The Best Vegan Creatine in the UK, Label-Checked
Published 26 min read
We ranked 13 UK vegan creatines on five weighted criteria, checking every capsule shell, gummy and add-in against the label. By a nutritional therapist.
Table of Contents
Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which help fund our independent review work at no extra cost to you. How we assessed these products is explained in this article and our Editor Lab methodology. No brand pays to appear, and no placement is guaranteed.
'Most reputable brands of normal creatine monohydrate powder are vegan,' wrote one r/veganfitness reader, and the best vegan creatine for most of you is Applied Nutrition Creapure Creatine Monohydrate at £24.95. Vivo Life Creatine at £19.99 is the best vegan-certified pick, and Elite All Blacks Creatine Monohydrate at £24.99 is the best vegan-statement powder on the Informed Sport register.
Creatine monohydrate is made by chemical synthesis and is vegan, so the creatine itself is almost never your problem. The products that fail a vegan diet fail on the capsule, the gummy, or the extras, and you can spot each one on the label. If you are new to the supplement, our complete guide to creatine covers the basics, and our best creatine roundup covers every diet.
We read and compared the full ingredient list for each of the 13 creatines below, checked the capsule shells, gelling agents, and add-ins for animal derivatives, and confirmed every certification claim against the brand's own pages, with prices pulled on 3 October 2026. You can read the full method in The Editor Lab.
“I am a nutritional therapist (dipNT, mBANT) and I read every label here. I did not taste or test these products.”
Is Creatine Vegan? The Short Answer
Yes, plain creatine monohydrate is vegan, because it is built in a factory and not taken from an animal. Creapure, the branded raw material that Applied Nutrition uses, says it is 'produced through chemical synthesis, is 100% vegan, and contains no animal or plant-based ingredients.' Most standard monohydrate powders are made the same way, which is why you see the same answer repeated in every vegan forum.
The confusion has a fair source. Creatine is 'naturally found in most meat products,' as the Kaviani 2020 systematic review puts it, so you would be right to wonder what is in the tub. The tub holds the same molecule your own body makes in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, built from chemicals instead.
Creapure describes a patented process 'using sarcosinate and cyanamide' and states that no animal or plant-based raw materials are used in it. That is one brand's statement about its own process, so you should read it as the manufacturer's word and not as a certificate. It still tells you what a synthetic route looks like, and it matches what the forum regulars say about the standard powders.
Here is the sentence to keep in your head: creatine monohydrate is made by chemical synthesis, so plain creatine powder is vegan; what can make a creatine product non-vegan is a gelatin capsule, a gelatin gummy, or an animal-derived add-in such as lanolin vitamin D3 or collagen. Everything else in this guide is a way of checking those three things quickly.
I expected to find more traps than I did. Five of the 13 products list a single ingredient, creatine monohydrate, and for you that means the vegan question is already answered by the label. The other eight need a closer read, and the ranked list below tells you exactly where.
Shop from the Top 3 Vegan Creatines
The three cost about £0.30, £0.24 and £0.26 for 3g of creatine monohydrate at the list price, and each answers a different worry for you. Applied Nutrition is the Creapure powder, Vivo Life is the one that carries a vegan certification and a register-listed Informed Sport product, and Elite All Blacks is the powder with the plainest vegan wording and a register listing.
The other ten each win a narrower job, so pick the one that matches yours. Myprotein is the Informed Choice powder, SiS is the sports-brand tub, Warrior is the low-price powder, Free Soul is the powder marketed to women, Optimum Nutrition is the one-ingredient powder with no vegan label, Bulk is the budget powder when it is on sale, KIKI Health is the vegan capsule, Dr Vegan is the vegan blend with BCAAs, Known Nutrition is the vegan gummy, and Ancient + Brave is the creatine-plus jar with a vitamin D3 you should question. All prices were checked on 3 October 2026.
What Vegans Say about Creatine
Ask vegans who already take creatine what worried them first, and the answer is rarely the creatine. It is the capsule, the gummy, and the flavouring. Eight voices from two r/veganfitness threads say it in their own words, and you will probably recognise your own question in them.
A commenter whose account now shows as deleted, Reddit (r/veganfitness), started with a guess about powders and a warning about capsules:
“…creatine monohydrate powders are vegan because they are synthesized in a lab. Capsules would maybe have gelatin to look out for.”
u/FlyingCashewDog, Reddit (r/veganfitness), found a capsule alternative that avoids the problem:
“I get the capsules and they're tablets that are just basically smooshed powder, not the gelatine capsules :)”
u/vegana_por_vida, Reddit (r/veganfitness), flagged the add-in that catches people out in blends:
“Just an fyi: collagen is not vegan (or vegetarian).”
u/VeganMetalheadd, Reddit (r/veganfitness), pointed to the branded raw material:
“I'd advise you to buy creapure creatine. It's the supplier to a lot of companies selling the creatine under their own name.”
u/muscledeficientvegan, Reddit (r/veganfitness), named the two places a plain powder can go wrong:
“…Most reputable brands of normal creatine monohydrate powder are vegan unless they do something weird with flavoring…”
u/Light_Shrugger, Reddit (r/veganfitness), explained why a gummy needs a second look:
“…gummy form, which has the potential to be non-vegan if they use gelatin (for example). The creatine base itself would usually be vegan”
u/Awiergan, Reddit (r/veganfitness), gave the value answer in one line:
“Just buy the cheapest monohydrate you can find. It will be vegan”
u/player10000719, Reddit (r/veganfitness), admitted the misconception most of you start with:
“Oh I just assumed creatine wasn’t vegan”
Five of these eight voices name the capsule, the gummy, the flavouring, or an add-in as the vegan risk, and none of them blames the creatine, which is the answer you came for. That is the order we followed: the three label checks come first in the ranking, and the price comes after them, as one input of five.
