When I first got introduced to essential oils, all the rave was about the Young Living Thieves® blend.
“It’s the best household cleaner I’ve ever had!”, or “my kids never get sick at school” were some of the many claims to fame of this popular oil.
It intrigued me so much, that I had to research the blend, and find out why it works so well – but also, how one could get it without having to pay the Young Living price tag.
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If you’re with me, and want to learn about Young Living Thieves essential oil uses, and explore similarly powerful essential oil blends from other companies that are similar, here is everything I found out for you:
Contents
What’s In the Thieves® Blend?
There are five different essential oils in the YL Thieves blend. They are listed below along with a brief description of what each oil does for us, if used individually:
- Clove Essential Oil (Syzigium aromaticum) promotes a healthy immune response, and may support overall wellness.
- Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) also supports the immune system, decreases inflammation, increases circulation and fights free radicals1.
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil (Eucalyptus radiata) further supports the immune system, acts as an anti-inflammatory2, and improves respiratory circulation.
- Rosemary Essential Oil (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a rich antioxidant3 and works as an anti-inflammatory.
- Lemon Essential Oil (Citrus limonum) is also a powerful antioxidant4; and has cleansing and purifying properties.
It comes as no surprise that many of the oils in the Thieves blend have similar effects and properties. These harmonious effects of multiple healing agents working together create an astounding natural super remedy!
Now, the Alternatives!
Having learned what exactly is in the Thieves blend, I’ve searched for other brands blends that had at least 4 of the 5 same essential oils ingredients matching to the YL blend. As I’ll be doing price comparisons on all the alternatives, please keep in mind that YL Thieves costs around $35.99 for 15 ml.
Alternative blends to Young Living thieves oil
1. doTERRA “OnGuard” Blend
— $36.99 for 15 ml
The doTERRA OnGuard blend also has 5 essential oils in it, and 4 of them are the same as in Thieves. The only difference here is the use of Wild Orange instead of Lemon. Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary are used the same as in Thieves. As both Wild Orange and Lemon are in the citrus line of oils, they have quite a few similar traits, properties, and smells.
My smell test also reaches the same conclusion – you could never tell the difference! I would also say that their effectiveness is completely on par – both work well as cleansers or respiratory system supporters. Further, oil consistency is also exactly like the Young Living Thieves blend – nice and “thick” looking.
Unfamiliar with doTERRA as a brand? You can find my in-depth review about this EO company here.
2. Eden’s Garden “Fighting Five” Blend
— $9.40 for 10 ml
Edens Gardens’ equivalent to Thieves oil uses the exact same 5 oil ingredients: Cinnamon, Clove, Eucalyptus, Lemon and Rosemary. However, the amount of each oil used must differ as the Fighting Five blend has a slightly more distinct eucalyptus smell rather than the strong clove/cinnamon notes of both YL and doTerra blends.
Further, the oil is more “runny” or “thin” – another not such a great point for this blend.
However, Eden’s Garden carries a bunch of other quite nice oils and blends that I would definitely recommend and use. Learn more about Eden’s Garden brand here.
3. Rocky Mountain Oils “Immune Strength” Blend
— $26.50 for 15 ml
The Rocky Mountain Immue Strength oil combines Clove Bud, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon, Orange, Oregano, Mandarin, Thyme, Rosemary, Nutmeg, Ginger Root, and Eucalyptus citriodora essential oils. These are quite a few more oils in the mix – but the main 5 oils same as in Thieves, are all contained in there, maybe with the slight exception of the type of Eucalyptus used.
In Thieves, it’s the Eucalyptus radiata branch, vs. here in Rocky Mountain oils, it’s the Eucalyptus citriodora branch that is being used. Find out more about the difference in the footnotes5. In short though, the radiata strand is native to Australia only, and smells quite mild. Citriodora is also known as Lemon Eucalyptus Oil as it has a more fresh and lemony uplifting aroma.
Overall, I love this blend and am rating it 4.8/5 only because it includes a few more oils than just the main five – but I don’t think that really takes away from the experience.
New to Rocky Mountain Oils? Find a company review here.
4. Plant Therapy “Germ Fighter” Blend
— $14.95 for 30 ml
This blend by Plant Therapy basically carries the name of what Thieves “does” anyways – it fights germs. Whether that’s germs from general household use or germs because you have a cold – it fights them all the same.
This blend in particular also contains 5 pure, undiluted essential oils: Lemon, Clove, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon Cassia and Rosemary. Again, ALMOST The exact same line-up as Young Living – with the exception of the type of Cinnamon used. Not all Cinnamon is created equal, and the cassia variety is more common and inexpensive compared to the Ceylon Cinnamon. Ceylon is milder, and more delicate in comparison. Again, please head to the footnotes6 for a more in-depth comparison if you’d like to research this further.
