The Best Creatine Supplements of 2023 for Strength Training

Are Creatine Supplements Beneficial?

The impact of creatine supplements on short-term, high-intensity exercise performance is well documented. The degree of performance enhancement from creatine supplements may vary among individuals. It can depend on different factors, such as body size and the amount of creatine consumed in the diet. 

Those who may benefit from creatine supplements include:

• Athletes who engage in strength training: Strength and power athletes who engage in regular strength training may benefit from creatine supplementation. Research shows that supplementing may increase performance during maximal effort, resulting in increased muscle mass and strength, enhanced recovery, and greater training tolerance.
• Athletes who need to sprint intermittently: Athletes who play sports that require intermittent sprinting with quick recovery, such as soccer, football, basketball, and tennis, may benefit from creatine supplementation. Performance of high-intensity or repetitive exercise may be increased by 10% to 20%.
• Vegetarians and vegans: Since creatine can be found in animal products, those following a vegetarian diet or a vegan diet may have lower stores of creatine in their muscles. Due to these initially lower stores, vegetarians and vegans may experience greater gains in muscle creatine content from creatine supplementation when paired with resistance exercise, which can result in enhanced exercise performance.
• Older adults: Age-related muscle loss can negatively impact our ability to perform activities of daily living. Some research shows that when older adults pair creatine supplementation with resistance training, it can support healthy aging by enhancing muscle mass, strength, and functional performance.
• Those with creatine synthesis deficiencies: There are a group of inborn errors that reduce the body’s ability to synthesize creatine, which can affect the brain and result in neurodevelopmental delay. Creatine supplementation may result in some improvement among those with certain deficiencies such as glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) deficiency and guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency.

Who May Not Benefit from Creatine Supplements

While creatine supplements are generally considered safe, there are some people who should consult a healthcare provider before adding a creatine supplement:

• Those under 18 years of age: Many studies demonstrate the safety of creatine supplements in an adult population, yet few studies have examined creatine use among adolescents who are interested in improving athletic performance. While the research done to date seems to indicate that creatine supplementation among healthy adolescents can be well tolerated, more research is needed.
• Those with kidney disease: The risk of kidney injury with creatine supplementation is low, even among those with existing kidney disorders. However, the safety of creatine in those with kidney disease has only been validated in short-term studies, so if you have kidney disease, you should consult with a healthcare provider.

How We Select Supplements

Our team works hard to be transparent about why we recommend certain supplements. You can read more about our dietary supplement methodology here. To help come up with this list, we consulted with Registered Dietitian Francesca Castro, MS, RD.

We support supplements that are evidence-based and rooted in science. We value certain product attributes that we find to be associated with the highest-quality products.

It's important to note that the FDA does not review dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they go to market. Our team of experts has created a detailed, science-backed methodology to choose the supplements we recommend.

What to Look For in a Creatine Supplement

Third-Party Testing

Supplements that are third-party-tested are sent to a lab where they are tested to ensure they contain what they say they contain and are not contaminated with specific high-risk, common contaminants. However, it’s important to note:

• Third party testing does not test to see whether a product is effective or safe for everyone, and it does not ensure that the supplement will not interact with other supplements or medications.
• Not all third-party testing is created equal. It is not uncommon for supplement companies to pay labs for certificates after conducting minimal to no testing. 
• The third-party certifications we trust are: ConsumerLab.com, NSF, and USP. However, these certifications are difficult to obtain and/or expensive for manufacturers, so many companies choose not to get their products tested by any of these three organizations. 
• Sometimes, products tested by these three companies are more expensive in order to try to offset the cost their manufacturers pay for certification.
• Just because a supplement is not tested by one of these three companies, it does not mean it’s a bad product. We recommend doing some research on the reputability of the manufacturer, and contacting it and its testing lab to determine their protocols and decide whether you feel comfortable consuming the supplement.

If you are an athlete engaging in competitive sports, choosing a creatine supplement that has been third-party tested is particularly important. Creatine is broken down in the body into creatinine, a waste product that our kidneys remove. In addition to testing for banned substances, third-party testers such as ConsumerLab test for creatinine, since a high-quality creatine supplement should not contain it. Most creatine supplements are sold in solid form, since creatine can become unstable in liquid and degrade into creatinine over time. 

Form

Creatine supplements typically come in powdered, pill, capsule, chewable, or liquid form. Most creatine supplements are solid in a solid form, though, because creatine is unstable in liquid, and creatine liquids might not provide enough creatine to be beneficial.

Various forms of creatine can be found in supplements, with the most popular and well-studied one being creatine monohydrate. Creatine is also available in other forms, including creatine ethyl ester, creatine magnesium chelate, micronized creatine, creatine hydrochloride, and creatine malate.

Ingredients and Potential Interactions

It is essential to read the ingredient list and nutrition facts panel of a supplement carefully so you can know which ingredients are included, and how much of each, relative to the recommended daily intake of each ingredient. Please take the supplement label to a healthcare provider to review the different ingredients contained in the supplement and any potential interactions between these ingredients and any other supplements and medications you may be taking.

Certain creatine supplements contain added ingredients meant to further enhance strength and endurance. They may include the amino acids glutamine or taurine; however, research on the impact of these amino acids on athletic performance remains mixed.

Some creatine supplements also contain caffeine. Short-term caffeine supplementation may improve exercise performance, but some research shows that chronic supplementation may blunt the effects of creatine.

Creatine products may also contain added carbohydrates. Creatine levels build more quickly when taken with carbohydrates or carbohydrates plus protein. You can, however, also pair creatine with carbohydrate-containing foods, such as fruit and yogurt or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Be aware of products that contain proprietary blends, because they often do not list the amount of creatine contained. 

Creatine Supplement Dosage

Always speak with a healthcare professional before adding a supplement to your routine, to ensure that the supplement is appropriate for your individual needs and to understand which dosage to take.

General recommendations for increasing creatine stores are to take 5 grams, or around 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight, for five to seven days, split up into four doses. Once stores are saturated, they can be maintained by taking 3 to 5 grams per day.

Larger individuals may need to ingest 5 to 10 grams per day in order to maintain creatine stores. When taking creatine, it is important to drink water along with carbohydrates or carbohydrates and protein, to promote greater retention. Once stores are elevated, it can take around four to six weeks to return to baseline.

Higher doses, for longer periods, may be needed if you are taking creatine for certain disease states, in which case you should consult with a healthcare provider.

How Much Is Too Much?

Creatine is generally safe for healthy adults to use for weeks or months and potentially for years. Studies consistently demonstrate the safety of creatine supplementation at common dosages, including high doses of 20 grams per day for up to seven days and 3-5 grams per day for several weeks to months. Creatine can cause weight gain due to water retention, particularly in the early phases of supplementation, and when taken at high doses. Other reactions to creatine supplements are rare but may include muscle stiffness, cramps, and GI upset.

Why Trust Verywell Fit

Tamar Kane, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian and marathon runner. She is the founder of Tamar Kane Nutrition, a virtual practice that focuses on helping runners learn to fuel their running and their lives.

Tamar has her master's degree in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Teachers College Columbia University and specializes in working with plant-based athletes. Her goal is to help people understand how to properly fuel their bodies (and supplement if needed!) to optimize performance and well-being.