5 Strongest CBD Oils: Honest Reviews & Guide (May 2023)

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Do you find that most CBD oils aren’t strong enough to give you the desired effects? Chances are you need a more potent tincture.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find high-strength CBD oil, especially if you want it to be affordable and of high quality.

To help you make an educated choice, I compared the potency, effects, hemp source, minor cannabinoid levels, price, and other criteria of over 60 CBD tinctures.

Here’s my review of the 5 strongest CBD oils from reputable brands, broken down by convenient categories.

Summary

The overall best strong CBD oil is the 5000 mg full-spectrum tincture from R&R. It had the strongest effects and highest minor cannabinoid levels out of all the high-potency CBD oils I tested.

1. Best Overall: R&R CBD Full-Spectrum Tincture | Full review
2. Strongest Raw Oil: Endoca Strong Raw CBD Oil | Full review
3. Best Value & Flavors: Lazarus Naturals CBD Oil | Full review
4. Strongest THC-Free: cbdMD Strong CBD Oil | Full review
5. Strongest Isolate: Crescent Canna Max Strength | Full review

R&R CBD Full-Spectrum Tincture (Best Overall)

My top pick for the strongest CBD oil goes to R&R. It’s one of the most potent CBD oils I’ve tried and is available in potencies as high as 167 mg/ml (5000 mg in total). Better yet, it’s certified organic by the USDA, boasts impressive minor cannabinoid levels (10-15%), and comes at a great price.

R&R is a top-tier CBD brand. Its priced are competitively priced, certified by the US Hemp Authority, and show excellent minor cannabinoid and terpene levels on third-party tests.

My experience: I tested the 2500 mg fresh mint CBD oil for several weeks. It has a pleasant mild mint taste and a dark color I expect from high-quality oils rich in minor cannabinoids and terpenes. I felt potent calm and relaxation within 20 minutes of using this tincture, with the effects lasting for several hours.

Endoca Raw CBD Oil (Strongest Raw Oil)

Raw CBD products contain high levels of cannabidiolic acid (CBDa), CBD’s parent molecule. If you want to use CBD and hemp in the most natural, unprocessed form possible, raw CBD oils are your best bet.

Endoca’s raw CBD oil is one of the strongest products on the market with an incredibly high potency of 300 mg CBD+CBDa per ml (3000 mg total). It contains about 15–20% CBDa and has only two natural ingredients: full-spectrum hemp extract and hemp seed oil.

Endoca’s strong CBD oil costs $0.07 per mg of CBD, a slightly below-average price for a high-quality product.

Founded in 2010, Endoca is one of the oldest and most respected CBD brands in the world. Its products are sourced from organic Danish hemp grown in partnership with local farmers and tested both in-house and by a third-party lab.

Lazarus Naturals High Potency CBD Tincture (Best Value & Flavors)

If you want to get the best value, I recommend Lazarus Naturals. This employee-owned CBD company offers arguably the best combination of price and quality on the market. 

Its high potency CBD tincture costs only $0.02–0.03 per mg of CBD, one of the lowest prices you’ll find anywhere. And you can get free shipping if you spend over $50.

This tincture has a potency of 50 mg/ml and comes in 15–120 ml bottles providing 1500–6000 mg of CBD. You can choose from classic, chocolate mint, and strawberry lemonade flavors.

Lazarus Naturals is one of few CBD brands that have complete control over the manufacturing process from seed to bottle, starting with its Central Oregon hemp farm.

My experience: This is probably my favorite CBD oil. I’ve bought and tested it more times than any other CBD tincture. I get reliable calming, relaxing, and often mood-enhancing effects that last for a good 4-6 hours.

CbdMD CBD Oil Tincture (Strongest THC-Free)

If you’re looking for the strongest THC-free* CBD oil, I recommend cbdMD. Its tinctures are some of the most potent on the market, with strengths as high as 250 mg per ml.

CbdMD’s third-party tested CBD oil is made with broad-spectrum CBD extract. It’s sold in 30 ml bottles with 7500 mg of CBD in total and comes in four flavors: natural (unflavored), berry, orange, and mint.

The strongest version costs $0.03 per mg of CBD, which is much cheaper than the average market price for tinctures. CbdMD’s products are sourced from organic hemp grown in Kentucky and Colorado.

*THC-free is defined as below the level of detection using valid scientific analytical tools.

Crescent Canna Max Strength Drops (Strongest Isolate)

CBD isolate is a pure form of CBD without any other hemp compounds. If you want to use a pure CBD isolate oil, I’m a fan of New Orleans’ Crescent Canna.

Its max strength drops are the strongest CBD isolate oil Ive ever tried, providing 300 mg CBD per ml and 9000 mg in total. They come in peppermint and mandarine lime flavors.

This third-party tested tincture is sourced from organic American hemp. It comes with an excellent price point of $0.026 per mg of CBD, which is incredibly cheap.

