Creatine products have expanded rapidly over the past few years as it’s the most popular supplement on the market. In order for supplement companies to set themselves apart, newer forms of creatine have been invented with claims of superiority.
Two of these are “micronized creatine” and “instantized creatine”. What do these words even mean? Are instantized creatine and micronized creatine better than monohydrate?
What Is Micronized Creatine Monohydrate?
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We’re assuming you know what creatine monohydrate is so we’re jumping straight into micronized creatine monohydrate.
The term “micronized” isn’t necessarily a scientific term – it was introduced when companies developed a process to create a finer type of creatine. You can almost think of it like a whey isolate protein powder.
It's generally reported as 20x smaller than standard creatine powder.
- Use 200-400 mesh
- ~150–180 microns
As it’s ground into smaller particles, its solubility is improved and mixes better with water. This results in the following claims.;
- Mixes better in cold water
- Less sediment at the bottom of the glass
- Less bloating for some people (but that’s anecdotal)
It’s important to note that currently, micronized creatine has become the norm in terms of creatine products. As with any product, more advancements over the years have effectively raised the standard.
This means that it’s easy to find quality, cheap micronized creatine on the market.
What Is Instantized Creatine?
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Instantized creatine is the new product and is basically just an even finer version of micronized creatine.
There seems to be only one of three products that seem to even use this term.
1. Gains Instantized Creatine: Uses 600 mesh, “ultra-micronized” creatine monohydrate¹
2. iCreatine® Instant Creatine Mono (via ECA Healthcare / BrainMD / Xi’an Healthful Biotech: This ultimately comes from China and uses “iCreatine®” technology described as “micro-encapsulated or instantized creatine monohydrate.”²
3. BrainMD Smart Creatine+ Instantized Creatine: This is ultimately just iCreatine®
As you can see, “instantized” is simply a term used to distinguish it from micronized. However, it’s essentially just creatine monohydrate, which has been made finer than micronized.³
As you could imagine, the companies that sell “instantized” claim to have even greater solubility. This, supposedly, leads to greater absorption and even less bloating.
It is worth noting that both Smart Creatine+ and Gains claim to be the “only 100% soluble” creatine on the market. This sheds light on these claims.
Are Micronized And Instantized Creatines Better Than Creatine Monohydrate?
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So, let’s get to it – are these forms “better” than creatine monohydrate?
In short, no, they are not. Keep in mind that they are still creatine monohydrate, so once it gets into your body, it doesn’t matter.
In fact, the crutch of all these new creatine supplements is that they use studies performed with creatine monohydrate to support their effectiveness claims. That includes;
- Building muscle
- Increasing strength
- Improving body composition
- Improving performance
- Mental improvements
All of it.
The only difference is the fineness of the powder. Therefore, the question ultimately relies on their “solubility” and if that even matters.
Creatine Solubility DOES NOT Equal Absorption
This is where the claims can fool you. They claim that because these powders are more soluble, you can absorb them faster and see increased gains.
This is just silly.
Solubility does not have a 1:1 correlation with how much your digestive system can absorb a compound. While it could possibly play a small role, it’s much smaller than they want you to believe.
Keep in mind your body naturally absorbs creatine from steak and fish by breaking it down in your gut.
Like most other nutrients, upon eating creatine, it; ⁴
- Travels to your gut, where it is absorbed into your intestinal walls.
- Enters your bloodstream and circulates throughout your body.
- Arrives at your muscles, it's taken up by your creatine transporter (SLC6A8)
Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated that when you supplement with creatine monohydrate, almost all of it is absorbed.
“~99% of orally ingested creatine monohydrate is either taken up by tissue or excreted in the urine as creatine through normal digestion”⁴
So, if 99% is already absorbed, there’s not much room for improvement.
Do They Cause Less Water Retention?
Another major claim by some of these companies, primarily “Instantized” creatine, is that they cause less water retention.
