Author: Oleksandr Maksymenko (5 years as FPA-Certified Nutritionist, MS in Sports Dietetics)
We made a review of the 7 best vegan creatine for you, and also added an explanation on choosing a vegan creatine supplement. You'll also learn what to look for and why creatine can be an even more powerful supplement for vegans than omnivores!
In a hurry?
In a hurry?
In a hurry and can’t keep reading? How about you check out the Transparent Labs CREATINE HMB.
Creatine HMB from Transparent Labs is a top-rated supplement for muscle growth and prevention of muscle loss, particularly in vegans, due to its unique combination of creatine monohydrate, HMB, and vitamin D.
Our certified nutritionists, professional athletes, and medical professionals have put 23 vegan creatines through extensive testing and 7 of them made the cut.
The products were analyzed on 5 of the most important criteria, and our expert team spent 8 weeks extensively testing them to evaluate them thoroughly. In addition to this, we've also perused hundreds of online customer reviews.
We continually refresh our lineup, so please share your feedback, experiences, and join the conversation!
Top 7 Best Vegan Creatines Reviewed
1. Transparent Labs CREATINE HMB – Top Pick
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate
- Other Ingredients: HMB, Vitamin D
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$1.35
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 30 or 60 servings
- Company Founded: 2015
- Recommended by Athletes: Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Pat Li, P A U L I N A
Creatine HMB from the Transparent Labs brand contains not only creatine monohydrate, but also additional ingredients - 1.5 g of ß-hydroxy ß-methylbutyrate (HMB) and vitamin D in a dose of 50 IU.
This composition makes this supplement the most interesting in our rating, because HMB is a metabolite of the most anabolic amino acid leucine, and may increase muscle protein synthesis with reducing muscle protein breakdown, especially in conditions of insufficient consumption of high-quality protein, which is of great importance for vegans.
Overall it is supposed that HMB supplementation may promote muscle mass growth and prevent muscle loss.
We do not want to speculate and make loud statements, because the scientific data is still inconclusive. However, combining creatine with HMB may have potential benefits.
Results from this systematic review indicates that combining creatine with ß-hydroxy ß-methylbutyrate may provide benefits in terms of strength performance and improvement of body composition that may exceed the effects of taking creatine or HMB in isolation.
Photo by @transparentlabs
As for vitamin D, in conditions of insufficient levels, taking this vitamin in the form of a supplement may have beneficial effects on athletic performance.
However, when taking a vitamin D supplement, it's important to consider factors such as the season of the year, your exposure to the sun with exposed parts of your body, your skin tone, the use of sunscreen, and of course your doctor's recommendations.
One serving of Creatine HMB contains 5 g of creatine monohydrate. Despite the relatively high cost per serving, you're getting creatine in combination with HMB, which may have additional benefits.
Throw in a hefty dose of vitamin D and as many as 10 flavors to choose from and you've got a vegan creatine monohydrate with reasonable value for money (to save the budget, choose a package of 60 servings).
Positives:
Contains a combo of creatine + ß-hydroxy ß-methylbutyrate (HMB)
A good dose of vitamin D
10 flavors + unflavored option
Could be better:
Highest price per serving in this ranking
The maximum number of servings in a package is only 60
2. PROMIX Creatine Monohydrate - Runner Up
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.33
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 180 servings
- Company Founded: 2011
- Recommended by Athletes: Devon M Lévesque, Kelly Matthews
The second position of our best vegan creatine rating is occupied by micronized creatine monohydrate from Promix. There is nothing extra in it - just creatine monohydrate and nothing else.
The product is certified by the NSF for Sports. This means that it has been tested for unsafe levels of contaminants, prohibited substances or masking agents.
Note that this is micronized creatine monohydrate. Non-micronized creatine does not dissolve well, so part of it often remains at the bottom of the glass in the form of sediment.
So after emptying the glass you may need to add liquid again, swirl and take a quick sip to make sure you have consumed all of the remaining creatine from the bottom of the glass. In this case, micronized creatine may be a better choice, although it does not have better bioavailability than non-micronized creatine.
I declare with confidence that this product has everything you really need: micronized for better solubility, certified by the NSF for Sports, large packaging and worth only $0.33 per serving.
What could be better! In general, this is the best product in this rating in terms of value per serving. If it weren't for the advantage of flavors in creatine from Transparent Labs, Promix would definitely take first place!
