**INSIDE: I wrote this article to help you determine what a quality essential oil company looks like so you can make your best decisions about the essential oils you want to purchase for home and family use. These criteria are the very ones I use to purchase my own essential oils for my personal use, use on animals, and with my clients. You can apply these criteria to make your own buying decisions about the essential oil brand(s) you choose for your family.
There are several brands discussed here, but they are not the only quality essential oil companies out there---These are simply my own preferences at this time.

This article has been edited and updated as of 2/2023.

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Man! Oh, man! Essential oils can be expensive! If you want to make essential oils part of your natural health program for yourself and family, doesn't the utter expense of purchasing "quality" essential oils just make you feel kind of, well, taken advantage of?

Saddened, even?

Not sure where to even begin?

Because don't we all deserve to use essential oils? Are they only for the elite and wealthy? Are you tempted to just go to the grocery or neighborhood dollar store already and buy those essential oils there? (PLEASE don't do this!)

I have a solution for you!

I love getting feedback from friends, readers and followers of the blog and Healing Harvest social media groups. I LOVE it! And I THANK you! One question I hear all the time is, “What are good companies to buy essential oils from?”

The hidden question is always, “….and not have to spend a lot of money?”

Back when I was once a distributor for essential oils through one of the big multi-level marketing companies, one of the things I heard over and over again is that my recommendation to use only “therapeutic grade from xyz company (there’s no such thing as “therapeutic grade”, by the way) essential oils simply costs too much.

My best friend in the whole world even said, "There is NO way I'm paying that much for essential oils every month." OUCH.

Well. Secretly I felt the same way, and that’s why I’m no longer a distributor for a large MLM company….

Nowadays, I have found plenty of high quality options, and as a certified level 2 aromatherapist with NAHA and AIA which are federal and international professional aromatherapy organizations, I KNOW how important choosing quality essential oils is.

The truth is…there are more than just two great essential oil companies out there.

BUT, you DO absolutely need to know what you’re buying, and honestly, there are some very shady companies out there as well as practices to beware and watchful of. That’s where my list of criteria for a quality essential oil company that still has reasonable pricing comes in.

Are you in this situation?

You really want to use essential oils, you know they are great for you, but you feel like you can't afford the high-priced ones? Or maybe you just don’t want to pay that much? Or maybe you are afraid to buy essential oils in the stores (you should be), so you end up not buying them at all?

After listening to you, my readers and friends, and also listening to my heart as well as the grumblings from my own pocket book, I FINALLY bit the bullet and decided to start researching essential oil companies the past several years and especially since becoming a certified professional aromatherapist.

I just KNEW there had to be other quality options out there that everyone could have access to financially and still feel good about using.

I'll bet you'd love to know what I found out—-

After all is said and done: There are plenty of essential oil companies you CAN trust for quality and value.

Yay! Right? Now you have choices! And so do I. The trick is to put some criteria in a checklist in place when you start deciding whether or not you want to purchase from this or that company. Read on for this handy list of criteria.

FTC Disclosure: There are affiliate links scattered throughout this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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How to Choose Affordable, High Quality Essential Oils at a Decent Price

When I started creating my list, I began with those criteria that were important for me, the consumer and also a professional aromatherapist. These criteria help lay a baseline for what I look for in quality essential oils and companies I choose to purchase from.

Here are eleven crucial criteria I looked at for choosing a good essential oil brand for my own family and wellness clients, plus what I think about organic essential oils:

**I should note that it’s REALLY difficult to find an essential oil brand that meets all of these criteria. Therefore, decide which points are the most important to you when you decide on a company for your family. An essential oil company that has a higher number of checks is more likely to be a better choice than one with fewer. You can weigh these out for yourself!

1. Proper labeling on the bottles

Labeling on the essential oil bottles is supposed to tell you a LOT. If you don’t see certain information on an essential oil bottle, it’s likely you can assume to stay away from that company.

You should see:

the common plant name of the plant
the Latin binomial denoting the genus and species of the plant
the single country of origin
any safety considerations, including use with children
whether it’s wildcrafted or organic
directions for use is another item that should be mentioned
contact information for the essential oil company
nutrition information if internal use is suggested
truth in advertising: Do the listed ingredients reflect accurate labeling on the front of bottle, etc.
the chemotype if the plant is one that has these (thyme, rosemary, basil, and others)

This is me smelling one of my distilled hydrosols. These contain a layer of essential oil on top that can be strained off, bottled and enjoyed. And…I know where it came from.

2. Chemotypes should be listed if there are any for the specific plant

Chemotypes are plants that are higher in certain therapeutic chemicals. Depending on where the plant is grown, in what soil, when it’s harvested, etc., some chemicals will present much higher in the resulting essential oil, even from the exact same species.

