Head to head · Creatine
Thorne Creatine vs Transparent Labs Creatine HMB
Thorne scores higher overall (8.9 vs 7.8 out of 10) and leads on four of the five factors we score.
Updated September 2026 from our full reviews · How we score
NSF Certified for Sport creatine monohydrate: one ingredient, 5 g per scoop, tested for label accuracy and banned substances, at about $0.49 a serving.
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A double-certified creatine stack with 5 g creatine plus 1.5 g HMB. The quality is excellent, but at about $1.67 a serving you pay a lot for add-ons with modest evidence.
We may earn a commission when you buy through these links — it never affects our scores. How we make money
We may earn a commission when you buy through these links — it never affects our scores. How we make money
The short answer
Choose Thorne if…
- Drug-tested and competitive athletes
- Buyers who want NSF Certified for Sport verification
- People who want a single-ingredient, unflavored creatine
- You care most about efficacy, value, experience, transparency
- You want the lower cost per serving ($0.49)
Choose Transparent Labs if…
- Drug-tested athletes who want a flavored, NSF-certified creatine
- Lifters curious about HMB who want it in one scoop
- Buyers who prioritize label transparency
Side by side
| Creatine | Creatine HMB | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.9 / 10 | 7.8 / 10 |
| Efficacy (30%) | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| Quality & Purity (25%) | 9.4 | 9.2 |
| Value (20%) | 7.6 | 5.0 |
| Experience (15%) | 8.7 | 7.2 |
| Transparency (10%) | 9.0 | 8.0 |
| Form | Powder | Powder |
| Serving | 1 scoop (5 g)90 servings per container | 1 scoop (7 g, unflavored)30 servings per container |
| Price per serving | $0.49 | $1.67 |
| Testing & certifications | NSF Certified for Sport | NSF Certified for SportInformed Choice |
| Dietary | Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free, Sugar-free | Vegan |
| Key ingredients |
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| Flavors | 3 (Unflavored, Pineapple Orange, Strawberry) | 8 (Unflavored, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade…) |
| Creator video reviews | 4 | 4 |
Pros and cons
Creatine
- Listed as NSF Certified for Sport (Unflavored, 453 g) on nsfsport.com
- 5 g of creatine monohydrate per scoop with nothing else added
- Thorne reports testing for heavy metals, pesticides and microbes
- Fine powder that most buyers say dissolves easily and tastes neutral
- Labeled gluten-, dairy- and soy-free
- About $0.49 per serving, roughly double mainstream brands
- Some buyers report stomach upset or diarrhea
- Texture feedback is split; some buyers find it slightly grainy
- Scoop can sink into the fine powder, per one long-term reviewer
Creatine HMB
- Full 5 g of creatine monohydrate per serving
- Listed as NSF Certified for Sport in every flavor we checked
- Fully disclosed label with no proprietary blend or artificial sweeteners
- 12 flavors plus unflavored, and a scoop is included
- About $1.67 per serving, several times the cost of plain creatine
- 1.5 g HMB is about half the dose commonly studied, with modest benefits
- Taste and value feedback on Amazon skews negative
- Unflavored version has a noticeable HMB odor, per reviewers
Our verdicts
Creatine
Thorne Creatine is the reference choice when verification matters: a clean 5 g of monohydrate with NSF Certified for Sport status and an unusually strong quality program behind it. You pay about double the mainstream price for that assurance, so recreational lifters on a budget can get the same molecule for less, but tested athletes should put it at the top of their list.
Full review
Creatine HMB
This is a carefully made, double-certified product with an honest label, and the 5 g of creatine alone guarantees it works. The HMB is dosed at about half of what research typically uses and adds modest benefit at best, which makes the roughly $1.67-per-serving price hard to justify. Tested athletes who want flavored, certified creatine may still find it worthwhile; everyone else can save money with plain monohydrate.
Full review