Creatine Dosage Calculator
Calculate your personalized daily creatine dose for either the loading or maintenance phase based on your body weight. Use this before starting a creatine protocol to avoid under-dosing or unnecessary excess.
Last updated: September 2026
Formula below · 3 sources (NIH, acsm.org, Wikipedia) · Updated Sep 2026
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About this calculator
Creatine is one of the most researched sports supplements, shown to increase phosphocreatine stores in muscle, enhancing ATP regeneration during high-intensity efforts. This calculator follows the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN, Kreider et al. 2017) protocol. Loading phase: 0.3 g per kg of body weight per day (about 20–25 g/day for most adults), split into four doses, for 5–7 days. Maintenance phase: 3–5 g per day; the calculator uses 0.05 g/kg and keeps the result between 3 and 5 g. For a 75 kg person loading: 75 × 0.3 = 22.5 g/day. In maintenance: 75 × 0.05 = 3.75 g/day. Skipping the loading phase and going straight to maintenance simply delays full saturation by 3–4 weeks but reaches the same endpoint.
How to use
Example: You weigh 80 kg and are starting a loading phase. Step 1: Enter 80 in Body Weight and select Loading Phase. Step 2: The calculator applies 80 × 0.3 = 24 g/day. Step 3: Take about 24 g of creatine monohydrate daily, split into four doses of 6 g, for 5–7 days. Step 4: Switch to Maintenance Phase — 80 × 0.05 = 4 g/day — and continue this dose to keep muscle stores saturated. A 50 kg person would get 3 g (the minimum) and a 120 kg person 5 g (the maximum) in maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
Is a creatine loading phase necessary or can I skip straight to maintenance?
The loading phase is not strictly necessary — it simply accelerates the time to full muscle saturation from about 3–4 weeks down to 5–7 days. If you start with maintenance dosing only, your muscles will still reach the same fully saturated state, just more gradually. Athletes who need immediate performance benefits for an upcoming competition may prefer the loading approach. For most recreational lifters with no time pressure, skipping loading is perfectly valid and avoids potential gastrointestinal discomfort that higher loading doses can sometimes cause.
How does body weight affect the optimal creatine dose?
Creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, so individuals with greater muscle mass — which generally correlates with higher body weight — can store more total creatine and therefore benefit from slightly higher doses. The standard research-backed maintenance recommendation of 3–5 g/day is a flat figure suitable for average body weights, but weight-adjusted dosing offers more precision. Heavier athletes with significant muscle mass may under-saturate their stores on a flat 3 g dose, while lighter individuals may not need as much. This calculator refines the estimate by anchoring dose to your actual weight.
What is the best time of day to take creatine for maximum effectiveness?
Research does not strongly support one specific time as definitively superior, but studies suggest that taking creatine close to your workout — either immediately before or after — may produce marginally better results than taking it at an unrelated time. Post-workout creatine, combined with a carbohydrate and protein source, may enhance uptake due to insulin-mediated transport into muscle cells. On rest days, timing matters less; consistency of daily intake is more important than the specific hour. Splitting loading-phase doses across 2–4 servings throughout the day can also reduce gastrointestinal discomfort.