NOW Melatonin Review: The Capsule Line, Sorted by Amount

A capsule is the format for people who want the ingredient and nothing else. NOW Melatonin 3 mg is a veg capsule at a labeled 3 mg, and the listing title carries the label's structure/function language, "Free Radical Scavenger*, Healthy Sleep Cycle*," which is what a dietary supplement is allowed to say. $9.17 divided by 180 is about 5 cents a night, a six-month bottle, and within half a cent of the cheapest 3 mg tablet from any national brand.

Three milligrams sits at the top of the 0.5 to 3 mg range many clinicians cite as a starting point. The same capsule comes in a 60 count at $4.27 to try first, and the same amount in a 90-count chewable lozenge at $4.88 (about 5.4 cents each) for anyone who wants NOW without swallowing a capsule. The capsule is stated veg, which makes it the easiest pick on this page for vegetarians and the anchor of our vegan melatonin guide.

NOW's 1 mg is a blend, and the title only hints at it. NOW Melatonin 1 mg states 1 mg melatonin "with Co-Factor Nutrients" and the label phrase "Healthy Sleep Cycle*" in the title. Which nutrients, and how much of each, is not published there, so we do not list them; the panel does. $7.95 divided by 100 is about 8 cents a night, more per night than the 3 mg capsule because the bottle is smaller.

It is a tablet rather than a capsule, so the veg status stated on the 3 mg capsule is not stated here. For a low amount in liquid form, NOW Liquid Melatonin (3 mg per serving, 2 oz, $5.80) lets a buyer measure a smaller amount than a tablet allows; our liquid guide covers it.

Most time-release titles say "time release" and stop; this one gives a number. NOW Melatonin 5 mg Sustained Release states in its title that it is "Formulated for a 4-Hour Release Period." That is NOW's formulation claim, not a measurement of ours, but it is more than most competitors publish. $9.17 divided by 120 is about 7.6 cents a night.

Five milligrams is above the 0.5 to 3 mg range many clinicians cite as a starting point, and the general guidance to prefer lower amounts applies to slow-release tablets too; NOW does not sell a sustained-release at 3 mg at our check. For the same amount in an immediate-release capsule, NOW Melatonin 5 mg is 180 capsules for $12.23, about 6.8 cents a night.

Ten milligrams is a lot of melatonin, and this card is not going to pretend otherwise. NOW Melatonin Extra Strength 10 mg is a veg capsule at a labeled 10 mg, 100 to the bottle at $10.40, about 10.4 cents a night. It is here because a large share of buyers search for 10 mg specifically, and if that is your amount, a NOW capsule is a credible way to buy it: the manufacturer's record, a stated veg capsule, and a per-night cost under Solgar (about 23 cents) and Nature Made (about 22 cents).

The title carries the same label phrases as the 3 mg ("Free Radical Scavenger*, Healthy Sleep Cycle*") and states "100 Veg" capsules. For anyone who wants to step down without leaving the brand, the 5 mg capsule (180 for $12.23) and the 3 mg capsule (180 for $9.17) are the same format at lower amounts.

Twenty milligrams is where the credible market ends. NOW Maximum Strength Melatonin 20 mg states 20 mg and the label phrases "Healthy Sleep Cycle*, Free Radical Scavenger*" in its title; the title is truncated before any count, so we do not compute a cost per night. NOW, Pure Encapsulations and Nutricost are the only brands in our verified catalog above Tier C that sell 20 mg, and nobody credible sells more.

If you are here because a clinician suggested a high amount, this capsule and Pure Encapsulations' Melatonin 20 mg (60 capsules, $39.00) are the two Tier A options, and NOW is far cheaper per bottle. If you are here because more seemed better, the 3 mg capsule at the top of this page is the answer, and our overdose explainer covers what the cautions actually are.

NOW's value case has exactly one serious rival, and this is it. Nature Made Melatonin 3 mg is a conventional swallowed tablet at a labeled 3 mg, 240 to the bottle, $10.73, about 4.5 cents a night. NOW's 180-count capsule is about 5 cents. Half a cent a night is not a decision; the format and the brand are.

Nature Made's full line is covered in the Nature Made melatonin review, and our 3 mg ranking puts the two on one table with Natrol and Nature's Bounty.

Same amount, same format, five times the price. Pure Encapsulations Melatonin 3 mg is a capsule at a labeled 3 mg, 60 to the bottle, $15.50, about 26 cents a night. NOW's 3 mg capsule is about 5 cents. Pure Encapsulations is the brand practitioners tend to recommend, and its price reflects that channel rather than a difference in the molecule.

Pure Encapsulations' line, which is notable mostly for its 0.5 mg low-dose capsule and its 20 mg high-dose one, is covered in the Pure Encapsulations melatonin review. The practitioner-brand matchup is Life Extension vs Pure Encapsulations.