Creatine is a powerful supplement on the market to boost muscle growth, enhance focus, and increase recovery for all your bulking needs.
Creatine is a very popular supplement on the market for athletes of all experience levels with great potential to increase muscle growth, enhance focus, provide for better bulking, and boost recovery. As a widely researched and staple supplement on your shelf, this safe and effective supplement can seriously enhance your muscle mass, strength and performance. While we are all looking for the edge to get us over that training bump, creatine promotes strength, power and endurance.
When looking for the best creatine supplements, it is important to look for those top tier products on the market that focus on bulking, muscle growth, and aiding in recovery. Helping to raise muscle ATP energy to power growth while recharging muscle for your next session will allow you bounce back faster and still see great gains. By stimulating proteins, stem cells, strength, and growth factor used to build quality muscle, you will build a physique others will surely envy. Of course, our workouts do tend to be grueling and by increasing your work capacity, this will ensure your muscles get great work done across all strength and endurance activities without limiting muscle growth and repair.
We put together this list of The Best Creatine Supplements to buy on the market to restore muscles and enhance your performance to the next level. With a high-quality product, your gains will surely grow so you can focus on any competition or sport specific needs that require your utmost attention.
The Best Creatine Supplements To Buy in 2021
Best Creatine Overall: Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB
| Amount Of Creatine | 5,000mg |
| Number Of Servings | 30 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Take 1 scoop 30 minutes after a workout. |
Although one of the more expensive creatine supplements available, Transparent Labs creatine is well worth the price and is one of the best creatine products for pure creatine. It has no added artificial flavors, fillers, preservatives, or coloring, which means the body isn’t wasting energy metabolizing useless chemicals — just pure creatine. Transparent Labs creatine is infused with HMB, or β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate, which has been proven to increase muscle strength and lean body mass while decreasing fat mass and boosting focus. At a good price, this is a one of the best creatine products on the market to buy for bulking.
Pros
- Clean ingredients
- No artificial additives
- Great flavors and benefits
- From a reputable and trusted company
Cons
- Premium priced option
- Only available through their website
Price: $39.00/ 30 servings
Use the promo code GENIRON10 for 10% off! Check out our individual review for Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB here!
Best Creatine Pills: Performance Lab Maintain
| Amount Of Creatine | 3,000mg |
| Number Of Servings | 10 |
| Serving Size | 6 NutriCaps |
| Best Way To Take | Take 3 capsules in the morning and 3 capsules in the afternoon on an empty stomach on rest days. |
This supplement from Performance Lab can restore depleted muscles on your rest day with 12 hours of steady anabolic nourishment. It can reload your muscles with key sport nutrients, provides extended-relief muscle growth support, and promotes strength, power, focus, and endurance. With three ingredients, creatine monohydrate being the biggest, this has the power to upgrade your rest day to new heights. The ultramodern design and easy to swallow capsules are great for digestion and bulking and comes from the best in sports nutrition technology on the market.
Pros
- Amazing natural ingredients
- Optimal effectiveness
- Ultramodern design allows for maximum absorption
Cons
- Premium priced product
- Only available from their website directly
Price: $30.60/ 10 servings
Best Creatine Monohydrate: Kaged Muscle CreaClear
| Amount Of Creatine | 5g |
| Number Of Servings | 53 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Mix one scoop with 8-10 ounces of water or juice and shake or stir or 20-30 seconds. Consume in the morning, mid-day, or before bed. |
Kaged Muscle CreaClear is the perfect muscle building creatine supplement for anyone looking to improve strength and size while still optimizing recovery between workouts. As a great product to accelerate muscle gain and bulking, this will help fuel muscle strength and power, reset for better muscle recovery, and aid in high-intensity work with increased focus. With zero artificial colors and flavors, this product contains no banned substances and is a fantastic creatine monohydrate on the market.
Pros
- Superior mixing and solubility
- 5g of clean creatine monohydrate
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No banned substances
Cons
- Some flavor options would be nice
Price: $19.99
Use code GENIRON10 for 10% off!
Best For Post-Workout: Legion Recharge
| Amount Of Creatine | 5g |
| Number Of Servings | 60 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Mix 1 serving with 10-12 oz. of water with your post-workout meal. |
This post-workout supplement from Legion is a 100% natural post-workout drink that boosts muscle growth, improves recovery, increases focus, and reduces muscle soreness for all your bulking needs. With four great flavors and three main ingredients, this naturally flavored supplement is perfect for giving you a healthy and effective recovery product. Each ingredient is well-researched and clinically dosed with no added artificial food dyes, fillers, or junk to give you a great post-workout supplement for muscle soreness.
