How we evaluate anything on this site
Published criteria, applied the same way to every product, including the ones we earn a commission on.
The five criteria
- Labeled creatine monohydrate per full serving. Not per gummy. We want 3–5 g, the range in the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stands. Below 3 g is excluded.
- Independent verification. We weight, in order: ongoing third-party certification with a public registry (NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport) > a published result from an accredited independent lab > a batch COA the brand will send on request > a brand's own "lab tested" badge, which we treat as marketing.
- Form of creatine. Creatine monohydrate, which is what almost all of the research used. Novelty forms are a red flag in this category because they are often used to justify a smaller quantity.
- Real cost per 5 g dose. Price ÷ ((gummies × grams per gummy) ÷ 5). We publish this rather than per-bottle price, because per-bottle price is not comparable across brands.
- Piece count and sugar across a full serving. Piece count is a practical preference, and a full serving can carry up to 18 g of added sugar. Both are treated as real costs.
How the testing on this site is actually done
GummyGains does not run assays. The lab numbers are transcribed from three public rounds and stored, row by row, in the JSON dataset and the CSV. Each row keeps the lab, the date, the label claim, the measured amount when the source gave one, a creatinine flag, and the source URL. The human-readable table is the lab tracker. A suggested citation is on that page.
A certification check is a search of the public NSF Certified for Sport directory for the exact product and flavor, dated when the search was done. A logo on a homepage is not that search.
A price check is the figure displayed on the brand’s own page for a named pack and purchase option, on a named date. It is not a checkout total.
Update policy
Pages are revised when a source changes or when a sentence is wrong. The revision date means the words changed. It does not mean every price, photo, registry row, and lab result on that page was rechecked the same day. Older evidence keeps its own date. Corrections that change a factual claim are logged on the about page with the date of the correction.
Corrections go to truonghai611@gmail.com. The contact note uses the same address.
What we do not do
- We do not run our own lab tests. We report published results from NOW Foods, SuppCo and the James Smith/Eurofins round and cite them plainly. If we ever commission testing, we will say so and publish the method.
- We do not accept payment for placement or for a rating. Affiliate commissions are earned on outbound links, and every one is disclosed. No brand sees a page before it publishes.
- We do not pad lists. If only one product clears the full recommendation criteria, the list has one product.
- We do not give medical advice. Nothing here is a substitute for a qualified healthcare provider.
How to verify NSF Certified for Sport yourself
Do not take a logo on a bottle at face value. This takes about 60 seconds:
- Open the registry. Go to nsfsport.com and use the product search tool.
- Search the exact brand name as printed on the label, not a shortened version.
- Select the exact product and flavor. NSF lists SKUs separately by flavor and format — a certification on one flavor does not confirm another.
- Compare the listing to your bottle. Check that the product name, flavor, and format on the NSF listing match your bottle exactly before trusting the logo on the packaging.
What each date means
| Date | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Edited / dateModified | We changed the article. This does not mean every source was rechecked. |
| Price checked | The named SKU, size and purchase option were observed on that date; it is not a checkout guarantee. |
| Label photographed | The pictured flavor and pack were inspected; other formulas or batches may differ. |
| Certification checked | The exact registry entry was consulted then; confirm it again before purchase. |
| Test / report date | The date of the external sample test or publication. It is not the date we edited our page. |
We keep older dates attached to their evidence. A new edit does not turn a 2025 test into a 2026 test. When different dates appear on one page, they refer to these separate activities.
How we compare options
Use the same columns for every option: exact labeled serving, dated independent sample results, product-specific certification, dated cost per gram, sugar and practical format. A brand can pass one round and fail another. More certification listings or a higher measured amount do not by themselves establish a better product.
Our preference for a format is editorial, not a measured improvement in adherence or health outcomes. We disclose affiliate relationships beside recommendations and include alternatives. See the comparison table.
Corrections
Supplement formulations and lab results change. If you have a newer certificate of analysis, a published test we have missed, or a price that has moved, tell us and we will update the page and note the change. We would rather be corrected than be stale — this whole site exists because most of the category is not checked carefully enough.
On the conflicting results you will see here
Where two independent testing rounds disagree about a brand — which happens, because lots and dates differ — we publish both rather than picking the one that suits the recommendation. The Create entry is the clearest example of this.
Editorial update: September 24, 2026. This edit clarifies wording and comparisons. Prices, label photos, certification checks and original tests retain their individual dates; they have not all been rechecked today. What the dates mean.
AI, images and editorial responsibility
AI tools assist with drafting, editing and presenting some GummyGains content. Henry Nguyen is the named editor. Maya Checks Labels is a fictional AI presenter, not an additional credentialed reviewer. AI narration, a generated image or an AI detector score is not evidence of a purchase, taste test, lab result or professional qualification.
Follow the primary-source links for product claims. Historical label images retain their stated dates; where origin or purchase evidence has not been independently authenticated, we identify that limit. We do not treat an illustration as a laboratory measurement.
Maya’s sources and label-check tools · Latest selected Create price check