Creatine monohydrate from meta-analyses: muscle, memory and bone in older adults, kidney and hair concerns, and monthly cost at a trial dose.
Researched from published studies and manufacturer specifications, checked .
We have not tested products ourselves. How we research
Creatine monohydrate is the best-supported supplement on this site for muscle in older adults who lift weights, with an emerging memory signal. It did not improve bone density in a 2-year trial. It has not been tested for lifespan. Talk to your doctor if you have kidney disease.
Talk to your doctor first. This is general information, not medical advice. Supplements and devices can interact with medicines and health conditions. We quote study protocols for context and do not recommend doses.
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Thorne · $44 for 90 servings (Thorne's site, 28 Sept 2026)
Price as of July 2026. Check the retailer for the current price and availability.
Pros
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The short answer: creatine monohydrate is the best-supported supplement in our graded ladder for building muscle in older adults who do resistance training, with an emerging memory signal and no evidence yet on lifespan. In a 2-year trial in older women it did not improve bone density. Talk to your doctor before starting, especially with kidney disease.
Grades follow the rubric.
| Question | Grade | Evidence | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise performance | Strong | The ISSN position stand concludes creatine is an effective ergogenic supplement. | Position stand, not a trial. |
| Muscle and strength in older adults with resistance training | Moderate | A meta-analysis found creatine plus resistance training augmented lean tissue mass and strength vs placebo. | Large heterogeneity; some strength gains disappeared when loading-phase studies were excluded. |
| Memory | Emerging | A meta-analysis of 8 RCTs: SMD 0.29 overall (CI 0.04 to 0.53), 0.88 in adults 66 to 76, 0.03 in ages 11 to 31. | High heterogeneity (I-squared 66% overall, 83% in the older subgroup). |
| Bone density | Weak | A 2-year RCT of 200 postmenopausal women with osteopenia (3 g/day): no improvement in bone density or fractures, no extra lean mass. A meta-analysis of 5 trials found no added BMD benefit with resistance training. | Few trials. |
| Kidney safety | Weak | A systematic review (15 studies, 6 pooled) concluded no renal damage in the amounts and durations studied. | Its abstract reports a creatinine difference (SMD 0.48, CI 0.24 to 0.73) yet calls it not significant; short studies; kidney disease not the target. |
| Hair loss | Weak | A 12-week RCT (45 men, 38 completed, 5 g/day): no group differences in hair or follicle outcomes. | Small, short. |
The evidence base is overwhelmingly for creatine monohydrate. A 2022 systematic review of 17 trials found that the alternative forms studied (magnesium chelate, citrate, malate, ethyl ester, nitrate, pyruvate) showed no consistent performance benefit over placebo, only 3 trials compared them with monohydrate, and monohydrate was the cheapest form on the market (the review’s own price comparison). Creatine HCl was not among the forms it covered, so the “smaller dose” claims made for HCl have no trial we can cite.
The dataset prices monohydrate at the dose used in Preen 2003 (5 g/day, brand pages 28 to 29 Sept 2026, before tax, shipping and subscription discounts):
| Product | Price | Per month at 5 g/day | Testing stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate, 500 g | $23.97 | $7.19 | generic “third-party tested” banner, no certifier |
| Momentous Creatine Monohydrate, 60 servings of 5 g | $34.99 | $17.50 | NSF Certified for Sport (stated on page); no longer uses Creapure |
| Thorne Creatine, 90 servings | $44 | $14.67 | NSF Certified for Sport (stated on page) |
| Nutricost Creatine HCl, 300 x 750 mg | $52.97 | $35.31 if 5 g of the salt is used; $5.30 at one 750 mg serving a day | third-party tested, lab unnamed |
The HCl row shows why “cheaper per serving” can mislead: the label serving is 750 mg, but the powder costs about $0.24 a gram against about $0.05 for Nutricost’s monohydrate. Whether 750 mg of HCl does what 5 g of monohydrate does is unproven, so the comparison is shown at both amounts.
If third-party testing matters to you, for example for tested-athlete rules, choose a product with a named certifier; see the full table. Pair creatine with strength training; compare it with HMB. For a supplement with far less evidence and a much higher price, see urolithin A.
For what NSF Certified for Sport and other certifications do and do not check, see third-party tested supplements compared.
Researched from PubMed abstract records and brand pages, checked 29 Sept 2026 (Nutricost and Momentous prices unchanged from 28 Sept). We read abstracts, not full texts. Grades are our judgement using the published rubric. We did not test any product. General information, not medical advice: this page gives no personal dose.
See also: protein timing, complete longevity stack, creatine evidence card.
See also: urolithin A cost per dose and trial funding.
A 2021 meta-analysis found creatine combined with resistance training increased lean tissue mass and strength in older adults compared with placebo. Results depended on dosing strategy and heterogeneity between studies was large. Without resistance training the evidence is weaker.
A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis (6 studies pooled) concluded creatine supplementation did not induce renal damage in the amounts and durations studied. Its abstract reports serum creatinine, a marker used to judge kidney function, at a standardised mean difference of 0.48 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.73) while calling the change not significant, so the abstract is internally unclear. Mention creatine to your doctor before kidney tests, and ask before use if you have kidney disease.
A 12-week randomised trial in 45 resistance-trained men (38 completed) taking 5 g/day found no differences between creatine and placebo in hair density or follicle measures. It is one small, short trial.
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