Positives:
Micronized for better solubility
Certified by NSF for Sport
Packaging for 180 servings (will last a long time)
Best overall value per serving in our ranking
Could be better:
Packaging with a zip lock, which not all users will appreciate
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.55
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 60 or 120 servings
- Company Founded: 1986
- Recommended by Athletes: Nick Cheadle, Evan Johnson, Tom Bramwell
No rating can do without one of the most popular creatines in the world - Micronized Creatine from Optimum Nutrition brand! This creatine has long been valued among both amateurs and professional athletes.
Compared to some of the other products in this ranking, this supplement has the advantage of being third-party certified by Informed Choice.
This means that it has been tested for the content of prohibited or potentially dangerous substances. Overall, this is a great product at a reasonable price per serving.
Photo by @powerway_sport
Note that this creatine is also available in capsule form. However, the capsules contain gelatin, so this product is not vegan creatine monohydrate. Only the powder form of this product is suitable for vegans!
Positives:
Creatine with great reputation among amateurs and professional athletes
Micronized for better solubility
Certified by Informed Choice
Reasonable price per serving
Could be better:
Much more expensive per serving compared to the previous product
Does not contain a measuring scoop
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.22
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 100 or 200 servings
- Company Founded: 2014
- Recommended by Athletes: Antonio Faneite, AB Lab
If you need the most affordable, good old creatine monohydrate without additional ingredients, definitely choose NAKED Creatine.
This is the vegan creatine powder with the lowest price per serving in our ranking and 2 packaging options - for 100 or 200 servings. Naked Creatine is also micronized, therefore, you can count on good solubility.
Photo by @white_tyrone02
Overall, this is a cheap and high-quality micronized creatine monohydrate. Like the rest of the products from this rating сompared to the leader, it significantly loses in only one indicator - the lack of flavors to choose from.
Although this is not a problem with creatine (it is not a supplement that is usually chosen by taste), but rather an advantage of creatine from Transparent Labs.
Positives:
The cheapest creatine in this rating (for a package of 200 servings)
Micronized for better solubility
Available in a large package of 200 servings
Marked "Amazon's Choice"
Could be better:
Many complaints about the inconvenient measuring spoon
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.42
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 72 per servings
- Company Founded: 2009
- Recommended by Athletes: Nicole Marrero, Gustavo Vaz Tostes, Arya Saffaie
Fourth in the ranking of the best vegan creatine powder is COR-Performance Creatine from the well-known brand Cellucor. In this product, everything is just as simple - only creatine and nothing else.
No additives or extra ingredients. It is also micronized creatine, which will make it more soluble in liquid.
Photo by @supplements_og
The only real drawback is the availability of only one package for 72 servings of 5 g each.
Positives:
Micronized creatine with good solubility
Affordable price per serving
Marked "Amazon's Choice"
Could be better:
72 servings pack only
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.41
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 85 servings
- Company Founded: 2015
- Recommended by Athletes: Morgan MacDonald, TAYLOR
Another product marked "Amazon's Choice" is Jacked Factory Creatine. Jacked Factory has put his creatine in the “ESSENTIALS” series, and for good reason.
In fact, creatine monohydrate is the most effective nutritional supplement in terms of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass.
The price per serving is very affordable, and the only drawback is the availability of packaging for only 85 portions of 5 grams and complaints about not very good solubility, which is not surprising, because it is non-micronized creatine.
Overall, Jacked Factory Creatine is a great product that doesn't lose much to the rest of the products in this rating.
Positives:
Great solubility
Affordable price per serving
Marked "Amazon's Choice"
Could be better:
There are complaints about not very good solubility
- Form: Powder
- Type: Monohydrate (Micronized)
- Other Ingredients: None
- Price per Serving (for 5 g): ~$0.32
- Servings per Container (for 5 g): 45, 120 or 200 servings
- Company Founded: 1968
- Recommended by Athletes: Samantha Show, Kasey Brown
NOW Sports is the third vegan creatine supplement with third-party certification in our ranking. Contains nothing but creatine monohydrate. Judging by the reviews about not very good solubility, this is non-micronized creatine monohydrate.
On the other hand, this product has undergone strict testing by Informed Sport and is therefore best suited for professional athletes who are tested for banned substances. The risks are minimal.
Photo by @cuzznmikey
You can choose 45 servings, 120 servings or 200 servings if you choose the powder form. This product is also available in capsule form, but it does not contain gelatin and is therefore considered vegan creatine monohydrate.
Positives:
Tested for banned substances by Informed Sport
Available in powder and capsule form (both vegan options)
The second cheapest price per serving in this rating
Could be better:
Many complaints about poor solubility
Subscribe!
The latest reviews of must-have home gym training equipment, apparel, and supplements that will enhance your performance and bring you new results.
