Cheapest Creatine per 5 g Dose 2026: Cost Ranked
Not medical advice. Prices are current Amazon prices for the exact container and move week to week; doses are each label’s.
Quick answer
Creatine monohydrate costs between $0.19 and $1.67 per 5 g dose across the 6 products we track, a 8.6× spread for the same molecule. The sticker price is meaningless because tubs run from 30 to 120 servings; only the price per dose compares.
Cheapest: NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder, $0.19 per 5 g ($70.32 a year). Cheapest certified: NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder, $0.19 per 5 g, in the Informed Sport / Informed Choice registry. See the table →
Every creatine we track, ranked by cost per 5 g
Original research6 creatine products priced on the same day (2026-09-17) from the current Amazon price of the exact container and the dose on each Supplement Facts panel; 5 of the 6 are in an independent certification registry per our registry check of 6 products against 3,053 NSF, 159 USP and 2,105 Informed Sport listings.
Method: every creatine product in our catalog with a live Amazon offer (6 of them). Price is the current Amazon price of the exact container (by ASIN), verified 2026-09-17; dose is the Supplement Facts serving; cost per 5 g = price ÷ (servings × creatine per serving) × 5. The verification rung comes from our registry snapshots (NSF/ANSI 173, USP Verified, Informed Sport; 2026-08-25) and brand-site certificate checks (2026-09-19). Products with no buyable Amazon offer are left out rather than priced from memory.
| Product | Cost per 5 g | Active per serving | Serving on label | Servings | Price | Quality signal | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder | $0.193 | 5 g creatine | 1 rounded tsp (5g) | 120 | $23.12 | Rung 1: Informed Sport / Informed Choice listing | Check price |
| BulkSupplements Micronized Creatine Monohydrate | $0.220 | 5 g creatine | 1 scoop (5g) | 100 | $21.97 | Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing | Check price |
| Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate | $0.266 | 5 g creatine | 1 scoop (5g) | 60 | $15.97 | Rung 4: unverified | Check price |
| Momentous Creatine Monohydrate | $0.478 | 5 g creatine | 1 scoop (5g) | 90 | $42.99 | Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing | Check price |
| Thorne Creatine | $0.489 | 5 g creatine | 1 scoop (5g) | 90 | $44.00 | Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing | Check price |
| Transparent Labs Creatine HMBcreatine + HMB | $1.67 | 5 g creatine | 1 scoop (12.7g) | 30 | $49.99 | Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing | Check price |
Cost per 5 g = current Amazon price for the exact container (verified 2026-09-17) divided by total active content in the container, times 5. The spread from NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder to Transparent Labs Creatine HMB is 8.6× for the same active. Prices move week to week.
Why the number is per dose, and what the price actually buys
Every product on this page is creatine monohydrate at a 5 g dose, the form behind essentially the entire research base and the one the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand names as the most effective and best studied (Kreider 2017, PMID 28615996). Buffered and other “advanced” forms did not beat it head to head (Jagim 2012, PMID 22971354). So the molecule is fixed and the only variables are how much a dose costs and what you can verify about the tub.
Across the 5 plain monohydrates the range is $0.19 to $0.49 per dose. What sits in that gap is verification and sourcing: 5 of the 6 products are in an independent certification registry (the quality column, from our third-party-tested check), and the premium tubs source German Creapure. Whether that is worth the difference is a personal call; the arithmetic is not. Over a year at one dose a day the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive tub is $537.89.
Cost per 5 g, product by product
Each line is the arithmetic behind the table: container price divided by servings, then scaled per 5 g, then multiplied out to a year at one dose a day. Cheapest first.
- NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder: $23.12 for 120 servings of 5 g creatine is $0.19 a serving and $0.19 per 5 g, or $70.32 a year. Rung 1: Informed Sport / Informed Choice listing.
- BulkSupplements Micronized Creatine Monohydrate: $21.97 for 100 servings of 5 g creatine is $0.22 a serving and $0.22 per 5 g, or $80.19 a year. Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing.
- Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate: $15.97 for 60 servings of 5 g creatine is $0.27 a serving and $0.27 per 5 g, or $97.15 a year. Rung 4: unverified.
- Momentous Creatine Monohydrate: $42.99 for 90 servings of 5 g creatine is $0.48 a serving and $0.48 per 5 g, or $174.35 a year. Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing.
- Thorne Creatine: $44.00 for 90 servings of 5 g creatine is $0.49 a serving and $0.49 per 5 g, or $178.44 a year. Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing.
- Transparent Labs Creatine HMB: $49.99 for 30 servings of 5 g creatine is $1.67 a serving and $1.67 per 5 g, or $608.21 a year. Rung 1: NSF/ANSI 173 listing. Note: creatine + HMB.
