Does creatine really work for muscle?

Short answer

Yes. Taken with training, it added about 1.1 kg more lean mass and 5.64 kg more on the squat. Part of the weight gain is water, though, and without training it had no effect.

Does creatine really work for muscle?
'Creatine → more muscle' — does this formula hold?
Creatine is one of the most common supplements in any gym. We checked step by step whether it really builds muscle, and whether the weight you gain is actually muscle.
Does it make you bigger?
About 1.1 kg more lean mass
An analysis that pooled 35 trials with 1,192 people found that creatine plus weight training added 1.10 kg more lean mass (muscle and everything except fat). An analysis of 12 studies found 1.14 kg more lean mass and 0.73 kg more fat loss.
But is it all muscle?
Part of it is water in the muscle
When 32 people took creatine for 4 weeks, muscle creatine rose along with body weight and body water. In 7 people who took it for 42 days, body water rose 0.5 kg, and machine-measured lean mass rose 1.7 kg even though they did no weight training.
So what if you measure muscle directly?
Small, but muscles got thicker
Pooling 10 trials that measured muscle directly with MRI or ultrasound, the creatine groups gained 0.10 to 0.16 cm (1 to 1.6 mm) more muscle thickness in the upper and lower body. It was not just water; the muscle itself grew a bit more.
How much more strength?
64 kg more on squat, 1.43 kg on bench
A 2025 analysis of 69 studies with 1,937 people found that taking creatine with weight training added 5.64 kg to the squat and 1.43 kg to the bench press. A 2026 analysis of 1,489 people also found more upper- and lower-body strength and more lean mass.
But training is the condition
Taken alone: 0.03 kg, no effect
In the same 35-trial analysis, taking creatine without exercise changed lean mass by just 0.03 kg, effectively nothing. Creatine does not build muscle by itself; it is best read as something that lets you train a little harder.
And it was not the same for everyone
Men 1.46 kg, women 0.29 kg
Men gained 1.46 kg more lean mass, while women gained 0.29 kg, not a meaningful difference. In a study that gave creatine to 11 people for 5 days, 3 barely raised their muscle creatine; they already had high levels, and their strength did not improve.
Bottom line: creatine works
With training, muscle and strength grow a bit more
Taken with weight training, it adds a little over 1 kg of lean mass; part is water, but muscle thickness and squat weight also rose more. About 7 g a day was estimated to add roughly 1 kg more than training alone. Taking it without training had no effect.