How Much CBD Should I Take? UK CBD Dosage Guide and Drops Chart

What the UK guidance says

The Food Standards Agency advises healthy adults to take no more than 10mg of CBD a day from food and supplements. It describes that as about 4 to 5 drops of a 5% CBD oil. The FSA does not recommend CBD for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive, under 18, or taking medication.

Planning ahead? Our CBD Black Friday deals run from 27 to 30 November.

The FSA’s 10mg a day figure is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication.

For the full background, read the CBD daily limit in the UK and the FSA’s first CBD approvals explained.

How much CBD should I start with?

1. Start low: around 10mg a day, in one dose or split into two.
2. Be consistent: take it at the same time every day for one to two weeks before judging it.
3. Increase slowly: if you want more effect, add 5mg and wait a few days before changing again.
4. Keep a note: jot down your dose, the time and how you feel. It makes finding your amount much easier.
5. Stop if anything feels wrong, such as drowsiness, an upset stomach or feeling lightheaded.

Our step-by-step dosage calculator walks you through it.

CBD dosage chart: drops per 10mg

Drop sizes vary slightly between pipettes, but a standard drop is about 0.05ml (20 drops per ml). Here is roughly how many drops give 10mg of CBD in each Evopure oil:

Capsules are simpler: our Broad Spectrum CBD Capsules come in 10mg and 25mg, so one 10mg capsule is exactly 10mg.

Which strength should I buy? If you plan to take around 10mg a day, a 5% oil is easiest to measure. Higher strengths suit people who take more, as you need fewer drops and the bottle lasts longer. Our guide to CBD oil strength explains mg and percentages in more detail.

How to work out mg per drop from any bottle

1. Find the mg per ml: divide the total CBD by the bottle size. A 1000mg, 10ml bottle has 100mg per ml.
2. Find the mg per drop: divide that by 20. 100mg per ml is about 5mg per drop.
3. Work out your drops: divide your target dose by the mg per drop. For 10mg at 5mg per drop, that is 2 drops.

The percentage on the label tells you the same thing: a 5% oil has 50mg per ml, a 10% oil has 100mg per ml. If a brand shows neither mg nor percentage clearly, treat that as a red flag.

CBD dosage for sleep, stress, aches and everyday wellness

There is no proven dose for any specific goal, and CBD is not a medicine. These are the common ways people use it:

CBD dosage for sleep

Many people take their CBD 30 to 60 minutes before bed, as part of a wind-down routine. Start with around 10mg and keep the timing consistent. Read more in CBD for sleep, or pair it with magnesium for sleep.

CBD dosage for stress and anxious feelings

For daytime calm, some people split their amount into a morning and early afternoon dose rather than taking it all at once. See CBD oil and anxiety for what the research shows.

CBD dosage for aches and pains

People with sore muscles or stiff joints often combine a daily oil with a CBD balm applied directly to the area. Read CBD for pain and CBD oil for arthritis for the evidence.

CBD dosage for everyday wellness

For general use, a steady 10mg a day at a time that suits you is a good place to start and, for many people, all they need.

What changes how much CBD you need

• The format: drops under the tongue are absorbed faster and more efficiently than capsules or edibles. See CBD bioavailability.
• Food: taking CBD with food, especially a meal with some fat, increases how much you absorb.
• Body size and metabolism: these play a part, but there is no reliable formula that turns body weight into a dose, despite what online charts suggest.
• The type of CBD: broad and full spectrum oils contain other hemp compounds, while isolate is pure CBD.
• Consistency: CBD tends to work best taken daily rather than now and then.

Oil vs capsules vs balm

For tips on taking drops properly, see how to take CBD oil.

Which type of CBD to choose

• Isolate: pure CBD, nothing else from the plant. The first products recommended for UK authorisation are isolates.
• Broad spectrum: CBD plus other hemp compounds such as minor cannabinoids and terpenes, with THC removed. All Evopure oils, including our Evolabs flavoured range, are broad spectrum.
• Full spectrum: contains trace THC, which carries a small drug test risk.

