RYZE vs Four Sigmatic: Which Mushroom Coffee Should You Buy?
In one line
RYZE vs Four Sigmatic: RYZE is the better daily cup because it is smoother and cheaper — buy it if you want an easy everyday mushroom coffee. Buy Four Sigmatic instead if you want to know exactly how much lion's mane you are drinking, since it is the only one of the two that says.
What this page covers
- RYZE original instant vs Four Sigmatic Think instant packets
- Taste, price per cup, caffeine, disclosure and testing
What it does not cover
- Four Sigmatic's ground and pod lines in detail — see the full review
Side by side
| RYZE | Four Sigmatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 3.4 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Price | $36.00 / 30 | $18.99 / 10 |
| Per serving | $1.20 | $1.90 |
| Caffeine | 48 mg | 50 mg |
| Mushrooms | lions mane, cordyceps, reishi, turkey tail, shiitake, king trumpet | lions mane, chaga |
| Doses disclosed per species | No | Yes |
| Beta-glucans disclosed | No | No |
| Third-party tested | Not stated | Yes |
| Formats | instant | instant, ground, pods |
| Taste & drinkability | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Ingredient quality | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Label transparency | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| Price per serving | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Third-party lab testing | 2.5 | 4.0 |
| Mushroom dosage | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Choose RYZE if…
- You want the cheapest good cup — $1.20 vs $1.90 per serving
- You prefer a creamy, latte-like taste over plain black coffee
- You'd rather buy in a store (Target) than online
Choose Four Sigmatic if…
- You want per-mushroom doses and 'fruiting body' on the label
- You want ground coffee or pods, not just instant
- You care about published third-party testing
Price: RYZE, at $1.20 a cup against $1.90. Taste: RYZE, 4.5 to 4. Caffeine: effectively a tie at 48 mg against about 50 mg. Transparency: Four Sigmatic, decisively — 4.5 against 2.5, and the only one of the two printing a per-mushroom dose. Testing: Four Sigmatic claims third-party testing; we found no published certificate of analysis for RYZE. Formats: Four Sigmatic, with instant, ground and pods against RYZE's instant only. Availability: RYZE, stocked in 1,900-plus Target stores.
Which is cheaper, RYZE or Four Sigmatic?
RYZE, and not narrowly: $1.20 a serving against $1.90 for Four Sigmatic Think instant packets, a premium of about 58%. The gap closes if you buy Four Sigmatic's ground bag instead of the packets. On instant against instant, though, RYZE is the cheaper daily habit and one of our budget picks.
Which one actually tells you the dose?
Four Sigmatic, and this is the real difference between them. It states 250 mg of lion's mane and 250 mg of chaga per serving, states fruiting body for both, and describes its extraction. RYZE names six mushrooms, gives one blend total, and states no part used at all.
| Mushroom | RYZE | Four Sigmatic Think |
|---|---|---|
| Lion's mane | Not disclosed | 250 mg, fruiting body |
| Chaga | Not in the blend | 250 mg, fruiting body |
| Cordyceps, reishi, turkey tail, shiitake, king trumpet | Not disclosed | Not in the blend |
| Total per serving | 2,000 mg across six species | 500 mg across two |
| Part used | Not stated | Fruiting body |
The two blends share exactly one mushroom. RYZE's stated total is four times larger, but a number you cannot itemise is not a dose you can act on — which is why Four Sigmatic tops our most transparent ranking on a 4.5 against RYZE's 2.5. Neither publishes beta-glucan percentages, so neither proves extract strength; see fruiting body vs mycelium for why the part used decides more than the milligrams do.
Which tastes better?
RYZE, for most people: we score it 4.5 to 4.0. MCT oil and coconut milk make it creamy and mild. Four Sigmatic tastes more like plain black coffee — better if that is what you want, thinner if it is not.
Which should you buy?
RYZE for most people, because most people are buying a nicer low-caffeine coffee, not a dosed supplement. Four Sigmatic scores higher overall, 3.8 against 3.4, because that score is the unweighted mean of six criteria; weight taste and price the way a daily drinker does and RYZE wins. If you are buying a dosed supplement, Four Sigmatic is the only one of the two that tells you the dose. For the wider field, see our best mushroom coffee ranking.
