Creatine Compared: Is Expensive Creatine Actually Better?

Quick Verdict

Creatine monohydrate is creatine monohydrate. The molecule is identical regardless of brand. Myprotein and Bulk cost roughly £0.05 per serving. Thorne costs £0.40 per serving for the same active ingredient with a Creapure purity certification that makes minimal practical difference. Buy the cheapest unflavoured monohydrate and spend the savings elsewhere.

Product Overview

Factor	Myprotein	Bulk	ON Micronised	Applied Nutrition	Thorne
Price	~£17 / 500g	~£15 / 500g	~£20 / 317g	~£15 / 250g	~£35 / 450g
Servings (5g)	100	100	63	50	90
Cost per 5g	~£0.17	~£0.15	~£0.32	~£0.30	~£0.39
Monthly cost	~£5.10	~£4.50	~£9.60	~£9.00	~£11.70

Detailed Comparison

Factor	Myprotein	Bulk	ON Micronised	Applied Nutrition	Thorne
Form	Monohydrate	Monohydrate	Monohydrate	Monohydrate + extras	Monohydrate
Creapure?	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Micronised?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Purity	~99.5%+	~99.5%+	99.99% (Creapure)	~99.5%+	99.99% (Creapure)
Added ingredients	None	None	None	Beta-alanine, taurine	None
Flavoured options	Unflavoured	Unflavoured	Unflavoured	Flavoured	Unflavoured
Third-party tested	Basic	Basic	Informed Sport	Basic	NSF Certified

What Is Creapure and Does It Matter?

Creapure is a trademark of AlzChem in Germany. It guarantees 99.99% purity, meaning virtually zero contaminants (creatinine, dicyandiamide, dihydrotriazine). Generic creatine monohydrate is typically 99.5%+ purity.

The practical difference between 99.5% and 99.99% purity in a 5g dose is roughly 0.025g of impurities vs essentially zero. This is not meaningful for health or performance. Creapure is a quality assurance mark, not a performance upgrade.

If you are a tested athlete who needs certified batch testing (Informed Sport, NSF), then ON or Thorne makes sense — for the testing, not the creatine itself.

What Is Micronised Creatine?

Micronisation means the powder is ground finer. It dissolves slightly better in water and may cause marginally less stomach discomfort for sensitive individuals. It does not change absorption or effectiveness. If you stir your creatine into a shake or coffee, micronised vs regular makes no discernible difference.

The Applied Nutrition Problem

Applied Nutrition Creatine includes added beta-alanine, taurine, and flavouring. This sounds like a bonus but creates several issues:

Beta-alanine dose is sub-effective (you need 3.2g daily; their blend adds far less)
Flavouring adds cost — you are paying for sweetener, citric acid, and colour
The serving size is not standardised — it becomes harder to dose exactly 5g of creatine
Price per gram of actual creatine is higher because you are paying for filler ingredients

Pure, unflavoured creatine monohydrate is always the better buy. Add it to whatever you like.

Annual Cost Comparison

Brand	Monthly	Annual	Extra cost vs cheapest
Bulk	£4.50	£54	—
Myprotein	£5.10	£61	+£7
Applied Nutrition	£9.00	£108	+£54
ON Micronised	£9.60	£115	+£61
Thorne	£11.70	£140	+£86

Over a year, choosing Thorne over Bulk costs you an extra £86 for the same molecule. That is enough to buy creatine for someone else for an entire year.

Loading Phase: Still Necessary?

Some brands recommend a “loading phase” of 20g per day for 5-7 days. This saturates muscles faster but is not necessary. Taking 5g daily reaches full saturation in about 3-4 weeks. Loading just gets you there sooner. Either approach works.

At £0.15 per serving, loading with Bulk costs an extra £2.40 total. At £0.39 per serving with Thorne, loading costs an extra £10.92. Another reason to choose cheap.

Who Each Product Suits

Bulk Creatine Monohydrate — cheapest per serving, micronised, no extras. Best value.

Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate — marginally more expensive, equally effective. Good if you already order from Myprotein.

ON Micronised Creatine — for tested athletes who need Informed Sport certification.

Thorne Creatine — for those who specifically need NSF certification. The creatine itself is not superior.

Applied Nutrition Creatine — avoid. The added ingredients do not justify the price and complicate dosing.

Where to Buy

For a full breakdown of creatine research and dosing, see our creatine monohydrate guide.