The Best Vegan Creatine, Ranked
The best vegan creatine is the one whose label you can check in a minute, at a dose that matches the evidence and a price you will keep paying. Every pick below had to pass the three label checks first, and where a brand makes a claim of its own, we say whose claim it is. The order comes from the weights in the method section, and you can reproduce every position from them.
1. Applied Nutrition Creapure Creatine Monohydrate - Best Overall Vegan Creatine
What does a vegan creatine label look like when it has nothing to hide? Applied Nutrition lists '100% Micronized Creapure Creatine Monohydrate' and nothing else, and the page states 'Suitable for vegans & vegetarians' and 'Halal certified product'. Creapure is the branded raw material, which is why you should treat this powder as the benchmark.
A 250g tub costs £24.95, and one 5g scoop gives you 50 servings, which works out at about £0.30 for 3g of creatine monohydrate at list price. That is the highest cost per gram of the plain powders here, and you are paying for the named raw material. The page says 'Informed-Sport Tested', and when we checked the Informed Sport register, Applied Nutrition's creatine entry was listed as 'Creatine Monohydrate Professional', so we could not match this Creapure product by name and we treat the claim as the brand's own.
Here is the friction you should know about before you click: the page showed 'Sold out' when we checked on 3 October 2026. The label also says the product is made in a facility that handles milk, soy, eggs, fish, celery, and gluten cereals, which is a cross-contact statement and not an ingredient, and you can decide how strict you want to be. Our Applied Nutrition creatine review covers the brand.
“One ingredient, a named Creapure source and a vegan statement, at £24.95 for 50 servings. Check stock first.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Applied Nutrition creatine review |
| Best for | Best overall vegan creatine, 5g Creapure per serving at about £0.30 per 3g |
| Flagship product | Applied Nutrition Creapure Creatine Monohydrate, 250g |
| Shop | Buy at Applied Nutrition - £24.95 (sold out when checked) |
2. Vivo Life Creatine - Best Vegan-Certified Creatine
Vivo Life is the only brand here that gives you a certification on the front of the pack and has its creatine listed on the Informed Sport register. The page says 'Vegan Certified', 'Informed Sports Certified', 'Third Party Lab tested', and '100% pure, no fillers or additives', and the register lists Vivo Life's 'Creatine Monohydrate' by name.
A 252g pouch costs £19.99 for 84 servings of 3g, about £0.24 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, and a subscription brings it to £14.99. That puts it below Applied Nutrition on cost and above the cheapest powders, with the strongest verified trust of the 13. If a stock-out sends you away from the number one pick, this is the one to buy today.
Two things keep it second. The page does not name the scheme behind its vegan certification, so we cannot tell you whether it is the Vegan Society or another body, and it does not name the source of its creatine the way Applied Nutrition names Creapure. A 3g serving also sits at the lower end of the 3g to 5g range you will see recommended, which suits you if you want the minimum effective amount.
“The vegan-certified, register-listed pick at £19.99 for 84 servings, with the certifying body unnamed.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best vegan-certified creatine, 3g per serving, Informed Sport register listing |
| Flagship product | Vivo Life Creatine, 252g, 84 servings |
| Shop | Buy at Vivo Life - £19.99 |
3. Elite All Blacks Creatine Monohydrate - Best Informed Sport Vegan Powder
Healthspan's Elite range is built around the All Blacks, and its creatine page is direct about diet: 'Suitable for vegans or those following plant-based diets', with 'For vegans' and 'Gelatin free' beside the ingredient list. That list reads 'Creatine Monohydrate' and nothing else. The Informed Sport register lists 'Creatine Monohydrate (All Blacks)' under Healthspan Elite, so you can check the testing claim yourself.
A 500g pouch gives you 100 servings of 5g. The page shows £43.99 crossed through and £24.99 as the price on 3 October 2026, which is about £0.26 for 3g of creatine monohydrate at the list price and about £0.15 at £24.99. We scored value on the list price, so you should look at which one you pay.
Two limits keep it third and not higher: the page names no raw material and gives no purity figure, so quality sits below Applied Nutrition, and the vegan wording is a statement and not a certificate. A 5g serving sits at the top of the 3g to 5g range, which suits you if you want one scoop a day. We have no affiliate route for Healthspan, so the order here follows the weighted scores alone.
