Vyvamind vs Noocube: Which is Better?

Vyvamind and Noocube are two highly popular nootropic supplements advertised as being effective for focus and cognitive performance. Their appeal is in natural ingredients that are safe to take daily, unlike pharmaceutical pills. Every day hundreds of people, if not thousands, use these nootropic supplements in hopes of improving their mental capacities.

But there are some differences between the two.

1. Vyvamind, for one, is all about boosting your focus and productivity. It aims to prevent mental burnout and anxiety while sustaining your productivity. Their marketing pushes it to students and busy professionals.
   
2. Noocube, on the other hand, leans towards broad cognitive enhancement, supporting not just your mental focus, but also sharpening memory, enhancing information processing, reducing brain fog, and even providing eye strain protection.

So how does Noocube compare to Vyvamind? Which one is better? Is Vyvamind safer than Noocube for long-term usage?

Today’s article aims to answer your questions to help you decide which one is better for your memory function, performance, and long-term brain energy. I will also tell you how they compare to other market-leading nootropic supplements.

Brand Reputation

Vyvamind is the brainchild of a relatively recent entrant in the nootropic market called SAP Nutrition. They’re known for their targeted approach to cognitive enhancement.

• While Vyvamind is SAP Nutrition’s flagship product, they also have Nooceptin and several other products in the range, each one designed for specific goals.

The company has seen tremendous growth in 2023 and carved out a niche for itself, especially among students and younger professionals.

Noocube, meanwhile, is a creation of Wolfson Brands (UK) Limited, an established brand in the supplement industry. Wolfson Brands are known for producing various health and wellness products which are often seen in the “top-rated” lists of review websites.

The question is: can Noocube with it’s long-standing industry track-record beat Vyvamind at effectiveness, safety, and overall value for money as a brain supplement? The following section, where I dissect their ingredients in detail, should give us an answer.

Vyvamind vs Noocube Ingredients

Vyvamind and Noocube have three ingredients in common – vitamin B12, l-tyrosine, and l-theanine – but that’s where all similarities end.

While Vyvamind has 6 active ingredients in total, Noocube has 12.

Vyvamind is also caffeinated whereas Noocube is stimulant-free. Choosing the right one for you depends on your preferences.

Let’s take a closer look at the individual ingredients.

Vyvamind has:

• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCl) – 2.5 mg: Supports your brain’s overall health and may reduce stress.¹
• Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) – 50 mcg: A critical nutrient for the nervous system.
• L-Tyrosine – 300 mg: An amino acid that aids in the production of dopamine and noradrenaline, which may help you focus and stay calm during stressful situations.² The dosage may be a bit too high for long-term use as it can potentially deplete serotonin. You would need to take l-tryptophan daily to counteract this.
• Citicoline (Cognizin®) – 200 mg: This is a high-quality form of the brain nutrient choline which enhances brain cell membrane formation, improves memory, and boosts brain energy.
• L-Theanine – 150 mg: An amino acid from green tea known for reducing tension and at the same time improving focus. It achieves this by improving alpha brain waves and GABA which tells your mind it’s time to unwind.³
• Caffeine Anhydrous – 75 mg: A CNS stimulant that enhances alertness and concentration and goes well with l-theanine.

Noocube has:

• Vitamin B1 (from Thiamine HCI) – 1.1 mg: This vitamin is important for nerve, muscle, and heart function. It also assists in the flow of electrolytes in and out of your nerve and muscle cells.
• Vitamin B12 (as Cyanocobalamin) – 2.5 mcg: Just like in Vyvamind, Noocube contains vitamin B12, but in far lower amounts, which is what I prefer for healthy long-term supplementation.
• Biotin (as D-Biotin) – 50 mcg: While you may not notice its benefits (unless deficient), biotin supports healthy brain function and nervous system.
• Choline (from 250mg Choline Bitartrate) (VitaCholine®) – 100 mg: Choline is important for liver function, normal brain development, nerve function, muscle movement, supporting energy levels, and maintaining a healthy metabolism, among others. The problem is, Noocube uses a different form of choline than Vyvamind that, while more effective for liver health, doesn’t absorb as well in the brain.⁴
• Bacopa monnieri Extract (Herb) (Standardized to 20% Bacosides) – 250 mg: This herb is known for improving memory. It does this by enhancing dendrites, small branch-like extensions of your brain cells.
• L-Tyrosine – 250 mg: Compared to Vyvamind, I prefer the lighter dosage of l-tyrosine in Noocube for long-term usage.
• Cat’s Claw Concentrated Extract 4:1 (Uncaria tomentosa) (Bark) – 175 mg: It’s believed to offer neuroprotective benefits and support cognitive health (the key word here is believed, it lacks research).
• L-Theanine – 100 mg: A bit lower dosage than that of Vyvamind.
• Panax Ginseng 8:1 Concentrated Extract [Equivalent to 160mg Panax Ginseng Powder] – 20 mg: Also known as Asian Ginseng, this herb is used to improve thinking, concentration, memory, and work efficiency. The dose is too low here, with the recommended effective dosage ranging between 200-400mg per day.
• Marigold Flower Extract (Tagetes erecta) (Lutemax 2020®) – 20 mg: Unusual but a welcome addition to a nootropic. This ingredient contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which benefit eye health.
• Trans-Resveratrol (Polygonum cuspidatum) (Root) – 14.3 mg: An antioxidant typically found in red wine. Studies show it supports heart health and protects our brain.⁵
• Pterostilbene – 140 mcg: This compound may have similar brain and anti-aging benefits to resveratrol, but it’s less studied; we don’t know much about its long-term effects in humans.

