Free Tools
Creatine Dosage Calculator
Enter your bodyweight and we'll show your exact creatine dose — the optional loading dose, how to split it, your daily maintenance dose, and how fast your muscles saturate.
Based on the ISSN position stand: a loading phase of around 0.3g per kg of bodyweight for a week, then a flat 3 to 5g a day for good. Creatine monohydrate is the most evidence-backed supplement there is — this tool just tells you exactly how much to take.
Enter your bodyweight and pick an approach — we'll show your exact dose, how to split it, and how fast your muscles saturate.
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Loading vs no loading
Both routes end in exactly the same place: fully saturated muscles. A loading phase — about 0.3g per kg of bodyweight a day, split into four doses, for 5 to 7 days — just gets you there in a week instead of a month. If you want the strength and power benefits sooner, load. If you would rather keep it dead simple, skip loading and take a flat 3 to 5g a day; you will be fully topped up in 3 to 4 weeks. Neither is better long term.
Your maintenance dose
After loading — or from day one if you skip it — you settle onto 3 to 5g of creatine monohydrate every single day. The dose is remarkably flat: bodyweight barely moves it, which is why a 65kg and a 100kg lifter can both sit in the same 3 to 5g band, with bigger athletes simply nearer the top. Consistency is the whole game. Miss the odd day and nothing collapses, but the daily habit is what keeps your stores full.
Timing and mixing
Forget the pre-versus-post-workout debate — creatine works by cumulative saturation, so the clock does not matter. Take it whenever you will actually remember: stirred into your morning coffee, dropped in your protein shake, or alongside a meal. It dissolves best in warm liquid and any grittiness at the bottom of the glass is just undissolved creatine, so top up with water and drink it. Splitting the dose during a loading week is only to keep your stomach happy.
Common questions
How much creatine should I take per day?+
The evidence-based maintenance dose is 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate every day, and it barely changes with bodyweight. Larger lifters sit at the top of that band. That flat daily dose is all most people ever need — a loading phase is optional and only changes how fast your stores fill.
Do I need to do a loading phase?+
No. Loading is optional. Taking around 0.3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight a day (split into 4 doses) for 5 to 7 days saturates your muscles in about a week. Skipping it and taking a flat 3 to 5 grams a day gets you to the exact same place in roughly 3 to 4 weeks. The end result is identical — loading just gets you there faster.
When is the best time to take creatine?+
Timing does not matter for creatine. Because it works by saturating your muscles over days and weeks, what counts is taking it every single day, not the exact hour. Take it whenever you will remember — with a meal, in your shake, pre or post-workout, it makes no measurable difference.
Does creatine cause bloating, hair loss or kidney damage?+
For healthy adults, creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied and safe supplements available. A loading phase can cause a small, temporary water-weight gain inside the muscle, not bloat. The hair-loss and kidney-damage claims are not supported by the evidence in healthy people. If you have a kidney condition or take medication, speak to a clinician first. This tool is not medical advice.
Which type of creatine is best?+
Creatine monohydrate. It is the form used in almost every study, it is the cheapest, and no fancier version (HCl, ethyl ester, buffered) has been shown to beat it. Because the dose is small and flat, the only things that really separate products are purity and price per gram, which is exactly what our creatine ranking sorts on.
Now find the right tub
The dose is flat and the science is settled, so the only things that separate creatine products are purity and price per gram. Every product we track is scored 0–100 on exactly that — no marketing, just the numbers.
Informational only — not medical advice. Doses are general, evidence-based starting points for healthy adults; if you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, speak to a clinician first. Buy links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.