15 SUPPLEMENTS · UPDATED 2026-10-10
Supplements — 15 evidence-based picks reviewed
Prices from Amazon and brand-direct stores, with cost per night worked out so a cheap bottle that runs out in three weeks does not look like a bargain. Dose, form and third-party testing compared side by side. No sponsored ranking.
How to choose
Three steps to the right pick
1
Match it to how you sleep
Your position, budget and the problem you're fixing narrow the field fast.
Take the 60-sec quiz →2
Compare the shortlist
Weigh the picks head-to-head on the specs that matter — filter and sort the table.
Jump to comparison ↓3
Check the price, then buy
Prices move — we show the last-checked figure and send you to the retailer's live price.
See best prices →Price comparison
15 of 15 shown. Click any product for the full review + all retailer prices.
BrandProductScoreFormBest price
Doctor's Best
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)
Editor's ChoiceTop rated
The highest-rated magnesium on Amazon — 240 tablets from Doctor's Best.
9/10
Magnesium bisglycinate chelate (TRAACS)
$23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Thorne
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)
The athlete-grade magnesium — NSF Certified for Sport, powder format, same chelate as our value pick at three times the price.
8.7/10
Magnesium bisglycinate powder
$52.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Thorne
Thorne Glycine (250 capsules, 1 g per serving)
Top rated
Single-ingredient glycine, NSF Contents Certified — 250 capsules at 500 mg each.
8.5/10
Capsule (openable — mildly sweet powder)
$31.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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NOW Foods
NOW Foods L-Theanine 200mg (120ct)
200mg L-theanineTop rated
The best-value pure L-theanine — 200mg per capsule, GMP-certified, and $15.79 for 120 servings.
8.4/10
Veg capsule
$15.78 (Amazon price as of – Details)
-7% off · at amazon
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Life Extension
Life Extension Melatonin 6 Hour Timed Release 300 mcg (100ct)
Top rated
The 300 mcg timed-release melatonin — a vegetarian tablet and 100-count bottle.
8.4/10
Vegetarian tablet
$9.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Nature Made Melatonin 5mg 240-count bottle
Nature Made
Nature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
5mg melatoninTop rated
The USP-verified melatonin — 240 tablets at a low price per tablet.
8.2/10
Immediate-release tablet
Check price
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Life Extension
Life Extension Neuro-Mag Magnesium L-Threonate
Life Extension's three-capsule magnesium L-threonate, with published certificates of analysis.
8.1/10
Capsule (3/serving)
$30.78 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Natrol
Natrol Melatonin 5mg Fast Dissolve
Melatonin 5 mgTop ratedBest value
The fast-dissolve standard — strawberry tablets that melt under the tongue, no water needed, from the #1 melatonin brand.
8/10
Fast-dissolve tablet
$8.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Nested Naturals
Nested Naturals LUNA Sleep Aid
The kitchen-sink botanical — melatonin, valerian, chamomile, L-theanine and magnesium in one capsule, with a melatonin-free version for purists.
7.9/10
Vegan capsule
$19.95 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Sports Research
Sports Research L-Theanine 200mg
Top rated
The branded-form option — Suntheanine L-theanine in coconut-oil softgels, third-party tested, at a premium over the plain-capsule version.
7.9/10
MCT-oil softgel
$19.95 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Olly
Olly Sleep Gummies (3mg melatonin + L-theanine, 50ct)
3mg per 2 gummiesTop rated
The most popular sleep gummy on Amazon — 3mg melatonin + L-theanine + botanicals in blackberry flavor.
7.8/10
Gummy
$12.88 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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ZzzQuil
ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs Melatonin Gummies
Top rated
The drugstore favorite — melatonin plus botanicals in a gummy, from the brand your pharmacy already stocks.
7.8/10
Gummy
$13.47 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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Best for...
6 category winners — different needs, different picks. All editorially scored against measured specs.
Best overall
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)
Value-focused buyers, athletes
From $23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
Best budget
Natrol Melatonin 5mg Fast Dissolve
The cheapest sticker price in the lineup
From $8.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
Best melatonin-free
NOW Foods L-Theanine 200mg (120ct)
200mg L-theanine per capsule, GMP-certified, no melatonin
From $15.78 (Amazon price as of – Details)
Lowest melatonin dose
ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs Melatonin Gummies
1-2mg melatonin — the low end of the category
From $13.47 (Amazon price as of – Details)
Best verified purity
Nature Made
Nature Made Melatonin 5mg 240-count bottleNature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
USP-verified and third-party tested, 240 tablets
Check price
Best all-in-one blend
Nested Naturals LUNA Sleep Aid
Melatonin plus seven botanicals in a single vegan capsule
From $19.95 (Amazon price as of – Details)
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12 brands compared · updated weekly
Brands in this category
Doctor's Best
Thorne
NOW
Life Extension
Nature Made
Natrol
Nested Naturals
Sports Research
olly
ZzzQuil
Nature's Bounty
Vitafusion
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Nature Made Melatonin 5mg 240-count bottle
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsNature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
$23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)·Check price
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsOlly Sleep Gummies (3mg melatonin + L-theanine, 50ct)
$23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)·$12.88 (Amazon price as of – Details)
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsNOW Foods L-Theanine 200mg (120ct)
$23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)·$15.78 (Amazon price as of – Details)
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsDoctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)
$52.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)·$23.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsNOW Magnesium Citrate 200mg
$52.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)·$19.99 (Amazon price as of – Details)
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsLife Extension Neuro-Mag Magnesium L-Threonate
$52.00 (Amazon price as of – Details)·$30.78 (Amazon price as of – Details)
How to pick a sleep supplement in 2026
Five decisions collapse this whole category into a clear pick.