For one, this implies that creatine monohydrate causes water retention. This is a nuanced subject because creatine is osmotic – it draws in water. However, it’s stored in your muscle, so water is drawn into your muscle.⁵
While there may be some excess retention in the beginning of supplementation, in the long term, it appears to even out with what you would expect from increased muscle mass.⁵
At the same time, these other forms of creatine are still creatine. So it’s not explained why they wouldn’t draw in water.
Do They Cause Less Bloating?
Another major claim is that they cause less bloating.
Again, there haven’t been studies that show this but there are anecdotal reports. While creatine monohydrate can cause bloating, this is often due to dosing issues or during the loading phase. Once this is corrected, this issue usually subsides.⁶
Interestingly, Gains wrote a blog addressing this. In it, they do state that any bloating issues are generally caused by improper dosing.⁷ However, they then claim to reduce bloating, you should take their creatine.
So, they initially claim creatine monohydrate doesn’t cause bloating when dosed correctly using studies to back this up. They then criticize it when selling their own product with zero studies.
One of these claims is “Instantized Creatine pulls water directly into muscle cells where it’s needed rather than causing puffiness or discomfort.”
All creatine draws water into your muscle. Further, being “instantized” has zero effect once it’s already been shuttled into your muscles. Remember that its solubility primarily affects its mixability.
Do They Cause Less Gastro Discomfort?
Gastro discomfort is one of the more commonly reported side effects of creatine. However, this tends to occur in certain situations;
- When taking larger doses (10 grams or more)
- In sensitive individuals
Similar to bloating, this is rare but can occur, generally during higher doses or the loading phase. It too can be mitigated by simply lowering the dose.
At the same time, we have no evidence that any of these other forms have any positive effect on this.
Is Instantized Creatine Worth It?
Here’s the major issue. We are all used to exaggerated claims in the supplement industry. It doesn't make it right, but it’s common.
However, there’s a very big difference between using exaggerated claims to sell your product and using exaggerated claims to sell your product with an exaggerated price.
Here are some of the different creatines on the market with their prices (per Amazon)
- Gains Instantized Creatine: 90 Servings for $81.00 (0.90/serving) OR 30 Servings for $39.00 ($1.30/serving)
- Smart Creatine+: 60 Servings $29.95 (0.50/serving)
- Sports Research Micronized Creatine Monohydrate: 100 Servings for $19.49 (0.20/serving)
- BulkSupplements.com Micronized Creatine Monohydrate: 100 Servings for $21.97 (0.22/serving)
- NutriCost (With Creapure): 100 Servings for $36.00 (0.36/serving)
As you can see, Gains is significantly more than all the other brands.
- 2-3X more than Creapure and Smart Creatine+ (instantized)
- 5X more than micronized creatine
Monohydrate Vs. Micronized Vs. Instantized: Which Should You Choose?
After looking at all the evidence, or lack thereof, we don’t see any reason you need to spend more money on an instantized creatine. As we mentioned above, “micronized” has generally become the new norm, and it’s cheap, so that is what we would purchase. If you never have used micronized, you may see a difference with it.
References
- Gains in Bulk. Instantized Creatine Monohydrate [product page]. GainsInBulk.com. Published 2025. Accessed July 28, 2025
- ECA Healthcare USA Inc. iCreatine® Instant Creatine Monohydrate [product page]. ECAHealthcareUSA.com. Published circa 2022–2023. Accessed July 28, 2025.
- BrainMD. Smart Creatine+ [product page]. BrainMD.com. Published 2024‑2025. Accessed July 28, 2025
- Kreider RB, Jäger R, Purpura M. Bioavailability, Efficacy, Safety, and Regulatory Status of Creatine and Related Compounds: A Critical Review. Nutrients. 2022;14(5):1035. Published 2022 Feb 28. doi:10.3390/nu14051035 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35268011/
- Antonio, J., Candow, D.G., Forbes, S.C. et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w
- Kreider, R.B., Kalman, D.S., Antonio, J. et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 14, 18 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
- Clegg T. Does Creatine Cause Bloating? Gains in Bulk News. Jan 24, 2025. Accessed July 28, 2025. (gainsinbulk.com)
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