Coppertone vs Neutrogena 2024 (The Definitive Guide)

Stroll through the sunscreen aisle of your local beauty store and you’ll face a dizzying number of choices—two of the best brands that always stick out to us, though, are Coppertone and Neutrogena.

We’ll be comparing their best-sellers side-by-side so you can see which would suit you and your skin the best. Enjoy!

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Coppertone vs Neutrogena Sunscreen

If there is one skincare product that you must have all year round—especially in the summer—it’s sunscreen. SPF should be a part of your everyday skincare routine to protect the sensitive skin of your body and face from harmful UV rays.

Coppertone offers a host of incredibly popular sunscreens, however, our pick of the bunch is the Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Lotion. This is because the popular Ultra Guard Sunscreen Lotion contains oxybenzone (a potential carcinogen), and their popular Tanning Lotions cannot strictly be classed as sunscreens since their max SPF is 15.

Neutrogena also offers a wide variety of sunscreens, however, it is relatively easy to see that the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen is by far the most popular.

Expanding on the point regarding both offering broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection, both sunscreens actually contain the exact same active ingredients for sun protection, varying only slightly in concentration. To be specific, they contain: Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate, and Octocrylene.

They both also contain Vitamin E which provides extra protection against acute UVB damage, and protects against cell mutation caused by sun exposure.

Where they begin to differ are their inactive ingredients lists. The Coppertone Sport Sunscreen formula contains several moisturizing agents such as Glycerin and Beeswax to condition the skin and keep skin "moisturized all day long" (their words, not ours).

The Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen instead contains a 'Dry-Touch Complex' of mattifiers to ensure a really pleasant, sheer, matte finish. Comparing the ingredients lists side-by-side reveals relatively few major differences, though.

With both boasting incredibly similar formulas, clocking in at around the same price per fluid ounce, and with it being a genuine struggle to find any real negative feedback about them anywhere online, it's incredibly difficult to separate the two. This is never a bad problem to have, though!

If you have normal-to-dry skin, you might prefer Coppertone's Sport Sunscreen due to the moisturizing formula, whereas if you have an oilier skin type you might prefer the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen. It has to be said that both sunscreens work great for all skin types, though.

Coppertone Sport Sunscreen is available as a lotion, spray, stick, and lip balm as well as a mineral sunscreen.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen is available as a lotion, spray, face serum, and stick.

Coppertone Best-Sellers

For the best sun protection:
Try the ULTRA GUARD Sunscreen

For the face:
Try the Face Sunscreen

For kids:
Try the KIDS Sunscreen

Neutrogena Best-Sellers

For hydration:
Try the Hydro Boost Sunscreen

For the beach:
Try the Beach Defense Sunscreen

For kids:
Try the Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen

Work in progress

You have been reading a post that we are constantly updating. Be sure to bookmark this page, subscribe, and come back later to see additions to the definitive Coppertone vs Neutrogena sunscreen guide!

This article was originally published on May 24th 2022, but it has been reviewed and updated with the latest available information on February 6th 2024 by Sara Mckay, MA.