For example, take rosemary (Rosmarinus officinale): Rosemary essential oil might be higher in a number of different chemicals such as verbenone and camphor than is typical.

These special chemical structures of the essential oil will be noted by adding a “ct” which means “chemotype” on the Latin name. Rosemary that is especially high in camphor, for example, will be called Rosmarinus officinale ct. camphor, or possibly the chemotype might be added to the common name, as in Rosemary ct camphor.

Quality essential oil companies will list these on the bottle for certain plants. I like to use either rosemary or thyme as “testers” when I’m looking into a company. A good company will specify any chemotypes because it makes a difference in therapeutic use, and both of these herbs have chemotypes.

For example, you would use Thymus vulgaris ct. linalool much differently than you would Thymus vulgaris ct. thymol.

3. Education for consumers and customers

Quality companies will have quality education for consumers that’s well-researched and don’t hype a particular product. I love reading the blogs of various essential oil companies because you can tell a lot by what they write.

Are they completely biased toward their own product? Are the articles written by certified aromatherapists who are trained? Are ideas provided for various uses of the essential oils, and perhaps some recipes?

I feel you can tell or even “sense” quite a lot by the literature a company provides.

4. Kid-safe lines of blends or at least safety guidelines for children provided

This one is SO important, in my opinion. Essential oils are powerful, and they can be harmful or even toxic if used incorrectly. I’ve heard distributors for some of the larger MLM companies say it’s just fine to use essential oils “neat” (undiluted) on infants, and I’m sorry, but this is a very unsafe practice unless you’re working with a trained aromatherapist who knows exactly what they’re doing.

Essential oil companies who provide quality essential oils are very likely to have plenty of information about how their essential oils should be used with and for children and even pets.

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5. Reasonably priced for the type of essential oil

Now, this is going to vary, but if you see any essential oil at a rock-bottom price, it’s adulterated…I’d bet my bottom dollar. Quality essential oils are going to cost a bit of money, BUT they shouldn’t be outrageous. I read some research awhile back that stated that essential oils purchased in grocery or health stores OR that are re-labeled/re-branded by smaller businesses are probably adulterated products.

Bottom line: If it’s too “cheap,” well, the quality probably is low, too.

Another consideration for this criteria is the sustainability of the plant and also the difficulty of extracting the essential oil. Buying cheap essential oils not only increases the chances of adulteration but also is very harmful to the environment. Not only are you getting poor quality essential oil laced with synthetics, but the large bulk distributors buy the cheapest oils from all over the world and combine them. That’s what you’re going to be getting if your labels aren’t labeled accordingly with the country of origin and if the company doesn’t maintain personal relationships directly with the farm.

By the way: It’s impossible for a small business (especially family businesses) to travel and maintain this kind of relationship with ALL the farms all over the world. Keep this in mind, even if they tell you they know the farmers.

Sandalwood, for example, is not a sustainable essential oil because the tree needs to be completely killed to extract the heartwood to obtain the essential oil. This essential oil should and is very expensive because of this. Lavender essential oil, on the other hand, is easy to grow, and the plant contains very high levels of essential oil, thus making it a less expensive essential oil.

Also with a common essential oil like lavender, for example, that grows in many countries, wouldn’t you want to know where it’s coming from? Is it Spanish? Italian? Corsican? Trust me. It makes a difference.

6. Packaging of the essential oil

Essential oils should be packaged in amber or cobalt glass jars in order to protect the contents from light. If you see clear glass bottles or strange colored bottles, well, again, it’s probably adulterated.

7. Is the GC/MS report available for each batch?

The GC/MS report gives you the chemical breakdown of the essential oil. It stands for gas chromatology and mass spectrometry.

AND, is this testing done by a third party….or does the company employ their OWN chemists? Even if you don’t know very much about the chemistry of essential oils, just knowing you can access a third party report as you like is important. A quality company will provide public access to these reports.

Certified aromatherapists rely on these chemical reports to make therapeutic decisions for clients, at least I do. It’s also good to know that some chemical constituents of essential oils can now be made in labs, such as linalool. This practice is horrible, in my opinion, and contributes to the adulteration problem. Be aware.

8. Does the company have certified aromatherapists on hand to answer questions and educate customers?

Does the company employ or is it owned by certified aromatherapists able to answer your questions? These certifications should be a minimum of Level 2, the professional level.

There are SO many people selling essential oils these days, and the great majority of them have NO training. You can get some downright dangerous advice from these people—-I’ve seen it online with my own eyes.

I suggest obtaining information from a minimum Level 2 certified aromatherapist. A Level 1 certification is at least something (and different organizations accept a variety of training hours for level 1), but there are hundreds more hours involved with a Level 2 training, plus a LOT of chemistry. Trust the training.

