Creatine powder: what to compare before buying
Form, purity wording, mesh size and cost per gram: the things on a creatine tub that are worth reading.
Most tubs are the same ingredient
Creatine monohydrate is the form you will see most often, and a plain unflavoured tub is usually a single ingredient product.
That makes creatine unusually easy to compare, because once the form matches, the comparison is mostly weight, purity wording and price.
Form, and what the other names mean
Alternative forms exist: hydrochloride, ethyl ester, creatine blends with added carbohydrate or electrolytes.
These are different ingredients with different weights per scoop, so a like for like comparison needs the panel, not the name.
- Monohydrate: the plain form, sold as powder, capsules or tablets
- Hydrochloride: a different compound, so the amount per scoop differs
- Blends: creatine plus other ingredients, where the creatine share may not be stated separately
Read the scoop, not the tub
Tubs are sold by net weight. The panel is written per scoop or per stated portion.
If a scoop is a blend, only part of its weight is creatine, and the panel should show how much.
- Net weight in grams, printed as the net quantity
- Stated portion in grams, not in scoops alone
- Creatine content within that portion
- Portions per tub, which is net weight divided by portion weight
Cost per gram is the honest number
Price per tub tells you almost nothing because tub sizes vary widely. Price per gram of creatine is comparable across every brand.
Work it out from net weight and the creatine share of the portion, then compare.
Purity wording and grade names
You will see brand names for raw material grades on some tubs. A grade name is a supply chain label, not an independent verdict.
What you can check is whether the ingredients list is short, whether the stated creatine content is given plainly, and whether the brand names the form precisely.
- A single ingredient list is easy to verify, a proprietary blend is not
- Percentage purity claims should be stated, not implied by a logo
- Treat unexplained badges as marketing until a certificate is published
Texture, mesh and flavour
Micronised means the powder has been milled to a finer particle size, which affects how it disperses in liquid. It is a physical property, nothing more.
Flavoured tubs add sweeteners and acids, which is a taste and ingredients question rather than a quality one.
Compare the listing on this site
Creatine Monohydrate sits in Sports Nutrition and Specialist Ingredients. Read its panel against any tub you already own.