Pros
- Great natural supplement for muscle building and recovery
- Amazing taste with natural sweeteners
Cons
- May cause stomach and digestive problems
Price: $35.99/ 60 servings
Best Creatine For Muscle Gains: Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB
| Amount Of Creatine | 5,000mg |
| Number Of Servings | 30 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Take 1 scoop 30 minutes after a workout. |
Although one of the more expensive creatine supplements available, Transparent Labs creatine is well worth the price and is one of the best creatine products for pure creatine. It has no added artificial flavors, fillers, preservatives, or coloring, which means the body isn’t wasting energy metabolizing useless chemicals — just pure creatine. Transparent Labs creatine is infused with HMB, or β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate, which has been proven to increase muscle strength and lean body mass while decreasing fat mass and boosting focus. At a good price, this is a one of the best creatine products on the market to buy for bulking.
Pros
- Clean ingredients
- No artificial additives
- Great flavors and benefits
- From a reputable and trusted company
Cons
- Premium priced option
- Only available through their website
Price: $39.00/ 30 servings
Use the promo code GENIRON10 for 10% off! Check out our individual review for Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB here!
Best For Bulking: Kaged Muscle CreaClear
| Amount Of Creatine | 5g |
| Number Of Servings | 53 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Mix one scoop with 8-10 ounces of water or juice and shake or stir or 20-30 seconds. Consume in the morning, mid-day, or before bed. |
Kaged Muscle CreaClear is the perfect muscle building creatine supplement for anyone looking to improve strength and size while still optimizing recovery between workouts. As a great product to accelerate muscle gain, this will help fuel muscle strength and power, reset for better muscle recovery, and aid in high-intensity work with better focus. With zero artificial colors and flavors, this product contains no banned substances and is a fantastic creatine monohydrate for bulking on the market.
Pros
- Superior mixing and solubility
- 5g of clean creatine monohydrate
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No banned substances
Cons
- Some flavor options would be nice
Price: $19.99
Use code GENIRON10 for 10% off!
Best Creatine For Women: Performance Lab Maintain
| Amount Of Creatine | 3,000mg |
| Number Of Servings | 10 |
| Serving Size | 6 NutriCaps |
| Best Way To Take | Take 3 capsules in the morning and 3 capsules in the afternoon on an empty stomach on rest days. |
This supplement from Performance Lab can restore depleted muscles on your rest day with 12 hours of steady anabolic nourishment. It can reload your muscles with key sport nutrients, provides extended-relief muscle growth support, and promotes strength, power, focus, and endurance for serious bulking. With three ingredients, creatine monohydrate being the biggest, this has the power to upgrade your rest day to new heights. The ultramodern design and easy to swallow capsules are great for digestion and comes from the best in sports nutrition technology on the market.
Pros
- Amazing natural ingredients
- Optimal effectiveness
- Ultramodern design allows for maximum absorption
Cons
- Premium priced product
- Only available from their website directly
Price: $30.60/ 10 servings
Best Premium Blend: Staunch Creatine Five
| Amount Of Creatine | 4,950mg |
| Number Of Servings | 30 |
| Serving Size | 1 scoop |
| Best Way To Take | Take 1 scoop with water. |
Staunch Creatine Five is a synthesized blend that contains 5 optimized forms of creatine working in tandem to make this one of the best creatine products. Creatine monohydrate, MagnaPower creatine, tri-creatine malate, creatine pyruvate, and creatine anhydrous are all found in this powerful blend and delivers more creatine by weight than any other form of the best creatine on the market making it a good buy. The blend of creatine allows the body to break down, process, and use the maximum amount of creatine ingested — virtually nothing is wasted.
Pros
- Great formula packed with five forms of creatine
- Awesome benefits for focus and bulking
- Great flavor
- Good price
- From a reputable company who knows sports supplements
Cons
- Does contain sucralose and other artificial flavors with unspecified amounts
Price: $29.00/ 30 servings
Check out our individual review for Staunch Creatine Five here!
Best For Mixing: MyProtein Creatine Monohydrate
| Amount Of Creatine | 5g |
| Number Of Servings | 200 |
| Serving Size | 1 tsp. |
| Best Way To Take | Mix 1 tsp. with 6-8 fl. oz. with desired beverage. |
MyProtein Creatine Monohydrate is a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free creatine powder made convenient for all of your goals. This hard hitting powder is scientifically proven to increase physical performance by improving overall power. Great for everyone, this pure creatine supplement will pump you with this naturally occurring substance to provide for even better recovery, focus, and muscle growth. MyProtein brings this straight creatine supplement to enhance all of your training and bulking goals.
