How Much Does CBD Oil Cost?
The cost of CBD oil depends on several factors and prices vary greatly between manufacturers, but the truth is that CBD products will never be cheap.
That’s because producing high-quality CBD oil requires organic hemp, advanced extraction technologies, and meticulous testing in laboratories to ensure the final product is potent and safe.
So, how much does CBD oil cost?
The price of CBD oil can range anywhere from $20.99 to $400. There are different potencies, sizes, and formulas to consider.
CBD is one of the most desired health supplements right now, which also affects the cost of CBD products.
In this article, we give you a detailed breakdown of the costs of CBD oil, including the driving factors behind the price and how to calculate it yourself.
Why Quality Is the Most Important When Buying CBD Oil
Due to the foggy legal status of cannabis and contradictory laws between individual states and the federal government, hemp-derived CBD products aren’t officially regulated.
Of course, they’re legal, but no federal administration controls the quality standards in the industry.
CBD is generally in the same bucket as other health supplements, meaning that CBD companies can get away with far-reaching claims and not deliver the expected purity.
According to a study conducted by Leafreport in 2022, 44% of CBD products advertised to contain broad or full-spectrum CBD were mislabeled.
That’s an almost 30% drop since a 2017 report by Penn Study that indicated nearly 70% of cannabidiol extracts contained less CBD than advertised or were contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, solvents, or mold.
Still, it’s not a figure anyone should be proud of.
Since there are no universal rules to abide by, some companies provide a higher level of transparency than others, which requires them to invest more money in quality-control procedures.
These investments are reflected in the prices of such products.
Why Some CBD Oils Cost More than Others
The process of making CBD oil is expensive. From farming to extraction to laboratory testing, each stage requires high-grade equipment and knowledgeable specialists to produce a high-quality extract.
That’s why CBD oils tend to have higher price tags than most supplements sold over-the-counter.
High-quality full-spectrum CBD products can have a profound effect on your health, improving your daily life on many levels. On the other hand, sub-par CBD oils with cheap ingredients may pose a real threat to your safety.
Manufacturers must ensure the top-shelf quality of hemp plants, use safe extraction methods like CO2 or ethanol, and hire qualified professionals to run the process correctly.
Finally, a third-party lab should analyze the content of the tested sample, both in terms of its potency and purity.
As you can see, there are many steps involved, so expecting a cheap CBD product that will be safe and improve your health at the same time is a pipe dream.
Prices and Cost of CBD Oil
Contrary to a popular belief, calculating the cost of CBD oil is relatively easy. Once you know it, you can compare the price with products from competitor brands to make an educated decision.
In order to learn how much your CBD oil costs, you need to figure out the price for one milligram of CBD. This figure is paramount for our calculation because it tells you right away if your product is affordable. The formula, size, consumption method, and additional ingredients are the secondary features.
All it matters is how much CBD your money can afford.
How much does a milligram of CBD cost in general?
Usually, it’s between $0.04 and $3.00 per mg. This range can be narrowed down when you compare different brands and their products using that parameter.
In the next section, we focus on the factors that affect the price of CBD products.
Main Factors Impacting the Cost of CBD
The total price of CBD oil is affected by the quality of the ingredients.
The following can help you choose a high-quality CBD product:
- The source of hemp
- Extraction method
- Potency
- Additional ingredients
- Certificates of Analysis
Premium CBD products usually cost more than regular market value because they’re made according to the highest standards, such as organic hemp, supercritical CO2 extraction, and triple lab testing at different stages of production.
The good news is that such brands often go above and beyond to make their products as affordable as possible — hence regular discounts, reward programs, bulk pricing, and coupon codes from partners.
Sometimes, you can pay the same amount of money, or even less, for a seemingly less expensive product from a brand that doesn’t pay so much attention to the aforementioned details.
Hemp Source
How much your CBD oil will cost depends heavily on the source of hemp. The best CBD oils are extracted from non-GMO, pesticide-free hemp. Growing organic plants without toxic boosters is more expensive than mass farming, so CBD oil from organic hemp will cost more than products sourced from mass-produced plants.
If the company uses other organic ingredients in the formula, the price is likely to increase even more.
Fortunately, hemp has become very popular in the U.S. since the introduction of the 2018 Farm Bill, so high-quality plants are now less expensive than a few years ago.
As the market continues to grow, the average price of high-quality hemp will drop — and so will the prices of CBD products.
Extraction Method
There are many potential extraction methods when it comes to CBD oil, from hydrocarbons to steam distillation, alcohol extraction, and CO2 extraction.
CO2 is by far the most respected technology because it yields pure and consistently potent products without using toxic solvents or high temperatures.
Therefore, CO2-extracted CBD oil will cost more than the one made with butane, ethanol, or olive oil. The cost of the machinery required to run CO2 extraction ranges between $135,000 and $150,000, so if a company uses this technology, it’s an indicator it cares about the quality of its products.
Hydrocarbons are currently the cheapest extraction method, but they’re also the most dangerous. On top of being highly flammable, these compounds are also difficult to purge, so there’s a risk that you’ll receive a product with toxic solvent residue at the bottom.
Potency
The potency of your CBD oil tells you how many milligrams of CBD is inside the bottle. The higher the potency, the more effective it may be in addressing your symptoms. High-strength CBD oils are also good for larger users or those who know their optimal dosage range and would like to choose a potency that will make their supplementation the most affordable in the long run.