Who is providing the information to the consumer? This is definitely a question worth asking.

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9. How and from where does the company source their essential oils?

I’m reiterating the above point from #5 above, for more clarification.

Heads up! These days, there are thousands of small essential oil brands who purchase in bulk from sub-standard bulk distributors and then rebottle and re-label (third party label) the oils to sell. PLEASE be sure to know if the company you’re choosing to buy from sources their oils directly from small farmers….and NOT big bulk distributors.

***And even if they “tell” you they do, please research and get the names of the small farms so you can do your due diligence. Some plant species, like Boswellia (Frankincense) are heading toward endangerment and even extinction now. Sustainability and how the oils are sourced is vital. And, you may have to do some serious sleuthing.

One bulk company I came across who sells wholesale to small businesses (who then rebrand the oils under their own name) says they know the small farms, but on closer investigation, only a small percentage were small farms. The rest were not, or were not stated. I was very disappointed.

I know personally some of these people running businesses and making massive profits selling substandard, probably adulterated essential oils. And they usually don’t have a level 2 aromatherapist (and sometimes NO aromatherapist) on staff. It drives me crazy.

I completely avoid these smaller companies who re-brand the oils.

10. Are all the ingredients listed on the bottle for blends?

If blends are sold by the essential oil company, are ALL the ingredients listed along with their Latin names, including any additives?

Sometimes you’ll find essential oil companies selling a product called “Lavender essential oil” for example, but if you take the time to check out the ingredients list, you may just see a carrier oil added. This is lying to the consumer in my opinion, but companies are allowed to do this. Buyer beware, once again! Do your due diligence.

11. Is the price too good to be true?

I saved this one for last because it’s usually the first one people think of or turn to.

Over and over again, I’ve watched my students want to purchase the essential oils on sale at Walmart or from other nefarious places like Amazon and even decent health food stores. PLEASE be sure to purchase your essential oils directly from the essential oil company and not on Amazon. Keep in mind, the discount stores are discount stores for a reason.

If you’re finding sandalwood essential oil on sale for $6.00 an ounce, my friend, that is a VERY bad sign.

Know that if you want pure and beautiful essential oils, you will need to make an investment. Reach out to an aromatherapist who can give you a realistic price-range for most essential oils if you’re not sure, and then you’ll have some good information.

Keep in mind that the cheaper the essential oil is the more likely it is to be adulterated with fragrance oils, odor chemicals created in a lab, and other ingredients that might even be harmful.

Essential oils aren’t regulated in the United States, so again….buyer beware.

NOTE: Most essential oils from sustainable plants high in essential oil such as peppermint, certain evergreens, lavender, and many others, are not as expensive to make and require a lot less plant material. These can be found at great prices even from high quality essential oil companies.

What about buying organic essential oils? Is this important?

Some people feel very strongly about buying only organic products. These are essential oils made from plants that have not had pesticides or chemical fertilizers used in their growth and production. There is a certification process that a product must undergo to be qualified as organic.

Now, this is not to say that essential oils NOT certified as organic are of poorer quality. Perhaps they have even been grown organically but not certified for some reason (like perhaps the farm is too small to afford the expensive certification process).

Perhaps they were wildcrafted in an area---there will be no certification process for those plants. Besides, essential oil manufacture is a global business, and not all countries have organic standards in place, even if the plants are grown without chemicals.

However, having this option is great for those folks who need to see "organic" on their bottles. I'm not really one of these, I'll admit. Some plants can't truly be grown organically, especially those from their natural environments, even though it's likely they are completely safe. There are some things I'll ONLY buy organic, but essential oils is not one of these—-except for rose (Rosa x damascena). These are some of the most heavily sprayed plants on earth. Organic citrus oils are a good idea too.

You'll have to use your own discernment for this one. Frankly, finding a company with ALL organic essential oils is difficult, and I have not been able to find one in my searches.

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Cost breakdown of essential oils by drop for the best prices

Let’s face it. Price can be an issue for many of us. I want to show you a cost breakdown by drop so that you can see that it IS possible to purchase a quality essential oil without spending more than you want to or need to.

Let's look at Frankincense Essential Oil from different brands as far as prices go for an example:

NOTE: The prices below are based on when I originally wrote this article in 2018, but you’ll still see a good example of costing by the drop. At some point, I’ll update for 2024, but for now, these prices are six years old. The example is still relevant, though.

Cheap brand on Amazon:

I found a brand that sells 4 ounces (that's a LOT of essential oil, my friends) for $10. That equates to around $0.08 cents per mL! That's ridiculously cheap. It's unheard of. It's too good to be true. There is NO way that essential oil is pure and unadulterated.

