Side-by-side CBD comparisons

Full spectrum contains all cannabinoids (including up to 0.3% THC). Broad spectrum is the same profile with THC removed. If you're drug-tested, choose broad spectrum. Otherwise, full spectrum is closer to the natural plant.

Isolate is 99%+ pure CBD with nothing else. Full spectrum contains all the plant's cannabinoids and terpenes. Most users find full spectrum produces noticeable effects at lower CBD doses because of the entourage effect — but isolate is cheaper and easier to dose precisely.

Both are drug-test safe (no THC). Broad spectrum produces the entourage effect with all the minor cannabinoids and terpenes; isolate is just CBD. For most users, broad spectrum delivers better experiences per milligram.

If this is your first bottle, the spectrum decision is simpler than the internet makes it. Full spectrum keeps the whole plant profile, including legal trace THC. THC-free (broad spectrum) is that same profile with THC removed. Start THC-free if you are drug-tested, might be, or do not want to think about THC. Start full spectrum only if you are sure you are not tested and you want the complete plant. Isolate is a third aisle — CBD only — and it is not the default beginner bottle. Our longer full-vs-broad page is the deep version of this table.

Both are cannabinoids. THC is intoxicating ('high'); CBD is not. THC binds directly to brain receptors; CBD doesn't. THC is restricted under federal law (except in legal-cannabis states); CBD from hemp under 0.3% THC is federally legal.

CBG ('cannabigerol') is a minor cannabinoid often called the 'mother cannabinoid' because other cannabinoids synthesize from it. Both are non-intoxicating. CBG is rarer (most converts to CBD/THC during plant growth) and more expensive per milligram.

CBN is mildly psychoactive (much less than THC) and forms when THC ages. It's heavily marketed for sleep, but the evidence is mixed — much of CBN's reputed sedation may actually come from terpenes in aged cannabis. CBD has far more research behind it.

CBC ('cannabichromene') is one of the four major cannabinoids in hemp, but it's typically present at less than 0.5%. It's non-intoxicating and may contribute to the entourage effect. Research is limited.

CBD is extracted directly from hemp and is not intoxicating. Delta-8 THC is intoxicating — a milder high than regular THC, but a real one — and almost all of it on the market is made by chemically converting CBD in a lab. Delta-8 will fail a drug test, its testing standards are inconsistent, and its federal legal status changes in late 2026. We don't sell it.

These three show up in the same 'evening stack' searches and they are not substitutes. CBD is a hemp cannabinoid in an oil you hold under the tongue. Ashwagandha is an adaptogen herb, usually a capsule. Magnesium is a mineral, usually a glycinate or citrate capsule. People stack them because they do different jobs. We sell CBD only — this page will not pretend we formulated the other two. Wellness framing: wind-down and daily routine, not insomnia, anxiety disorder, or deficiency treatment.

Tinctures absorb in 15-45 minutes and let you adjust the dose drop by drop. Softgels take 60-90 minutes (digested first) but are pre-measured, tasteless, and travel-friendly. Most experienced users have both.

Oil is faster (15-45 min) and lets you adjust the dose; bioavailability is higher. Gummies are slower (60-90 min through digestion), pre-measured, and taste better — but typically use cheap CBD isolate and contain added sugar.

Vaping has the fastest onset (under 10 minutes) and highest bioavailability. But the lung-safety concerns are real — particularly around vape carrier additives like vitamin E acetate. Oil is slower (15-45 minutes) but has none of the inhalation risks.

Salves work locally — apply to a sore knee, the salve targets that knee. Oils work systemically — taken under the tongue, they affect your whole body. Use salves for targeted application; oils for daily wellness.

Both start from the same hemp extract. Three things genuinely differ: pet oil is THC-free (dogs are far more sensitive to THC than people), it's flavored for an animal rather than a person, and the serving size is roughly a tenth of a human dose. Our pet drops are 500mg in 30 mL — the same 16.7mg/mL as our 500mg human bottle — so the difference isn't strength, it's what's around the CBD and how much you give.

For used muscles, oil and salve are different jobs, not rivals. Oil is a serving you hold under the tongue — it goes through you. Salve stays where you put it. After a long shift or a hard session, most people who buy both use the oil as the daily baseline and the salve on the calf, shoulder, or lower back that is complaining that day. This page is the muscle-soreness cut of that decision. Our generic salve-vs-oil page is the format explainer; this one is the post-work, post-training version. Neither product treats injury or disease.