“A one-ingredient powder with a vegan statement and a register listing, at £24.99 for 100 servings (list £43.99).”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best Informed Sport vegan powder, 5g per serving, vegan and gelatin-free statement |
| Flagship product | Elite All Blacks Creatine Monohydrate, 500g, 100 servings |
| Shop | Buy at Healthspan - £24.99 (list £43.99) |
4. Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate Powder - Best Informed Choice Vegan Powder
'Suitable for: vegetarians and vegans' is the line that lifted this powder into the top five, and it sits under an ingredient list that reads 'Creatine Monohydrate' and nothing else. The page also says the product is 'Informed Choice certified', and the facility line reads 'Produced in a facility which also handles milk.'
A 500g bag with 147 servings costs £15.99 on sale, down from £29.99, and each 3.4g serving carries 3.0g of creatine. At the list price that is about £0.18 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, level with Bulk and in the same range as Free Soul. The sale price brings it to about £0.10, but we scored value on the list price, because sales end and you should plan for the price you will pay next month.
You should know two limits: Informed Choice is a different certification from Informed Sport, and the Informed Sport register lists Myprotein's Elite creatine products, not this standard powder. The page also gives no purity figure or micronising claim, which is why quality scores lower than at Applied Nutrition. Our Myprotein creatine review covers the brand in more depth.
“A one-ingredient powder that says vegan on its page, at £15.99 on sale and about £0.18 per 3g at list price.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Myprotein creatine review |
| Best for | Best Informed Choice vegan powder, 3.0g creatine per 3.4g serving |
| Flagship product | Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate Powder, 500g, 147 servings |
| Shop | Buy at Myprotein - £15.99 (list £29.99) |
5. SiS Creatine Powder - Best Sports-Brand Vegan Powder
SiS lists its 400g creatine in its own Vegan Supplements range, and the product page says '3g of high quality creatine monohydrate per serving' and 'Fully batch tested & informed sport approved'. The Informed Sport register lists 'SiS Creatine Powder' by name. That is a name-matched listing for the standard tub, which Optimum Nutrition and Applied Nutrition cannot show you.
A 400g tub costs £23.00 for 133 servings, which is about £0.17 for 3g of creatine monohydrate for you, and the page shows £19.55 on subscription. That makes it the cheapest powder here with a name-matched register listing. Our SiS creatine review covers the brand in more depth.
The limit is the wording. The vegan claim comes from the range page and not from a sentence on the creatine page, and the ingredient list was not in the page text we read, so you should check the tub for a single ingredient before you buy. That is why fit scores lower here than for the brands that say it on the product page.
“A register-listed 3g powder at £23.00 for 133 servings, sold in SiS's vegan range, with no vegan sentence on the product page.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | SiS creatine review |
| Best for | Best sports-brand vegan powder, 3g per serving, Informed Sport register listing |
| Flagship product | SiS Creatine Powder, 400g, 133 servings |
| Shop | Buy at SiS - £23.00 |
6. Warrior Creatine Monohydrate Powder - Best Low-Price Vegan Powder
Warrior is one of the cheapest powders here at list price, and its page carries 'Vegetarian' and 'Vegan' badges, with the product images saying 'suitable for vegans and vegetarians'. The brand describes the powder as UK-made, GMP-certified, and 'Kosher & Halal Certified'. Those are the brand's own statements, so you should read them as claims and not as certificates.
A 500g unflavoured tub costs £11.99 against a list price of £20.00, and the brand says it holds up to 166 servings of 3g. At the list price that is about £0.12 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, and at £11.99 it falls to about £0.07. The 300g tub is £8.99 against £15.00, and the 1KG tub is £19.99 against £30.00.
Three limits keep it sixth: the page says 'third-party tested' without naming the tester, the Informed Sport register lists no Warrior creatine, and the ingredient list printed on the page is for a flavoured tub, with sucralose and silicon dioxide, so you should buy the unflavoured tub and read the label in your hand. The label also says it may contain egg, milk, gluten, soya, nuts and peanuts, which is a cross-contact statement for you to weigh.
Warrior is an Amazon Associates brand for us, and you can see that the order follows the weighted scores, not the commission. Our Warrior creatine review covers the brand in more depth.
“A vegan-badged powder at £11.99 for 500g, about £0.12 per 3g at list price, with the tester unnamed.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Warrior creatine review |
| Best for | Best low-price vegan powder, 3g per serving, about £0.12 per 3g at list price |
| Flagship product | Warrior Creatine Monohydrate Powder, 500g, Unflavoured |
| Shop | Shop Warrior - check the current price on Amazon |
7. Free Soul Pure Creatine Monohydrate Powder - Best Vegan-Labelled Powder for Women
Does a creatine aimed at women need a different label? Free Soul markets this powder to women, and the label gives you '1 ingredient', '0 fillers', and '100% vegan' in three short claims, with a 60-serving pack at £12.49, about £0.21 a serving. The brand also sells six-month and 12-month supplies at a lower price per serving, and our guide to the best creatine for women compares women-focused options in more depth.
The page contradicts itself on dose, and you should read it twice. It says '5g Premium Creatine per serving', then tells you to mix 'one rounded teaspoon (3.4g)', so your cost for 3g of creatine monohydrate sits between about £0.12 and £0.18 depending on which figure is right. That uncertainty is why value scores well but fit does not score higher.
