Whether you are new to natural care products or not, you can’t help but come across the company name, Young Living, in your search for new or replacement items. Another name that you’ll likely begin to see pop up is Plant Therapy, and you might be wondering if there’s a big difference between the two.
While both companies sustainably and ethically produce natural living products, Plant Therapy seems to give you just as much value as Young Living, but at a more digestible price point.
To better understand any distinctions between these two brands, I’ll explain more about the companies and products they offer in order to help you decide which is the better choice for you, so stick around.
Plant Therapy vs Young Living: Company Structure Comparison
One of the main similarities between these two companies is that they were both founded in the state of Idaho. And while Plant Therapy and Young Living both pledge to offer customers the purest, most natural essential oils, the companies do vary somewhat in how they carry out that promise.
Plant Therapy Company & Products
Although Plant Therapy is a newer company, founded in 2011, they are still expanding throughout the essential oil market and making a name for themselves as a high quality provider. The company is quite transparent. Even though they set high standards to manufacture high quality products, they do not claim to produce oils as potent as Young Living.
Plant Therapy shares a lot of information about their products, certifications, production process, and the many ways that customers can safely use their oils.
Plant Therapy Product Offerings
In terms of business operations, they have a national presence which includes their own retail stores throughout various cities in Idaho. Internationally, they support lots of non-profit organizations and partner with farms across the globe.
Plant therapy offers products in five main categories that I go into detail about in an earlier post, so I will only list them here: body care, household, CBD, Pup & Pony, and essential oils.
Young Living Company & Products
Founded in 1994 by D. Gary and Mary Young, Young Living is now considered to be the world leader of the essential oil market.
Prior to starting the company, Gary spent nine years researching essential oils, starting back in 1985. He wanted to fully understand their cross-cultural benefits and many ways they were distilled. Then in 1992 the couple cultivated lavender on their Idaho farm, which evolved into Young Living. Now the company partners with farms around the globe.
Although Gary has since passed, Mary Young still leads the company’s efforts in creating the purest, most potent essential oils on the market. They have a strong national and international presence, but their global headquarters is still in the mountainous landscape of the United States, directly south of Idaho, in Utah. International offices can be found as close as Canada, as far as Australia, and in ten other locations in between.
Young Living Product Offerings
Young Living promotes clean living and asserts that their plant-based products can help you live a healthy natural lifestyle. They never add any artificial ingredients, formaldehyde, petroleum, artificial dyes, sulfates, or paraben.
They make sure their partners use earth-friendly practices, and they use packaging that has a less negative impact on the ecosystem.
Young Living products include essential oils, diffusers, supplements, and personal care products for the face, body, mouth, bath, and hair. They also manufacture makeup and CBD oil.
Plant Therapy vs Young Living: Essential Oil Comparisons
Both companies offer complete lines of wellness products but what they are each best known for is their essential oil offerings, so that’s what I’m going to compare here.
Instead of focusing on many individual oils, I thought it best to compare the most popular essential oil sets that each company has to offer.
Plant Therapy 7 & 7 Essential Oils Set
- OUR MOST POPULAR ESSENTIAL OIL SET: 7 & 7 includes seven of our top single oils and seven of our powerful synergy blends. Great for people new to...
- EASY, AFFORDABLE WAY TO FIND YOUR FAVORITE: Here's what's included: Lavender, Tea Tree, Sweet Orange, Peppermint, Lemon, Cinnamon and Eucalyptus...
- BATCH SPECIFIC GC-MS REPORTS ON EVERY OIL: Every bottle of oil from Plant Therapy goes through multiple rounds of testing including organoleptic...
- HIGH-QUALITY AFFORDABLE ESSENTIAL OILS: At Plant Therapy our goal is to positively impact the lives of as many people as we possibly can, by selling...
- CERTIFIED AROMATHERAPISTS ON STAFF: Our customers are our #1 priority and we’d love for you to join the Plant Therapy Family. Our Certified...
This is a combination of Plant Therapy’s top seven single essential oils and synergy blends, in 10 mL (0.33 oz) bottles, that has something for everyone – even those who are sensitive to certain smells.
It includes the following single essential oils: cinnamon cassia, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, peppermint, sweet orange, tea tree. Synergistic blends include: Energy, Germ Fighter, Immune-Aid, Invigor-Aid, Relax, Sensual, and Tranquil. In this post, I go into more detail about the oils.
They label their oils on the top of their bottles as well as the sides. If you store your oils in a wooden box or a drawer, this helps you identify which one you’re picking up without having to lift each bottle individually.
Plant Therapy also writes up a detailed description of each oil along with suggested ways to use them and prints this information on the side of each bottle. This is especially helpful for customers who are new to essential oil use. Being that these are their most frequently sold oils, you’ll most likely find a use for all of them.
Pros
- Introduces you to the brand
- Decent-sized bottles
- Product to consumer prices
- Diffuse well in larger rooms
Cons
- You may not end up using all of them
Young Living Everyday Oils Essential Oil Collection
- COMPLETE ESSENTIAL OIL SET: Immerse yourself in the benefits of 10 essential oils, carefully selected for everyday use.
- BEAUTIFY YOUR SKIN: Lavender and Stress Away bring a spa-like experience, promoting skin radiance and tranquility.
- PROMOTES RELAXATION & AROMATHERAPY: Create a tranquil atmosphere, melt away daily stress, and indulge in the power of aromatherapy.
- STRESS RELIEF: Stress Away, a soothing blend, helps melt away daily stress and promotes relaxation.
- VERSATILE APPLICATIONS: Use in diffusers, massages, or create DIY beauty and wellness blends.
This collection includes ten 5mL (0.17 oz) bottles of single and blended essential oils.
Single Essential Oils
- Frankincense
- Lavender
- Lemon Vitality
- Peppermint Vitality
- Tea Tree
Lavender, lemon, and peppermint are discussed in this article. Frankincense can help to enhance the immune system. And when diffused, its woody aroma helps you to relax by creating a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere. Young Living’s tea tree oil can neutralize odors in your home when diffused. There are also a lot of benefits to combining tea tree with a carrier oil and using it topically.
Blended Essential Oils
- Joy
- PanAway
- Purification
- Stress Away
- Thieves Vitality
Joy blended essential oil is an invigorating citrus and floral combination of geranium, jasmine, palmarosa, ylang ylang, tangerine, lemon, and bergamot – all of which can help give you a lift throughout the day.
If you’re experiencing stress or exhaustion, PanAway essential oil blend might be of benefit. It’s a combination of helichrysum, peppermint, clove, and wintergreen, which lends to its soothing, cooling effects throughout your home.
The Purification blend includes lavindin (a lavender plant hybrid), lemongrass, myrtle, citronella, rosemary, and tea tree oils. It’s an effective blend that when diffused, cleanses and renews the air within your home.
Stress Away is an interesting fusion of oils that can help you feel more cheerful throughout the day when added to your diffuser. This combination includes: Copaiba, lime, vanilla, cedarwood, lavender, and ocotea essential oils. I describe Thieves Vitality in this post.
Pros
- Nice introduction to the brand
- Common single oils
- Unique essential oil blends
- Value for the price
Cons
- Small bottles don’t last for long
- Hefty price tag for the amount given
- You may not like them all
Blend Comparisons
While each company blends different essential oils, there is some overlap in the kinds and uses of their blended oils. These are not an exact match but below I’ve created a table listing which of Plant Therapy’s synergistic blends reminds me of Young Living’s (YL) blends.
Plant Therapy | Young Living |
Germ Fighter | Thieves Vitality |
ImmuneAid | Purification |
Relax | Stress Away |
Tranquil | Joy |
Energy Blend | PanAway |
The Plant Therapy set includes two additional blends: Sensual and Invigor-Aid, the former of which might be similar to Young Living’s Joy or Stress Away blends.
In summary, here is a chart of the main differences between these two sets:
Plant Therapy | Young Living | |
Total Oils in Set | 14 | 10 |
Number of Singles | 7 | 5 |
Number of Blends | 7 | 5 |
Bottle Sizes | 10 mL (0.33 oz) | 5mL (0.17 oz) |
Approximate Price* | $59.95 | $199.99 |
Takeaway: Plant Therapy offers fourteen bottles to Young Living’s ten. Although their blends are not a direct match, many Plant Therapy customers chose them as an alternative to the more expensive Young Living brand and have stated that they would be willing to purchase Plant Therapy oils again in the future. So if I were choosing a set like these, I’d probably go with Plant Therapy due to the number and size of bottles for the asking price and because it has similar value to Young Living.
Plant Therapy vs Young Living: Key Differences
Plant Therapy and Young Living appear to be solid companies that want to help encourage the overall well-being of their customers by providing high quality healthy living products.
How their products get to the customer is one of the main differences. Unlike Young Living, there isn’t a network of marketers between the company and the consumer. Instead, Plant Therapy sells directly to the customer, which keeps prices low. Wholesaling Plant Therapy products is an option as well.
Young Living on the other hand, still focuses on a network model, even though it’s changed over the years. In the past, this system was called Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). You may have also heard of the term, Pyramid Scheme used to describe MLM as well. Neither term has the best reputation, but it seems to have worked for Young Living. In this system individuals, couples, or partners build teams of individuals to sell products to consumers, usually by hosting small parties in someone’s home.
In current times, MLM has evolved into becoming a company’s Brand Partner. People can sign a brand partner agreement with Young Living to sell products and receive commissions for those who join their team, usually through online platforms. That person will earn more and more by working their way up to different levels the more people sign on under them.
In today’s age, social media influencers are often at the top of the pyramid.
Many people ask why Young Living oils are so much more expensive, and this is my theory. Instead of the direct to consumer model that Plant Therapy has, the Young Living financial structure has more levels, which means, more people to pay. Different strokes for different folks.
But another reason for the price difference could be that Young Living essential oils are actually more potent.
Plant Therapy vs Young Living: Which Should You Choose?
While both of the collections mentioned are great starter kits, here are some additional points to keep in mind when choosing between Plant Therapy and Young Living:
Choose Plant Therapy if:
- You want to try an oil comparable to Young Living but at a lower price point.
- You want to support a company that cuts out the middlemen.
- You want a wide variety of various essential oil collections.
Choose Young Living if:
- You don’t mind higher price tags for quality oils.
- You like tried and true unique oil combinations.
- You want the most potent oils you can find.
Young Living customers stand by this company and the potency of their oils. So if you were to pay more for smaller bottles, you might find that they last as long as larger bottles because you would be using less oil. But if their prices are still too steep for you, I don’t think you’d regret trying out Plant Therapy.