once the bottle. While their unopened shelf life may be 2-3 years, you need to keep the liquid product refrigerated once opened and consume it within 2-3 months to avoid it oxidising and potentially going rancid/off.

Avoid paying the kid's premium

If you look at the table above, you'll notice the kid-focused products sell at a serious premium to the normal products. The lowest cost kid's fish oil was $0.72 per dose compared to $0.08 per dose for the normal versions not specifically targeting kids. You're paying almost 10x the price for the same EPA+DHA content!

For a more direct product comparison, let's compare Swisse's basic and kid's products:

  • Swisse's Odourless Wild Fish Oil 1000mg (500 capsules): $0.11 per dose
  • Swisse Kids Fish Oil (60 capsules): $1.08 per dose

Swisse is charging you almost 10x as much for what seems like effectively the same product. The normal version even has dosing instructions for children on the back, so it's not like it's unsuitable for kids. The only difference I can see in favour of the kid's version is the "delicious natural orange flavour"... does that justify a 10x mark-up? If flavouring is important to you, there are plenty of flavoured omega-3 supplements available at roughly $0.10 per dose.

What's convenience worth to you?

While "cost per dose" is the main factor we use when comparing omega-3 supplements, a secondary factor is convenience in terms of dose size.

If you're shooting for 500mg of EPA+DHA per day, then you would have to take two of the standard grade 1000mg fish oil pills per day. If you're already in the rhythm of taking pills daily, then this might be completely fine for you.

If given the choice, I would much prefer to only have to take a supplement once per week (esp. when there's kids involved). As such, I'm willing to pay a slightly higher "cost per dose" in exchange for the convenience. That's why we tend to go for the much higher concentration liquid products that contain closer to your weekly requirement in one serving.

For example, BioCeuticals UltraClean 85 Liquid, which contains 3,440mg of EPA+DHA per 5ml serving while still only costing $0.22 per dose (500mg EPA+DHA). It's nowhere near the cheapest per dose, but it's not a crazy price either and we're significantly more likely to hit our omega-3 targets using this product (compared to trying to remember to take them daily and convince our kids to take supplements every day).

You need to weigh this one up for yourself - what's convenience worth to you? If you decide you want a more concentrated product, you can simply sort the product table by "EPA+DHA grams per dose".

Vegan and vegetarian omega-3 supplements

You can get omega-3 in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from non-marine sources, such as flaxseed oil and chia seed oil. Unfortunately, we humans aren't great at converting ALA into EPA+DHA with research indicating a conversion rate of less than 10-15% (and it differs greatly by person). You'd have to consume very large amounts of these non-marine omega-3s to get the recommended daily intake of EPA+DHA. Research suggests that "flaxseed oil supplementation did NOT offer improvements to baseline/endpoint Omega-3 index (O3I) for the majority of the identified studies and DHA levels were not significantly different to the controls at endpoint".

The good news is that you can jump straight to the source of fish's EPA+DHA with "algal oil". Research indicates that "algal-oil DHA capsules and cooked salmon appear to be bioequivalent". We considered 8 different algae-based oils listed in our review, so you can easily compare dose strength and cost per dose.

Algal oils tend to be considerably more expensive than fish oil at around $1.00-1.50 per 500mg of EPA+DHA, but they still seem to be the best option currently available for vegans and vegetarians looking to increase their EPA+DHA levels.

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