Best creatine in the UK: an honest buying guide for 2026
The best creatine for most people in the UK is plain creatine monohydrate, bought at a sensible price per serving from a brand that publishes its testing. Every other decision, flavoured or unflavoured, tub or pouch, with or without electrolytes, is about how you will actually use it, not about whether it works.
This guide explains what to look for on the label, how the main forms compare, how to work out the price per serving, and which UK brands are worth comparing. AMPD makes creatine, so we have a stake in this. We have tried to keep the comparison fair and to say where the evidence stops.
What actually matters when you buy creatine
Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in sports nutrition. The International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand describes creatine monohydrate as the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement available to athletes for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. [1]
In Great Britain, the only authorised health claim for creatine is that it increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise. The claim can only be made for a product that provides 3 g of creatine a day, and the label has to tell you that. [2][3] That is a useful standard: if a serving gives you at least 3 g of creatine, it is doing the job the evidence supports.
- The form. Creatine monohydrate is the form the evidence is built on. [1][4]
- The dose per scoop. 3 g a day is the authorised minimum; 3 to 5 g a day is what most research uses. [1][2]
- The price per serving, not the price per tub.
- Testing. Does the brand state third-party testing, and can you see what was tested?
- Whether you will take it every day. Creatine works by saturating your muscles over weeks, so a product you enjoy and remember to take beats a cheaper one that sits in the cupboard. [1][5]
Creatine monohydrate against other forms
Creatine monohydrate is creatine bound to a molecule of water. It is the form used in almost every study showing a benefit, and it is the cheapest to make. [1][4]
Other forms you will see on UK shelves include creatine hydrochloride (HCl), buffered creatine (sold as Kre-Alkalyn), creatine ethyl ester, creatine nitrate and creatine chelates. A 2011 review of these newer forms found no evidence that any of them was more effective than monohydrate, and noted that several had less safety and regulatory data behind them. [4]
Creatine ethyl ester has been tested directly against monohydrate in a resistance-training trial. It did not raise muscle creatine as well as monohydrate and produced higher blood creatinine, which suggests it breaks down before it reaches the muscle. [6]
Flavoured or unflavoured
Unflavoured creatine monohydrate is close to tasteless and dissolves into water, juice, a protein shake or coffee. It is the cheapest and most flexible option.
Flavoured creatine exists because a daily glass of water with a slightly gritty powder in it is easy to abandon. The trade-off is usually a sweetener and a few more ingredients, and a higher price per serving.
Some flavoured products add electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and magnesium alongside the creatine. These are minerals you lose in sweat. [7] Whether you want them in the same scoop depends on how you train and what else you drink; we cover this in detail on our creatine and electrolytes page.
Whichever you choose, check the creatine dose per scoop. A flavoured product is still a creatine product, and 3 g a day is the line that matters. [2]
Working out the price per serving
Pack sizes differ, so compare on price per serving, and check what a serving is.
- Find the creatine per serving on the label.
- Divide the pack weight by the serving size to get the number of servings. A 250 g pouch of pure monohydrate at 5 g a serving is 50 servings. A 300 g pouch of a flavoured blend with a 10 g scoop is 30 servings.
- Divide the price by the servings. £20 for 50 servings is 40p a serving; £31 for 30 servings is just over £1.
- If you subscribe, do the same sum on the renewal price, not the first-order discount.
A worked example from our own range, at October 2026 prices: a pouch of AMPD Creatine+ is 30 servings of a 10 g scoop, each with 5 g of creatine monohydrate. [8] At the one-time price of £30.99 that is roughly £1.03 a serving; on the single-pouch subscription renewal price of £26.34 it is about 88p.
Plain monohydrate from the large UK sports nutrition retailers is typically the cheapest per serving. You pay more for flavour, for electrolytes or other added ingredients, for smaller packs, and for convenience formats such as sachets, gummies or capsules.
UK brands worth comparing
Several brands sell creatine monohydrate in the UK, and the differences between them are mostly format, flavour, pack size and price rather than the creatine itself. Comparing fairly:
- Myprotein, Bulk and The Protein Works: large UK sports nutrition retailers with unflavoured and flavoured creatine monohydrate in a range of pack sizes. Typically the lowest price per serving for plain monohydrate.
- Warrior and Applied Nutrition: UK sports nutrition brands with monohydrate powders. Warrior also sells a creatine and electrolyte product.
- Optimum Nutrition and Thorne: US brands widely sold in the UK. Optimum Nutrition's micronised monohydrate is a long-running staple, and Thorne is known for independent certification of its products.
- Free Soul: a UK brand that markets flavoured creatine monohydrate to women.
- AMPD Lifestyle (that is us): Creatine+ pairs 5 g of creatine monohydrate with sodium, potassium, magnesium, Lion's Mane, Chaga and Cordyceps in a flavoured 10 g scoop, in Watermelon Blast and Citrus Twist, plus an unflavoured micronised creatine monohydrate. Made in the UK and third-party tested. [8][9]
None of these is a bad choice. For the cheapest effective creatine, buy plain monohydrate from one of the large retailers. For a flavoured daily drink that also carries electrolytes and functional mushrooms, a blend like ours costs more per serving; decide whether those extras are worth it to you.
Third-party testing and what it tells you
Third-party testing means a laboratory independent of the manufacturer has checked the product. The two things worth checking are purity (is it creatine monohydrate at the stated amount, without contaminants) and, if you compete in tested sport, screening for banned substances through a programme such as Informed Sport.
A brand saying "third-party tested" is a start; a brand that says what was tested, by whom and how often is better. AMPD states third-party testing on every product page. [9]
How to use whatever you buy
Take 3 to 5 g every day, with or without food, at whatever time you will remember. A loading phase is optional; without one, your muscles reach the same saturation in roughly three to four weeks. [1][5] We cover the detail in how much creatine per day and when to take creatine.
Drink normally. Creatine draws water into muscle cells, so a small early weight gain of roughly 1 to 2 kg is common and expected. [1]
Frequently asked questions
For most people, creatine monohydrate from a brand that publishes third-party testing, at the best price per serving you can find. It is the form with the most evidence behind it. Flavoured, electrolyte or mushroom blends are a preference, not a requirement.
There is no good evidence that creatine HCl, or any other newer form, works better than monohydrate. Monohydrate is the form used in the research and the cheapest to buy.
No. Micronised creatine is monohydrate milled finer so it mixes more easily. The compound is the same.
Plain monohydrate from large UK retailers is often under 50p a serving. Flavoured blends with added electrolytes or other ingredients usually cost between 80p and £1.20 a serving. Compare on price per serving, and on the renewal price if you subscribe.
It is optional. Loading with around 20 g a day for five to seven days saturates muscles faster; 3 to 5 g a day reaches the same point in about three to four weeks with less chance of stomach upset.
Sources
- 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;14:18.
- Department of Health and Social Care. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register.
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to creatine and increase in physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise bouts. EFSA Journal. 2011;9(7):2303.
- Jäger R et al. Analysis of the efficacy, safety, and regulatory status of novel forms of creatine. Amino Acids. 2011;40(5):1369-1383.
- Hultman E et al. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol. 1996;81(1):232-237.
- Spillane M et al. The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009;6:6.
- Baker LB. Sweating rate and sweat sodium concentration in athletes: a review of methodology and intra/interindividual variability. Sports Med. 2017;47(Suppl 1):111-128.
- AMPD Lifestyle. Creatine+ nutrition information per 10 g serving, as published on the Creatine Decoded guide page.
- AMPD Lifestyle. AMPD Creatine Plus product page (third-party tested, made in the UK).