Why 5 g is the dose we price
Because it is the maintenance dose the evidence is built on. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand puts the effective daily intake at 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate once muscle stores are full (Kreider 2017, PMID 28615996), and the 2021 expert review of common creatine questions restates it as 3 to 5 g a day or 0.1 g per kilogram of body weight, adding that a loading phase is optional rather than required (Antonio 2021, PMID 33557850). The original loading work in 31 men found that 20 g a day for 6 days raised muscle creatine by about 20% and that 2 to 3 g a day then held it there, with 3 g a day alone reaching the same level in 28 days (Hultman 1996, PMID 8828669). Pricing at 5 g is therefore the top of the maintenance range: if you take 3 g, multiply every figure on this page by 0.6; if you load for a week, add about 15 doses to the first month.
Reading the quality column
The quality column is the same four-rung ladder as the third-party-tested page, compressed to a phrase. Rung 1 means the exact product appears in an independent certification registry in our snapshots; rung 2 means the brand publishes a lot-specific certificate of analysis you can match to the number on your container; rung 3 means a representative or undated report; rung 4 means a claim on the label or website with nothing behind it that we could open, or a brand site that blocked our check. The rung does not change the cost per dose, but it changes what the cost per dose is buying: at rung 4 you are paying for the molecule and the brand’s word; at rung 1 you are paying for the molecule and someone else’s test of it.
How to run the same calculation on any tub
- Take the price and the servings count from the container: $23.12 and 120 servings for NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder.
- Divide price by servings: $23.12 ÷ 120 = $0.19 a serving.
- Scale the serving to the dose you actually take: the label serving is 5 g creatine, so per 5 g the cost is $0.19 × 5 ÷ 5 = $0.19.
- Multiply by 365 for the yearly figure: $70.32. Compare that number, never the sticker price.
What moves this ranking is price, not formula. Amazon prices on these containers move week to week, a larger container of the same brand usually costs less per dose than the small one, and Subscribe & Save discounts are not included here because they vary by account. Flavoured and gummy versions cost more per gram of creatine than unflavoured powder and often carry a smaller dose per serving, which is why the table scales everything to 5 g rather than trusting the serving. When a price changes the ranking, the table changes with it: every figure is computed from the catalog at build time, none is typed.
Which creatine to buy
Product links go to Amazon and we may earn a commission if you buy. It never changes which product we pick or what we say about it. How we choose.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest creatine per dose?
NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder at $0.19 per 5 g dose at current Amazon prices ($23.12 for 120 servings), or about $70.32 a year. The most expensive tub we track, Transparent Labs Creatine HMB, is $1.67 per dose, 8.6 times as much, for the same creatine monohydrate plus HMB.
What is the cheapest creatine that is actually third-party certified?
NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder at $0.19 per 5 g, listed as "NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder" in the Informed Sport / Informed Choice registry. It is also the cheapest creatine of any kind we track, so certification costs nothing here. The full verification ladder is on the third-party-tested page.
Why is the cost per dose the right number for creatine?
Because every tub on this page delivers the same thing: creatine monohydrate at a 5 g maintenance dose, the form and dose behind essentially the whole research base. Tubs differ in size (30 to 120 servings), so the sticker price tells you nothing; the price divided by servings, at a fixed 5 g dose, is the only comparison. Micronized, Creapure and unflavoured are purity and texture choices, not different molecules.
Is expensive creatine better?
Not at the molecule. What the price buys, when it buys anything, is a certification listing (an NSF, USP or Informed Sport program that tests lots and audits the factory), a published lot report, or German Creapure sourcing. Whether that is worth $1.47 a dose depends on whether you are drug-tested or simply want the assurance; the ISSN position stand finds creatine monohydrate safe and effective regardless of brand.
How often do these prices change, and when was this page last checked?
Prices were verified on 2026-09-17 and are re-pulled from Amazon on a schedule; every figure on this page is recomputed from the catalog when the site is rebuilt, so the ranking can change without the text changing. If a container shows a different price when you click through, the ranking may have shifted since the last build; the arithmetic in the worked example lets you redo it in a minute.
How much does a year of creatine cost?
At one 5 g dose a day: $70.32 for NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder, $70.32 for the cheapest certified product, and $608.21 for Transparent Labs Creatine HMB. Loading for a week adds about 15 doses.
Related guides
- Third-party tested creatine: the verification ladder
- Best creatine, ranked
- Momentous vs Thorne and Thorne vs Optimum Nutrition
- Creatine dosage and loading guide
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. PMID: 28615996
- Jagim AR, et al. “A buffered form of creatine does not promote greater changes in muscle creatine content, body composition, or training adaptations than creatine monohydrate.” J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012. PMID: 22971354
- Antonio J, et al. “Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?” J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021. PMID: 33557850
- Hultman E, et al. “Muscle creatine loading in men.” J Appl Physiol. 1996. PMID: 8828669
- Product labels and current Amazon prices for each container, verified 2026-09-17; verification rungs from our registry and brand-site check (see the third-party-tested page).