CleanLabelReport
Supplement Review · Updated August 2026

Best Creatine Supplements 2026: Ranked on Dose.

We read the labels of 31 creatine supplements. 28 leave the electrolyte lines empty. Creatine pulls water into muscle. One scoop of 31 doses the minerals that water moves with.
The ProblemThe ChecksThe Ranking
Best creatine supplements 2026 ranked on monohydrate dose, dosed electrolytes, and printed labels
The Problem

The creatine dose is easy. The line under it is where tubs fail.

Creatine is the most studied compound on the shelf, and the dose is not the hard part. Of the 31 tubs we read, 22 print 5 g of monohydrate or more per serving. That is the amount the trials used, and most brands hit it. The problem starts one line further down the Supplement Facts panel, where the rest of the formula either supports the creatine or gets in its way.

Creatine draws water into muscle. That is part of how it works, and it is also why the same scoop should carry the minerals that water travels with. Sodium, potassium and magnesium are the three that matter. Only 3 of the 31 tubs we read list any of them with a number. The other 28 sell the creatine and leave fluid balance to whatever you happen to drink that day.

Then there is what gets added for taste. Eleven of the 31 carry added sugar, an artificial sweetener or a color, and 6 park part of the formula inside a proprietary blend where the milligrams are never printed. A blend is not a formula you can compare. One tub of the 31 printed a full 5 g of monohydrate with dosed electrolytes behind it and nothing artificial in the scoop.

Took creatine and felt flat or puffy? Read the rest of the panel.

Most disappointment in this category is not the creatine. It is 5 g of monohydrate landing in a body that is short on sodium and potassium, or 5 g sitting under sugar and a blend. Before you switch forms and pay more, read the four lines under the creatine. If they are empty, that is your answer.

The Checks

Four checks. If one fails, keep reading the shelf.

01/04

Creatine monohydrate at 5 g

Monohydrate is the form behind the research, and about 5 g a day is what those trials used. The pricier forms carry far less data. Anything under 5 g of monohydrate is a fraction of the studied amount.

Creatine Monohydrate · 5 g
02/04

Electrolytes in the same scoop

Creatine moves water into muscle, and water moves with minerals. Sodium, potassium and magnesium belong on the same panel, each with a number next to it, not left to whatever you drink afterward.

Sodium · Potassium · Magnesium
03/04

Every dose printed

No proprietary blend. If the milligrams for each active are not on the Supplement Facts panel, the tub cannot be compared with the research, or with anything else on the shelf.

No Proprietary Blend
04/04

Zero sugar, nothing artificial

No added sugar, no artificial sweetener, no dye. Stevia leaf and natural flavor are fine. Dextrose, sucralose and Red 40 are three ingredients doing a job creatine never needed.

Zero Sugar · No Dyes
Side by Side

The five, line by line.

Suppla Creatine Hydration#1 PickThorne Creatine#2Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine#3Kaged Creatine HCl#4Six Star Creatine X3#5
CriteriaCreatine HydrationThorne CreatineON MicronizedKaged Creatine HClSix Star X3
Checks Passed4 of 43 of 43 of 42 of 41 of 4
Monohydrate at 5 g✓✓✓−✓
Electrolytes Dosed✓−−−−
Every Dose Printed✓✓✓✓−
Zero Sugar, No Dyes✓✓✓✓−
Creatine Per Serving5 g5 g5 g750 mg8 g
Electrolytes Per Serving1,260 mgnonenonenone70 mg sodium
Third-Party Tested✓✓✓✓−
Our Rating9.48.78.37.87.3
Scroll the table

Doses read from each brand's published Supplement Facts panel in August 2026. Electrolytes dosed means sodium, potassium or magnesium listed with a stated amount, not a trace of salt carried in by a flavor system.

The Ranking

Top 5 creatine supplements, by the label.

