Creatine HCl

Tier 3 — weak evidence · Performance · Solubility · GI tolerance

A more water-soluble form of creatine marketed as requiring smaller doses than monohydrate. While it does dissolve better, no clinical trial has demonstrated it is more effective than plain creatine monohydrate, which remains the gold standard with hundreds of studies behind it. May cause less bloating in people sensitive to monohydrate. Significantly more expensive per effective dose. Choose monohydrate unless you have specific tolerance issues.

Dose: 1.5–3 g/day; no evidence it outperforms creatine monohydrate at equivalent doses