Swolverine vs 1st Phorm Review: Weighing in on Two Top Fitness Brands

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If you’re an athlete or fitness enthusiast striving to reach peak potential, you’ve likely come across lifestyle brands offering supplements, nutrition and other gear designed to enhance overall health and athletic performance. But with all the options and clever marketing campaigns out there, it can be hard to know which brand will suit your unique fitness needs.

Swolverine and 1st Phorm are two popular athletic lifestyle brands that produce supplements and apparel, but they have a few key differences. To help you determine which is right for you, we compared each company’s top products. We considered ingredient quality, dosing, customer feedback, cost and benefits to help you determine which brand is right for your fitness and physique goals.

This content is meant to be informative, but should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention or treatment of health problems. Always speak with your doctor before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen.

What’s the Difference Between Swolverine and 1st Phorm?

History and offerings

Swolverine is a woman-owned company founded in 2018 with a mission to create evidence-based supplements designed to improve athletic performance. Since then, Swolverine has become a trusted athletic lifestyle brand, and now offers a wide range of high-quality supplements, including protein powders, BCAAs, multivitamins and pre-workouts. It also sells apparel, training programs, gym gear, nutrition coaching and more.

In regards to its line of supplements, Swolverine puts a strong emphasis on its commitment to sourcing quality ingredients. The brand claims to use effective doses of evidence-based ingredients to improve athletic performance. Its product line is also free from proprietary blends, so you can see exactly what you’re putting in your body. This is in contrast to a largely unregulated supplement industry saturated with under-dosed and therefore ineffective products. Swolverine also stands by its commitment to quality, submitting its products for third-party testing by a laboratory that’s NSF-certified. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is a public health and safety organization with strict standards and procedures for product testing.

Founded nearly a decade earlier in 2009, 1st Phorm is another established name in the performance supplement space. Like Swolverine, it’s a fitness lifestyle brand that offers supplements and apparel. But 1st Phorm sells far more non-supplement-specific merchandise, including clothing, gym bags, lifting accessories, shaker cups and more. 1st Phorm even has an app offering an array of different workout plans, macro-tracking and social features to help foster your fitness community.

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When it comes to its supplements, 1st Phorm says its products are “the highest quality supplements you’ll ever put in your body.” However, 1st Phorm uses artificial ingredients including flavors, sweeteners and colors in its products, so that’s a tough quote to justify. It does follow a strict sourcing profile in which it requires every ingredient that enters its manufacturing facilities to be third-party tested and come with an accompanying certificate of analysis (CoA) demonstrating it meets FDA standards for microbial content, heavy metals, solvents, pesticides and more. 1st Phorm also offers a “110%” money-back guarantee if you’re not completely satisfied with its products.

Quality and ingredients

Both companies tout a commitment to quality ingredients and have accreditations to back up their claims.

Swolverine products are all third-party tested by an NSF-certified inspected facility, according to its website. The brand prides itself on transparency, so it never uses proprietary blends, and ingredient lists and dosages can be found on each product’s nutrition label. Swolverine also mentions it prioritizes ingredients found in “real food” (like fruits and veggies), and all its supplements are non-GMO, gluten-free and research-backed to enhance performance. While the majority of products from Swolverine are completely artificial-ingredient free, its whey protein isolate does contain the artificial sweetener sucralose.

1st Phorm says it takes its chemists years to perfect its supplements, and that they have all been “tasted and tested hundreds of times” for taste, consistency and results. All 1st Phorm supplements are produced in SQF Level-3-certified facilities (SQF is a food safety certification by the NSF). 1st Phorm’s website provides detailed information about the exact formulations of all its products, and you can see where ingredients—such as artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors—are used.

Swolverine and 1st Phorm have a few key differences in the ingredients they use. Swolverine mainly uses stevia as a sweetener, while 1st Phorm uses both sugar and various artificial sweeteners. Both brands claim they don’t use fillers, but some of 1st Phorm’s ingredients, like soy lecithin, could be considered a filler.

Swolverine and 1st Phorm have slightly different flavor options, but both offer a fair amount of choice. Those after more unusual flavors will likely prefer 1st Phorm, which has flavors like Root Beer Float and Loop D Fruit (similar to Fruit Loops).

