Creatine Maintenance Dose Calculator
Find your daily creatine monohydrate maintenance dose from body weight — plus the optional loading amount — using the standard 0.03 g/kg guideline.
How it works
Maintenance = 0.03 g/kg/day · Loading = 0.3 g/kg/day (split into 4 doses) for 5–7 days
Creatine monohydrate saturates the muscles at roughly 0.03 g per kg of body weight per day, which is why a flat 3–5 g works for almost everyone regardless of size. An optional loading phase of about 0.3 g/kg/day split across four servings fills the muscle stores in under a week instead of three to four weeks, but the end point is identical — loading only changes how fast you get there, not the ceiling.
Worked example
A 75 kg lifter needs about 0.03 × 75 = 2.25 g/day to stay saturated, so a rounded 3–5 g flat dose is plenty. To load, they would take 0.3 × 75 = 22.5 g/day (about 5.6 g four times daily) for five to seven days, then drop back to the maintenance dose.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to load creatine?
No. Loading fills muscle stores in 5–7 days instead of 3–4 weeks, but a steady 3–5 g/day reaches the same saturation. Skipping the load avoids the mild bloating some people get from large doses.
Should I take more if I am heavier?
Slightly. Muscle mass scales roughly with body weight, so a very large person may sit at the top of the 3–5 g range or a touch above, which the 0.03 g/kg figure captures.
Does timing matter?
Not much for maintenance — total daily intake is what saturates the muscle. Consistency day to day matters far more than whether you take it before or after training.
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Educational estimate, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor, pharmacist or registered dietitian before starting or changing any supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, on medication or managing a health condition.