1. Start with magnesium, not melatonin
For garden-variety trouble winding down, magnesium has some randomised-trial evidence for sleep onset in older adults — but only three small trials, rated low to very low quality by the authors who pooled them. Those 151 participants fell asleep about 17 minutes faster than on placebo. Two of the trials used magnesium oxide and one used citrate; none used the glycinate that dominates the shelves, so these trials provide no evidence that glycinate outperforms other forms. The largest gave 500 mg of elemental magnesium daily for eight weeks — that is the regimen those researchers studied in that age group, not a dose we are recommending to you. Magnesium interacts with several common prescriptions; ask a pharmacist before starting.
2. Melatonin: a timing tool, not a general sleeping pill
Melatonin is more useful for circadian-shift problems — jet lag, shift work, delayed sleep phase — than for general insomnia, and the 5–10 mg doses most people take are well above the 0.3–1 mg used for circadian shifting. We report the doses trials used, not a dose to take — ask a pharmacist or your doctor. The dose range for those circadian uses, and the 2023 JAMA analysis that found 22 of 25 US melatonin gummy products inaccurately labelled, are in our natural sleep remedies guide.
3. Capsule, gummy, or powder?
Capsules (Doctor's Best, NOW) give exact dosing with no sugar. Gummies (Olly) win on compliance — you'll actually take them — at the cost of 2-3 g sugar and looser dosing. Powders let you titrate but taste like it. Pick the form you'll take consistently at the same time nightly; consistency beats format.
4. Check the safety boxes
Magnesium interacts with some antibiotics and blood-pressure medication; melatonin with blood thinners and immunosuppressants. Pregnant, nursing, or on prescriptions → ask your pharmacist first, it's a free consult. Look for third-party testing (USP, NSF) — supplements are not FDA-approved products and the label is a promise, not a guarantee.
5. Judge value per night, not per bottle
Doctor's Best glycinate runs about $0.17/night over a 4-month bottle — the category's best ratio. Olly gummies cost about 3x per night for the same actives plus sugar. A $20 bottle that lasts 120 nights is the cheapest legitimate sleep intervention on this site.
What do sleep supplements actually cost?
Per-night cost differs several times over across the products we track, a spread the price on the bottle hides completely, because pack sizes and doses differ as much as prices do. Melatonin is the cheapest per dose but is a timing tool rather than a nightly sedative. The table works each one out from the price its own page shows today and the dose on its label.
| Supplement | Price | Nights | Per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Extension Melatonin 300mcg100 tablets, 1/night | $9.00(Amazon price as of – Details) | 100 | $0.09 |
| NOW L-Theanine 200mg120 capsules, 1/night | $15.78(Amazon price as of – Details) | 120 | $0.13 |
| Doctor's Best Magnesium Glycinate240 tablets, 2/serving | $23.99(Amazon price as of – Details) | 120 | $0.20 |
| Thorne Glycine250 capsules, 2/serving | $31.00(Amazon price as of – Details) | 125 | $0.25 |
| Sports Research L-Theanine 200mg60 softgels, 1/night | $19.95(Amazon price as of – Details) | 60 | $0.33 |
| Nested Naturals LUNA60 capsules, 1/night | $19.95(Amazon price as of – Details) | 60 | $0.33 |
| Olly Sleep Gummies50 gummies, 2/serving | $12.88(Amazon price as of – Details) | 25 | $0.52 |
| Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate60 scoops, 1/night | $52.00(Amazon price as of – Details) | 60 | $0.87 |
| Life Extension Neuro-Mag90 capsules, 3/serving | $30.78(Amazon price as of – Details) | 30 | $1.03 |
| Nature Made Melatonin 5mg240 tablets, 1/night | Check price | 240 | — |
| Nature's Bounty Ashwagandha 470mg60 capsules, 1/night | Check price | 60 | — |
Cost per night = pack price ÷ servings per pack, using the dose on each product's own label. Each price is the one the product's own page shows; Amazon prices carry the date and time Amazon gave them, and a product with no current price shows “Check price” and no per-night figure. Four tracked supplements are missing from this table because their listings give a pack-size range rather than a fixed count, and a per-night figure would be invented rather than calculated.
One caveat worth more than the price difference: supplements are not FDA-approved products, magnesium interacts with some antibiotics and blood-pressure medication, and melatonin interacts with blood thinners and immunosuppressants. If you are pregnant, nursing, or taking prescriptions, the pharmacist consult is free and worth more than saving $0.20 a night.
Still stuck? Take our 60-second sleep quiz. It asks 8 questions and recommends the right gear for your sleep style. Free, no signup.
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