Pura Vida makes three flavored botanical tablets. The names suggest they're three strengths of the same thing. They aren't — they're three unrelated formulas built for three different jobs, and one of them is misleadingly named.
Here's the straight comparison, with the lab numbers.
The short version
| Uplifting | Tranquil | Calming | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Daytime focus and mood | Evening wind-down | Daily joint comfort |
| Headline ingredients | Lion's mane, saffron, rhodiola | Kava, lemon balm, passionflower | Turmeric, boswellia, ginger |
| Tablets | 5 per bottle, 100 mg each | 5 per bottle, 100 mg each | 10 per bottle, 125 mg each |
| Per bottle | 500 mg | 500 mg | 1,250 mg |
| Box | 6 bottles — $65 | 6 bottles — $65 | 4 bottles — $45 |
| Per bottle | $10.83 | $10.83 | $11.25 |
| Flavors | Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Watermelon Mint — all three lines | ||
Uplifting — the daytime one
Five botanicals plus a proprietary blend. Lab-measured per serving: lion's mane 203.58 mg, bacopa 122.15 mg, L-theanine 91.43 mg, rhodiola 81.43 mg, saffron 11.40 mg.
L-theanine is the ingredient here with the most reliable short-term effect — the calm-alertness compound in green tea. Bacopa works on a different timescale entirely; the memory research consistently takes 8 to 12 weeks to show anything. If you want the detail on what each one has and hasn't been shown to do, we wrote it up: lion's mane, saffron, rhodiola, bacopa and L-theanine, honestly.
Pura Vida Uplifting — box of 6
Tranquil — the evening one, and the one with a warning
Kava root is the anchor: 58.74 mg of total kavalactones per serving, verified by lab, alongside lemon balm 136.36 mg, passionflower 90.91 mg, L-theanine 90.91 mg and chamomile.
This is the only formula in the range that needs a genuine caution. Don't drink alcohol with it, don't take it if you have liver problems, and don't drive after use. The FDA has had a consumer advisory on kava-containing supplements since 2002 over rare reports of severe liver injury. Our kava guide covers what that advisory does and doesn't say, plus noble versus tudei kava and how to read a kavalactone number.
Calming — the misleadingly named one
If you buy Calming expecting to relax, you will be disappointed. It's a joint and antioxidant formula: turmeric 196.08 mg, ginger 98.04 mg, quercetin 98.04 mg, boswellia 49.02 mg, vitamin C 39.22 mg, cat's claw 19.61 mg.
It's also the best value of the three per milligram — 1,250 mg per bottle against 500 mg, for less money. The evidence behind these ingredients is covered in our joint comfort guide.
If you want the evening product, Tranquil is the one, not Calming. We'd rather tell you that than take the return.
What all three have in common
- Independently lab tested. FESA Labs, August 2026. Every formula screened for the full kratom alkaloid panel — mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine both non-detect in all three. Uplifting and Calming are also non-detect for kavalactones; Tranquil is the only one containing kava, by design.
- Gluten free, vegan, natural flavors, made in the USA.
- Each has a proprietary blend as its final ingredient, which the manufacturer does not disclose. We've asked. When we get an answer, it goes on the product pages.
- For adults 21 and over.
The full lab reports are on our lab results page — sample IDs, the analyst's name and the lab's phone number, so you can check them rather than take our word for it.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This article is general information, not medical advice.