The Evidence-Based Creatine Buying Guide

Creatine monohydrate is the most evidence-supported sports supplement available. Buying it should be simple. But the market has made it complicated — alternative forms, proprietary blends, flavored versions, gummies, capsules, and premium-priced branded ingredients all compete for your money. Most of the complexity is manufactured by marketing departments, not justified by research.

This guide synthesizes the available evidence on creatine product quality to help you make an informed buying decision. Every recommendation is based on peer-reviewed research and third-party testing standards, not brand partnerships or affiliate relationships.

Decision 1: Which Form of Creatine?

This is the most important decision and the easiest one to make. Creatine monohydrate is the only form with a substantial evidence base. Every other form either fails to outperform monohydrate in head-to-head comparisons or simply lacks sufficient human research.

Creatine Monohydrate

Over 500 peer-reviewed studies. Every major sports nutrition organization endorses this specific form. The ISSN position stand (Kreider et al., 2017) explicitly states that creatine monohydrate is the most effective form available. It is the form used in virtually all clinical trials, meaning when research says "creatine works," they mean monohydrate.

Alternative Forms: What the Research Shows

For detailed head-to-head analyses, see our articles on monohydrate vs. HCl, monohydrate vs. buffered, monohydrate vs. ethyl ester, and the complete forms comparison.

Decision 2: Powder, Capsules, or Gummies?

Powder

The most common and cost-effective delivery method. A standard 5g dose is approximately half a teaspoon. Monohydrate powder is tasteless to mildly bitter and mixes adequately in any liquid (it does not fully dissolve, which is normal and does not affect efficacy). Cost: approximately $0.03 to $0.06 per gram.

Capsules

Convenient for travel and those who dislike the texture of powder in liquid. The bioavailability is identical — the gelatin or vegetable capsule dissolves in the stomach, releasing the same creatine monohydrate. The disadvantage is cost (typically 2 to 3 times more per gram than powder) and the need to swallow multiple large capsules to reach a 5g dose (most capsules contain 750mg to 1g each, meaning 5 to 7 capsules per serving).

Gummies

The newest delivery method and the most problematic from a dosing perspective. Most creatine gummies contain 1 to 1.5 grams per serving, well below the research-supported 3 to 5 gram daily dose. Achieving adequate dosing from gummies requires consuming 3 to 5 servings per day, which brings added sugar, calories, and cost. At $0.15 to $0.30 per gram, gummies are 5 to 10 times more expensive than powder.

For the detailed cost analysis, see Creatine Gummies: Worth It? and Powder vs. Capsules.

Decision 3: Branded Ingredient or Generic?

Creapure

Creapure is creatine monohydrate manufactured by AlzChem AG in Germany. It is produced through chemical synthesis (rather than extraction from animal products) and undergoes rigorous purity testing. AlzChem publishes purity specifications exceeding 99.99%, with near-undetectable levels of contaminants including dicyandiamide, dihydrotriazine, and creatinine.

Creapure has become the de facto quality benchmark in the industry. Many clinical trials use Creapure as their creatine source. It carries a price premium of approximately 20 to 50% over generic monohydrate.

Generic Creatine Monohydrate

Generic creatine monohydrate from reputable manufacturers is typically adequate. However, the supplement industry is self-regulated under DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994), which places the burden of quality assurance on the manufacturer rather than requiring FDA pre-market approval. This means generic creatine quality varies by manufacturer.

Independent testing organizations have occasionally found contaminants, under-dosing, or mislabeling in generic supplements. The risk is not high for creatine (it is inexpensive to produce and difficult to adulterate profitably), but it exists.

For a detailed comparison, see Creapure vs. Generic Creatine.

Decision 4: Third-Party Testing

Third-party testing is the most reliable indicator of supplement quality. Three main certification programs exist for sports supplements:

For competitive athletes subject to drug testing, NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport certification is strongly recommended. For recreational users, any of these certifications provides meaningful quality assurance. For detailed explanations of each program, see Third-Party Testing for Creatine.

Decision 5: Flavored or Unflavored?

Unflavored creatine monohydrate contains one ingredient: creatine monohydrate. Flavored versions add sweeteners (artificial or natural), flavoring compounds, colorants, and sometimes additional ingredients marketed as synergistic (electrolytes, vitamins, etc.).

The creatine itself is identical. The additional ingredients increase cost per gram of creatine and introduce variables that are irrelevant to creatine's mechanism of action. Some flavored products also contain proprietary blends that obscure the actual creatine dose.

See Flavored vs. Unflavored for the full analysis.

Decision 6: How to Read the Label

When evaluating a creatine product label, look for the following:

1. Active ingredient: Should explicitly state "creatine monohydrate." If it says "creatine blend" or "proprietary creatine matrix," the actual monohydrate dose may be hidden.
2. Dose per serving: Should be 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate. Products with less than 3g per serving require multiple servings to reach effective doses.
3. Other ingredients: Fewer is better. Fillers, flow agents (silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate), and anti-caking agents are common and generally harmless. Proprietary blends, stimulants, or undisclosed quantities are red flags.
4. Third-party certification: Look for NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, or USP Verified logos.
5. Manufacturing origin: Creapure logo indicates German-manufactured creatine with verified purity. Products listing manufacturing location (GMP-certified facilities) are preferable to those that do not.

For a detailed label-reading tutorial, see How to Read a Creatine Label.

Cost Analysis

At standard maintenance dosing (5g/day), creatine costs vary dramatically by format:

The difference between the cheapest effective option (generic monohydrate powder, ~$36/year) and the most expensive common option (branded gummies, ~$540/year) is over $500 annually for the same active ingredient at the same dose.

Storage and Stability

Creatine monohydrate in powder form is remarkably stable. It does not require refrigeration and maintains potency for years when stored in a cool, dry environment away from direct sunlight. It does not degrade meaningfully at room temperature in its dry form.

Creatine does degrade when dissolved in liquid over extended periods (converting to creatinine, which is biologically inactive). This is why liquid creatine products are not recommended and why you should mix creatine powder into liquid immediately before consumption rather than pre-mixing.

For detailed stability data, see Creatine Storage and Stability.

The Complete Decision Framework

Summary: The One-Minute Buying Decision

If you want the simplest possible answer: buy unflavored creatine monohydrate powder from a brand that uses Creapure or submits to third-party testing. Take 3 to 5 grams daily, mixed into any liquid. You will spend approximately $6 to $12 per month on the most effective and best-studied sports supplement in existence.

Everything beyond this — alternative forms, premium flavors, capsules, gummies, stacked formulas — adds cost without adding proven efficacy. The science is clear. The choice is straightforward. Do not let marketing complexity obscure a simple product.

For beginners, see our Best Creatine for Beginners guide. For purity specifics, see How to Check Creatine Purity.