A 10 mL (standard size) bottle of essential oil at that price would only cost around 80 cents! Wow, is all I have to say, and I feel bad for people who don't believe in price being at least somewhat correlated with quality and may possibly buy this stuff.

This is a dangerous product to buy, in my opinion. Remember that essential oils are largely unregulated by the FDA.

Low- to Mid-Price Brand:

I found a 15 mL (about 1/2 ounce) bottle of Frankincense essential oil on Amazon from Aura Cacia (many folks like this company, and yes, you can find them in most good health food stores). The cost of that bottle was around $20. This makes that brand of Frankincense essential oil cost $1.33 per mL.

Here are the prices for Frankincense (Boswellia spp) essential oil from some popular companies broken down by dollars/mL

Rocky Mountain Oils: $60 for 15 mL. This cost is about $4.00 per mL.

Plant Therapy: $16 for 10 mL. This is about $1.60 per mL. This cost was similar for both the organic and non-organic options.

Super Expensive Brands:

doTerra: $93 for 15 mL. That's the retail price. That's $6.20 per mL.

Young Living: $97 for 15 mL. This is around $6.50 per mL.

How Much is a Milliliter? (mL)

One milliliter (mL) is about 20 metric drops. That's it. You can do the math if you want to further break down the cost per drop of essential oil on the above brands. Basically, there should be about 200 drops in a 10 mL bottle and 300 drops in a 15 mL bottle.

Well, what the heck---let's just cost out one drop of essential oil for a couple of the brands…for fun. I'll do doTerra and Plant Therapy (again, these are for prices as of 2018, when I originally wrote this article.)

One drop of doTerra Frankincense essential oils costs 31 cents. One drop of Plant Therapy essential oils costs about .02 cents.

I use Frankincense ALL the time, and just one of the ways I use it daily is on my face. I put two drops of essential oil into my moisturizer twice a day, so that's four drops a day. That doesn't sound like much, but let's take a look.

Using doTerra costs $1.20 a day, for four drops of Frankincense. Using Plant Therapy costs about .32 cents a day for the same amount.

(If you want to learn why you totally should have Frankincense essential oil in your home, it's benefits & uses, click through to find out more about it.)

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Final Thoughts About Finding Quality Essential Oil Brands--My Recommendations

I believe everyone deserves to be able to use essential oils for their health. As one of the many great choices out there for alternative and natural health, I think using essential oils is one of the best choices you can make, along with medicinal herbs and plants.

I hope I've taken away at least some of the confusion and helped you know that you can certainly find affordable options for purchasing quality essential oils that are also reasonably priced. Just beware of very cheap essential oils.

Try to find a company you trust online.

I know it's tempting to purchase blindly through Amazon, but just be careful. Buyer beware and all that. And---if you happen to come across an essential oil company that meets all the above criteria, and it doesn't happen to be one of my three favorites---that's great!

Just because I don't list it here doesn't mean it's not good. Most likely it means either I have not tried the essential oils, or I have tried them and had some type of bad experience. There are new essential oil companies popping up every day, so be sure to do thorough research. And….it’s ok to ask an aromatherapist.

Which Essential Oil Companies Do I Personally Recommend?

In no particular order:

1) Rocky Mountain Oils

2) Plant Therapy

3) Starwest Botanicals

4) Amrita Aromatics

Full disclosure: I’m an affiliate for these companies. Other companies I highly recommend as well are:

5) Aromatics International (they include the two primary chemical constituents on each label, which is helpful if you’re an aromatherapy student)

6) Pompeii Street Organics

7) Florihana.

8) Borea Sens (Canada)—I really love this company.

9) Norfolk Essential Oils (UK)

10) Pranarom (United States and France)

All of these are excellent companies.

After purchasing and using the essential oils from ALL these companies with integrity and on a daily basis for some time, making comparisons, having friends take blind fold tests....well, I believe any of these choices are great! And like I mentioned above...they are not the only good companies out there.

Take a look at each of them and choose one that works for you!

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or maybe you found my math to be wrong, which is entirely possible, I'd love it if you would leave a comment in the comments section!

You might also be interested in:

VIDEO: The 12 Criteria for Choosing an Essential Oil Company

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VIDEO: Types of Diffusers for Your Home or Office

What is the Best Way to Diffuse Your Essential Oils?,

Using Essential Oils to Support Healthy Blood Pressure

VIDEO: How to Make Men’s Cologne with Essential Oils

and so many more over on the blog and YouTube channel (please subscribe)!

Be sure to join my Facebook group: Practical Herbs + Oils with Heidi, too.

Hugs, Health, & Self-Reliance,

Heidi

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Sourcing High Quality Essential Oils and What to Avoid When Buying Essential Oils