Vitamin D3 is vegan only when it comes from lichen or algae, and many supplements make theirs from lanolin, the grease in sheep’s wool. The word “D3” on the front settles nothing. Country Life sells a lanolin D3 in a bovine gelatin softgel and a lichen D3 in a corn starch softgel, both called vitamin D3.
What decides it
The molecule is cholecalciferol whatever it was made from, so the supplement facts panel can read the same on a lanolin bottle and a lichen one. Country Life is the clearest case on a single website. Its Vitamin D3 1,000 I.U. lists “cholecalciferol – from Lanolin” and a capsule shell of “100% bovine gelatin”. Its Vegan D3 Softgels list “cholecalciferol – from Lichen” in a shell of non-GMO corn starch, carrageenan, glycerin, sorbitol and water. Same brand, same vitamin, two answers.
Lichen is not the only plant route. BetterYou says the D3 in its D1000 Vegan spray comes from algae and is vegan approved by the Vegetarian Society, while most of its other vitamin D sprays use lanolin. The vegan question is about the raw material, so either plant source passes. Fish oil fails on its source in exactly the same way, which is the whole case for an algae omega-3 supplement.
D2 (ergocalciferol) is the other option. The Vegan Society says vitamin D2 is not derived from animals, so it skips the lanolin question entirely.
Seven vitamin D supplements, checked on the maker’s page
All seven are on their makers’ US websites. Prices are the makers’ own, read in October 2026, and change.
| Product | Source, per the maker | Per serving | Vegan per the maker? | Price when read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deva Vegan Vitamin D3 1000 IU | Lichen | 25 mcg (1,000 IU) | Yes, Vegan Society registered | Not listed |
| Garden of Life Organics Vegan D3 Organic Spray | Lichen (Vitashine) | 1,000 IU | Yes, Certified Vegan | $19.99 |
| Country Life Vegan D3 Gummies | Lichen | 25 mcg (1,000 IU) | “Vegan friendly” | $18.99 for 60 |
| Country Life Vegan D3 Softgels | Lichen (Vitashine) | 125 mcg (5,000 IU) | Yes, vegan capsule | $18.29 for 30, $25.69 for 60 |
| Codeage Multivitamin D+ | Lichen D3 plus D2 | Not on the FAQ page | Yes | Not read |
| Deva Vegan Vitamin D 800 IU | D2 | 20 mcg (800 IU) | Yes, Vegan Society registered | Not listed |
| Country Life Vitamin D3 1,000 I.U. | Lanolin | 25 mcg (1,000 IU) | No: lanolin and bovine gelatin | $15.29 for 200 |
Deva Vegan Vitamin D3 1000 IU
This is our pick for a plain D3 tablet. Deva states the D3 is lichen-derived, marks the product Vegan Society registered, and says every one of the other ingredients (cellulose, vegetable stearic acid, croscarmellose sodium, vegetable magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, silica, hypromellose, vegetable glycerin) comes from a non-animal source. One tablet is 25 mcg and a bottle holds 90. The page carries no price, so you will be comparing it at a retailer, and Deva’s product copy spends more words on sunshine and northern latitudes than on anything you can check.
Garden of Life Organics Vegan D3 Organic Spray
Garden of Life names the ingredient brand, Vitashine, and spells out “vitamin D from lichen as cholecalciferol, not lanolin”, with Certified Vegan among its listed marks and organic pumpkin seed and cranberry seed oils as the base. If tablets are the problem, this is the one to look at. It costs $19.99, which the page works out at 8 cents a serving. The catch is the dose. The page gives 1,000 IU per serving but does not say how many sprays make a serving, so read the bottle before the first spray.
Country Life Vegan D3 Gummies
A lichen D3 at 1,000 IU in a gummy set with pectin, not gelatin. The rest of the list is cane sugar, tapioca syrup, flavors, colors from beta carotene and black carrot juice, sunflower oil and a “vegetable glaze” that the page does not name further. Each gummy carries 1 g of added sugar. Country Life calls it “vegan friendly” rather than certified, which is a softer claim than Deva’s registration.
