Creatine on a vegan or vegetarian diet: lower stores do not mean you have to supplement

People who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet are often targeted in creatine marketing as an especially good fit. There is a plausible research basis for this: in some studies, the creatine stores in their muscles were lower. The conclusion “so everyone needs a supplement,” however, goes further than the data.

The decision depends on your goal. A bigger rise in a muscle value, better training performance and a general health benefit are three different claims.

What the classic training comparison showed

Burke and colleagues studied 18 vegetarian and 24 non-vegetarian adults during an eight-week strength training program. At the start, total muscle creatine was lower in the vegetarian group. On creatine, certain muscle values and performance measures increased more than on placebo, and some changes were larger in the vegetarian participants. This supports a possible athletic benefit, especially when the starting level is lower. It does not diagnose a general deficiency on a vegetarian diet. Burke et al., 2003

The study tested one specific training program. It does not answer whether everyone who skips meat responds the same way, or whether a result from muscle biopsies also means better mental performance.

A newer study shows the limits of the storage logic

In 2025, a small trial in 15 vegan or vegetarian adults was published. After seven days of creatine, muscle creatine content rose, while performance in repeated sprints did not improve. Bonne et al., 2025

In this trial, then, a higher creatine content did not go along with better sprint performance. Given the short duration, the small group and the specific test, no verdict on all possible training benefits can be drawn from it. For a personal decision, the result that counts most is one that matches your own athletic goal.

“Less” does not automatically mean “too little”

A difference between groups can be biologically interesting without requiring treatment in every individual. If you feel fit and have no specific athletic goal, a lower group average alone gives you no reason for treatment.

Nor should creatine become a substitute for the basic planning of a vegan or vegetarian diet. This article does not assess anyone’s individual nutrient status. Fatigue, declining performance or other complaints cannot be explained by diet type alone and should not be hastily labeled as a supposed creatine deficiency.

How an athletic goal changes the decision

If strength training is the focus, you can decide in advance which exercises and performance measures to track. Judging the result becomes clearer if you do not overhaul your training plan and other supplements at the same time. That guards against inflated expectations, even though a private comparison is no substitute for scientific studies.

When choosing a product, the whole ingredient list should fit your diet. That applies especially to capsules, gummies and blended products. A suitable label only answers the question of ingredients, though; it provides no individual proof of effectiveness.

The studies give no reason for an extensive lab panel, a supposed “methylation” test or a diagnosis based on diet type alone. For the decision, more concrete questions are enough to start with: which results fit your own goal, and is taking it reasonable given your personal health situation? Diet type helps put this in context, but on its own it does not justify supplementing.