Personally, I think this blend is spot on to Young Living’s Thieves oil. Much like with doTerra’s OnGuard blend, I can’t even tell the difference between them.
If you’d like more information about Plant Therapy as a company, see my review here. If you’re ready to shop, head on over to Amazon and add Germ Fighter to your next order!
5. REVIVE “Immunity Boost” Blend
— $14.00 for 10 ml
REVIVE Immunity Boost is this brand’s comparable blend to Young Living’s popular Thieves® recipe. It is their own proprietary blend of the same five oils of Clove, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Lemon essential oils.
The differences of “Immunity Boost” to Young Living Thieves® are in the choices of Clove and Eucalyptus oils. REVIVE uses Eugenia caryophyllata (Clove) Bud Oil, whereas Young Living uses Syzigium aromaticum (Clove) Oil. They also use Eucalyptus globulus instead of Eucalyptus radiata that is used in Thieves.
The essential oils of Lemon, Cinnamon and Rosemary in this blend are used from the same plant species.
You can’t get REVIVE oils on Amazon so you’ll have to order through their website directly. You can do so here and if you’re coming from this page, use code EOHAVEN at checkout for a sweet 10% discount. REVIVE is a comparably newer essential oil brand so if you wish to check out their company reputation and other highlights in my full REVIVE brand review, you can find it here.
BONUS: Lisse Essentials “Protect” Blend
— $6.95 for 10 ml
If you’re unfamiliar with Lisse Essential Oils, I don’t blame you. They are a very new company. I usually like a new essential oil brand to prove itself first a little bit before I totally trust them, but in this case, I duly have to make an exception. I have worked with Lisse Essentials directly and have asked them a bunch of hard questions to include in my Lisse essential oils company review. Then, they sent me some test products and have included their “Protect” blend just in time for cold and flu season and to make it into this line-up comparison of best alternative oil blends to replace Thieves.
Day after day since receiving my Lisse products, I have been putting “Protect” in our diffuser. I love this blend! I want all my friends to have a bottle, or a handy roll-on to carry along in your purse and use throughout the day. On Amazon, the roll-on is available, but if you want the 10 ml oil bottle, this is only sold through www.lisseessentials.com. (10 mL for $7.49). This slight shopping hassle deducted them some points in my star ratings. But don’t be confused. If you’re on the lookout for another amazing alternative to Thieves, please give this brand a try.
I don’t often speak so highly of newcomer brands, because honestly, most of them have so many kinks to work out that you’ll be disappointed and I don’t want that for your EO experience – but this brand I really can recommend!
“Protect” Blend Ingredients: Clove, Cinnamon, Lemon, Rosemary, Eucalyptus – an exact match to Young Living Thieves’ ingredients list – BUT Lisse does use alternate plant botanicals for Cinnamon and Eucalyptus. Lisse uses Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). YL uses Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus radiata).
DIY Young Living Thieves Blend Recipe
As a bonus alternative to Young Living Thieves blend, you can simply make your own mix! I’m calling this one a simple antibacterial essential oil blend, like Thieves!
The beauty of creating your own blend, is that you can always mix in a few more drops of one oil or another, should the scent notes not quite be to your liking… yet!
As I learned at the very beginning of this article, these oils are in their very nature already quite harmonious together and all support your well-being in similar ways. You’re not going to be able to do this wrong! The only consideration in my opinion are time savings, to buy a pre-made blend instead.
Ingredients
2 drops Rosemary Oil
3 drops Eucalyptus Radiata Oil
4 drops Cinnamon Bark Oil
7 drops Lemon Oil
8 drops Clove Bud Oil
Directions
1. Purchase a clean essential oil bottle to hold your essential oil blend. I don’t recommend using a previously used oil bottle as some of the scent notes could still be lingering in there. Additionally, it’s nice to have a good, new dropper for your own blend. You can get them in any size, from 1 ml and up, mostly in packs of a few at a time. Get what suits your needs, depending on whether you make a lot of one blend, or maybe you prefer just making sample sized DIY blends at home.
2. Shake well before use. Use as desired.
In Summary
Natural home remedy alternatives
As my research shows, one can get a similar oil to Young Living’s popular Thieves blend, at a fraction of the cost. While I wasn’t too impressed with Eden’s Garden’s rendition of the classic, I can highly recommend the Plant Therapy alternative, Rocky Mountain Oils or doTerra.
In Pricing, doTerra costs about the same as YL, so if that’s a factor for you, consider doTERRA “out” as well. The Immune Strength from RMO is still quite a bit more expensive than Germ Fighter from Plant Therapy, also considering that the Germ Fighter comes in double the size than Immune Strength. Personal test winner: Plant Therapy’s Germ Fighter. Or of course, the Thieves Blend Recipe that you can easily make yourself at home.
IMPORTANT: Due to some of the ingredients in Thieves, the Thieves alternatives, or the DIY blend recipe, they are all is considered a “hot” blend – which means you should always always always dilute it before application. Find out a list of best carrier oils here, or use it in your diffuser at 2-3 drops per 100 ml.
Questions? Please let me know in the comments!
Resources
1 Scientific Research showing Cinnamon Bark fighting free radicals: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3854496
2 Rosemary as an anti-oxidant: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5905578/
3 Eucalyptus as an anti-inflammatory agent: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590072/
4 Lemon antioxidant: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4091952/
5 Differences between Eucalyptus radiata and Eucalyptus citriodora: www.experience-essential-oils.com/uses-of-eucalyptus.html
6 Differences between Cinnamon Ceylon and Cassia:https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ceylon-vs-cassia-cinnamon
Diane Lucio
I want to try your Thieves recipe. It’s so expensive to purchase through Young Living. I want to mix this with coconut oil in a roller bottle to apply to the bottom of my feet. What ratio do I use. Is it one drop for one drop of each?
Emma Carter
Hi Diane, great question! My “Thieves” recipe tallies up to a total of 24 drops. In a 10 mL standard roll-on bottle, that’s a dilution rate of almost 10%. That is a bit strong. I would recommend a 4-5% dilution rate at most, safer yet, a 2-3% rate. A 4% dilution rate is 12 drops of essential oils to 10 ml of carrier oil. 2% is 6 drops only, and 3% allows 9 drops. You can find a chart for dilution rates here, which show how much essential oil to use per amount of carrier oil.
In the case of my Thieves recipe, you can half it on the fly, and use only half of the drops I’ve indicated. That would be 12 drops total, 4% dilution rate: 1 drop Lemon, “1.5” drops Eucalyptus, 2 drops Cinnamon Bark, etc. However, given that it’s super hard to do a “half drop” of oil, either approximate it, or create a master blend of “DIY Thieves” in a separate empty amber bottle (get one here), and then use 6-9 drops from that “DIY Thieves” master blend to create your roller.
Ann
I just made a hand sanitizer using 80% grain alcohol (not isopropyl alcohol), aloe vera juice, 1 ts vitamin e oil (32.000IU) and 15 drops thieves. While is quite moisturizing, I feel the scent of the oil is way too strong for me. I will most likely dilute it once I use up a bit while shopping (not on skin for now).
I was wondering if this Thieves blend in a hand sanitizer is safe for kids once I bring the scent down a bit. Looking up online I found contradicting articles. When I used to be a YL member for many years I was told that it was safe, but somehow I felt otherwise. My kids are 5,8 and 11.
Also, I have been using Plant Therapy for quite a while now with great success after not being able/afford to buy YL. Love that their kidsafe versions are formulated by Robert Tisserand.
Karen
Are these oils and oil blends safe to use around pets and babies?
Emma Carter
Hi Karen, no, they are not safe for babies and pets. If you plan to use essential oils on or around your children, please look for a child safe line. Plant Therapy sells a “Germ Destroyer” blend that is safe for ages 2-10 (Find it here).
Cats are extremely sensitive to Cinnamon, Clove, Lemon, AND Eucalyptus, so Thieves is definitely not a blend to recommend around cats! Dogs also don’t typically love Cinnamon essential oil, so again, I wouldn’t use any Thieves alternative or Germ Destroyer type of essential oil around a dog.
Hope this helps!
Susanne
Thank you, thank you, dear Emma for all your research here. I am interested in making a cleaner on par with doTerra’s OnGuard Cleaner. Besides using the oils listed here for DYI, is there anything else in their mix besides water?
Adriana
Oh thank you for this information!! I hopped online, needing a more affordable equivalent for Thieves oil as my family has the yucky winter germs and I have been sick (not germ related) and at home for 4 months – my immune system is low! So I am pumping the Thieves through all diffusers. But it is so costly! So thank you for this research and information.
Emma Carter
Hi Adriana, thanks so much for your comment. Glad to help! ? ?
Cheri Pysson
My husband and I love the thieves household from YL can you tell me how to replicate this using the revive brand? I am not sure what to use as a carrier oil or (filler). Thank you
patricia hanks
I would love to have more diy ideas on liquid hand soap, dishwasher liquid and washing liquid. If you could please?
