Creatine is one of the most popular sports nutrition products available, and with good reason – extensive research has proven it to be effective and safe and yet it doesn’t cost the earth. Aside from perhaps protein powder, there’s really no better supplement to stock up on than creatine if you’re looking to improve the results of your exercise regime.
As a result of its popularity, there is a huge range of different creatine supplements available to buy, which can be confusing for even experienced gym-goers. Below you’ll find our picks of the very best creatine products available, along with a buyer’s guide that pinpoints all the questions you need to ask before picking the best creatine for you.
How to buy the best creatine for you
What are the benefits of taking creatine supplements?
Creatine is a natural substance that can help provide you with energy during workouts and it’s particularly useful for those engaging in some kind of high-intensity exercise. That can be lifting weights, sprinting or anything else where your muscles are pushed to the max and need some extra juice to help you smash your workout.
The human body produces some creatine naturally and it’s also present in some foods like red meat, but only in small amounts, making supplements a good option for those who train regularly.
What forms does creatine come in?
The most common form of creatine supplement is powder, mixed up to make a drink in the same manner as a protein shake. You need to give the creatine powder time to mix properly because it isn’t very water soluble and it can sink to the bottom of your drink to create a gritty texture for your final few sips.
If it isn’t mixed properly creatine will also draw water from your body once consumed. If you find the powder hard to handle, you can also find creatine pills and protein bars that contain creatine, which can also be easier to transport.
Creatine comes in a variety of flavours, though unflavoured is the standard option, with many people adding fruit juice to their shake or taking their creatine with a flavoured protein shake to improve the taste. You can also get powders that contain both creatine and whey protein, or other key post-workout supplements like BCAAs. These give your body all it needs to recover and rebuild after training in one fell swoop.
What kind of creatine should I get?
The most common and cheap form of creatine is creatine monohydrate, and it’s the one to go for when buying your supplements. It’s the most well-researched form and no other has been shown to have any additional benefits in terms of improving performance, no matter how much more they cost.
Many creatine monohydrate products are described as micronised, which means the creatine has been broken into very fine particles so it will mix better with water, making it easier to take. Other differences between creatine products can relate to how pure it is, with most being 99.9% or 99.99% pure. Creapure creatine is widely available and often described as the purest form of creatine monohydrate. It usually costs a little extra as a result of this, but there are other micronised creatine monohydrate supplements that offer similar levels of purity.
How much does creatine cost?
Creatine monohydrate is cheap and you can buy 1kg of it for under £10, though the cost will rise quickly with purer or micronised products to around £15 to £30 per kilo. As always with supplement powders, when assessing costs make sure you see how many servings you’ll get from your purchase, rather than just go on the overall cost per tub. A general serving guide is 3g-5g of creatine after a training session, so 1Kg of creatine powder is going to last you several months at least. However, many brands will suggest a smaller serving size and claim to offer more servings per tub than you’ll actually get if you do use 5g each time.
Creapure products will cost more than standard creatine monohydrate, as will other forms of creatine like creatine nitrate or products that blend several types. Some other forms and blends might be easier to take and more water-soluble than standard creatine monohydrate, but none are proven to be more effective in terms of performance benefits.
READ NEXT: Best protein powders, from £18 to £38
The best creatine to buy in 2018, from £8
1. Bulk Powders Creatine Monohydrate: Best value creatine powder
Price:£8 (1kg) | Buy now from Amazon
All of the products available from Bulk Powders do a stand-up job of delivering terrific value for money, and that’s very much the case with their basic creatine monohydrate. It comes in 100g, 500g and 1kg pouches and in three different flavours: apple and lime, mixed berry and unflavoured. If you’re looking for some standard creatine monohydrate to boost your training, and there isn’t much reason to look for anything fancier when it comes to creatine, this is an excellent pick. Bulk Powders also offer a Creapure creatine monohydrate powder, which is considerably more expensive though still good value compared to other Creapure products.
Key specs – Creatine type: Creatine monohydrate; Purity: 99.9%; Serving size: 5g
2. Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Powder: Best micronized creatine powder
Price:£16 (634g) | Buy now from Amazon
This unflavoured creatine monohydrate powder has been micronized so it will dissolve more rapidly and easily in water, which means you should avoid the gritty texture that can make taking creatine a slightly unpleasant experience. It comes in 144g, 317g and 634g tubs, with a serving scoop size of 3.4g of creatine. However, you might want to add another half scoop to get 5g of creatine in your shake, leaving you with roughly 127 servings in the largest tub.
Key specs – Creatine type: Micronized creatine monohydrate; Purity: 99.9%; Serving size: 3.4g
3. MyProtein Creatine Monohydrate Unflavoured Creatine Tablets: Best creatine tablets
Price:£13 (250 tablets) | Buy now from Amazon
Creatine tablets are just as effective an option as powders and they’re also far more convenient to carry with you to the gym than a big tub. Each of these MyProtein tablets contains 1g of creatine so it’s easy to get the exact dose you want. Fair warning; the tablets themselves are fairly chunky, but you can break them up to make them easier to swallow, and they are unflavoured so you can wash them down with juice or protein powder without fear of clashing tastes.
Key specs – Creatine type: Micronised creatine monohydrate; Purity: Not specified; Serving size: 3g (1g per tablet)
4. Maximuscle Progain High Protein and Creatine Flapjack: Best creatine bar
Price:£22 (12 bars) | Buy now from Amazon
The perfect post-workout snack, with creatine, protein and carbohydrates all available in abundance to help refuel and rebuild your muscles and get you ready to go again at your next training session. Each bar contains 3.4g of creatine to go, along with 20g of protein and over 40g of carbohydrates. The only downside is that the bars are so tasty you might find yourself reaching for the box even when you’re not training.
Key specs – Creatine type: Creatine monohydrate; Purity: Not specified; Serving size: 3.4g per bar
5. The Protein Works Creapure Creatine Monohydrate: Creapure's best creatine powder
Price:£9 (250g) | Buy now from Amazon
Creapure creatine has an excellent reputation for purity, and this powder is 99.99% pure creatine monohydrate. It’s not a great deal more than the 99.9% you’ll find with most powders, but every little counts. What’s more, the Creapure logo on a tub or pouch stands as a guarantee of quality. The unflavoured powder is also micronised to make it more water soluble and easy to take, and it comes in 250g and 500g pouches.
Key specs – Creatine type: Creapure creatine monohydrate; Purity: 99.99%; Serving size: 5g per bar
6. Maximuscle Cyclone Whey Protein Powder with Creatine: Best creatine and whey protein combo
Price:£33 (1.26g) | Buy now from Amazon
Many gym-goers choose to add their creatine powder to their protein shake after a workout, which adds some flavour and covers all the bases in terms of what your body requires for recovery. The easier option is to get this powder, which contains both creatine and whey protein, along with BCAAs, glutamine, HMB calcium and zinc.
Even if you’re not sure about the exact benefit of each of those ingredients, just be sure that they’re all in there to help you build bigger muscles and recover faster. Each serving contains 5g of creatine along with 25g of protein, and you have a choice of five flavours – chocolate, banana, strawberry, vanilla and the always excellent chocolate mint.
Key specs – Creatine type: Creatine monohydrate; Purity: Not specified; Serving size: 5g