If you are drug tested at work or in sport, choose broad spectrum or isolate with a lab report showing no detectable THC. Read more about the different types of CBD, the entourage effect and CBD and drug tests.

Can you take too much CBD?

You can’t fatally overdose on CBD, but taking more than you need can cause side effects such as drowsiness, an upset stomach, diarrhoea or feeling lightheaded. Higher amounts also make interactions with medicines more likely. If that happens, cut back. See can you overdose on CBD? and is CBD bad for your liver?

Interactions and who should avoid CBD

iCBD can change how some medicines work, especially at higher doses. If you take any regular medication, speak to your pharmacist before using CBD. Our guide to CBD and medication explains more.

Don’t use CBD if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive, or are under 18. Choose products with up-to-date lab reports: our guide to reading CBD lab results shows what to check, and you can request the report for any Evopure batch on our lab testing page.

Related guides

• New to CBD? See what is CBD? The complete beginner’s guide.
• How much CBD to add to tea.
• A big first dose is one reason some people notice a racing heart. See CBD and heart palpitations for what to do if it happens.
• This guide is for healthy adults. For MS, see the dose of CBD for MS and why there isn’t an established one.
• Once you know your daily amount, our guide to why CBD oil is so expensive shows how to work out what each serving costs.
• Asking about a dose for nerve pain? Our guide to the CBD dose for sciatica explains why there isn’t an evidence-based one.
• Can you build a tolerance to CBD? before you increase your dose.
• Finding 12 drops hard to swallow? See 9 ways to make CBD oil taste better.
• Baking with CBD? Our CBD brownies recipe has a drops-per-square dose chart.
• If you plan to drive, try a new dose at home first and read CBD and driving in the UK.
• If you have been taking CBD for a while and noticed nothing, our guide to why CBD might not be working walks through dose, food, timing and product quality.
• Cooking with CBD? Our CBD butter recipe has a dose per tablespoon chart.
• Higher CBD doses won’t make you high, because CBD works differently from THC: see CBD vs THC explained.
• If you are weighing up formats, our guide to CBD oil vs gummies shows how much CBD a typical gummy holds against the FSA 10mg figure.
• Once you know your daily amount, you can work out how much CBD to stock up on in the Black Friday sales.
• Taking CBD in the evening? Our guide to the best CBD oil for sleep in the UK shows which strength suits each need.
• Wondering what happens after you stop? See how long CBD stays in your system, from a single dose to daily use.
• Not sure what to expect at each dose? See what 10mg, 25mg and 50mg of CBD feel like.
• Pouches come in fixed amounts, often 10mg or 20mg each: see how much CBD is in a CBD pouch.
• For how strengths and drops compare across broad spectrum oils, see our broad spectrum CBD oil guide.
• Old or badly stored oil can be weaker than the label says, so store your CBD oil properly to keep your drop count accurate.
• Using a 30% or 40% oil? One drop can be more than 10mg, so read what the strongest CBD oils mean for your dose first.
• Prefer a fixed amount with no measuring? Our guide to the best CBD capsules in the UK shows the mg per capsule for each strength.
• Still choosing a bottle? Our guide to the best CBD oil in the UK shows the drops per 10mg for each strength.
• Using a high strength bottle? See how many drops of 2000mg CBD oil make 10mg.
• Using CBD on the skin instead? A CBD balm is a cosmetic, and our guide explains why it doesn’t count towards the FSA’s 10mg a day figure.
• Not sure whether to take your drops in the morning or at night? See our guide to the best time to take CBD oil, including how long before bed and why food matters.
• If you use powder, our guide to CBD isolate explains why you need a milligram scale to measure 10mg.
• Choosing an oil for aches and pains? See the best CBD oil for pain in the UK for strengths, drops per 10mg and lab reports.
• Taking yours in a latte? Our CBD coffee guide shows how many drops make 10mg in a cup.
• There is no separate dose for older people: our guide to CBD for older adults explains the FSA’s advice, medicines and the easiest formats to measure.