5 mg Melatonin, Ranked (2026): Which One Should You Buy?

The center of the category. The Natrol Melatonin 5 mg Fast Dissolve states 5 mg, strawberry, 90 count. The label directs one tablet dissolved in the mouth about 20 minutes before bedtime, no water. At $8.96 it is about 10 cents a night and a three-month bottle.

The tablet is sweetened and the title does not name the sweetener; the panel does. It leads our best fast-dissolve melatonin guide and our flagship best melatonin ranking, and the brand's full line is in the Natrol melatonin review.

Seven cents a night, and it goes down easily. The Nature's Bounty Melatonin 5 mg Softgels state 5 mg and 90 count; "100% Drug Free" is the phrase that separates a melatonin supplement from the doxylamine and diphenhydramine sleep aids that are drugs with a Drug Facts panel.

Buy the 90; the 60 count was $11.52 at our check, more than the larger bottle. A four-pack of 90 was $22.95. The brand is reviewed in the Nature's Bounty melatonin review, and the head-to-head with our pick is Natrol vs Nature's Bounty.

Buy this once you are sure. The Nature Made Melatonin 5 mg Extra Strength states 5 mg and 300 tablets at $29.97, about 10 cents a night. "Extra Strength" is Nature Made's name for its 5 mg tier, between the 3 mg and the 10 mg Maximum Strength.

Nature Made's 3 mg tablet, 240 for $10.73, is the pick in our best melatonin tablets guide and the better first bottle. The line is reviewed in the Nature Made melatonin review, and the brand's 5 mg gummies (70 for $13.99) and Zero Sugar 5 mg gummies are the same amount for gummy buyers.

Plain 5 mg from a manufacturer with a public testing program. NOW Melatonin 5 mg states 5 mg and 180 count, with the label's "Free Radical Scavenger*, Healthy Sleep Cycle*" language. At $12.23 it is about 6.8 cents a night. The title for this listing does not state veg capsule the way NOW's 3 mg and 10 mg titles do, so we do not claim it; the panel will say.

NOW's 3 mg veg capsule (180 for $9.17) is the pick in our capsules and softgels guide, and the brand also makes the sustained-release 5 mg below. The whole line, including the 10 mg and 20 mg capsules, is reviewed in the NOW melatonin review.

OLLY's middle tier. OLLY Extra Strength Sleep is the 5 mg version of the brand's 3 mg Sleep gummy, 70 count, described in the title as occasional sleep support, which is the structure/function language a dietary supplement is allowed to use. At $17.02 it is about 24 cents per gummy.

A 50 count is $12.88. Nature Made's Zero Sugar 5 mg gummies (70 for $14.24) are the sugar-free 5 mg alternative, and Amazon Basics 5 mg gummies (120 for $10.35) the budget one. Store every gummy out of reach of children. The gummy field is ranked in our best melatonin gummies guide, and the brand in the OLLY Sleep review.

A release window, in writing. The NOW Melatonin 5 mg Sustained Release states 5 mg, 120 tablets, and a 4-hour release period. Immediate-release products are about falling asleep; sustained-release is marketed for staying asleep. We have not measured the release curve; the four-hour figure is NOW's formulation claim.

Natrol's 3 mg Time Release (100 for $10.83) is the lower-amount alternative and the pick in our best time-release melatonin guide. The immediate-versus-extended question is argued in time-release vs immediate-release melatonin.

Under a nickel a night, vegan. Amazon Elements Melatonin 5 mg states 5 mg, vegan, unflavored, 195 count, and "Helps with occasional sleeplessness," the structure/function line. At $9.05 it is about 4.6 cents per capsule and a six-month bottle.

Amazon's house line also has 5 mg strawberry gummies (120 for $10.35), the budget pick in our gummies guide. The line is reviewed in the Amazon Basics melatonin review, the vegan field is in best vegan melatonin, and the site-wide cost-per-night leaders are in best cheap melatonin.