Legion Creatine vs Optimum Nutrition Micronized
Both are 5 g of micronized creatine monohydrate. ON costs $0.34 a serving and Legion $0.50. Here is what the extra 16 cents actually buys.
These are the same molecule at the same dose. Optimum Nutrition is 32% cheaper per serving and that is not a small gap on a supplement you take every day forever. Legion adds Labdoor certification and flavour options. If neither of those matters to you, buy the cheaper one.
The labels, side by side
| Legion Creatine | ON Micronized Creatine | |
|---|---|---|
| Creatine per serving | 5 g monohydrate | 5 g monohydrate |
| Servings | 60 | 60 |
| Price | $29.99 | $20.49 |
| Cost per serving | $0.50 | $0.34 |
| Form | Micronized monohydrate | Micronized monohydrate |
| Third-party certified | Labdoor | Not stated on product page |
| Flavours | Several | Unflavoured |
Where the competitor wins
ON is 32% cheaper for the identical active at the identical dose. Creatine is the one supplement where the molecule really is a commodity: micronized monohydrate is micronized monohydrate, and the 500-plus studies were run on exactly this. Over a year of daily use the price gap is about $58. That is a real difference for zero difference in the compound.
Disclosure: we earn a commission on the Legion link and nothing on the competitor. That is exactly why this page prints the numbers where the competitor wins.
Where Legion wins
Legion publishes Labdoor certification, which is an independent lab confirming the label. Creatine has a documented history of contamination and under-filling in cheaper supply chains, so third-party verification is not decoration. It also comes flavoured, which sounds trivial until you have gagged down unflavoured creatine every morning for six months and quietly stopped.
Why this comparison is unusually simple
Most supplement comparisons involve different formulas, different doses and different ingredients. This one does not. Both products are micronized creatine monohydrate at 5 g a serving. There is no formulation argument to have. What you are choosing between is price, verification and whether you want it to taste of something.
The only thing that beats both
Consistency. Creatine works because muscle creatine stores saturate over weeks and stay saturated while you keep taking it. The best creatine is the one still in your cupboard in March. If the cheaper tub means you buy it without thinking, that is the better product for you. If the flavoured one means you actually drink it, that is.
What neither needs
A loading phase. Loading gets you to saturation in about a week instead of about four, and the end state is identical. It also causes most of the stomach complaints people blame on creatine. Five grams a day, every day, from day one, is the whole protocol for both of these.
Who each one is for
- Price per serving is your deciding number
- You do not mind unflavoured
- You are happy without a third-party certificate
- You want independent lab verification of the label
- Unflavoured creatine has made you stop before
- You are already buying other Legion products
Disclosure: we earn a commission on the Legion link and nothing on the competitor.