How Much Creatine Per Day: Dosage by Body Weight
The right creatine dose for your body weight — loading vs maintenance, grams per kilogram, scoop math, and how long saturation takes.
Ask five gym-goers how much creatine to take and you’ll get five different answers: 3 g, 5 g, 10 g, “just a scoop.” The real answer depends on your body weight and whether you’re loading or maintaining. Here’s the evidence-based breakdown.
The standard dose: 3–5 g per day
For most people, 3–5 g of creatine monohydrate per day is all you need to keep your muscles fully saturated. That’s one standard scoop for most brands — no need to weigh your body, hit a complex schedule, or obsess over timing.
At this dose, muscle creatine stores stay topped up indefinitely. The 5 g dose is common for men; 3 g covers many lighter people. Both saturate muscle stores to the same degree, just at slightly different speeds.
Loading dose: 0.3 g per kg per day
If you want to saturate your muscles fast — for example, before a meet or a training block — the research-backed loading protocol is 0.3 g of creatine per kilogram of body weight per day, split into 3–4 servings, for 5–7 days.
| Body weight | Loading dose (0.3 g/kg/day) | Standard maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| 60 kg | 18 g/day | 3 g/day |
| 70 kg | 21 g/day | 3–5 g/day |
| 80 kg | 24 g/day | 5 g/day |
| 90 kg | 27 g/day | 5 g/day |
After the loading week, drop back to 3–5 g/day. You get the same fully saturated muscles — loading just gets you there about three weeks sooner than starting at 5 g/day.
Scoop math made simple
Creatine monohydrate is usually sold with a 5 g scoop. Since the scoop is already standardized, here’s your cheat sheet:
- 5 g/day = 1 scoop
- 3 g/day = just over half a scoop (or measure once with a kitchen scale)
- Loading (70 kg) = about 4 scoops/day in 3–4 servings of roughly 5–7 g each
Don’t own a scale? Use the scoop, level it, and don’t sweat the difference between 4 and 5 grams — it’s irrelevant in practice.
Do you need to cycle off?
No. There is no evidence that cycling off creatine is necessary. Your body doesn’t build a tolerance, and 3–5 g/day is safe to take every day for years. The only thing that changes is that your muscles slowly lose saturation if you stop — and regain it when you restart.
Get your exact loading dose
The creatine calculator works out your exact daily dose from your body weight — including the loading phase grid, scoop math, and a serving schedule. Pair it with the protein calculator so your recovery isn’t the weak link, and plan meals that hit both targets with the meal planner.
The creatine checklist
- Pick creatine monohydrate — it’s the most studied form
- Start at 5 g/day, or load at 0.3 g/kg/day for 5–7 days
- Take it every day, workout or not
- Give it 3–4 weeks before judging results
- Expect 1–2 kg of initial water retention in muscle
Saturate your muscles and your training will tell the difference. Find your exact dose with the creatine calculator in seconds.