Vyvamind Ingredients: Overview

Vyvamind’s formula is straightforward and concise. It focuses on key ingredients that are known for their immediate impact on cognitive functions such as focus and alertness.

However, it’s missing quite a lot from its formula – including Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Pine Bark Extract, Phosphatidylserine, and other core nootropics – to be called highly effective “neurostimulant” like its website suggests.

Thanks to caffeine, citicoline, and l-tyrosine, you should see a degree of focus and mental energy improvement, but Vyvamind is not on par with the most effective nootropic stacks on the market.

Noocube Ingredients: Overview

Noocube is a winner of this key category in my eyes. It takes a more diverse approach with ingredients that support wide-spectrum cognitive functions and eye health.

With that said, Noocube has flaws of its own; such as using a lower-quality variant of the nootropic choline, along with having some unproven ingredients like Cat’s Claw and Pterostilbene. Additionally, Panax Ginseng, an otherwise effective brain herb, is underdosed in Noocube.

While it’s more comprehensive than Vyvamind, Noocube still manages to omit some of the most effective nootropic ingredients, such as Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Phosphatidylserine, and Pine Bark Extract.

How to Use?

Vyvamind’s recommended dosage is 1 capsule per day when you need a cognitive boost. Avoid taking it within 5 hours or less of going to sleep as it contains the stimulant caffeine.

Noocube’s dosage offers more bang for your buck with 2 capsules per day with breakfast. Since it’s stimulant-free, you can take it later in the day, including with the dinner.

Safety

Vyvamind is generally seen as safe with its well-studied and lightly dosed ingredients. Caffeine is dosed at only 75mg per serving (which is less than an an average cup of coffee), so it shouldn’t give you any jitters or other side effects if you aren’t sensitive to stimulants. If you are, then Noocube is a safer choice.

Noocube also contains mostly well-studied ingredients that aren’t known to cause issues, especially at the dosage ranges of Noocube. Still, Bacopa Monnieri may cause gastrointestinal upset in sensitive people, and some anecdotal reports suggest anhedonia-like effects from Bacopa Monnieri (loss of motivation and feelings of lethargy), this includes myself. However, this seems to be a problem in very rare cases, and only when taken in higher dosages.

Other People’s Thoughts

Vyvamind is well-received amongst other professional reviewers, but real customers have mixed opinions. The product does seem to give mental benefits to many of its users, the degree of which, however, is nowhere near what Vyvamind’s website claims. It’s definitely not an Adderall alternative!

With Noocube, it’s a similar story with mostly positive reviews but also occasional 1-star or 2-star ratings because of either lack of results, or some side effects. If you’ve been in the supplement industry long enough, you realise there’s no perfect supplement. Even the very best of supplements may not work well for some people, and this is simply due to our unique physiologies and how drastically different each of us can react to the same compound.

Pricing & Value

Vyvamind costs $74.99 per bottle of 60 capsules, which is not too bad considering it will last you two months. However, I still expected more ingredients for this kind of price. For such a streamlined formula, it’s definitely not best value on the nootropic market.

Noocube costs $64.99 per bottle of 60 capsules while offering more value in terms of ingredients. But because it uses a cheaper form of choline and some other ineffective ingredients, I rate it a little lower than other competitors at this price range.

Are Vyvamind and Noocube the Best Nootropics Available?

Both Vyvamind and Noocube are premium-priced products, which puts them in a similar bracket as the likes of Mind Lab Pro and Hunter Focus. However, Vyvamind and Noocube can’t compete with either of the two aforementioned nootropics.

If you’re looking to increase your mental performance, including memory, focus, and long-range brain energy, better alternatives can be found with a little research.

References

1. Durrani D, Idrees R, Idrees H, Ellahi A. Vitamin B6: A new approach to lowering anxiety, and depression? Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2022 Sep 15;82:104663. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104663. PMID: 36268413; PMCID: PMC9577631. ↩︎
2. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research; Marriott BM, editor. Food Components to Enhance Performance: An Evaluation of Potential Performance-Enhancing Food Components for Operational Rations. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1994. 15, Tyrosine and Stress: Human and Animal Studies.  ↩︎
3. Nathan PJ, Lu K, Gray M, Oliver C. The neuropharmacology of L-theanine(N-ethyl-L-glutamine): a possible neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing agent. J Herb Pharmacother. 2006;6(2):21-30. PMID: 17182482. ↩︎
4. Synoradzki K, Grieb P. Citicoline: A Superior Form of Choline? Nutrients. 2019 Jul 12;11(7):1569. doi: 10.3390/nu11071569. PMID: 31336819; PMCID: PMC6683073. ↩︎
5. Gu J, Li Z, Chen H, Xu X, Li Y, Gui Y. Neuroprotective Effect of Trans-Resveratrol in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind Trial. Neurol Ther. 2021 Dec;10(2):905-917. doi: 10.1007/s40120-021-00271-2. Epub 2021 Aug 16. PMID: 34402024; PMCID: PMC8571425. ↩︎