High-potency CBD oils usually cost more than their low-strength counterparts, but the price per mg of CBD is actually lower. In other words, buying a product with more milligrams of CBD per bottle can be more affordable in the long-term perspective.
Additional Ingredients
Most of the time, you’ll come across regular CBD oils whose ingredients include just hemp extract and carrier oil.
These products aren’t usually super-expensive because they use a well-known formula that doesn’t require additional twists.
However, some brands make really well-thought-out formulas that combine various supplementary ingredients and enhance the overall efficacy of the product.
For example, think of CBD oils infused with specific terpenes and vitamins, such as a combination of CBD, MCT oil, limonene, pinene, and vitamin D + K2. If these additional ingredients come from natural sources, their price goes up as well.
Laboratory Testing
Any reputable CBD manufacturer should send samples of its products to an independent laboratory for examination. These labs will analyze the contents of the product, including the potency of CBD, the cannabinoid and terpene profile, and the presence of common contaminants, such as pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and solvents.
Once the product has passed the testing, it should receive a certificate of analysis (COA), which is a form of a lab report with the results for the following metrics.
Other Factors That Could Increase the Price of CBD Oil
The company’s reputation is also an important factor affecting how much your CBD oil will cost. When you choose a premium company with a stellar reputation, you may expect a higher price for their products.
However, top-league brands deliver organic ingredients, well-crafted formulas, reward programs, subscription deals, and more. They also use environmentally friendly extraction methods, spend more time testing their products, and offer remarkable customer service.
There’s also a correlation between the price of CBD and the place you’re getting it from. For example, online stores offer lower prices for their products because there’s no middleman involved. But, if you prefer to shop for CBD somewhere near you, a visit to the nearest dispensary can also be fruitful.
Estimating the Cost per Milligram for CBD Oil
When it comes to high-quality CBD oils, these products cost from $0.09 up to $0.17 on average. The low end is somewhere around $0.05, whereas some formulations may cost you upwards of $0.20 per mg of CBD.
How Much Do CBD Capsules Cost?
CBD capsules usually contain between 10 mg and 50 mg of CBD. The higher the strength, and the more capsules in the bottle, the lower the price for one mg of CBD, even though you may pay more for the entire product. The average cost of CBD capsules is $0.09 – $0.13 per mg. These can cost as low as $0.04 per mg up to $0.20.
How Much Do CBD Gummies Cost?
The cost of CBD gummies is similar to capsules. They also contain similar amounts of CBD, from 10 mg to 50 mg per serving. Prices vary between $0.09 and $0.20 per mg of CBD. A jar of CBD gummies usually contains 30 pieces, although some brands offer 60-count and 120-count containers. Just like oils and vapes, larger volumes give you a lower price per mg of CBD.
How Much Do CBD Vapes Cost?
The potency of CBD vapes revolves around 500 mg and 1000 mg of CBD per vape pen. Disposable vape pens – the ones you can throw out after emptying the cart – cost between $0.15 and $0.25 per mg of CBD. Reusable units are more expensive, starting from $0.60 up to $0.75 per mg.
How Much Do CBD Topicals Cost?
CBD topicals are available in various formats, including creams, roll-on sticks, salves, gels, and lotions. These products are typically formulated to help with problematic areas of the body, such as inflammation, bruising, swelling, itching, or various skin issues. They cost between $0.07 and $0.10 per gram on the low end and upwards of $0.30 for the fancier formulas. The average cost of CBD topicals is around $0.12 – $0.19 per mg. You can find them in 1–4 oz. containers, with up to 2000 mg of total CBD.
Tips on Saving Your Money When Buying High-Quality CBD Oil
Wondering how you can cut down on the cost of your CBD oil?
Let’s summarize what we’ve said in the previous sections:
- Choose high-potency options
- Order from online stores
- Buy in balk
- Subscribe to newsletters
- Join reward programs
- Use seasonal coupon codes and discounts
Wrapping Up the Cost of CBD Oil
High-quality CBD oil isn’t cheap to produce, so be prepared to spend more on such products than on your average OTC health supplements.
If you see a brand claiming to offer premium CBD oils for a bargain price, this can mean two things: either it’s Black Friday or you’re being scammed.
There are many companies selling cheap, low-quality CBD oils just to take advantage of the aforementioned lack of regulation and education among some customers.
Does it mean it’s impossible to find a decent CBD product without breaking the bank? Is there no middle ground between throwing yourself in the hands of scammers and spending a fortune for a 30-mL bottle of a plant-based extract?
Of course, there is – you just need to do some research.
When shopping for CBD oil, remember that its cost is influenced by several factors, from hemp farming to extraction methods to third-party testing, additional ingredients, and the brand’s reputation.
Always ask for certificates of analysis with results for the potency and purity of your CBD oil. Only then can you confirm that what you see on the website is the exact product you’re buying.
Reputable brands will have higher prices on their CBD oil, but there are a lot of opportunities for saving money on your purchases, such as the aforementioned discounts, bulk pricing, or reward programs.
Another way to try different products without risking your money is to choose CBD oils from brands that offer some form of a money-back guarantee. It’s another sign that a company strongly believes in the quality of its products.
