Hiya vs First Day Vitamins: Which One Is Better?

Hiya vs First Day is a pretty popular comparison because both brands appear to make high-quality multivitamins for kids. But when you get past the fancy ads and promotions, which one is actually better?

I’m comparing texture, packaging, price, ingredients, and more in this ultimate throwdown. A winner will emerge!

Hiya vs First Day Vitamin Texture

The first comparison that comes to mind after trying Hiya and First Day vitamins is the texture.

Hiya is a chewable vitamin, very similar to Tums or SweeTARTS. When you bite into the vitamin, it immediately breaks down and starts dissolving on your tongue.

First Day is a gummy vitamin, but it’s not super chewy. I was worried about a gummy texture with toddlers, especially since my niece had a choking incident with gummy bears a few years back.

However, it’s really a non-concern as it starts breaking down as soon as you start chewing.

That said, I still prefer the Hiya chewable texture. There’s absolutely zero concern about choking, and my kids really love it!

So in the texture department, I have to give the upper hand to Hiya.

Related: Don’t Buy Hiya Bedtime Essentials Until You Read This Review

Packaging and Sustainability From Hiya and First Day

Both Hiya and First Day have incredible packaging that promotes sustainability and less waste.

When you first sign up for vitamins, you get a reusable vitamin container. After that, you get refill packets that you simply pour into the vitamin container.

The difference between Hiya and First Day here is that Hiya’s reusable container is a glass bottle, whereas First Day’s seems like a plastic material. I don’t know exactly what it’s made of, to be honest, but it feels and acts like plastic.

I love the idea of glass instead of plastic, but I do worry about dropping and shattering that Hiya container, especially since I interact with it around my toddlers.

So, for the sake of practicality, I’m going to give First Day the win when it comes to packaging.

Hiya vs First Day Price

A big factor for me when comparing vitamins for my toddlers is price. I know I’m not the only one!

Vitamins are a constant thing, and with Hiya and First Day, you’re on a subscription where you pay monthly for your vitamin refill.

Hiya definitely has the leg up, as they give you 50% off your first order, plus their bottles are cheaper than First Day’s.

First Day does not have any discounts for my readers.

So, Hiya definitely wins on price!

After the initial discount ends, here’s a price comparison chart:

	Hiya	First Day
1 kid	$30	$33.15
2 kids	$28 per child	$30.60 per child
3 kids	$25 per child	$26.35 per child
4 kids	$24 per child	$25.50 per child
5 kids	$23 per child	$25.50 per child

Both vitamin brands lower their cost per refill as you add more kids to your monthly subscription.

However, Hiya still wins on price, no matter how many kids you are shopping for.

Hiya vs First Day Sugar and Sweeteners

A big concern for a lot of parents is how much sugar a child’s multivitamin has. The good news with both Hiya and First Day is that neither is loaded with sugar.

However, First Day does contain 2g of sugar whereas Hiya contains 0g. Hiya sweetens its vitamins with monk fruit extract and a touch of mannitol. 

Monk fruit is a super fruit that gets its powerful sweetness from its unique antioxidants, and mannitol is an all-natural sweetener found in fruits and vegetables and suggested by dentists in their fight against tooth decay.

So, when it comes to added sugar, Hiya definitely wins this one.

Hiya vs First Day Age Range

Another important distinction between these vitamin brands – and others on the market – is the age range. First Day is advertised as suitable for ages 4+, whereas Hiya is for ages 2+.

I did give my 2-year-old First Day vitamins, but they’re not labeled for age 2.

If that labeling is important to you, Hiya is the obvious winner. Age 2 is often when toddlers go through a bout of picky eating, so having a vitamin that’s marked as appropriate for that age is nice.

Hiya wins in this category for being suitable for ages 2+.

Hiya vs First Day Marketing Tactics

How a brand markets its products may not seem like a big deal when comparing your options, but I wanted to include this.

First Day’s marketing is aggressive, and their ads have been a bit misleading in the past. They make subtle nudges that their vitamins can help kids with ADHD, tantrums, and behavioral issues.

They have not done any clinical trials on their vitamins, so they cannot make these claims, and they’ve gotten in trouble for it in the past.

You can read more about that here: First Day Kids Vitamins and Behavior, ADHD Claims

Hiya makes no big claims, and their advertising is not aggressive. I really appreciate their honesty and commitment to staying away from claim-based ads.

So Hiya definitely wins this category.

Hiya vs First Day Toddler Approval

You’re out of luck if your toddler or child won’t eat the vitamin.

Good news here: my kids loved both First Day and Hiya vitamins. There were no complaints, and I don’t blame them!

Both of these kid’s vitamin brands taste like candy.

The Hiya vitamins taste less sweet than the First Day brand but they’re truly delicious.

This one is a tie!

Comparing the Included Vitamins

Here is a look at First Day vs Hiya vitamins:

	First Day	Hiya
Vitamin A	✓ (as beta carotene)	✓ (as 65% beta carotene and 35% retinyl palmitate)
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid)	✓	✓
Vitamin D3	✓ (as cholecalciferol from lichens)	✓ (as vegan cholecalciferol)
Vitamin E		✓ (as d-alpha-tocopherol)
Vitamin K (as menaquinone-7)	✓
Vitamin B1	✓ (as thiamine mononitrate)	✓ (thiamin)
Vitamin B2 (as riboflavin)	✓	✓
Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxal-5-phosphate)	✓
Folate	✓ (as L-methyltetrahydrofolate calcium salt)	✓ (as calcium L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate)
Vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin)	✓	✓
Biotin (as d-biotin)		✓
Pantothenic acid (as D-calcium pantothenate)		✓
Calcium (as calcium carbonate)		✓
Iodine (as potassium iodide)		✓
Zinc (as zinc citrate)		✓
Selenium (as selenomethionine)		✓
Manganese (as manganese citrate)		✓

As you can see, Hiya has a lot of vitamins that First Day lacks.

The one that caught my eye was Calcium.

Kids don’t naturally produce calcium, and most kids don’t get what they need from foods alone. Hiya explains that if kids don’t get the calcium they need from food, their body starts “borrowing” calcium from their bones.

Another interesting note is Hiya’s Vitamin A comes in two forms. Hiya says this is because there are two important types of Vitamin A, so they include both. First Day only includes beta carotene.

Hiya also has a slew of other vitamins that First Day does not, including Manganese, which supports metabolism, Selenium, which supports sleep and mood, and Zinc, which supports the immune system.

When you compare First Day and Hiya side-by-side in this way, it’s pretty clear that Hiya is the winner for having a more robust list of included vitamins.

So, Which Children’s Vitamin Brand Wins?

When you look at Hiya vs First Day and compare everything from texture to price to the ingredients, a winner quickly emerges: Hiya!

There’s a reason Hiya is so widely loved by parents and pediatricians.

My family has used and loved Hiya for a long time, and it’s the brand we continue to order from. It gives me peace of mind, my kids love it, and it checks all the boxes.

Don’t forget to snag 50% off your first order!

Read next:

• 8 Best Toddler Multivitamins on the Market (2023)
• Full Hiya review
• Full First Day review
• Hiya vs Juice Plus