NAD+ 500mg vs 1000mg Vials in Canada | Prescott Bio
- nad-plus
- canada
- vial-sizes
- research-use
Key takeaways
- 1000mg vials usually offer better per-mg pricing than 500mg vials from the same vendor.
- Reconstituted NAD+ has a shorter refrigerated shelf life than most peptides — pick a vial size you’ll use up in time.
- This is a sourcing and handling reference, not a dosing or protocol guide.
NAD+ is one of the most common research compounds Canadian buyers ask about, and it typically comes in two main vial sizes: 500mg and 1000mg. This guide covers when each size makes sense and what changes between them mechanically.
What’s the actual difference between the two sizes?
The difference is just the total amount of NAD+ powder in the vial. A 500mg vial contains 500 milligrams of lyophilized NAD+. A 1000mg vial contains 1000 milligrams. Same compound, same lyophilization, same rubber-stopper glass vial format.
Vial physical size scales with content. 500mg vials are typically 5ml or 10ml glass containers; 1000mg vials are usually 10ml or 20ml. The larger physical vial matters when you’re picking reconstitution volume — you can put more water into a 20ml vial than a 5ml one.
Per-mg pricing generally favours the larger size. Buying a 1000mg vial is usually cheaper per milligram than buying two 500mg vials from the same vendor. The exact discount varies but it’s real.
How do the per-mg prices compare?
Rough shape: a 1000mg vial from most Canadian vendors is somewhere in the range of 60-80% of the price of buying two 500mg vials separately. Actual pricing varies by vendor, and specific numbers change over time — check current pricing on the Prescott Bio catalogue at /nad-500-canada and the 1000mg listings on /peptides-canada.
The per-mg savings on the larger vial come from packaging cost, lab handling cost, and shipping cost being roughly fixed per vial regardless of size. Bigger vials amortize those fixed costs over more material.
Whether the savings matter depends on how much material you’ll actually use. Buying a 1000mg vial that expires before you finish it is worse economics than paying more per mg for a 500mg vial you use up.
What reconstitution volume works for each?
Concentration is total mg divided by total ml of water added. For NAD+:
500mg vial reconstitution options:
| Water added | Concentration |
|---|---|
| 2ml | 250mg/ml |
| 5ml | 100mg/ml |
| 10ml | 50mg/ml |
1000mg vial reconstitution options:
| Water added | Concentration |
|---|---|
| 4ml | 250mg/ml |
| 10ml | 100mg/ml |
| 20ml | 50mg/ml |
NAD+ is often used at higher concentrations than smaller peptides because the mg amounts researchers work with are larger. 100mg/ml is a common target. Higher concentrations (250mg/ml) exist but can be tricky to dissolve completely and may saturate near the solubility limit.
What’s the shelf life once reconstituted?
Shorter than most peptides. Reconstituted NAD+ in bacteriostatic water is typically stable for 1-2 weeks refrigerated before noticeable degradation. Some researchers stretch this to 3 weeks with careful cold-chain handling; others rebuild fresh solution every week.
Lyophilized (unopened) NAD+ vials are much more stable — freezer storage at -20°C holds up for years, and refrigerator storage works for many months.
The short reconstituted shelf life is the main practical argument against buying a very large vial size if you’re using it slowly. A 1000mg vial reconstituted all at once has to be used up within a couple of weeks or the remaining material starts degrading.
How do you decide between the two sizes?
Rough decision rule: estimate how much material you’ll use per week, multiply by 2 (the rough reconstituted shelf life in weeks), and pick the vial size that matches. If you use ~250mg per week, a 500mg vial reconstituted all at once matches your consumption. If you use ~500mg per week, a 1000mg vial fits.
If you’re going to use less than the smaller vial size in two weeks, buy the 500mg and accept the higher per-mg price. If you’re using more than that consistently, the 1000mg vial is a better deal.
Some researchers reconstitute part of a 1000mg vial at a time — leaving the rest as dry powder in the vial and adding more water later. This works but requires very careful sterile technique to avoid contaminating the remaining powder. Most people find it simpler to buy the right size for their weekly usage.
What about splitting a reconstituted vial into aliquots?
Some workflows split a freshly reconstituted vial into multiple smaller sterile containers, storing some in the fridge for near-term use and freezing others for later. Freezing NAD+ solution can extend shelf life but introduces freeze-thaw risk each time you thaw an aliquot.
This is more common in research lab settings than in individual research use. It requires additional sterile equipment (aliquot vials, sterile pipettes) and careful documentation of what’s in each aliquot.
For most Canadian buyers, the simpler approach is to pick a vial size that matches consumption and reconstitute all at once.
What about the specific reconstitution mechanics?
Same technique as other lyophilized peptides. Room-temperature vial, alcohol-swabbed stopper, slow water injection down the vial wall, gentle swirl to dissolve.
NAD+ dissolves fairly readily but the larger powder mass in a 500mg or 1000mg vial takes a couple of minutes longer than a small peptide vial. Be patient — persistent gentle swirling beats aggressive shaking.
The solution should be clear or very slightly yellow-tinted. Cloudiness or particulate matter after full dissolution is a batch quality issue, not normal NAD+ behaviour.
Questions Canadian buyers ask about this
Is 1000mg always the better deal?
Only if you’ll use it up before it degrades. If your usage is slow, the extra material in a 1000mg vial goes to waste as it passes its useful reconstituted life, and the per-mg savings evaporate.
Can I freeze reconstituted NAD+?
Some researchers do. Freeze in small aliquots and thaw each individually to minimize repeated freeze-thaw cycles. This extends usable life but adds handling complexity.
How do I know if it’s degraded?
Fresh NAD+ solution is clear to very slightly yellow. Deep yellowing, cloudiness, or precipitate indicates degradation and the vial should be discarded.
Does NAD+ need to be light-protected?
More than average. Store in the original packaging or an opaque container. Light exposure accelerates degradation.
Do both sizes come from the same manufacturer?
Usually — vendors typically source both sizes from the same production, just filled into different vial sizes at packaging. Check batch numbers on the specific vials you receive.
Related reading
- /blog/how-long-does-reconstituted-peptide-last/ — storage timelines
- /nad-500-canada — NAD+ 500mg product page
- /peptides-canada — full Canadian catalogue
Published 2026-08-03. Refreshed as needed.