Why Might Vegans Benefit More From Creatine Than Omnivores?
Vegetarians (especially vegans) have reduced muscle creatine stores compared to omnivores. Despite the fact that our body synthesizes ~1 g of creatine per day, this is not enough for muscle saturation, even in omnivores who consume about 1-2 g of creatine per day from the diet.
Endogenous creatine synthesis and its intake from fish, red meat and poultry are still insufficient to saturate skeletal muscle with creatine, as even in omnivores creatine reserves in the muscles are filled by about 60-80%.
Given that the key dietary sources of creatine are red meat, fish and poultry, it is not surprising that vegetarians have been reported to have lower intramuscular creatine stores and therefore have more room for muscle saturation with creatine.
If you're vegan (who avoids all animal products and eats only plant foods), you may have the most room to saturate your skeletal muscles with creatine. You see, plant foods are not vegan creatine sources, because this non-proteinogenic amino acid is absent in plants.
In fact, vegetarians have the largest potential for response to supplementation. Therefore, by adding creatine to diet and training regimen, they can expect to see greater improvements in such endpoints as increasing high-intensity training performance, strength, and lean mass gains than omnivores.
So if you're not already using creatine, you can significantly improve your results by adding this supplement to your plan. You can also expect additional benefits such as improved recovery after intense training, prevention of injuries and even brain neuroprotection.
Which Form of Creatine Is the Most Studied and Safest?
As noted in the 2022 critical review by R. Kreider et al:
"Creatine Monohydrate continues to be the only source of creatine that has substantial evidence to support bioavailability, efficacy, and safety".
Some forms have some evidence to support bioavailability, efficacy and safety. Other forms have no evidence of efficacy, and for certain forms, such as Free Acid Creatine, scientific data is not provided or not available at all.
Tips From the Champ
Olympic Weightlifting Champion
1. Forms With Some Evidence
Forms with some evidence include:
- Creatine HCl (creatine hydrochloride)
- Creatine Nitrate
- Buffered Creatine Monohydrate (KreAlkalyn®)
- Creatine Ethyl Ester
- Magnesium Creatine Chelate
- Creatine Citrate
- Creatine Pyruvate
2. Forms With No Evidence
Forms with no evidence include: Creatine Serum, Creatyl-L-Leucine, Creatine Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Creatinol-O-Phosphate, Creatine Fumarate, Creatine Tartrate, Creatine Malate, Tri-Creatine Orotate and others.
Overall, some forms from the “Some Evidence” category have comparable effects on performance, but none of them showed better efficacy than good old creatine monohydrate.
Moreover, some forms, such as Creatine Serum, are not bioavailable and have no creatine-related efficacy at all. Unfortunately, this form is still available on the supplement market.
The only advantage that is most often found in the scientific literature is that some creatine salts (e.g., creatine HCL) outperform monohydrate in terms of solubility in liquid. At the same time, micronized creatine monohydrate has better solubility than non-micronized.
Also keep in mind that creatine monohydrate is the cheapest form on the market.
What to Look for When Choosing Creatine for Vegans?
To choose the best vegan creatine supplement, you need to pay attention to some details, one of which is of key importance for vegans.
1. Key Consideration: Powder vs Capsule
Have you ever wondered: "Is creatine vegetarian friendly"? In general, the powder form is suitable for vegans, because it is chemically synthesized from sarcosine and cyanamide, which does not contain any animal by-products.
However, in the description of some products there is a disclaimer that the supplement was processed in a facility that also processes products of animal origin. Therefore, it is not superfluous to additionally study the information even for the powder form.
As for the capsule form, it depends on whether the capsule contains gelatin, as gelatin capsules are typically of animal origin. In addition, capsules sometimes contain magnesium stearate, which historically was made from rendered animal fat, but can now be made from plant-based products.
On the other hand, some brands use cellulose or other components of plant origin for the production of creatine capsules. Such products can be considered plant-based creatine and suitable for vegans.
In general, it is better to study a specific product a little. Sometimes the mark "vegan" is indicated on the package, and sometimes this information is displayed on the manufacturer's website, for example, in the FAQ category.
2. Creatine Form and Third Party Testing
No form is better than monohydrate, and if you want a more soluble powder that does not settle in a thick layer on the bottom or on the walls of the glass, give preference to micronized creatine monohydrate.
Although creatine is usually a one-component supplement and contains nothing but creatine itself, third-party testing still minimizes the risks of purchasing a product that may contain banned substances or higher than permitted concentrations of contaminants.
