Two medicines, side by side
Lorazepam vs midazolam
Lorazepam is labeled for anxiety; midazolam has no indication this site maps. Their labels share no use, so they are not alternatives to each other. Drugs@FDA records approvals of lorazepam since 1977 and of midazolam since 1985. Pharmacies paid $0.0344 per lorazepam 0.5 mg tablet and $0.233 per mL (Midazolam HCl 2 mg/2 mL vial) (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. Midazolam's other strengths are brand-only: $327.05 per unit (Nayzilam 5 mg nasal spray).
Check it at the source: the lorazepam FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 9, 2025); the midazolam FDA label on DailyMed (effective January 1, 2024).
Highlights of the lorazepam record
Lorazepam (Ativan) · label of July 9, 2025
RISKS FROM CONCOMITANT USE WITH OPIOIDS; ABUSE, MISUSE, AND ADDICTION; and DEPENDENCE AND WITHDRAWAL REACTIONS
Concomitant use of benzodiazepines and opioids may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Reserve concomitant prescribing of these drugs for patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate. Limit dosages and durations to the minimum required.
Used for
From the label: indicationsAtivan (lorazepam) is indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety or anxiety associated with depressive symptoms. Anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- September 30, 1977
- Generic labelers
- 36 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.0344 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- In shortage
- Recalls
- 8
Highlights of the midazolam record
Midazolam (Versed) · label of January 1, 2024
Personnel and Equipment for Monitoring and Resuscitation Adults and Pediatrics: Intravenous midazolam has been associated with respiratory depression and respiratory arrest, especially when used for sedation in noncritical care settings. In some cases, where this was not recognized promptly and treated effectively, death or hypoxic encephalopathy has resulted.
Used for
From the label: indicationsMidazolam injection is indicated: intramuscularly or intravenously for preoperative sedation/anxiolysis/amnesia; intravenously as an agent for sedation/anxiolysis/amnesia prior to or during diagnostic, therapeutic or endoscopic procedures, such as bronchoscopy, gastroscopy, cystoscopy, coronary angiography, cardiac catheterization, oncology procedures, radiologic procedures, suture of lacerations and other procedures either alone or in combination with other CNS depressants; intravenously for induction of general anesthesia, before administration of other anesthetic agents. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- December 20, 1985
- Generic labelers
- 22 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.233 per mL
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- In shortage
- Recalls
- 19
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Lorazepam label of July 9, 2025, Midazolam label of January 1, 2024); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do lorazepam and midazolam differ on the record?
Both are in FDA's class benzodiazepines.
Half-life, in each label's words: Lorazepam, “The mean half-life of unconjugated lorazepam in human plasma is about 12 hours and for its major metabolite, lorazepam …”; Midazolam, “Six single-dose pharmacokinetic studies involving healthy adults yield pharmacokinetic parameters for midazolam in the …”
Both labels carry a boxed warning; the records quote them.
Generics: lorazepam since 1985; midazolam since 2000 (Drugs@FDA).
| Lorazepam | Midazolam | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Anxiety | n/a |
| Pharmacologic class | Benzodiazepine | Benzodiazepine |
| How it works (label) | n/a | n/a |
| Half-life (label) | The mean half-life of unconjugated lorazepam in human plasma is about 12 hours and for its major metabolite, lorazepam glucuronide, about 18 hours. | Six single-dose pharmacokinetic studies involving healthy adults yield pharmacokinetic parameters for midazolam in the following ranges: volume of distribution (Vd), 1.0 to 3.1 L/kg; … |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | September 30, 1977 | December 20, 1985 |
| First generic approved | December 10, 1985 | June 20, 2000 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 36 labelers | 22 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.0344 per tablet (Lorazepam 0.5 mg tablet) | $0.233 per mL (Midazolam HCl 2 mg/2 mL vial) |
| 12-month price change | -18% | +3% |
| Boxed warning | Yes | Yes |
| Shortage now | In shortage | In shortage |
| Recalls recorded | 8 | 19 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 178,731 | 29,268 |
| DEA schedule | CIV | CIV |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What do the labels say about using others of their kind?
Lorazepam label, warningsUse of benzodiazepines, including lorazepam, both used alone and in combination with other CNS depressants, may lead to potentially fatal respiratory depression (see PRECAUTIONS:
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to lorazepam
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions