9.2
- 8g citrulline malate, 4g beta-alanine, and 300mg Alpha-GPC
- 200mg organic caffeine with 200mg L-theanine, Informed Sport tested
$1.67 / serving · 30 servings
PriceFrom$26.00To$54.99
8.3
- 200mg caffeine from a 292mg tri-source blend, plus 300mg theobromine
- 6g citrulline malate and a full 3.2g beta-alanine
$1.83 / serving · 30 servings
8.2
- 200mg caffeine for a session that still leaves room for coffee
- 6g citrulline malate with a flavor list people actually finish
$1.67 / serving · 30 servings
8.1
- 200mg natural caffeine, half of KXR OG, for an everyday session
- 1g citrulline and 1.6g beta-alanine are the budget doses
$0.90 / serving · 30 servings
8.0
- The tub says 30 servings. The formula they mean is two scoops
- Two scoops is about 300mg caffeine, 5g creatine, and 2g HydroNox
$1.33 / serving · 30 servings
7.9
- 150mg natural caffeine per scoop, 300mg if you take the full two
- A carnitine and ashwagandha burner, not a citrulline pump formula
$0.67 / serving · 60 servings
Our map to preworkout caffeine levels
Everyone has a different time schedule of when they like to workout, and everyone has a different tolerance to caffeine. Caffeine will arguably make the largest noticeable impact to your workout, so it is important that your preworkout has the right amount of caffeine to meet your needs.
| Level | Caffeine range | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Stim Free | 0mg | For late night workouts or for gym-goers who are against using caffeine and other stimulants. |
| Light Stim | 1–149mg | For casual workouts that need a slight boost in energy, and for those who are more sensitive to caffeine. |
| Medium Stim | 150–249mg | The standard caffeine range for preworkouts. Expect a noticeable energy boost. |
| High Stim | 250–349mg | For high-intensity workouts that need a major boost in energy. Not recommended for those sensitive to caffeine. |
| Extreme Stim | 350mg+ | The highest stim level that is safe enough to be sold. Only for those who have high caffeine tolerances. |
Learn more
Where our rating scores come from
Reading the product labels
Every ingredient and its dose in a blend, make the product what it is. No amount of marketing can change a bad product into a good one in our eyes.
Asking the community
All of the products we list are generally popular, so it's not uncommon for someone we know and trust to have tried out a product that we are listing.
Scanning the web
Websites like Reddit and other social medias can be great tools to find helpful real reviews, but you have to be careful. Often content is sponsored or fake.
Purchasing the product
This is what we love. Testing out new products and blends is fascinating since you never know what you may like the most.
Full preworkout list recap
Every preworkout that we have in this category. Compare their overall rating score, caffeine amount, beta-alanine amount, servings per container, cost per serving, and cost of tub.
| # | Product | Score | Flavors | Caffeine | Beta-Alanine | Servings | Per serving | Tub price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulk Transparent Labs | 9.2 | 4 | 200mg | 4g | 30 | $1.67 | $49.99 |
| 2 | Ghost Legend Ghost Lifestyle | 9.1 | 8 | 300mg | 3.2g | 30 | $1.20 | $35.99 |
| 3 | Gorilla Mode Gorilla Mind | 8.9 | 4 | 400mg | — | 20 | $3.00 | $59.99 |
| 4 | Gorilla Mode Nitric Gorilla Mind | 8.8 | 4 | — | — | 27 | $1.78 | $47.99 |
| 5 | Total War Reloaded Redcon1 | 8.8 | 1 | 350mg | 3.2g | 20 | $1.25 | $24.99 |
| 6 | Total War Redcon1 | 8.4 | 4 | 320mg | 3.2g | 30 | $1.50 | $44.99 |
| 7 | SuperHuman Alpha Lion | 8.3 | 4 | 325mg | 3.2g | 21 | $2.62 | $54.99 |
| 8 | KXR OG VMI Sports | 8.3 | 4 | 400mg | 3.2g | 30 | $1.00 | $29.99 |
| 9 | KXR Stacked VMI Sports | 8.3 | 6 | 200mg | 3.2g | 30 | $1.83 | $54.99 |
| 10 | Woke AF Bucked Up | 8.2 | 4 | 333mg | 3.2g | 30 | $1.50 | $44.95 |
| 11 | C4 Ultimate Cellucor | 8.2 | 4 | 300mg | 3.2g | 20 | $2.25 | $44.99 |
| 12 | Bucked Up Original Bucked Up | 8.2 | 4 | 200mg | 2g | 30 | $1.67 | $49.99 |
| 13 | Ghost Pump Ghost Lifestyle | 8.2 | 1 | — | — | 40 | $0.80 | $31.99 |