Same hemp plant, different bottle. Dog oil is THC-free (dogs are far more sensitive to THC), flavored for an animal, and dosed in fractions of a dropper by weight. Human oil is built for an adult serving — mint or lime, sometimes full-spectrum, concentrations that go up to 200mg/mL. Do not share your mint bottle with a new dog. Our pet-vs-human page is the category explainer for dogs and cats. This page is the dog-only version of that table: why the human oil is the wrong first purchase when the customer is a dog.

500mg is the trial. 1,500mg is the first real routine. At 20mg a day, 500mg is about 25 days; 1,500mg is about 75. botanCBD's 500mg broad-spectrum is $35 ($0.07/mg); the 1,500mg is $70 ($0.047/mg). Buy 500mg if you have never taken this oil, this flavor, or this serving. Buy 1,500mg if you already finished a trial and you take CBD most days. Jumping to 6,000mg on day one is how beginners overshoot. This page is the size decision, not the spectrum decision.

"Water-soluble" CBD is CBD broken into microscopic droplets and suspended in water — it is an emulsion, not a solution. Published work on specific emulsified formulations does show meaningfully higher and faster absorption than a plain oil. The trade-offs are a longer ingredient list (an emulsion needs a surfactant), a shorter shelf life, and a higher price per milligram. If you want CBD in a drink, water-soluble is the only thing that works. If you dose under your tongue, an oil is simpler, cheaper and keeps longer.

CBD oil is extracted from hemp flower and contains active CBD (typically 500-6000mg per bottle). Hemp seed oil is pressed from hemp seeds and contains essentially no CBD — it's a culinary oil similar to flaxseed oil. The label confusion is intentional in some cheap products.

'Hemp extract' is an ambiguous term. It can mean a real CBD-rich extract, a low-grade extract with minimal cannabinoids, or essentially-zero-cannabinoid hemp seed extract. Always check the milligram count of CBD on the label.

Chemically, CBD is CBD — your body cannot tell which plant it came from. The legal line is drawn on THC content: cannabis at or under 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight is hemp and is federally legal; anything above that is marijuana and is still Schedule I federally. That single number decides whether you buy it online and ship it to any state, or buy it in person at a licensed dispensary and leave it in that state.

American-grown hemp sits under a state agriculture department and the 2018 Farm Bill. Imported hemp is a legal product in many cases and a foggy one in more — the country of origin is often missing, the farm is usually missing, and the COA may be a brand-level PDF that does not match the bottle in your hand. botanCBD uses organically cultivated Kentucky and Ohio hemp and manufactures in Cincinnati. We rank American-grown as the default for anyone who wants to place the plant on a map. Imported is not automatically unsafe; it is automatically harder to audit.

Charlotte's Web is the largest CBD brand by revenue, with strong distribution and a 10+ year track record. botanCBD is a smaller family-owned brand with more competitive pricing per milligram and direct customer access. Both are reputable.

CBDistillery is one of the largest CBD brands by volume, known for relatively affordable pricing across a broad product catalog. botanCBD is a smaller family-owned brand with comparable pricing on flagship oils and a vertically-integrated supply chain.

Both brands lean heavily into Kentucky-grown hemp credentials. Cornbread Hemp specializes in 'flower-only' full-spectrum extracts and a USDA-certified-organic supply chain. botanCBD has a wider strength range and lower price points across the line.

On this site the subscribe vs one-time decision is a discount decision with a cadence attached. Subscribe-and-save is 40% off every bottle, flexible 30 / 45 / 60-day cadence, skip or cancel from your account. A one-time order gets code SQUARE at 30% off, auto-applied at checkout for non-subscription carts. If you already finish a bottle on a schedule, subscribe is the cheaper habit. If you are still figuring out flavor, serving, or whether CBD is for you, one-time is the honest first purchase. We do not stack the two discounts.

A third-party COA is a report from a lab the brand does not own, ideally ISO 17025-accredited, matched to the batch number on your bottle. An in-house-only report is the brand grading its own homework. In-house equipment can be real quality control. It is not the document we would hand a skeptic. botanCBD tests every batch at an independent lab and emails that PDF the same day you send the batch number. Our lab-tested oils list ranks bottles. This page is the testing-model comparison underneath that ranking.