Pricing

Overall, the prices between Swolverine and 1st Phorm products are very similar. They cost a bit more than the budget-friendly products you might find at your local Walmart or CVS, but they’ve both been third-party tested. For example, let’s compare the whey protein isolate supplements from both companies.

Swolverine’s whey protein isolate is priced at $62.99 for a 30-serving container. This product contains 110 calories and 26 grams of protein per serving. On the other hand, 1st Phorm’s whey protein isolate, known as Phormula-1, is available for $64.99 but contains 32 servings per container. This product has between 100 and 110 calories depending on the flavor chosen, but always includes 20 grams of protein. As you can see, the products are almost identical in terms of price point, calories and number of servings. Swolverine just comes out slightly on top in terms of overall protein content per serving, while 1st Phorm offers consumers a wider range of flavor options to choose from.

Swolverine and 1st Phorm’s Top-Selling Products

Pre-workout

Swolverine Pre pre-workout comes in two flavors: Mango Lemonade and Strawberry Dragonfruit. What’s unique about Swolverine Pre is that it’s non-stim, meaning it’s completely caffeine-free and therefore a great option for individuals who train in the evening and want to avoid any issues falling asleep. This evidence-backed, well-dosed dietary supplement has 3,200 milligrams of beta-alanine, 5,000 milligrams of citrulline malate and 2,500 milligrams of betaine anhydrous, plus carnitine, taurine, pomegranate fruit powder, coconut water and ginseng (the last three pack in a nice punch of antioxidants). It’s designed to enhance recovery and endurance, boost nitric oxide production and improve power output. And it’s free from preservatives, artificial ingredients and additives. It costs $54.99 for 25 servings.

Similar to Swolverine Pre, 1st Phorm’s Project-1 Pre-Workout formula is designed to improve energy levels and athletic performance; however, it’s highly caffeinated, containing 300 milligrams of caffeine per serving. Project-1’s ingredient list is also a bit more robust, as it contains slightly more citrulline malate (6,000 milligrams), the same amount of beta-alanine (3,200 milligrams) and betaine anhydrous (2,500 milligrams), but also includes 5,000 milligrams of creatine monohydrate, as well as, L-tyrosine, alpha-GPC, L-theanine, theobromine and more. Available in three flavors, Candy Burst, Melon Berry and Berry Lemonade, Project-1 is also priced at $54.99, though it contains only 20 servings per container.

Overall, the two pre-workout powders are very similar, containing the key active ingredients you want to see in a pre-workout supplement at similar dosage levels. Whether you choose to go with one versus the other should be dependent on your personal health and fitness goals. Project-1 definitely has more of the nootropic ingredients geared toward focus and intensity in the gym and would likely suit a bodybuilder quite well. On the other hand, the supplemental ingredients in Swolverine Pre are centered around an improved electrolyte balance and hydration and may be better suited for individuals with athletic performance goals.

Protein powder

Swolverine offers several protein powders, including vegan protein, collagen protein, whey protein isolate and more. Its grass-fed whey protein isolate comes in five flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter, Mint Chocolate Chip and Strawberry. It has 26 grams of protein, less than one gram of carbohydrates and 110 calories per serving. It also contains the digestive enzymes papain and protease to maximize digestion and absorption in the body. It’s a keto-friendly option, and retails for $62.99 with 30 servings per container.

1st Phorm also offers consumers a diverse array of protein powders to choose from, such as its Level-1 meal replacement powder, Phormula-1 whey protein isolate (now available in Phormula-1 Natural, which is totally artificial-ingredient free), collagen protein and Vegan Power Pro. The brand’s Level-1 Meal Replacement Protein Powder has 140 calories per serving, seven carbs and 24 grams of protein. Despite the name, I wouldn’t classify Level-1 as a meal replacement powder due to its low overall calorie content. If I were to use this as a meal replacement shake, I would create a shake with fruit, greek yogurt and some chia seeds to help bump up the calories. Level-1 comes in 12 flavors, including Pumpkin Spice Latte, Blueberry Muffin and Red Velvet Cake. There are 30 one-scoop servings per container, and it’s currently priced at $59.99.

Similar to the pre-workout powders, both 1st Phorm and Swolverine offer a variety of protein powder supplements to choose from. They are also priced within a few dollars of one another and come with similar calorie and macronutrient profiles. In terms of which one is right for you, I consider the different flavor options available and the use of artificial ingredients when making my choice.

Creatine

Swolverine’s Creatine Monohydrate has 60 servings per container, with a serving size of five grams. Swolverine claims its creatine will increase strength, muscle size and improve athletic performance. It is only offered in an unflavored version, and you can purchase it for $49.99.

1st Phorm’s Micronized Creatine Monohydrate has five grams of creatine per serving. The brand offers 50 servings for $23.99 or 100 servings for $32.99. 1st Phorm claims its creatine delivers power and strength, supports ATG regeneration and increases muscle cell volume.

In the case of single-ingredient supplements such as creatine monohydrate, I think it’s worth saving the extra cash and going with the cheaper price point, in this case 1st Phorm.

Probiotics

Swolverine’s Probiotix comes with 60 single-serving capsules and 5.75 billion CFUs per serving. Top probiotic strains include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bacillus subtilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus casei. Swolverine claims Probiotix promotes better digestive health, improved brain function and better immunity. It currently retails for $32.99.

1st Phorm also offers a probiotic supplement, claiming its formula promotes a healthy metabolism, immune system and digestive health. It has eight billion CFUs of gut-friendly bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus salivarius. There are 60 one-serving capsules per $34.99 container.

With everything else essentially equal, 1st Phorm’s probiotic supplement includes a few more strains of bacteria and about two billion more CFUs per serving. For these reasons, if I had to choose between the two, I would go with 1st Phorm’s probiotic supplement.

Other Swolverine products

Swolverine offers many other supplements and vitamins targeted to support different concerns. These include greens and reds powders, BCAAs, apple cider vinegar gummies, ashwagandha gummies and much more. A few of the Swolverine products we’ve reviewed include the Swolverine multivitamin and Swolverine Therm, its weight loss support supplement.

Other 1st Phorm products

Other 1st Phorm products include protein bars, pre- and intra-workouts, multivitamins, fat burners and greens and reds powders. One of the products I’ve personally tried is Opti-Greens 50, a greens powder and one of 1st Phorm’s best sellers. This greens supplement is made from eight organic grasses and greens, including wheatgrass and spirulina and contains phytonutrients, digestive enzymes and probiotics. It is designed to promote a healthy immune system and support gut health, and it may help with bloating. Opti-Greens 50 is priced at $69.99 for 30 servings.

Swolverine vs. 1st Phorm FAQs

Are 1st Phorm and Swolverine reputable companies?

Yes, we believe so. Both companies have accreditations we look for, like third-party testing, and both have gained a steady following with positive reviews on and off their websites. I use products from both Swoverine and 1st Phorm to enhance my training, and endorse their proprietary blend-free and evidence-based formulations.

Are Swolverine and 1st Phorm FDA approved?

The FDA does not currently approve supplements. Instead, the FDA’s role is to regulate the supplement industry as a whole and address any issues with specific products or ingredients. That being said, products from Swolverine and 1st Phorm are produced in FDA-inspected facilities, meaning they are subject to strict safety and quality control guidelines.

Are Swolverine and 1st Phorm products made in the U.S.?

Yes, based on the companies' websites, both Swolverine and 1st Phorm products are manufactured in the U.S. Both companies also submit their products for third-party quality control testing to ensure the supplements you receive are safe to use and effective.

Final Thoughts

Both Swolverine and 1st Phorm prioritize quality and transparency in their products. Swolverine is better for those looking for a streamlined product range focusing on simplicity and purity. 1st Phorm will appeal to those looking for more variations of each supplement, better apparel options and a fitness-tracking app. You really can’t go wrong with products from either supplement company. They are two of the best in the business and contain products that are evidence-based and very similar to one another. Before you make a purchase, consider your specific health and fitness goals, budget and dietary preferences to make the most aligned decision.

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Prices are accurate and items in stock as of publish time.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.