15 SUPPLEMENTS · UPDATED 2026-07-01
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
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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
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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
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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
$15.80
-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
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Nature Made
Nature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
5mg melatoninTop ratedBest value
The USP-verified melatonin — 240 tablets at a low price per tablet.
8.2/10
Immediate-release tablet
$8.99
-15% off · at amazon
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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
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Natrol
Natrol Melatonin 5mg Fast Dissolve
Melatonin 5 mgTop rated
The fast-dissolve standard — strawberry tablets that melt under the tongue, no water needed, from the #1 melatonin brand.
8/10
Fast-dissolve tablet
$15.32
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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
Check price
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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
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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
Check price
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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
Check price
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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
Best budget
Nature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
The cheapest sticker price in the lineup
From $8.99
Best melatonin-free
NOW Foods L-Theanine 200mg (120ct)
200mg L-theanine per capsule, GMP-certified, no melatonin
From $15.80
Lowest melatonin dose
ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs Melatonin Gummies
1-2mg melatonin — the low end of the category
From Check price
Best verified purity
Nature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
USP-verified and third-party tested, 240 tablets
From $8.99
Best all-in-one blend
Nested Naturals LUNA Sleep Aid
Melatonin plus seven botanicals in a single vegan capsule
From Check price
🔥 Below list price
2 on saleBiggest savings vs list price
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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VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsNature Made Melatonin 5mg (240ct)
$23.99·$8.99
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsOlly Sleep Gummies (3mg melatonin + L-theanine, 50ct)
$23.99·Check price
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)vsNOW Foods L-Theanine 200mg (120ct)
$23.99·$15.80
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsDoctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate 200mg (240ct)
$52.00·$23.99
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsNOW Magnesium Citrate 200mg
$52.00·$24.49
VS · HEAD-TO-HEAD
Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder (60 servings)vsLife Extension Neuro-Mag Magnesium L-Threonate
$52.00·$30.78
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 3-4x 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?
Between $0.09 and $0.87 a night across the products we track — a roughly tenfold spread that the price on the bottle hides completely. The cheapest legitimate option is magnesium glycinate at about $0.17/night; melatonin is cheaper still per dose but is a timing tool rather than a nightly sedative. Gummies and premium powders sit at the top of the range.
| Supplement | Price | Nights | Per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Made Melatonin 5mg240 tablets, 1/night | $11.99 | 240 | $0.05 |
| Life Extension Melatonin 300mcg100 tablets, 1/night | $9.00 | 100 | $0.09 |
| NOW L-Theanine 200mg120 capsules, 1/night | $16.99 | 120 | $0.14 |
| Doctor's Best Magnesium Glycinate240 tablets, 2/serving | $19.99 | 120 | $0.17 |
| Nature's Bounty Ashwagandha 470mg60 capsules, 1/night | $11.99 | 60 | $0.20 |
| Thorne Glycine250 capsules, 2/serving | $31.00 | 125 | $0.25 |
| Sports Research L-Theanine 200mg60 softgels, 1/night | $17.95 | 60 | $0.30 |
| Nested Naturals LUNA60 capsules, 1/night | $18.95 | 60 | $0.32 |
| Olly Sleep Gummies50 gummies, 2/serving | $14.99 | 25 | $0.60 |
| Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate60 scoops, 1/night | $52.00 | 60 | $0.87 |
| Life Extension Neuro-Mag90 capsules, 3/serving | $30.38 | 30 | $1.01 |
Cost per night = pack price ÷ servings per pack, using the dose on each product's own label. Prices are the ones we verified manually, shown with an “as of” date on each product page — they are not live. 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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