Best Creatine Supplements

Best Creatine Supplements

Creatine remains at the top of the pile regarding research-proven supplements. Whether taking it as part of your best pre-workout or on its own, it’s worth every penny.

If you’re looking to gain muscle mass and improve your performance, it’s a must-have in 2025. With well-proven benefits, the prevalence of creatine use is estimated at 15% to 40% in athletes and military personnel.

Benefits Of Creatine

Creatine is one of the most widely studied supplements throughout the health industry. It’s one of the few things on the market with a huge amount of research-backed evidence showing its effectiveness. These are the main benefits you may expect with supplementation.

1. Enhanced Energy And Exercise Performance

Short bouts of intense exercise (less than two minutes) primarily use your anaerobic energy system. This uses adenosine triphosphate or ATP as its main energy source. It’s produced using glycolysis (breakdown of glucose) without the need for oxygen.

ATP is produced by the phosphocreatine stores in your muscles, which is available in limited amounts. Supplementing with creatine increases the amount of phosphocreatine within your muscles, allowing for faster ATP regeneration. When this happens during high-intensity exercise, it can improve energy levels and, with it, exercise performance.

2. Improved Muscular Strength And Muscle Growth

Muscular strength refers to the ability of the muscles to overcome resistance placed on them. Muscle growth (muscular hypertrophy) refers to an increase in muscle size. Both of these are influenced by training volume (amount of work performed) and energy levels.

With more energy, you’re able to perform a larger training volume. Furthermore, the higher amount of available ATP means you have more energy available for muscle contractions to take place. With this, creatine supplementation can enhance both muscular strength and muscle growth through its impact on energy levels and performance.

3. Better Post-Workout Recovery

Muscle recovery is the process of rebuilding muscle following exercise. Following the inflammatory response, new muscle tissue forms, and the regenerated muscle fibers strengthen.

Creatine supplementation has been suggested to reduce the inflammatory response following exercise. While an inflammatory response is needed during the recovery process, chronic (sustained) inflammation will negatively impact it.

Reducing markers of muscle damage and soreness may, therefore, help improve recovery time. However, research is still mixed regarding this effect, so care should be taken when interpreting study results.

4. Increased Cognitive Function

Most of the previous creatine research focuses on physical performance. However, recent research suggests beneficial effects on cognitive function or mental performance.

Our brain is estimated to consume approximately 20% of our total resting energy. Neurons (nerve cells) in our brain require a constant source of ATP for function. As discussed above, creatine supplementation increases the amount of ATP available for use.

By increasing brain creatine content, supplementation may enhance aspects of cognitive function. Preliminary studies have shown enhancements in short-term memory and intelligence following supplementation. However, the effect on other aspects of cognition remains unclear.

What To Consider When Choosing A Creatine

Before you rush to purchase one of the top 10 creatines on our list, these are the main points to consider. Pick a supplement and go through each one so you know that it’s the right choice.

1. Ingredients

The main ingredient included should be creatine. This should provide a daily intake of 3–5 grams.

Additionally, some powders or pills will contain ingredients commonly used in pre-workouts. Common examples include glutamine, beta-alanine, and added vitamins and minerals. The suitability of each of these depends on your supplement routine and needs.

Alongside this, make sure that the creatine doesn’t contain excessive fillers and additives. Avoid artificial sweeteners if you suffer from digestive issues.

2. Formulation

The right formulation depends on your preferences. Generally speaking, most creatine supplements come in a powder or pills.

If you want to add creatine to your pre-workout or other supplements, powder would be the best option. If you struggle to swallow pills, powder would again be the better choice. However, if you’re looking for something quick to take on the go, pills may work well.

3. Creatine Type

There are several types of creatine, each with different scientific backing. The most common ones include creatine monohydrate, creatine HCL, and micronized creatine. Creatine monohydrate has the most research behind it and tends to be the cheapest. Micronized creatine and creatine HCL may be better options for those with sensitive stomachs.

4. Third-Party Testing

If creatine is third-party tested, it means that a laboratory has tested it for ingredient quality and quantity. This ensures that it’s safe for consumption and contains what’s stated on the tub.

Taking supplements that are third-party tested is especially important for tested athletes. Look for testing organizations such as Informed Sport and the National Sanitation Foundation.

5. Price

The creatine supplements on our top 10 list each have a different price per serving. This refers to your daily cost of using them. Most of the time, this depends on the quality and quantity of the ingredients used.

Consider your budget and what you want the creatine to help with. Examine the ingredients and decide if you think a supplement offers good value for money compared to the others. Use our detailed breakdown to help you decide.

How To Take Creatine

To maximize the effectiveness of creatine, you need to saturate (fill) your body’s creatine stores. This can be achieved using two main methods:

• Loading Protocol — Take 20–25 grams of creatine a day for 5–7 days before using a 3–5 gram maintenance dose. Split your daily intake into four doses to limit the chances of digestive issues. This is an effective method of saturating your creatine stores within seven days.
• Low-Dose Protocol — Take 3–5 grams of creatine per day with no loading phase. Compared to the loading phase, you’ll saturate your creatine stores in around four weeks. This limits the chances of digestive issues but takes longer for the beneficial effects to start.

Both of these methods show similar beneficial effects when compared. The suitability of each one depends on how quickly you want to saturate your creatine stores and your tolerance levels.

Conclusion

When it comes to supplements that work, creatine is at the top of the list. Beneficial effects include increased energy and exercise performance, improved muscular strength and growth, and enhanced cognitive function. Furthermore, research looking at the benefits on muscle recovery is promising.