Emma Carter
Hi Patricia, I’d love to help! I’ve recently tested, created and published a DIY “Thieves” Foaming Hand Soap Recipe HERE.
Cindy D May
Natural Antibiotic question. I do not want to take antibiotics ever (!!) One of my friends told me she has a homemade antibiotic. Hers was DoTerra: OnGuard 5 drops, Oregano 3 drops, and Melaluce/Tea tree 5 drops. You take 4 capsules a day. It definitely has been helping. I don’t know if the pace is slower, or if it is because the bacterial infection was systemic…. I’m still taking and would like to alternate. Any ideas of what you would combine for another natural antibiotic? I don’t want to just duplicate it with the YL oils. Thank you!! Cindy
Carole Hunt
I have emphysema. My daughter bought me a Young Living diffuser and oils to use. I know I need to use oils that will help my breathing and oils for immunity. What do you recommend? Should I use diffuser and if so how often, or apply to skin? Also, I don’t understand what you mean when you say carrier oil. I am desperate to know exactly how to use the oils for best results. Also, my 8 year old granddaughter lives with me so I wouldn’t want to do anything that could cause her harm.
Thanks!
Carole Hunt
Samanta Linda
I have a question:
Which of these other brands also guarantee the same “food grade” quality in the oils that they are using for the blend? I ask bc I enjoy using thieves in my mouth.
Lisa Harris
In many of the training courses I have done, ingesting Essential Oils is not recommended. They are not made for nor considered “food grade”. The safe use of EO’s is highly recommended by most educators.
Chuey Bluey
I think this is the whole idea behind the EO ultrasonic diffusers. (I had decided I liked them for the “good smells” before finding out about the health benefits of EOs.) The diffusers make such a fine fog, rather than mist, that they are easily breathed in. The copy I read stated the lungs, rich with blood vessels, distributes the benefits directly into the bloodstream. If one ingests it, the stomach acids would possibly alter it or at least buffer it, not to mention lengthen the time before it reaches the bloodstream. Also, the first thing I learned about EOs was that one should never apply to skin without use of a carrier oil; I can only surmise that advice applies to any form of ingesting it.
Emma Carter
Hi Samanta, I agree with Lisa, essential oils should generally not be ingested. However, some companies still advocate for it. I’ve created a list of companies that also advocate internal use, but that aren’t Young Living, here: https://www.essentialoilhaven.com/using-essential-oils-safely/. From this top 5 list of Thieves alternatives specifically, only doTERRA also advocates for internal use of their onGuard blend, but only if diluted 1 drop of oil to 4 oz of water. See the details here: https://www.doterra.com/US/en/p/on-guard-oil. Hope this helps!
Rachel Kabbash
You can also check out Revive Immunity Boost EO. The price point is awesome $14 for 10ml or $28 for 30ml. I ordered the 10ml to try and it is exactly the same in smell and result for me as YL. Next time I will be ordering the 30ml size.
Ms Johnene Hobson
I use Germ Fighter in diffuser and On Guard in roller bottle. I prefer the smell of On Guard and have tried to change Germ Fighter but with no success. Do you have any ideas please? I’m thinking of adding a lot of blood orange maybe… Kind regards Johnny
andrea
Where do you use the roller bottle? feet? temples?
Jilly Anderson
Hi, isn’t it better to get the more expensive oils due to a better quality oil.
Emma Carter
Hi Jilly, this is the most common misconception around the essential oils market today. Price DOES NOT equal quality. Price has more to do with company structure and what % of mark-up a business expects to make as a profit off of their sale. This price discussion goes all the way through the supply chain. Certain farmers charge more for their oils than others, certain middlemen charge differently than others, etc. Quality testing at the end of the consumer chain is the only thing that can guarantee the purity of what’s in the bottle you buy – and distributing “quality oils” comes down to the seller’s knowledge of how to properly source, test and distribute an essential oil. I personally shop by brand trustworthiness before shopping by price. Some brands with totally fair pricing have amazing product. Just because an oil is more expensive does not at all mean at all that it’s better. That said, yes there are some discount brands that sell junk oils – I’ve come across those too. All I can recommend to you is that you browse my list of top 10 oils brands, all of which I can vet for.
Jennifer
I believe doTerra and YL can be taking orally. Is so the case with the other brands? Thanks you for your comprehensive list. Answered so many questions.
Diane
I buy a lot of my oils from Hopewell Essential Oils (https://hopewelloils.com). Their Plague Defense blend contains the same oils as Thieves, and I must say, this oil has kept me sickness free these past 2 winters! Would love to hear your comments, if any, on this company. I have been impressed so far with their quality and pricing, and for most all oils, they offer a 2ml trial size.