My experience: Although it wasn’t as strong as the full-spectrum oils on this list, this was the strongest pure CBD tincture I’ve ever tested. I felt relaxing and calming effects that helped me fall asleep.

How Does CBD Strength Work?

CBD strength, also known as potency, refers to the concentration of CBD in a product. It’s usually expressed in milligrams (mg) of CBD per milligram (ml) of oil.

For example, a tincture with 1000 mg of CBD in a 30 ml bottle has a potency of 1000/30 = 33.33 mg/ml. If you take the same 30 ml bottle but with 2000 mg of CBD, it would have double the potency: 2000/30 = 66.67 mg/ml. 

The second option is much stronger, which also means you’d only need to take half the amount to achieve the same dose.

You can apply this principle to other CBD products. For example, strength for capsules is simply the amount of CBD per capsule. 

Understanding CBD potency is important because it can mean the difference between relief and not noticing any effects at all.

What Counts As a High CBD Strength?

Generally speaking, CBD oil concentrations of 40+ mg per ml (or per capsule/gummy) are considered high. Some CBD oil or CBD concentrate products can provide as much as 200–300 mg of CBD per ml. 

Why Do People Use Strong CBD Oil Products?

The average CBD user takes 20–50 mg doses of CBD 1-2 times a day. However, this amount may not be enough for everyone.

Whether it’s because you’re suffering from severe symptoms, have a high tolerance to cannabinoids, or simply have a less responsive endocannabinoid system, some people need to take higher doses of CBD to find relief. 

In that case, your best bet is to choose a strong CBD product. Another advantage of using high-potency CBD oil is that you need to take less to feel an effect.

Factors That Influence the Effects of CBD

Although potency is the biggest factor determining how strongly CBD affects you, the type of CBD and how you take it are also important.

How You Take CBD Matters

Most people use CBD in the form of oil, but there are many other product options, including capsules, gummies, vape e-liquids, and topicals. Each is absorbed by the body in a different way, which influences the effectiveness.

CBD is best absorbed through the sublingual (under-the-tongue) and inhalation (vaping/smoking) methods.

On the other hand, oral products such as capsules,  gummies, and other edibles have notoriously low bioavailability, meaning only a small portion of what you ingest reaches the blood and has an effect (3). 

That’s because much of the CBD gets lost in the digestive tract and liver before it can be absorbed.

The Type Of CBD Extract Matters

There’s one other key factor that influences the effectiveness of CBD oil — the type of CBD. CBD extracts come in three main forms: isolate, full-spectrum, and broad-spectrum CBD.

1. CBD isolate is pure CBD with all other hemp compounds removed.
2. Full-spectrum CBD is a whole-plant extract containing all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other natural compounds found in hemp. All these compounds work together in synergy, making full-spectrum CBD products more effective than those made with pure CBD. Researchers gave this phenomenon the name “entourage effect” (1).
3. Broad-spectrum CBD is similar to full-spectrum but undergoes an additional step to remove THC (although some small traces might remain).

To illustrate what this means for potency, let’s compare two CBD oils with the same strength of 50 mg/ml. One of these oils contains CBD isolate, while the other is made with full-spectrum CBD. 

The full-spectrum version will have stronger effects because it contains additional compounds that not only synergize with CBD but also have benefits of their own. 

That’s why it’s important to not only look for a strong product but also consider how you’re using it and which type of CBD extract it contains.

How to Find the Right CBD Dose

If you’re looking for strong CBD oil, chances are you didn’t find relief from a regular-strength product.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a CBD dosage that will work for everyone. Too many factors play a role, such as how much you weigh, your genetics, and the type of product you’re taking.

The best way to find how much CBD you need to take is to start with a small amount (or whichever amount you used before) and wait two hours to see how you feel (4). If you don’t notice any effects, gradually increase the dosage over time until you start to notice a difference.

How to Choose High-Potency CBD Oil

There are some key factors to keep in mind if you want to find an effective, affordable, strong CBD oil product:

• Third-party testing: Done by an independent lab, third-party tests verify the potency and purity of CBD products. Reputable CBD brands pay for testing to reassure customers that they’re getting exactly what they paid for.
• Type of CBD: Full-spectrum CBD produces the greatest effects. However, some people may need to choose THC-free options (broad-spectrum or isolate CBD).
• Product potency: Potency is the amount of CBD you’re getting per dose. Everyone’s CBD dosage is different, so you’ll need to experiment to find your dose and use a product with the appropriate potency. The strongest CBD oils typically contain over 150 mg per ml.
• Hemp source: CBD is extracted from hemp, so plant quality matters. I choose brands that use organic hemp and are transparent about their hemp source and growing process. 
• Company reputation: Reputable CBD brands have hundreds of positive customer reviews and are transparent about their business.
• Price: I look for affordable but quality CBD products to help you save money. I also consider shipping costs.