No. 01
Suppla Creatine Hydration
Ranked #1 of 31 labels read

Suppla Creatine Hydration

Creatine Monohydrate 5 g · Electrolytes 1,260 mg · 10 g Scoop · 30 Servings

4/4 ChecksMonohydrate 5 gElectrolytes 1,260 mgThird-Party TestedGMP · Manufactured in USA60-Day Guarantee
9.4
Label Score
Strengths 09
  • Creatine monohydrate at 5,000 mg per scoop, the form and the amount the research used.
  • Sodium 1,000 mg, potassium 200 mg and magnesium as magnesium malate 60 mg, all in the same scoop.
  • 1,260 mg of electrolytes behind a full creatine dose. The only tub of 31 that prints both.
  • Four actives, four numbers. No proprietary blend anywhere on the panel.
  • Zero sugar. Stevia leaf extract and natural flavor, no sucralose and no dye.
  • One 10 g scoop a day, training day or rest day. No loading phase to run.
  • Third-party tested, GMP certified, manufactured in the USA.
  • 30 servings per tub, one scoop a day.
  • 60-day money-back guarantee.
Limitations 02
  • Thirty servings per tub, so a long training block means reordering monthly.
  • Lightly flavored, so it is not a true unflavored powder if you want it in black coffee.
The verdict Almost every tub on this page gets the creatine right. This is the only one that finished the job. Five grams of monohydrate, then 1,000 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium and 60 mg of magnesium in the same scoop, every number printed and nothing artificial behind them. It is the only formula of the 31 we read that passed all four checks, and it is the one we would use ourselves.
See Price and Availability ✓ 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
The runners-up · 02 to 05
Thorne Creatine
No. 02

Thorne Creatine

Powder · Micronized Monohydrate 5 g · Unflavored · 90 Servings · NSF Certified for Sport
3 of 4NSF Certified for SportSingle Ingredient
8.7
Label
Strengths
  • Micronized creatine monohydrate at 5 g, the studied form and dose.
  • Single ingredient. The 450 g and 900 g tubs list no other ingredients at all.
  • NSF Certified for Sport, the strictest testing seal on this page.
Limitations
  • No sodium, potassium or magnesium anywhere on the panel.
  • Premium price per gram compared with the rest of the category.
  • Unflavored only, which some people find chalky in water.
The verdict The cleanest creatine label we read and the best certification on the page. The gap is everything the creatine needs around it: nothing on the panel replaces the sodium and potassium that move with the water creatine pulls in. A very good single ingredient, one layer short of a formula.
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine
No. 03

Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine

Powder · Micronized Monohydrate 5 g · Unflavored · Informed Choice Tested
3 of 4Best ValueUnflavored
8.3
Label
Strengths
  • Micronized monohydrate at 5 g per rounded teaspoon.
  • Other ingredients on the label read none. Nothing added at all.
  • Informed Choice banned substance testing, and the lowest cost per gram here.
Limitations
  • No electrolytes. Creatine and nothing else.
  • Informed Choice is a lighter program than NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport.
  • Scoop-free teaspoon dosing makes the serving easy to get wrong.
The verdict The value pick of the category and an honest label: 5 g of micronized monohydrate with nothing added and nothing hidden. The same gap as the tub above it, at a lower price. If you already run your own electrolytes, this is a fair way to buy creatine.
Kaged Creatine HCl
No. 04

Kaged Creatine HCl

Powder · Creatine HCl 750 mg · Unflavored · 75 Servings · Informed Sport
2 of 4HCl FormInformed Sport
7.8
Label
Strengths
  • Single ingredient with the dose printed, and Informed Sport batch testing.
  • Very small scoop, so it mixes without grit.
  • 75 servings per tub at a low cost per serving.
Limitations
  • 750 mg of creatine HCl, not 5 g of monohydrate. The research base behind HCl is far thinner.
  • No electrolytes on the panel.
  • The solubility argument for HCl has never been shown to match monohydrate gram for gram.
The verdict A clean, well tested tub built on the wrong form. Monohydrate is the compound behind the trials, and 750 mg of HCl is not the same purchase as 5 g of monohydrate no matter how well it dissolves. Two checks out of four.
Six Star Creatine X3
No. 05

