The 5 Best (and Worst) Types of Creatine

Nothing beats creatine monohydrate — it's the most researched form of creatine by a million miles. So what are all these other creatines doing on the market?

(Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The opinions and articles in this video are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. Speak with your physician if you have any concerns.)

Creatine Hydrochloride

Also called Creating HCl, this is when the creatine has been bound with parts of a hydrochloride molecule, making it more acidic. It also reduces its mass, so you might be able to use a smaller serving size. This process makes it easier for it to dissolve in water, which can be useful for a supplement, but there's no evidence it conveys other benefits.

That said, anecdotally, some find that it's easier on the stomach than regular creatine monohydrate so it may be more useful for those with sensitive stomachs.

pH-Buffered Creatine

This goes the other way to HCl; it's more basic, as opposed to more acidic. There's no evidence it's any better than monohydrate, and a 2012 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition pretty firmly concluded that their findings "do not support claims that consuming a buffered form of creatine is a more efficacious and/or safer form of creatine to consume than creatine monohydrate."

Creatine Nitrate

This one might have some uses. This is when creatine is bound with nitrate, which is linked with nitric oxide production. Nitrates have pretty strong links with improved performance in aerobic and anaerobic exercise, which is why they're often included in pre workouts. Creatine nitrate isn't more effective than just taking creatine and nitrate separately, but creatine nitrate may confer both of their benefits. More research is needed.

Creatine Ethyl Ester

This is probably the worst type of creatine. Research suggests it results in less creatine winding up in the muscles than if you were using monohydrate, plus it seems to increase the amount of creatinine in the body. That's a waste byproduct of creatine that the kidneys need to excrete, so it's not a great idea to purposely add it to the body.

[Grovezy]

You gave the answer straight away, I Subscribed.

[coreyj]

Few years late, but what a great video, well presented and full of information.

[piting]

For me creatine magnesium chelate works the best ("Magna power")

[thepiratepenguin]

In my own experience, when I started out with Creatine mono I had bad heartburn & stomach cramps during the loading phase, after I switched to Creatine HCL it manufacturer claimed it does not cause any indigestion issues & I have found this to be true. The nice thing is that my pre-workout contains 1g of Creatine HCL & 1g Creatine Nitrate so I don't need to buy it as an extra supplement anymore.

[flehmenslauch]

Creatin HCL is for me the key. No problems any more and full power.

[travisbabcock]

Thanks for the straightforward answer, I’m 18 and I’m pretty skinny so I’m trying to gain some weight and muscle. Might try out some monohydrate

[stevewildeagle]

I use CR18 CREATINE berry flavour tastes great and seems to do the job, far better than the Matrix brand I used to use.

[captainscentsible]

I could never gain weight, i took eas myoplex & creatine. Gained 17 lbs in 3 weeks. Also took weight gainer and ate like crazy. Prob most was water wait. But some do work well. Don't miss a day or you will notice your gains slowdown fast

[gemstun]

i used ethyl ester for around 2 years. had a kidney stone at age 26. maybe its linked

[josephbyrd]

it would be nice if every video started this way😄

[neilsoulman]

In my own experience I noticed better increase in strides while using Creatine Nitrite, ie, strength, power, definition, retain muscle longer, with the monohydrate their seemed to be greater muscle gain, "more bulk, " but the muscle gain shed quickly during inactivity, was told that was because the monohydrate retained more water weight, and also the Creatine Nitrate absorption into the blood was greater then with the mono. My problem now is that Creatine Nitrate is hard to find over the last few years at the larger outlet chain stores. Is there a reason for the scarcity? Seems like every time I fund a product that works 4 me it gets pulled.

You can’t always go off of research. Research is just one tool. Mono, in ANY amount, even just 2gm in water gives me the shits and hurts my bowels. Krealkylin works really well, hcl works even better FOR ME.

[captainscentsible]

Eas early on had a good one. But they changed the Formula i believe and was never the same.

[jackmurphy]

It seems to me like some people have more acidic stomachs and some people have more basic stomachs. Some creatine is more acidic and some is more basic. Maybe an acidic creatine is a good idea for one person but a bad idea for someone else. I am new to the world of creatine so apologies if this has already common knowledge or even a correct assumption in the first place.

[boss-streetrealtyYEG]

i noticed that Creapure was not mentioned. i cant find any direct answers so im hoping you can get back to me on this, but it looks like Creapure is just a more pure form of creatine monohydrate. so it should be just as safe as creatine monohydrate? is there any known research that says Creapure is not as safe as regular creatine monohydrate ?

[anonymousy]

3-4g of creapure, 1g of hcl, 1g of nitrate is definitely the way to go. 3-4g of creapure per day is already enough and there are studies that recommend only 1g of each of the other 2.

[mouhssinemarzouki]

Please some tell me what did he say in the video and what exactly best creating he said,

[krtolebiohazardcs.]

Is ethyl ester and malate the same creatine?

[devera]

Very informative, but the excessive hand movement is distracting.

[memefortime]

Would love to send you my newest supplement! It includes 5 grams of Creatine monohydrate!