"Cordyceps" on a label covers two different fungi with very different economics. Knowing which one you are holding explains most of what you will read about the category.
The two species
Cordyceps sinensis is the legendary one — the caterpillar fungus of the Tibetan plateau, harvested wild, priced by the gram, and the reason cordyceps has the reputation it has. It cannot be commercially cultivated as a fruiting body. Whatever is grown in a lab and sold as sinensis is mycelium, not the wild article.
Cordyceps militaris is a different species that can be cultivated as a full fruiting body, on grain, in a room. It is orange rather than brown, it is farmed at scale, and it is what is in almost every cordyceps supplement on a Western shelf.
Cordycepin, the number everyone quotes
Cordycepin is the compound most often measured in cordyceps. Here the farmed species wins outright: militaris carries several times more cordycepin than wild sinensis — the figures quoted range from about 5–15 times, with some studies claiming far more.
Worth keeping in perspective, though. A mushroom is not one molecule. A higher figure for a single compound does not automatically mean a better product, and the two species have somewhat different traditional applications — militaris associated with performance and activity, sinensis with restoration and tonic use.
What this means when you are choosing
Militaris is the sensible default. Cultivable, traceable, consistent between batches, richer in the measured compound, and affordable enough to take for months rather than as an occasional luxury. Wild sinensis is expensive enough that sustained use is impractical for most people, which matters, because these are not products that do anything in one dose.
Read the species, not the word. A label saying only "cordyceps" has told you the genus. Look for Cordyceps militaris or Cordyceps sinensis printed properly.
Fruiting body or mycelium? Cultivated militaris is usually sold as fruiting body, which is the part carrying the compounds. Products grown on grain and sold as mycelium contain a proportion of the grain they grew on.
Be suspicious of cheap sinensis. The wild article costs what it costs. If it is priced like a farmed mushroom, it is a farmed mushroom.
Formats
Capsules, tablets, ready-to-drink bottles and concentrated extracts all exist. Liquids usually state extract weight per bottle, which makes them easier to compare; capsules are easier to keep taking, which in practice matters more.
Our cordyceps collection names the species in each listing. Where it is combined with other ingredients — ginseng, collagen, other mushrooms — that is stated too. If a listing is not clear enough to compare against another, tell us and we will fix it.