Six Star Creatine X3

Powder · Monohydrate 8 g · Fruit Punch · 2 Blends · 5 g Added Sugar
1 of 4Proprietary BlendsRetail Brand
7.3
Label
Strengths
  • Creatine monohydrate at 8 g, above the studied amount.
  • Mixes and tastes like a sports drink, which helps people take it daily.
  • Widely stocked and inexpensive per tub.
Limitations
  • Two proprietary blends totaling 3,500 mg with no per-ingredient milligrams printed.
  • Five grams of added sugar, sucralose and FD&C Red No. 40 in every scoop.
  • The 70 mg of sodium comes from salt in the flavor system, not from a dosed electrolyte.
The verdict The creatine number on the front is real. Everything behind it is the problem: two blends you cannot read, added sugar, an artificial sweetener and a dye. One check out of four, and last of the five.
What Changes, When

What to expect on a properly dosed scoop.

Week 01 to 02

Fluid balance settles

Muscle stores start filling and the extra water goes where it is supposed to. With sodium and potassium in the same scoop, that shift tends to feel steady rather than puffy.

Week 02 to 04

The work gets easier

Stores reach the level daily 5 g doses are meant to reach. This is the window where strength, power and recovery support show up in the training log.

Week 04 to 08

The long run

Daily use keeps stores topped off, rest days included. Consistency is what compounds here, which is why the scoop has to be one you will actually take every morning.

FAQ

Questions we get asked.

Four things on one panel: creatine monohydrate at 5 g, sodium, potassium and magnesium each listed with a number, every dose printed with no proprietary blend, and no added sugar, artificial sweetener or dye. If any of those four is missing, keep reading the shelf.
Creatine works by drawing water into muscle, and that water moves with minerals. A tub that gives you 5 g and nothing else leaves the sodium, potassium and magnesium side to chance. The scoop that carries both is doing the whole job instead of half of it.
Muscle stores fill over roughly three to four weeks of daily 5 g doses, so no loading phase is needed. Most people notice the difference in training somewhere in weeks two to four, and the effect holds as long as the daily dose continues.
Yes. Saturation is about the daily total, not the workout. Skipping rest days is the most common reason a tub never reaches the level the research describes. One scoop, every day, training or not.
What we would buy

Five grams of monohydrate. Plus the minerals it moves with.

One tub of 31 passed all four checks. This is it.

Our top pick
Suppla Creatine Hydration
Creatine Hydration
Suppla · 30 servings
9.4 / 10
  • Creatine monohydrate 5,000 mg per scoop, the studied form and dose
  • Sodium 1,000 mg, potassium 200 mg, magnesium malate 60 mg in the same scoop
  • Every dose printed. No proprietary blend, no added sugar, no dye
  • Third-party tested, GMP certified, manufactured in the USA
  • 60-day money-back guarantee
See Price and Availability →
✓ 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee
The Evidence

Why monohydrate, and why the minerals belong in the scoop.

Creatine monohydrate is the form used across the large majority of controlled trials, and roughly 5 g a day is the intake those trials describe for saturating muscle stores over three to four weeks. Reviews have also reported support for cognitive performance in healthy adults at similar intakes. Because creatine increases total body water, the sports nutrition literature places sodium, potassium and magnesium in the same picture. The evidence points to the studied form, at the studied amount, taken daily, with fluid balance supported alongside it.

References

  1. Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017. PubMed
  2. Buford TW, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007. PubMed
  3. Hultman E, et al. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol. 1996. PubMed
  4. Avgerinos KI, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Exp Gerontol. 2018. PubMed
  5. Antonio J, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021. PubMed
  6. Lopez RM, et al. Does creatine supplementation hinder exercise heat tolerance or hydration status? A systematic review with meta-analyses. J Athl Train. 2009. PubMed

Editorial Disclosure

Affiliate Disclosure: We may earn a commission when you click links on this page and make a purchase. Placements are decided from each product's published label data measured against the criteria on this page. Competitor formulas reflect each brand's publicly listed specifications as of the update date shown and may vary by SKU or batch. Brand names belong to their respective owners and are referenced for comparison only. Competitor information reflects publicly available labels as of August 2026.

FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you take medication, are pregnant, or nursing.

© 2026 Clean Label Report. All rights reserved.

Suppla Creatine Hydration
9.4 / 10 · #1 of 31 labels
See Price and AvailabilitySee Price →

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