NOW Foods vs Thorne Creatine Monohydrate (2026)
NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder (600g) and Thorne Creatine (90 servings) are both plain creatine monohydrate at 5 g per scoop — the only creatine form with a large evidence base behind it. Thorne carries NSF Certified for Sport; NOW is NPA GMP certified and costs substantially less per day.
Informational comparison of label data and cost — not medical advice. Prices are per-serving figures from our last check; formulas are each brand’s published Supplement Facts.
The numbers, side by side
| NOW Sports Creatine Monohydrate Powder (600g) | Thorne Creatine (90 servings) | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Creatine monohydrate | Creatine monohydrate |
| Dose / serving | 5 g | 5 g |
| Serving size | 1 rounded tsp (5g) | 1 scoop (5g) |
| Servings / container | 120 | 90 |
| Third-party cert | NPA GMP Certified | NSF Certified for Sport |
| Price | $15.99 | $44.00 |
| Cost / day | $0.13 | $0.49 |
| Buy | Check price → | Check price → |
Prices are Amazon buy-box figures ÷ pack serving count, last reviewed October 5, 2026. Formula details are each brand’s published Supplement Facts panel.
The real difference
Creatine monohydrate is the form nearly every trial has used, and there is no persuasive evidence that the more expensive variants outperform it. Both of these are monohydrate at the standard 5 g maintenance dose, so the compound and the dose are the same.
Thorne carries NSF Certified for Sport — the certification that screens for banned substances and is required by many tested leagues. NOW Sports carries NPA GMP certification, which speaks to manufacturing practice rather than banned-substance screening. For a tested athlete that gap is the whole decision; for everyone else it is a large price difference for the same molecule.
Who each one is for
Choose NOW Foods if you want 5 g of monohydrate at the lowest cost per day and you are not subject to drug testing.
Choose Thorne if you compete in a tested sport — NSF Certified for Sport is the standard most testing bodies expect.
Skip the fancy forms creatine HCl, buffered creatine and creatine-plus-HMB blends cost more without beating monohydrate in head-to-head work. Both products here are monohydrate, which is the right call.
Our picks
5 g creatine monohydrate per scoop, NPA GMP certified. $0.13/day.
Micronized creatine monohydrate, NSF Certified for Sport. $0.49/day.
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The evidence · Creatine
What the published reviews of Creatine concluded
- Effect of creatine supplementation on kidney function: a systematic review and meta-analysis. · BMC nephrology, 2025
“Creatine supplementation is associated with a modest, transient increase in serum creatinine levels, likely due to metabolic turnover rather than renal impairment. No significant changes were observed in GFR, suggesting preserved kidney function.”
- Effects of Creatine Monohydrate on Endurance Performance in a Trained Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2023
“Creatine monohydrate supplementation was shown to be ineffective on endurance performance in a trained population.”
- Creatine supplementation during resistance training in older adults-a meta-analysis. · Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2014
“Retention of muscle mass and strength is integral to healthy aging.”
- Effects of creatine supplementation on muscle strength gains-a meta-analysis and systematic review. · PeerJ, 2025
“Cr supplementation significantly improves muscle strength in the general population.”
Method: PubMed searched in humans for systematic reviews and meta-analyses with Creatine in the title; these 4 of the 29 that qualified are shown with the authors’ own conclusion quoted rather than summarised. What it cannot tell you: whether Creatine will work for you — each of these reports an average across trials published 2014–2025, and null findings are shown here as readily as positive ones.
Frequently asked questions
Is NOW Foods or Thorne creatine better?
Both are creatine monohydrate at 5 g per serving, so the compound and dose are identical. Thorne is NSF Certified for Sport; NOW is NPA GMP certified and costs considerably less per day. Unless you are drug-tested, the cheaper monohydrate does the same job.
Is Creapure creatine better than regular monohydrate?
Creapure is a specific manufacturer of creatine monohydrate with tight purity specifications. It is the same molecule as any other monohydrate. The argument for it is manufacturing consistency and low impurity levels, not a different or stronger effect.
Do I need to load creatine?
No. Loading with roughly 20 g a day for five to seven days saturates muscle stores faster, but taking 5 g daily reaches the same saturation in about three to four weeks. Both products here are dosed at the 5 g maintenance serving.
Related
- Best creatine supplements — every product ranked by cost per 5 g dose
- Creatine dosage guide — loading, maintenance and timing
- All creatine products — ranked by cost per dose
Sources
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine supplementation. PMID: 28615996
- NSF. “Certified for Sport” — what the programme tests. nsfsport.com
- Product labels and Amazon pricing for both products, as of October 5, 2026.