A 400 mg magnesium malate serving is two capsules, not one, and it delivers about 232 mg of the mineral itself. Malate binds at roughly 58% by weight. The 500 mg tablet beside it on the same shelf usually costs less per milligram of what you actually absorb.
Read the nutrient line, not the front of the bottle
A bottle can say 1000 mg in large type and still hold less of it than a modest 500 mg product, because compound weight and nutrient weight are two different numbers. Malate is roughly 58%. Oxide runs near 60%. The glycinate and citrate forms land closer to 14% and 16%. So a 500 mg capsule of oxide delivers about 300 mg of the mineral, while a 500 mg capsule of glycinate delivers around 70 mg. Those are the figures you should be comparing, and they sit one column to the right of the dose on the Supplement Facts panel.
I keep a 200 mg malate bottle on the counter and a 500 mg oxide tub in the cupboard. Same shelf price, wildly different yield.
Finding the elemental number in three seconds
Open the panel. Find the row marked Magnesium. The figure beside it, in mg and as a percentage of the Daily Value, is the elemental amount you actually swallow. Everything above that row is packaging arithmetic. If a label lists the blend total only and not the elemental figure, you can't do the comparison at all, which is a reason to put the bottle back down.
A product carrying 400 mg per serving sits far above the 420 mg Daily Value for adult men and the 320 mg for adult women when you take it alongside food, which is why the serving size matters more than the headline number. Split the two capsule serving across a day and the maths changes again, so decide whether you're buying a single dose or a divided one. Elemental figures are the only ones that compare.
What a fair price per milligram of magnesium looks like
Strip the label down to cost per 100 mg of the mineral and the market gets much easier to read. A 120 count of 200 mg malate capsules at $19.99 is $0.17 per 100 mg. A 90 count of 500 mg oxide at $14.99 is about $0.06 per 100 mg. Neither is automatically the better buy, because the forms behave differently and you may tolerate one better than the other. You're paying for the elemental delivery, though, and never for the compound weight on the lid.
Which form suits which shopper
Malate suits people who want a mid-strength dose in a capsule they can split. Oxide is the budget pick when capsules per day aren't a concern. Glycinate is where you go if you'd rather keep the magnesium away from your stomach. None of these differences are dramatic. The elemental figure is the part that decides whether you're taking 50 mg or 300 mg, and that decision lives on one line.
Buying in a 120 count rather than a 30 count tends to cut the per-serving price by a third or more, and the mineral keeps well in a sealed container, so the larger pack is usually the sensible one. Check the elemental figure on both sizes before you assume they match, since some brands change the form between pack sizes.
If your diet already supplies a lot of magnesium through nuts, seeds and leafy greens, a lower elemental dose is a reasonable choice and you won't miss the extra. If you're replacing a 500 mg oxide habit with malate, expect to take more capsules for the same mineral load, and budget for that. The comparison is only ever apples to apples once both bottles are expressed in elemental milligrams.
Frequently asked questions
How many milligrams should I look for?Show answerHide answer
Read the nutrient line, not the compound weight, and compare it with the daily value.
Does a bigger number mean a stronger product?Show answerHide answer
Not always. A larger compound weight can deliver less of the nutrient itself.
Where is this printed?Show answerHide answer
On the Supplement Facts panel, listed per serving.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