There is no testing or certification claim on the page at all, which is why trust scores lower than for the brands above, but it is a plain powder that says it is vegan and you can buy it with confidence for that job. Free Soul is an Awin affiliate, and the order here follows the weighted scores and not the commission. Choose the unflavoured pack, since we only checked that one.
“A one-ingredient powder with a 100% vegan claim at £12.49, though the page gives two serving sizes.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best vegan-labelled powder for women, 60 servings at about £0.21 per serving |
| Flagship product | Free Soul Pure Creatine: Monohydrate Powder, 2-month supply |
| Shop | Shop Free Soul - £12.49 |
8. Optimum Nutrition Micronised Creatine Powder - Best Ingredient-Vegan Creatine
A well-known name does not come with a vegan label here: Optimum Nutrition's UK page does not call the powder vegan anywhere. The ingredient list reads 'creatine monohydrate' and nothing else, so it is vegan in the way plain monohydrate is vegan, but it is not labelled or certified as vegan, and you decide whether that matters to you.
A 187g tub costs £14.00 for 55 servings of 3.6g, with 3.4g of creatine monohydrate and 3.0g of creatine in each. That works out at about £0.25 a serving and £0.22 for 3g of creatine monohydrate. The allergy advice says the product 'may contain traces of milk, soy, gluten, egg, nuts, peanuts', which is a cross-contact warning for you to weigh.
The Informed Sport register lists 'Micronised Creatine Powder - Elite Series' under Optimum Nutrition, and the standard UK page we checked makes no certification claim, so we do not credit the standard tub with it. Choose this one if you want a trusted brand and are comfortable with an unlabelled single-ingredient powder. Our Optimum Nutrition creatine review covers the tub in more depth.
“A one-ingredient, micronised powder at £14.00 for 55 servings, with no vegan label on the UK page.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Optimum Nutrition creatine review |
| Best for | Best ingredient-vegan creatine, 3.4g monohydrate per serving, no vegan label |
| Flagship product | Optimum Nutrition Micronised Creatine Powder, 187g, 55 servings |
| Shop | Buy at Optimum Nutrition - £14.00 |
9. Bulk Creatine Monohydrate Powder - Best Creatine for a Sale Price
The same 500g bag from Bulk cost £10.99 on 3 October 2026 and lists at £29.99, with the sale shown as valid until 6 October 2026. We ranked on the list price, so you should check which one you will pay.
At £29.99 you get 100 servings of 5g, with 4.4g of creatine in each, which is about £0.18 for 3g of creatine monohydrate. At £10.99 that falls to about £0.07, which would put it level with Warrior's sale price for as long as the sale lasts. The page states 99.9% purity and says every batch is tested, but it names no certification.
The vegan question is the reason Bulk sits ninth, because we found no vegan statement on the product page and the only vegan wording was in a Google Shopping listing title for the passionfruit variant. You should buy the unflavoured bag and check the label in your hand. Our Bulk creatine review covers the brand in more depth.
“The cheapest powder here on sale at £10.99, with no vegan statement on its product page.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Bulk creatine review |
| Best for | Best creatine for a sale price, 500g at £10.99 sale or £29.99 list |
| Flagship product | Bulk Creatine Monohydrate Powder, 500g |
| Shop | Buy at Bulk - £10.99 sale (list £29.99) |
10. KIKI Health Creatine Monohydrate Capsules - Best Vegan Capsule
Which capsule shell should a vegan look for? KIKI Health answers on the page: the ingredients read '100% Creatine Monohydrate (Creavitalis®)' and 'Shell capsule: Hypromellose', and the page says 'Vegan, allergen-free'. Hypromellose is HPMC, the plant-fibre shell described in check one below, so you can rule out gelatin here.
A bottle of 120 vegicaps costs £28.00, or £23.80 on subscription, and the brand's default site showed US dollars until we set the UK currency. Four capsules make one serving with 4g of creatine monohydrate, 3.5g of it active creatine, so a bottle holds 30 servings. That works out at about £0.70 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, which is more than five times the cost of Warrior at the list price, so you pay extra for the format.
The page names a raw material, Creavitalis, and says it is more than 99.9% pure and made in Germany. Those are the brand's statements, since it claims no third-party certification and the Informed Sport register lists no KIKI Health creatine, so you should weigh them as claims. KIKI Health is an Awin affiliate, and the order follows the weighted scores, not the commission.
“A hypromellose-capsule vegan creatine at £28.00 for 30 servings, with a named raw material and no third-party certificate.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best vegan capsule, 3.5g active creatine per 4 capsules, hypromellose shell |
| Flagship product | KIKI Health Creatine Monohydrate, 120 Vegicaps, 30 servings |
| Shop | Shop KIKI Health - £28.00 (£23.80 on subscription) |
11. Dr Vegan Creatine & BCAAs - Best Vegan Blend
Dr Vegan is a vegan-only supplement brand, and the page carries vegan, vegetarian, kosher, and halal badges. Each serving gives you 5g of micronised creatine monohydrate plus 3g of BCAAs, made up of 1,500mg of L-leucine, 750mg of L-isoleucine, and 750mg of L-valine. The page lists no other ingredients and says it is free from added sugar, sweeteners, and artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives.
A pouch costs £24.99, or £21.24 on the subscription price shown, but the page does not tell you how many servings the pouch holds. That means we cannot work out a cost per 3g of creatine, and value scores low for that reason alone. The page also does not say how the BCAAs are made, so you are relying on the brand's vegan badge for that part of the blend.
Note the banner at the top of the page: 'DR.VEGAN is becoming DRV+'. A rebrand can change packs and labels, so check the bottle you receive. We do not have a live Dr Vegan review to link to yet.
“A vegan-badged blend of 5g creatine and 3g BCAAs at £24.99, with no serving count on the page.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best vegan blend, 5g creatine plus 3g BCAAs per serving |
| Flagship product | Dr Vegan Creatine & BCAAs, 1 pouch |
| Shop | Buy at Dr Vegan - £24.99 |
12. Known Nutrition Creatine Gummies - Best Vegan Gummy
Gelatin is the usual reason a gummy fails a vegan diet, and Known Nutrition says it has dealt with it. The brand states it moved to 'a pectin base' and the ingredient list shows 'Gelling Agent (Pectin)', with the colour coming from black carrot juice concentrate. The page says the gummies are suitable for vegans, vegetarians, and halal diets, so you get a clear answer on the gelling agent.
Here is the cost the vegan label does not show you. Four gummies make one serving with 4.5g of creatine monohydrate, and 8.8g of sugar and 69 calories, so a gummy is a sweet as well as a supplement. A bottle of 60 gummies costs £16.99 for 15 servings, which is about £1.13 a serving and £0.76 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, more than four times the cost of the cheapest powders.
The brand says it reformulated, so an older bottle in a shop can carry the earlier recipe, and you should read the ingredient list on the bottle in your hand. Our guide to the best creatine gummies in the UK compares the whole format in more depth.
“A pectin-based vegan gummy at £16.99 for 15 servings, with 8.8g of sugar per serving.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Not yet published |
| Best for | Best vegan gummy, 4.5g creatine monohydrate per 4 gummies, pectin gelling agent |
| Flagship product | Known Nutrition Creatine Gummies - Watermelon, single bottle |
| Shop | Buy at Known Nutrition - £16.99 |
13. Ancient + Brave True Creatine+ - Best Creatine Plus Ritual
The title says 'Vegan Creatine, Magnesium & Vitamin D', and one word in the ingredient list deserves your attention. The list reads 'Creatine Monohydrate, Taurine (vegan), Magnesium citrate (from purified seawater), Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)', and the taurine and the magnesium carry a source note while the vitamin D3 does not.
D3 is commonly derived from lanolin, which comes from sheep's wool, and vegan D3 does exist. The product page does not say which one this is, so ask the brand before you buy if the source matters to you. I would not treat the missing note as proof of an animal source, only as a gap you can close with one email.
The jar costs £28.00 for 30 servings of 6g, each with 4.5g of creatine monohydrate, 1.0g of taurine, 57mg of magnesium, and 0.75µg of vitamin D3. That is about £0.93 a serving and £0.62 for 3g of creatine monohydrate, more than three times the cost of the cheapest powders, with £22.40 on a first subscription order. The Ancient + Brave review we link covers the brand's collagen range, not this jar, so you will not find creatine detail there.
“A creatine, taurine, magnesium and D3 ritual at £28.00, with the D3 source not stated on the page.”
| Evaluation Criteria | Our Findings |
|---|---|
| Full review | Ancient + Brave review (covers the collagen range, not this creatine) |
| Best for | Best creatine plus ritual, 4.5g creatine monohydrate with taurine, magnesium, and D3 |
| Flagship product | Ancient + Brave True Creatine+, 30 servings |
| Shop | Buy at Ancient + Brave - £28.00 |
The Three Vegan Label Checks: Capsule Shells, Gummies, and Add-Ins
Having run nutrition clinics at The Wellness Clinic at Harrods, I read the 'other ingredients' line before the active one, because that is where hidden animal derivatives sit. You can do the same in under a minute with three checks. Each one catches a different failure, and none of them needs a chemistry degree.
Check one is the capsule shell. A gelatin capsule is made from animal collagen, while a vegetable capsule is usually made from HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose), a material from plant fibre, and KIKI Health's 'Shell capsule: Hypromellose' is the wording you want. If your label says 'capsule' without 'vegetable' or 'HPMC', ask the brand, and remember that a pressed tablet, as one forum member described, has no shell at all.
Check two is the gummy. Gummies need a gelling agent to hold their shape, and the two common ones are gelatin, which is animal-derived, and pectin, which comes from fruit. 'Gelling Agent (Pectin)' on Known Nutrition's list is the answer you want, and 'gelatin' anywhere on a list is the answer you do not, so our guide to the best creatine gummies in the UK runs the same check across the format.
Check three is the add-ins. This is where a plain powder turns into a 'creatine plus' product: vitamin D3 can come from lanolin, collagen is never vegan, and 'natural flavouring' tells you nothing about its source. A collagen-and-creatine blend is a non-vegan product by definition, which is why a vegan shopper should keep our best collagen powder in the UK guide for other jobs.
One more point you will meet on labels is the 'may contain' line. It describes cross-contact in a factory, not an animal ingredient, and strict vegans split on whether it matters. Applied Nutrition, Myprotein, Optimum Nutrition and Warrior carry milk or other allergen statements, and each is a plain powder with no milk ingredient, so you are the one who decides where your line sits.
Why Vegans Have the Most to Gain from Creatine
Creatine is stored in your muscles, and you get it from two places: your own body makes some, and meat supplies the rest. A diet with no meat takes away that second source. As a qualified nutritional therapist trained at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in King's Cross, that is the single most useful fact I can give a plant-based lifter.
The Kaviani 2020 systematic review pooled nine studies in vegetarians. It found that supplementation 'increased total creatine, creatine, and phosphocreatine concentrations' in muscle, plasma, and red blood cells, 'often to levels greater than omnivores', and that it increased lean tissue mass and muscular strength. It found no effect on brain levels of phosphocreatine, so you should not buy creatine for your brain on this evidence.
The limits matter, and you should hold them next to the good news. The review reports that the included studies had moderate to high risk of bias, and that studies were mixed on whether vegetarians gain more performance than meat eaters. It covers vegetarians, so I treat it as the best available evidence for vegans and not as proof.
For dose, the Antonio 2021 paper on common creatine questions and misconceptions describes 3g to 5g a day as the recommended range and says creatine is well tolerated at recommended dosages. Our guide on how much creatine per day shows you the numbers. I do not believe in banning foods or loading up on powders for their own sake, and a vegan who eats well and skips creatine has made a reasonable choice too.
Creapure, Informed Sport, and What 'Vegan Certified' Adds
Three badges appear in this ranking, and they answer three different questions for you. Creapure tells you where the raw material comes from, Informed Sport tells you whether a batch was tested for banned substances, and 'vegan certified' tells you whether an outside body checked the vegan claim.
Creapure says it has 99.9% purity, that each batch is lab-tested and certified, and that its closed production line in Trostberg eliminates cross-contamination. Those are the manufacturer's own statements. They still give you a named origin, which no other powder here offers.
The Informed Sport certified products register lists products by brand, so you can check a claim yourself. On 3 October 2026 it listed Vivo Life's 'Creatine Monohydrate', Applied Nutrition's 'Creatine Monohydrate Professional', Optimum Nutrition's 'Micronised Creatine Powder - Elite Series', two Myprotein Elite creatines, SiS's 'SiS Creatine Powder', and Healthspan Elite's 'Creatine Monohydrate (All Blacks)'. It listed no creatine under Bulk, Dr Vegan, Free Soul, Warrior or KIKI Health, and none under Known Nutrition or Ancient + Brave.
The Vegan Society describes its Vegan Trademark as a third-party certification scheme that has certified products since 1990. A vegan certificate adds the most when a product has extras, because someone outside the brand has checked the shell, the flavouring, and the D3. For a one-ingredient powder it adds little, and you should not pay a premium for the badge alone.
Powder, Capsules, or Gummies for a Vegan Diet
Powder is the simplest and cheapest format, and it carries the least vegan risk for you because it has no shell and no gelling agent. Capsules need the shell check, and gummies need the gelling-agent check and cost the most. The table puts the three side by side.
| Format | Vegan Risk to Check | Cost per 3g Creatine Monohydrate Here | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder | The label for flavourings and add-ins | About £0.12 to £0.30 at list price | Almost every vegan lifter |
| Capsules | Shell material: gelatin or vegetable | About £0.70 (KIKI Health) | Anyone who dislikes the taste of powder |
| Gummies | Gelling agent: gelatin or pectin | About £0.76 | Anyone who will not mix a powder |
Unflavoured powder dissolves into whatever you already drink, which is why one forum member calls it 'totally tasteless'. If you want capsules, KIKI Health is the one vegan capsule ranked here, and our upcoming guide to the best creatine capsules will cover the shell material product by product. For vegan buyers, I would start with a powder and move to another format only if you will not take it otherwise.
How to Take Vegan Creatine
Take 3g to 5g of creatine a day, at any time you will remember. The Antonio review describes that range as well established for raising muscle stores, and Creapure says a loading phase is not necessary, with optimal levels reached after three to four weeks of continuous intake. Our guide to the creatine loading phase covers the faster route and what it costs you.
Stir an unflavoured powder into water, a smoothie, or the plant-based shake you already make. If you stack creatine with protein, our guide to the best plant-based protein powder in the UK covers that side of your routine. If you drink coffee in the morning, an unflavoured powder is the one that sits quietly in the cup, and our guide to the best coffee beans in the UK covers what to put in it.
Consistency beats timing. A scoop you take most days will do more for you than a perfect plan you drop in week two, and you do not need a cupboard of powders to look after yourself on a plant-based diet. If you are comparing forms, our guide to creatine monohydrate vs HCL explains why plain monohydrate is the form this ranking treats as settled.
