Creatine Nitrate vs. Creatine HCl (Hydrochloride)
Among 442 on-market creatine products with an identifiable primary form, 48.4% use Creatine Nitrate (214 products) and 24.4% use Creatine HCl (Hydrochloride) (108).
| Creatine Nitrate | Creatine HCl (Hydrochloride) | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality tier | Tier 2 | Tier 2 |
| Creatine by weight | — | — |
| Share of market | 48.4% | 24.4% |
| On-market products | 214 | 108 |
| Median declared dose | 1,000 mg middle half: 1,000–1,000 | 1,000 mg middle half: 1,000–1,625 |
| Most common brands | PS ProSupps, Cellucor, Nutrabolt | PS ProSupps, Gaspari Nutrition, NutraBio |
Doses are declared per serving in mg. “By weight” is the share of the ingredient that is the nutrient itself (e.g. elemental magnesium in a magnesium salt).
Why Creatine Nitrate is tier 2
A dose-ranging safety/efficacy trial found comparable safety markers and performance outcomes to monohydrate, but the evidence base is much smaller and mostly industry-affiliated.
Source: Galvan E et al. 2016, J Int Soc Sports Nutr 13:12, PMID 27034623, DOI 10.1186/s12970-016-0124-0
Why Creatine HCl (Hydrochloride) is tier 2
Marketed on higher-solubility claims; head-to-head RCTs are few and small: two (Londono-Velasquez 2025, n=31, 5 g/day x8 wk; Eghbali 2024) found no advantage over monohydrate, while one small 4-week trial in soccer players (Duan 2026, n=10/group) reported greater short-term performance gains with HCl. No consistent superiority has been shown.
Source: Londono-Velasquez D et al. 2025, J Int Soc Sports Nutr, PMC12291177; Eghbali E et al. 2024, Physiol Res 73(5):739-753, PMID 39545789; Duan C et al. 2026, J Int Soc Sports Nutr 23(sup1):2721147, PMID 42720250