Pros
- Hard hitting formula
- Great for increased physical performance
- Conducive to almost all diets
Cons
- Bitter after taste being unflavored
- May contain less per amount than advertised
Price: $23.75/ 200 servings
Benefits Of Creatine
- Increase strength: Increases blood flow through overworked muscles to provide for muscle pumps and really build that desired strength.
- Improve metabolism: Controls insulin sensitivity and glycemic control for fat loss and providing fuel (1) so you tackle weight loss needs and change your body composition to something others will envy.
- Boost athletic performance: Enhance power output and refuel energy stores to support recovery and growth (2) to boost any performance goals you seek to accomplish.
- Promote better mental capacity: Increases oxygen utilization in the brain to boost memory and processing speed when enduring grueling workouts while enhancing focus so you stay locked into each exercise.
Types Of Creatine
- Creatine Monohydrate: A pure form of creatine, this can work to increase endurance by removing lactate faster out of the muscles. It will also aid in muscle growth and burn more calories at rest (3).
- Creatine HCL: Creatine bound to hydrochloric acid for increased bioavailability and limits side effects so you get an effective dose of this supplement.
- Tri-Creatine Malate: Combines creatine and malic acid that helps your body absorb more creatine. This will lead to higher ATP levels (4).
- Creatine Anhydrous: The most potent form, this will increase muscle mass and enhance sports performance (5) by directly hitting your body.
- Creatine Pyruvate: A combination of creatine and pyruvic acid, this is great for muscle recovery and gains and has good absorption properties.
How We Choose
When it comes to choosing a creatine supplement, you need the most clean products out there to boost your overall health and gains. We look for what forms of creatine are used and at what dose, for that will greatly affect your gains. Knowing the type you are looking for can also help you decide which option is best for you. When looking at each product, we also pay close attention to the company and their reputation. Many groups try and pump out supplements and take quantity over quality, which is not what you need. A quality brand will work for you as you seek to boost not only training and performance, but also health and wellness. Lastly, we take price into heavy consideration because we know this stuff can get expensive. Looking at affordable options on the market that are still great products makes this list a great place to shop.
FAQ Section
What is the best creatine?
Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB. This creatine supplement is clean and effective and will work to increase muscle strength while promoting lean body mass and decreased fat mass. With no artificial ingredients, this is a trusted product from a transparent company.
What is creatine?
Creatine is naturally found in your body and plays an important role in the production of energy. It works by increasing creatine phosphate stores in our muscles to consistently provide energy during workouts. It has been shown to increase strength, power, lean body mass, and performance.
Is creatine safe?
Creatine has been widely studied and is a safe and effective supplement to use. Always read the label on the respective product and seek expert advice if something remains unclear.
When is the best time to take creatine?
It is best to take creatine shortly before or after a workout, as this will work to fill those stores. On rest days, taking creatine can help maintain creatine levels in the muscles. Be sure to read each respective label so you get the most out of each supplement.
Wrap Up
Creatine is a great supplement on the market to add to your routine in efforts to maximize those gains and enhance recovery so you are primed and ready to for whatever challenge comes your way. A widely researched supplement, creatine is naturally occurring in your body and safe to take as a supplement to enhance all of these gains. Check out our list here of the best creatine supplements and really see what they can do for you to enhance all of your goals.
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References
- Pinto, Camila L.; Botelho, Patricia B.; Pimentel, Gustavo D.; Campos-Ferraz, Patricia L.; Mota, Joao F. (2016). “Creatine supplementation and glycemic control: a systematic review”. (source)
- Graham, A. S.; Hatton, R. C. (1999). “Creatine: a review of efficacy and safety”. (source)
- Kerksick, Chad M.; Wilborn, Colin D.; Campbell, William I.; Harvey, Travis M.; et al. (2009). “The Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation With and Without D-Pinitol on Resistance Training Adaptations”. (source)
- Sterkowicz, Stanislaw; Tyka, Anna K.; Chwastowski, Michal; Sterkowicz- Przybycien, Katarzyna; et al. (2012). “The effects of training and creatine malate supplementation during preparation period on physical capacity and special fitness in judo contestants”. (source)
- Kreider, Richard B. (2003). “Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations”. (source)