This is important both for those who care about minimizing their health risks and especially for professional athletes who pass doping control before competitions.
Informed Choice / Sports, as well as NSF for Sports and Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG) are internationally recognized third party testing organizations.
3. Number of Servings per Package
For convenience, it's best to buy a larger serving pack, especially if you are using a loading phase or are a larger athlete, who may need 5-10 g of creatine to maintain high creatine stores.
By buying a larger package, you will be able to provide yourself with creatine for several months ahead.
4. Price per Serving
After you have made sure that you have a powder form or a capsule form of plant based creatine, choose the product that has the lowest price per serving. Ideally, the product should be tested for purity and absence of banned substances, and also be micronized for better mixing in the liquid.
FAQ
Is Vegan Creatine Effective?
There really is no such thing as “vegan creatine”, because it is synthesized chemically from substrates of non-animal origin. You just need to pay attention to the components used for the capsule forms of this supplement.
And if you choose a powder form, see if it has not been processed in facilities that process products of animal origin.
Do Vegan Bodybuilders Use Creatine?
Of course, and as it was said before, vegans have an even greater potential to benefit from creatine than omnivores.
Conclusion
Vegans can benefit from taking creatine, and these benefits can be even greater than omnivores. In order for the muscles to be saturated with creatine and you can improve your intensive training performance, as well as increase strength and lean muscle mass, we recommend creatine monohydrate.
When choosing the best plant based creatine, look at the components beside creatine (plant vs animal-based components), form (monohydrate is best), whether it is micronized (for good solubility), and whether it has been third-party tested.
Each of these points is perfectly matched by creatine from Promix (and it is also one of the cheapest in this rating), so this is my personal favorite in this ranking.
If you want to try the combination of creatine with HMB and get an additional dose of vitamin D (including it in the total daily intake), then pay attention to Creatine HMB from the Transparent Labs, which is the leader in the number of total points scored.
Which product from this rating do you like the most? It is very interesting to know your opinion in the comments!
References:
- Benefits and risks of using supplements and sports foods // AIS: https://www.ais.gov.au/nutrition/ supplements/group_c
- Effect of the Combination of Creatine Monohydrate Plus HMB Supplementation on Sports Performance, Body Composition, Markers of Muscle Damage and Hormone Status: A Systematic Review // NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC6835217/
- Bioavailability, Efficacy, Safety, and Regulatory Status of Creatine and Related Compounds: A Critical Review // NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC8912867/
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine // BMC: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/ articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
- Ais sports supplement framework creatine monohydrate // AIC: https://www.ais.gov.au/__data/assets/ pdf_file/0007/1000501/ Sport-supplement-fact-sheets-Creatine-v4.pdf
- Important roles of dietary taurine, creatine, carnosine, anserine and 4-hydroxyproline in human nutrition and health // Springer: https://link.springer.com/article/ 10.1007/s00726-020-02823-6
- Bioavailability, Efficacy, Safety, and Regulatory Status of Creatine and Related Compounds: A Critical Review // MDPI: https://www.mdpi.com/ 2072-6643/14/5/1035
- Analysis of the efficacy, safety, and cost of alternative forms of creatine available for purchase on Amazon.com: are label claims supported by science? // ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com /science/article/pii/ S2405844022034016
- Are your capsules vegetarian or nonvegetarian: An ethical and scientific justification // NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /pmc/articles/PMC5830853/
- Why can’t all drugs be vegetarian? // BMJ: https://www.bmj.com/bmj/ section-pdf/752705?path=/bmj/348/7944/ Analysis.full.pdf
- All Photos made by Torokhtiy Media Team.
Why Trust Us?
Experience: 7 years
Specializing in: Weight management, Fitness / Sports nutrition
Oleksandr is a professional fitness nutritionist, certified by FPA (Fitness Professional Association). Oleksandr adheres to the principles of evidence-based dietetics and instills in his clients a healthy relationship with food - without strict prohibitions on favorite foods and regular disruptions. His main task – not only get a result for you, but also maintain it for many years, enjoying tasty and delicious food.
If you have any questions/suggestions/any other inquiry, you can reach out to us via email - reviews@torokhtiy.com
This article was written by our qualified author and proofread by an expert with proven experience. When writing the article we've used our expertise and data from authoritative, scientific, and evidence-based sources. The list of references is provided at the end of the article.
Our team of authors and experts includes professional athletes (Olympians, winners of European and World titles), PhDs in Sports Science, certified coaches, sports nutritionists, CSCSs, physiotherapists, and others. Read more about the team here, and more about how we test here.
