Solubility and absorption are closely linked with the idea that greater solubility can lead to increased absorption of creatine within the body. A lot to digest here (pun intended), so let's dive in!
Fact: Creatine Hydrochloride dissolves better in water than Creatine Monohydrate.
However, better solubility doesn’t mean increased absorption potential by the body. And therefore better solubility doesn’t mean increased effectiveness in terms of greater gains in strength or muscle mass.
Why is that?
After being dissolved in water, creatine must undertake a crucial step before being absorbed into the muscles…
Digestion by the Stomach
The stomach is an acidic place – filled with digestive juices to help break down your food into micro components that can be used by the body. Once in the stomach, creatine will continue to dissolve so that it can be utilized. It does not matter how soluble creatine was prior to entering the stomach. There is no evidence to support pre-dissolution leads to better digestion by the stomach.
Imagine pre-washing your clothes before entering the washing machine. This would be completely unnecessary since the washing machine can do the heavy lifting for you!
Summary: Creatine hydrochloride is more soluble than monohydrate, however, this does not lead to increased absorption potential by the body.
Strength Gains
Creatine Monohydrate
Strength gains from creatine monohydrate are well studied.
Measurements from a 1995 study showed an increase in total lifting volume as well as participants showing an increase in their bench press 1 rep max (1RM).
Source: Acta Physiologica
Results from a 1999 study showed that the participants in the study taking creatine monohydrate were able to significantly increase measures of strength and power.
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Further, results from a 2018 study showed that participants taking creatine monohydrate demonstrated significantly higher levels of strength.
Source: The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
There are hundreds of studies demonstrating the same effects – with a wide body of research and evidence to support the creatine monohydrate claims of increasing strength.
Creatine Hydrochloride (HCl)
There are fewer studies showing the impact on strength of HCl and the substance remains relatively unstudied.
However, results from 2015 research comparing the effects of both creatine monohydrate and hydrochloride found that the group taking the creatine HCl did improve upper and lower limb strength after 4 weeks of training.
Source: Food and Nutrition Sciences
Another study from 2019 comparing the results of monohydrate vs hydrochloride showed similar results. 1 rep max (1RM) increases were seen across both the leg press and bench press in both groups. The group taking creatine hydrochloride and the group taking creatine monohydrate saw similar improvements compared to the control group.
Source: International Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
Summary: While the effects of Creatine Hydrochloride remain relatively unstudied, there is some evidence to suggest that its effects are the same as monohydrate and do promote an increase in strength.
Muscle Gains
Creatine Monohydrate
Similar to strength increases, the effect of creatine monohydrate on increases in lean body mass (muscle) is well documented in scientific literature.
One study from 1999 showed the group with creatine monohydrate supplementation increasing 7.25 lbs of lean body mass compared to the control group.
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Another study from 1997, demonstrating a 60% increase in muscle mass over the control group.
Source: Journal of Applied Physiology
Creatine HCl
Similar to strength increases, the effects of Creatine HCl on muscle gain are relatively unstudied compared to Creatine Monohydrate.
However, one 2019 study comparing the effects of creatine hydrochloride and creatine monohydrate showed that supplementation of Creatine HCl did lead to significant increases in muscle mass.
Source: International Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
Summary: Again, we find that the overall research supporting the claim of increases in muscle mass by consuming creatine hydrochloride is lacking. However, there does appear to be some research supporting this claim.
Dosage
Creatine Monohydrate
There are 2 well documented dosages of creatine supplementation in order to reach maximum muscle saturation. The two methods are:
1. Loading Method: 7 days to reach muscle saturation
Take 5 grams four times per day for 5-7 days followed by 2-5 grams per day to maintain maximum creatine saturation in the muscles.
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
2. Non Loading Method: 21-28 days to reach muscle saturation
Take 5 grams per day for the first 3-4 weeks to fully saturate the muscles, followed by the same daily dosage to maintain creatine stores at 100%.
It should be noted that you are able to equally saturate the muscles' creatine stores using the non loading method. However, this approach will take anywhere from 21-28 days as opposed to the 5-7 days used in the loading method.
Source: Journal of Applied Physiology
Creatine Hydrochloride
Research studying the effects of creatine hydrochloride have no consensus on dosage amounts.
A 2015 study assigned 1.5 grams of creatine hydrochloride per day over a 30 day period.
Source: International Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
Another 2015 study broke down HCl recipients into two groups. One with 1.5 grams daily and the other with 5 grams.
Source: Food and Nutrition Sciences
In this study it is important to note that only the group ingesting 5 grams of creatine hydrochloride per day for four weeks saw significant improvements in both the bench press and leg press. This is compared to the group ingesting 1.5 grams of creatine HCl who was limited to seeing improvements in the leg press only. This possibly suggests that an optimal dose above 1.5 grams may have been necessary to fully saturate the muscle with stores of creatine.
Comparing the recommended dosages on some of the top selling brands on Amazon, including MuscleTech, Con-Cret and Kaged, we can see suggested dosages ranging anywhere from .75 grams to 3 grams per day depending on the brand.
So what is the correct dose?
It's inconclusive based on the limited body of scientific research, however, most manufacturers are recommending around 1.5 grams of HCl per day.
Summary: Creatine monohydrate is usually recommended at 5 grams per day for a non loading method for 3-4 weeks to saturate the muscles with creatine stores. If applying a loading period, ingest 5 grams per serving four times per day for the first 5-7 days followed by 5 grams daily for maintenance. The creatine hydrochloride recommended dosage varies, but most manufacturers recommend around 1.5 grams per day.
Price per Dosage
In order to accurately compare the pricing of creatine hydrochloride and creatine monohydrate, you must equate their differing dosage recommendations. While the dosage recommendation for monohydrate is fairly consistent across studies, the preferred dosage for creatine hydrochloride varies by manufacturer.
In the below analysis we take into consideration the effective dose for Creatine Monohydrate based on a non loading regiment (5g / day). Since there is no general scientific consensus on the dosing of creatine hydrochloride, dosages are analyzed per the manufacturer’s guidelines.
We have analyzed 3 of the top selling brands for both creatine monohydrate and creatine hydrochloride in order to determine the effective price per daily dose.
Creatine Monohydrate Price Per Daily Dose
Creatine HCl (Hydrochloride) Price Per Daily Dose
Summary: As you can see, creatine hydrochloride is consistently more expensive than creatine monohydrate, generally ranging 2-3x more expensive per dosage.
