Creatine Monohydrate vs Creapure: Is It Worth the Premium?

You're looking at two creatine products. One costs $18 for 500g, the other $36 for the same amount. The difference? The expensive one has "Creapure" on the label. But is it really worth double?

What is Creapure anyway?

Creapure is a brand, not a different form of creatine. It's creatine monohydrate made by German company AlzChem. The difference is in the manufacturing process: Creapure is produced via chemical synthesis and is considered especially pure (at least 99.95%).

Regular creatine monohydrate is often made in China and can have varying purity levels. Good quality runs at 99.5% or higher, but this isn't always guaranteed.

The purity question

In theory, cheap creatine products could contain impurities like dicyandiamide, dihydrotriazine, or creatinine. In practice? Most major brands (even without Creapure licensing) test their raw materials and only sell high-purity products.

A study by Pischel et al. (2016) analyzed 33 creatine products and found acceptable purity levels in all of them. Differences between Creapure and non-Creapure were minimal.

Does it make a difference for your results?

Short answer: no. Your body can't tell the difference between 99.5% and 99.95% pure creatine. What matters is taking 3-5g daily, consistently. Purity has no measurable impact on strength or muscle mass in studies.

When Creapure might make sense

Competitive athletes: If you're drug tested, the guaranteed purity of Creapure can be an argument (no contamination with banned substances)
Very sensitive stomach: Some report better tolerance, but this is anecdotal
Preference for German manufacturing: Legitimate, but expensive

The verdict

For most people, regular creatine monohydrate is perfectly fine. The price difference of often 100% is hard to justify when studies show no advantage.

Buy from established brands that test their products. Save your money on Creapure unless you have a specific reason.

Sources

Pischel I. et al. "Analysis of creatine monohydrate: purity and content." J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2016. PubMed
Kreider R. et al. "International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation." J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017. PubMed