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The Ordinary vs COSRX

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

The Ordinary and COSRX are two popular skincare brands known for offering serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and more. The Canadian brand centers its formulas around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane, suiting dry and dry sensitive skin best, while the Korean brand thoughtfully incorporates hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and niacinamide to suit oily and oily acne-prone skin best. Both brands address targeted concerns like acne, dark spots, and aging through specific standouts, yet they differ fundamentally in their foundational ingredients and ideal skin types.

The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021.

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COSRX is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2013 and owned by Amorepacific Group since 2024.

koreajoongangdaily.combeautymatter.comprnewswire.com

This page compares some of the most popular The Ordinary and COSRX products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular The Ordinary vs COSRX products

People Say

The OrdinaryCOSRX
  • Miscellaneous Performance Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “eliminated armpit odor — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “pores look significantly smaller — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
    • “dark skin friendly — COSRX Ultra-Light Invisible Sunscreen”
    • “calms down my redness — COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence”
  • Smooth and Improved Skin Texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “skin feels baby butt smooth — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence”
    • “skin feels softer immediately — COSRX The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum”
  • Acne and Blemish Control Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pimples disappear within a day — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “scars and hormonal acne faded — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “helped to improve my acne after only 2 weeks — COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser”
    • “cleared up my spots — COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser”
  • Gentle and Sensitive Skin Care Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “No stinging or irritation — COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid”
    • “extremely gentle — COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner”
    • “perfect for first-time retinol users — COSRX The Retinol 0.1 Cream”
    • “Leaves my face feeling soft and not tight at all. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
  • Value and Pricing Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “lasts forever — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “can't beat the price — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “extremely affordable — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
    • “huge bottle — COSRX Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream”
  • Hydration and Moisture Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up — COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence”
    • “woke up with soft, supple skin — COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream”
    • “gives a healthy glow — COSRX The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum”
    • “skin feels immediately hydrated — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Texture and Pilling Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “texture is gooey and stringy — COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream”
    • “too slimy and sticky — COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence”
    • “Leaves a sticky film — COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid”
    • “crumbles and piles under moisturizer — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
  • Irritation and Harshness Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “irritated AF the next day — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “stings a little but worth it — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “left my face tight — COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser”
    • “leaves skin feeling tight — COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser”
  • Miscellaneous Complaints Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Takes a month to work — COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid”
    • “didn't do anything — COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner”
    • “did absolutely nothing — COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence”
    • “Hard to layer — The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum”

The Ordinary vs COSRX routines for dry skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · $109.78 · 97% fitBuy COSRX routine · $128.96 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

The Ordinary vs COSRX routines for oily skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · $207.87 · 93% fitBuy COSRX routine · $292.12 · 91% fitSee multi-brand routine · 98% fit

The Ordinary vs COSRX routines for combination skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · $219.97 · 93% fitBuy COSRX routine · $268.03 · 89% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or COSRX: which is better?

Both brands are great choices depending on your specific skin type, with The Ordinary offering superior value and routine fit across most skin categories, while COSRX excels in hydration and gentle sensitive skin care.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and COSRX?

The Ordinary offers budget-friendly formulas with high value, whereas COSRX specializes in hydration and gentle sensitive skin care. Hyaluronic acid helps improve skin quality and signs of aging for both brands.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015

The Ordinary or COSRX for dry skin?

The Ordinary offers a superior routine fit for dry skin compared to COSRX, which has a high fit. The Ordinary features key hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin across the products on this page.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

The Ordinary or COSRX: which cleanser is better?

Both The Ordinary and COSRX offer cleansers that fit different skin types well, with The Ordinary providing options like the Glycolipid Cream Cleanser that helps dry skin and the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser for oily skin, while COSRX features popular cleansers such as the Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser and Advanced Snail Mucin Gel Cleanser.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or COSRX?

The Ordinary offers better value and pricing among the products on this page.

The Ordinary or COSRX for fading dark spots?

Both brands offer products on this page that help fade dark spots, with The Ordinary having a Superior Lovi fit level for dark spot fading overall and COSRX having a High fit level. Niacinamide in both lines helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppresses melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Which brand has better hydration and moisture performance?

COSRX does better for hydration and moisture performance. Reviewers often mention deep hydration and moisturization as a key benefit of the products on this page.

The Ordinary or COSRX for oily skin?

Both The Ordinary and COSRX are great for oily skin, as Lovi rates both brands as having a Superior routine fit for this skin type. Reviewers mention that COSRX offers lightweight absorption, while The Ordinary provides affordable and great value serums among the products on this page.

The Ordinary or COSRX: which moisturizer is better?

Both The Ordinary and COSRX offer effective moisturizers, with The Ordinary achieving a Superior fit for dry skin and COSRX providing excellent hydration and lightweight absorption. Hyaluronic acid is a key ingredient across the products on this page that helps improve skin quality and signs of aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

The Ordinary or COSRX for sensitive skin?

The Ordinary provides Superior routine fit for sensitive skin, while COSRX offers High. Reviewers note that COSRX is better for gentle and sensitive skin care.

The Ordinary or COSRX for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Lovi rates The Ordinary Superior and COSRX High. Both brands feature products that help with acne control and clearing, while The Ordinary offers better overall value and pricing.

The Ordinary or COSRX for mature skin?

The products on this page show that The Ordinary has a superior routine fit for mature skin compared to COSRX, which has a high fit. Both brands offer treatments that help address signs of skin aging.

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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