What to Avoid
Most of what to avoid is a single label word. The table lists the five things I would put back on the shelf if you are vegan, and the reason for each.
| What to Avoid | Why You Should Skip It |
|---|---|
| Gelatin capsules | The shell is animal-derived, so the product is not vegan |
| Gelatin gummies | Gelatin is the gelling agent, so the product is not vegan |
| 'Creatine plus' blends with collagen | Collagen is never vegan, so the whole blend fails |
| An unnamed vitamin D3 source | D3 is commonly derived from lanolin, so ask the brand first |
| A vegan premium on a plain powder | A one-ingredient powder is vegan whether or not the tub says so |
The last row matters most for your wallet. Plain monohydrate that lists one ingredient has no animal input to certify, so a higher price for a vegan badge buys you reassurance and not a different molecule. That is why Vivo Life and Applied Nutrition earn their places on trust and quality, and not on the word 'vegan'.
We left two brands out of the ranking, and you can read about both in our reviews. Naked sells in the UK through Amazon, and its own store showed US dollars when we checked on 3 October 2026, so we had no pound price on a brand page. Transparent Labs is a US brand we could not confirm in pounds.
How We Ranked
We scored every product on five criteria and weighted them so that no single figure could decide the order, and you can check the sums yourself. Verified trust carries the most at 30%, because supplement labels vary more than any other part of this category. Product quality carries 25%, value carries 20%, fit for the job carries 15%, and service reality carries 10%.
Value means the cost per 3g of creatine monohydrate at the list price, not the sale price, and never price alone. Verified trust means published testing, certifications, and ingredient lists that you can check against a register or a brand page. My work heading the nutrition clinic at The Kyros Project at Google DeepMind rests on checking a figure against its source before relying on it, and I applied the same habit to every price, serving size, and certification here.
| Criterion | Weight | What It Measures Here |
|---|---|---|
| Product quality | 25% | Purity, micronising, creatine form, named raw material, no fillers |
| Verified trust | 30% | Informed Sport or Informed Choice, Creapure, vegan certification, published ingredient list |
| Fit for the job | 15% | Vegan status certainty, label or ingredient only, and a dose near 3g to 5g |
| Service reality | 10% | UK stock, GBP pricing, delivery |
| Value | 20% | Cost per 3g of creatine monohydrate at the list price |
Applied Nutrition and Vivo Life are close, 8.35 against 8.25, so you should read the gap as a near tie, and Applied Nutrition leads because its quality score for a named Creapure source is higher. Vivo Life leads on service, because Applied Nutrition's page showed 'Sold out' on 3 October 2026. Free Soul and KIKI Health are Awin affiliates and Warrior is an Amazon Associates brand, and they rank seventh, tenth and sixth on their scores, with commission never used to move a brand.
Full Comparison Table
Labels, Prices, and Ingredients
| Product | Format | Creatine Monohydrate per Serving | Price (3 October 2026) | Cost per 3g at List Price | Vegan Label | Shell or Gelling Agent | Add-Ins | Informed Sport | Creapure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Nutrition Creapure Creatine Monohydrate | Powder | 5g | £24.95, 250g | About £0.30 | Yes, 'Suitable for vegans & vegetarians' | None | None | Brand states 'Informed-Sport Tested'; not matched by name on the register | Yes |
| Vivo Life Creatine | Powder | 3g | £19.99, 252g, 84 servings | About £0.24 | Yes, 'Vegan Certified' | None | None stated | Listed on the register as 'Creatine Monohydrate' | Not stated |
| Elite All Blacks Creatine Monohydrate | Powder | 5g | £24.99 (list £43.99), 500g, 100 servings | About £0.26 | Yes, 'Suitable for vegans or those following plant-based diets' | None | None | Listed on the register as 'Creatine Monohydrate (All Blacks)' | Not stated |
| Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate Powder | Powder | 3.4g | £15.99 sale, £29.99 list, 500g, 147 servings | About £0.18 | Yes, 'Suitable for: vegetarians and vegans' | None | None | Page states Informed Choice certified; Elite versions on the register | Not stated |
| SiS Creatine Powder | Powder | 3g | £23.00, 400g, 133 servings | About £0.17 | In SiS's vegan range, no sentence on the product page | None | Not read, ingredient list not in the page text | Listed on the register as 'SiS Creatine Powder' | Not stated |
| Warrior Creatine Monohydrate Powder | Powder | 3g | £11.99 sale, £20.00 list, 500g unflavoured, 166 servings | About £0.12 | Yes, 'Vegan' badge | None | None for unflavoured, flavoured tubs carry sucralose | Not claimed, 'third-party tested' with no tester named | Not stated |
| Free Soul Pure Creatine Monohydrate Powder | Powder | 5g stated, 3.4g teaspoon | £12.49, 60 servings | About £0.12 to £0.18 | Yes, '100% vegan' | None | None, unflavoured | Not claimed | Not stated |
| Optimum Nutrition Micronised Creatine Powder | Powder | 3.4g | £14.00, 187g, 55 servings | About £0.22 | No vegan label | None | None | Elite Series on the register; standard page makes no claim | Not stated |
| Bulk Creatine Monohydrate Powder | Powder | 5g | £10.99 sale, £29.99 list, 500g | About £0.18 | Not on the page, Google Shopping title only | None | None for unflavoured | Not claimed | Not stated |
| KIKI Health Creatine Monohydrate Capsules | Capsule | 4g (3.5g creatine) | £28.00, £23.80 subscription, 120 vegicaps, 30 servings | About £0.70 | Yes, 'Vegan, allergen-free' | Hypromellose | None | Not claimed | Not stated, Creavitalis named |
| Dr Vegan Creatine & BCAAs | Powder blend | 5g plus 3g BCAAs | £24.99, 1 pouch | Not published, no serving count | Yes, vegan badge | None | BCAAs | Not claimed | Not stated |