| 14 | Mother Bucker Bucked Up | 8.2 | 4 | 400mg | 6.4g | 20 | $2.75 | $54.99 |
| 15 | KXR Sport VMI Sports | 8.1 | 4 | 200mg | 1.6g | 30 | $0.90 | $26.99 |
| 16 | Black Ant Bucked Up | 8.1 | 4 | 300mg | 4g | 20 | $3.50 | $69.99 |
| 17 | Creatine Preworkout VMI Sports | 8.0 | 4 | 150mg | 1.6g | 30 | $1.33 | $39.99 |
| 18 | Pump-ocalypse Bucked Up | 8.0 | 4 | — | — | 30 | $1.33 | $39.99 |
| 19 | Ghost Burn Ghost Lifestyle | 7.9 | 3 | 150mg | — | 60 | $0.67 | $39.99 |
| 20 | Psychotic Insane Labz | 7.8 | 4 | 400mg | Blend | 35 | $1.71 | $59.95 |
Questions & Answers
No. Caffeine is just one of many main ingredients that exist in preworkout blends, and there are some preworkouts that don't have any caffeine in them. Caffeine is one of the most important ingredients in preworkouts, because caffeine is a stimulant that blocks sleep-promoting chemicals in your brain. Which means feeling more awake during your workout.
Beta-alanine helps breakdown acid buildup and is said to help delay muscle fatigue when working out. What beta-alanine is most known for is giving a tingling or itchy sensation. Some gym goers absolutely love this sensation because it goes away as you start lifting. The tingles almost create an eagerness to start weight lifting.
In general, 200mg of caffeine is a safe and modest amount of caffeine for your preworkout. It's the same amount of caffeine that is in a can of Celsius Energy, and iced coffees will range from 150-400mg of caffeine depending on the size of the cup. Some preworkouts have 400mg+ of caffeine, but that is excessive and not recommended for people who are not used to such large doses of caffeine.
Dryscooping preworkout is something that was popularized by social media as it is extreme. Dryscooping is a choking hazard and it gives you the condensed flavors of all the sweeteners in the blend. Using a lesser amount of water is a better alternative to dryscooping, since you still receive the energy punch without the chaos. We still recommend to just drink the preworkout with the correct amount of water, since that's how the product was intended to be consumed.
The ideal way to mix preworkout is to add a cup of ice to a shaker cup, add around 8-12oz of water, then add a scoop of your preworkout. Close the lid of the shaker cup and shake it up for 10-15 seconds. The ice makes a huge difference to the flavor and experience of drinking preworkout.
We recommend drinking preworkout 10-15 minutes before you start weightlifting or training. If you stretch or walk on the treadmill before you lift, then it's best to sip on the preworkout during that time. Or if you drive to the gym, then it can be nice flow to drink the preworkout in the car to get yourself in the right mindset. After enough trips to the gym, you will create your own rhythm of what is best for you.
No. Preworkout comes in many different blends of ingredients with different doses. Whether you plan to try hit a weightlifting personal record, or just want to go to the gym to do some light cardio, there is a preworkout that will fit those needs. We still recommend choosing preworkout over standard energy drinks, since the standard energy drinks keep their blends as cheap as possible.
From the desk
Recent preworkout guides
Notes that sit next to this ranking. Same voice, fewer medals.
Preworkout 5 min
When to dry scoop preworkout?
The locker-room clip, the clock, and why the honest answer is almost never. Mix the scoop. Keep the ranking.
Preworkout 5 min
Is it safe to dry scoop preworkout?
Choking risk, a caffeine dump with no water, and why the locker-room flex is a bad way to take the scoop.
Stim 5 min
What is stim-free preworkout?
A pump formula without the caffeine. Night sessions, caffeine-sensitive lifters, and why zero milligrams is still a real preworkout.
Timing 4 min
When's the best time to take preworkout?
Twenty to thirty minutes, commute math, and why slamming it in the locker room is how you miss the first working set.
Ingredients 5 min
Does beta-alanine make preworkout better?
The tingles are not the pump. What 3.2g actually does, why most tubs underdose it, and when it is worth the itch.