Country Life Vegan D3 Softgels
Here is the vegan half of the Country Life pair: Vitashine lichen D3 in a corn starch shell, with MCT and sunflower oil. Its trouble is the strength. One softgel is 125 mcg (5,000 IU), 625% of the daily value, and NIH sets the adult upper limit at 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day from all sources combined. By our comparison of those two figures, one softgel alone is over it. Skip this one unless a doctor has set you a dose that high.
Codeage Multivitamin D+
Codeage says the D3 here is derived from lichen and the formula also carries D2 made from fungi and yeast, and it labels the product vegan. The same FAQ adds that formulas can change and tells you to check the current label, which is good advice from a brand that just made you read its FAQ. Skip it if D3 is all you came for. You would be buying a whole multivitamin to answer a one-nutrient question.
Deva Vegan Vitamin D 800 IU
D2 steps around the source question altogether. Deva lists 20 mcg (800 IU) of D2 in each of 90 tablets, held together by the same non-animal excipients as its D3. NIH says both forms raise vitamin D in the blood, and that D3 might raise it higher and for longer than D2. Which form suits you, and at what dose, is a question for a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Country Life Vitamin D3 1,000 I.U.
Don’t buy this one. Country Life’s own page says the D3 comes from lanolin and the softgel is bovine gelatin. That is two animal ingredients in a bottle whose name, Vitamin D3 1,000 I.U., hints at neither, for $15.29 for 200.
How to check a D3 label yourself
Turn the bottle over. On the supplement facts panel, look for the source in brackets after cholecalciferol, the way Country Life prints “from Lichen” and “from Lanolin”. No source named means you cannot tell, so treat it as lanolin until the maker says otherwise in writing.
Ingredient brand names help. Vitashine is a lichen D3 whose maker says it has displayed the Vegan Society trademark since 2011, and two products in the table above use it. Vegadelight is a D3 ingredient from reindeer lichen that its maker says is certified vegan by AVA and vegan.org.
Then read the “other ingredients” line for the shell. A lichen D3 in a gelatin softgel would fail on the capsule alone, the capsule question our vegan probiotics roundup checks bottle by bottle.
If the label is silent, ask the company which raw material its D3 comes from. Some will say it plainly. Momentous answers that its Vitamin D3 5000 IU is not vegan because the D3 comes from lanolin.
Buy Deva’s lichen D3 if you want one tablet that answers the question on its own label, or the Garden of Life spray if tablets are the problem, and set the amount with a doctor. Then give your B12 the same scrutiny, starting with whether vegans need B12 and where to get it.
Sources
- The Vegan Society: vitamin D (lanolin D3, lichen D3, D2 not animal-derived)
- Country Life: Vitamin D3 1,000 I.U. (lanolin, bovine gelatin, price)
- Country Life: Vegan D3 Softgels (Vitashine lichen D3, vegan capsule, 125 mcg, price)
- BetterYou: source of D3 in its sprays (algae in D1000 Vegan, lanolin in most others)
- Deva: Vegan Vitamin D3 1000 IU (lichen, Vegan Society registered, other ingredients)
- Garden of Life: Organics Vegan D3 Organic Spray 1,000 IU, Vanilla
- Country Life: Vegan D3 Gummies (lichen, pectin, ingredients, price)
- Codeage: is the vitamin D3 in Multivitamin D+ vegan
- Deva: Vegan Vitamin D 800 IU (D2, Vegan Society registered)
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: vitamin D fact sheet for consumers (upper limit, D2 and D3)
- ESB Developments: Vitashine and the Vegan Society trademark since 2011
- Vegadelight FAQ: reindeer lichen source and vegan certifications
- Momentous: source of the D3 in Vitamin D3 5000 IU