| Known Nutrition Creatine Gummies | Gummy | 4.5g | £16.99, 60 gummies, 15 servings | About £0.76 | Yes, pectin gelling agent | Pectin | Sugar 8.8g, flavouring, colour | Not claimed | No |
| Ancient + Brave True Creatine+ | Powder | 4.5g in a 6g serving | £28.00, 30 servings | About £0.62 | Yes, 'Vegan Creatine, Magnesium & Vitamin D' | None | Taurine, magnesium citrate, vitamin D3 with source not stated | Not claimed | Not stated |
Weighted Scores
| Rank | Product | Quality | Trust | Fit | Service | Value | Weighted | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Applied Nutrition Creapure Creatine Monohydrate | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8.35 | Best overall vegan creatine |
| 2 | Vivo Life Creatine | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8.25 | Best vegan-certified creatine |
| 3 | Elite All Blacks Creatine Monohydrate | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7.40 | Best Informed Sport vegan powder |
| 4 | Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate Powder | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.20 | Best Informed Choice vegan powder |
| 5 | SiS Creatine Powder | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7.05 | Best sports-brand vegan powder |
| 6 | Warrior Creatine Monohydrate Powder | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6.95 | Best low-price vegan powder |
| 7 | Free Soul Pure Creatine Monohydrate Powder | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6.85 | Best vegan-labelled powder for women |
| 8 | Optimum Nutrition Micronised Creatine Powder | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6.75 | Best ingredient-vegan creatine |
| 9 | Bulk Creatine Monohydrate Powder | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 6.40 | Best creatine for a sale price |
| 10 | KIKI Health Creatine Monohydrate Capsules | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 6.15 | Best vegan capsule |
| 11 | Dr Vegan Creatine & BCAAs | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5.85 | Best vegan blend |
| 12 | Known Nutrition Creatine Gummies | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 5.55 | Best vegan gummy |
| 13 | Ancient + Brave True Creatine+ | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 5.30 | Best creatine plus ritual |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is creatine vegan?
Yes, plain creatine monohydrate is vegan. Creapure says it is produced through chemical synthesis, contains no animal or plant-based ingredients, and is 100% vegan. A product stops being vegan only when it adds a gelatin capsule, a gelatin gummy, or an animal-derived extra such as collagen or lanolin vitamin D3, so you should read the label for those three things.
Is it good for vegans to take creatine?
It is a reasonable choice for you. The Kaviani 2020 systematic review found that supplementation raised muscle creatine in vegetarians, often above omnivore levels, and raised lean tissue mass and strength. It also noted moderate to high risk of bias in the studies, so the evidence is encouraging and not settled.
What does the NHS say about creatine?
The UK body that has published an opinion on creatine is the UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee, which concluded in 2024 that a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established between 3g a day or less and improved cognitive function. The opinion also says it is not a positive assessment of safety, so ask your GP if you are unsure.
Why do doctors say no to creatine?
Doctors do not give a blanket no, and you should ask yours about your own case. The usual caution is for people with kidney conditions or on certain medicines, where a GP or pharmacist should decide whether creatine suits you. Our upcoming guide to creatine side effects will cover the evidence in more depth.
How much creatine is in 2 eggs?
We did not find a figure we could verify, so we do not give one. Creatine is found naturally in meat, and eggs are not a meaningful source. If you eat no meat, a supplement is the practical way to supply it, and the label tells you how much each serving gives.
Do bananas have creatine?
No, bananas are not a meaningful source of creatine. The Kaviani review notes that creatine is found naturally in most meat products, and plants are not a source you can rely on. If you want creatine on a plant-based diet, you will get it from a supplement and not from fruit.
Can I take creatine if I take lisinopril?
Ask your GP or pharmacist before you start. Lisinopril is a prescription medicine, and we cannot give you individual medical advice or tell you whether the two suit each other. Take your medicine details and the creatine label with you, so the person advising you can check both together.
Are creatine gummies vegan?
It depends on the gelling agent. A gummy made with pectin is vegan, and one made with gelatin is not, so read the ingredient list. Known Nutrition says it moved to a pectin base and lists 'Gelling Agent (Pectin)', but its gummies carry 8.8g of sugar per serving, and you should check the bottle you buy.
Are creatine capsules vegan?
A gelatin capsule is animal-derived and a vegetable capsule, usually HPMC, is not, so check the shell. If the label does not say which, ask the brand before you buy. A pressed tablet or a plain powder has no shell at all, so you need not buy capsules.
Is Creapure vegan?
Yes, according to its maker: Creapure says it is produced through chemical synthesis, is 100% vegan, and uses no animal or plant-based raw materials. It is a branded form of creatine monohydrate, so the same synthetic route sits behind most standard powders. Applied Nutrition is the Creapure powder you can buy in this ranking.
A registered Nutritional Therapist and member of BANT, Clemmie blends science with a holistic approach to wellbeing.
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