RYZE
RYZE mushroom coffee is the safest first mushroom coffee: smooth, cheap per cup at $1.20, organic and easy to find at Target, with 48 mg caffeine. But it discloses only a 2,000 mg six-mushroom blend total, with no per-mushroom doses, so you can't tell how much lion's mane you're actually getting, and we found no published COA.
$36.00 · $1.20/serving · 48 mg caffeine
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Four Sigmatic
Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee (Think) is the most transparent mushroom coffee on the market: 250 mg lion's mane and 250 mg chaga fruiting-body extract, disclosed per cup, with 50 mg caffeine and third-party testing. The trade-off is price, at a premium $1.90 per serving for the instant packets, and only two mushrooms, with no cordyceps in the Think line.
$18.99 · $1.90/serving · 50 mg caffeine
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Both brands in one table
| Brand | Score | $/serving | Caffeine | Mushrooms | Part used | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RYZE | 3.4 | $1.20 | 48 mg | lions mane, cordyceps, reishi, turkey tail, shiitake, king trumpet | undisclosed | instant |
| Four Sigmatic | 3.8 | $1.90 | 50 mg | lions mane, chaga | fruiting body | instant, ground, pods |
Frequently asked questions
Does RYZE or Four Sigmatic have more caffeine?
Four Sigmatic Think, barely: about 50 mg per serving against RYZE's 48 mg. A two-milligram gap is not something you will feel. Both sit near half a standard 95 mg cup of drip coffee, which is the main reason people switch to either one. On caffeine these two are effectively tied, so decide on taste and dose disclosure instead.
Which has a higher per-species mushroom dose, RYZE or Four Sigmatic?
Only Four Sigmatic can answer that. It states 250 mg of lion's mane and 250 mg of chaga per serving, both fruiting body. RYZE lists a 2,000 mg blend across six mushrooms without breaking out a single species, so its lion's mane could be more or less than 250 mg. A larger total you cannot itemise is not a larger dose.
Is RYZE or Four Sigmatic better value?
RYZE, on price per serving: $1.20 against $1.90 for Four Sigmatic's instant packets, a premium of about 58%. Four Sigmatic's ground bag narrows that gap if you brew rather than stir. The comparison is closer than the headline numbers suggest, because part of what the Four Sigmatic price buys is a label that itemises what is in the cup.
Which tastes better, RYZE or Four Sigmatic?
RYZE, for most people — we score it 4.5 against Four Sigmatic's 4.0. MCT oil and coconut milk make RYZE creamy and mild, closer to a light latte than to black coffee. Four Sigmatic Think tastes more like straight coffee, which some drinkers prefer and others find thin. Neither has a strong mushroom flavour, which is the usual worry.
Is Four Sigmatic third-party tested?
Four Sigmatic states that its products are third-party tested, and we score it 4.0 on lab testing. We could not find a published certificate of analysis for RYZE, which scores 2.5. Neither brand discloses beta-glucan percentages, the measure that separates a real extract from milled mycelium on grain, so both stop short of full verification.
Should I buy RYZE or Four Sigmatic?
Buy RYZE if you want a nicer low-caffeine coffee: it is cheaper, smoother and stocked in Target. Buy Four Sigmatic if the mushrooms are the point, because it is the only one of the two that tells you how much of each you are getting. We score Four Sigmatic 3.8 overall against RYZE at 3.4, but that is an unweighted mean of six criteria — weight taste and price the way a daily drinker does and RYZE comes out ahead.
Sources
- RYZE product page — RYZE price, servings, caffeine and blend total
- Four Sigmatic Think product page — Four Sigmatic price, per-mushroom doses and fruiting-body claim
- Forbes (Jan 2026) — Mushroom Coffee Maker Ryze Could Be The Next Billion-Dollar Drink — RYZE company scale and retail distribution context
- Mori K et al. (2009) Hericium erinaceus and mild cognitive impairment — 3,000 mg/day lion's mane comparison dose for the per-serving figures