Pre-workout—a nutritional supplement that can boost energy, improve athletic performance, ease muscle fatigue and speed up recovery—is a product class that tends to make bold claims on its effectiveness yet has minimal regulation. That makes figuring out the safest and most appropriate blend for you a little tricky. To learn more about the best pre-workouts and pinpoint reliable options for athletes with different needs, I consulted with a dietitian and personal trainer for their expert insights. Based on their guidance and my extensive research, I found that Transparent Labs’ Bulk Pre-Workout is the best option for most people—it’s made with quality ingredients and independently tested to meet stringent safety standards.
Build muscle, boost energy and so much more with the best pre-workouts.
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When you’re shopping for pre-workout, you’ll want to start by considering your fitness goals, caffeine tolerance and any dietary restrictions. From there, look for key ingredients like beta-alanine, creatine and L-citrulline—all amino acids or amino-acid compounds that support endurance, muscle building and blood-flow improvements, respectively—to ensure that the formulas meet your needs. And finally, think about additional details like the presence of natural versus artificial components, variety of flavors and their taste, and cost per serving. With all that in mind, below you’ll find some of the best pre-workouts of 2025, whether you’re lifting, endurance training or looking for a boost of energy.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted gear team writes and regularly updates a vast library of health and wellness guides. From supplements like protein powders to recovery tools, we evaluate products and break down complex topics in the fitness space to help you make more informed decisions.
- Forbes Vetted gear editor and author of this guide, Cam Vigliotta, has over six years of experience reviewing outdoor and wellness equipment. With a degree in kinesiology, he understands the importance of clean, healthy supplements that help you stay energized, gain muscle or meet your unique fitness goals.
- The FDA and FTC very loosely regulate the supplement industry, which makes it easy for brands to submit bold claims without proof, and for proprietary formulas to contain riskier ingredients. We spoke with two experts to identify safe, effective pre-workouts and provide helpful buying advice: Jesse Ramos Jr., CPT and owner of BBT Fitness NYC; and Trista Best, MPH, registered dietitian and consultant with Balance One Supplements.
- By combining our own in-depth research with insights from the experts, we created this comprehensive guide to pre-workouts. Our goal is to recommend blends that aren’t just effective but also safe, transparent and suited to different needs.
How We Chose The Best Pre-Workouts
We pulled back the curtain and took a closer look at what goes into an effective, transparent pre-workout blend, keeping these key factors in mind:
- Your fitness goals will heavily influence the right pre-workout for you. We included options that cater to muscle gain, weight loss and endurance-based activities, paying close attention to ingredients that impact each blend and what it’s best for.
- What’s actually in a pre-workout is just as important as how it performs. We prioritized formulas with simple, quality ingredients and for the most part avoided blends packed with artificial sweeteners or fillers. We also thought about taste in our evaluation, and included one pre-workout option with great flavors for those who need the incentive to use it.
- We looked for brands that clearly list ingredients and submit to third-party testing when possible.
- Effectiveness and safety are top priorities when recommending supplements, which are a largely unregulated product space. This is why we spoke with multiple experts to learn more about pre-workouts and ensure the options found in this guide are safe and work well.
How To Shop For The Best Pre-Workout
When it comes to finding the ideal pre-workout, there are a few key variables to keep in mind. Look beyond the flashy labels and bold claims, and consider your goals, ingredients and other details, like taste and cost per serving. Here’s how to break it down:
Ingredients
Pre-workouts contain a lot of hard-to-pronounce ingredients, and these are rarely the same from one blend to the next. With that said, here are some of the most common and effective ingredients, and what they do:
- Caffeine: Boosts energy, focus and performance.
- Creatine: Supports muscle growth and strength, especially if you use it consistently.
- Beta-alanine: Helps cushion the buildup of lactic acid to boost endurance. This is the ingredient that can cause the tingling or itchy sensations commonly associated with pre-workout.
- L-citrulline: Increases blood flow for improved performance.
- L-theanine: This is usually found alongside caffeine to help smooth out the energy boost and reduce the likelihood of crashing.
Beyond the individual ingredients, you should also consider how they’re blended. According to Ramos Jr., there are a few key ingredients many pre-workouts have in common for optimal efficacy: “A solid pre-workout includes caffeine (for energy), creatine (for power) and citrulline malate (for blood flow).”
Of course, the ratio of these ingredients matters, too, to ensure these formulas are safe and can help you reach your specific fitness goals. It’s important to prioritize products that clearly label their ingredients (whether natural or artificial) and list the specific amounts of each. On the flip-side, Ramos Jr. explains, users should “be cautious of products that hide dosages behind proprietary blends—those are often under-dosed or packed with unnecessary fillers.”
Caffeine Tolerance
Caffeine is an important ingredient in most pre-workouts, but not everyone reacts to it in the same way. If you’re sensitive to stimulants or prefer to exercise in the evening, low-stim or stim-free pre-workouts will be a better option, as these contain little to no caffeine.
On the other hand, if you’d like to take advantage of the energy and motivation that caffeine can provide, simply look for pre-workouts that contain it. Most formulas contain 150 to 300 milligrams of caffeine per serving, which equates to between one and three cups of coffee. Just be aware of the potential side effects, like jitters or trouble falling asleep.
Your Goals
It’s easy to look at the many pre-workouts on the market and assume they’re all the same, but different ingredients set each one apart, and the one that’s right for you depends on your goals. Here are the primary reasons people reach for pre-workout, and what to look for based on your needs.
- Energy: Most people use pre-workout because of the alertness, focus and motivation it provides as a result of caffeine. If that’s what you’re after, look for options that contain caffeine or a non-stim alternative, and consider how much caffeine is found in a serving. For reference, an eight-ounce cup of black coffee contains about 100mg of caffeine.
- Muscle Gain: If you’re looking for a blend that helps with strength and size, consider options with creatine and beta-alanine. These ingredients promote power output, delay fatigue and can help with long-term muscle growth.
- Endurance: Runners, cyclists and anyone training with endurance in mind should look for L-citrulline and beetroot extract—both ingredients help increase blood flow and stamina during longer workouts.
- Recovery: Pre-workouts are primarily formulated for performance, but you can look for ingredients like electrolytes and BCAAs if want a blend to support post-workout recovery, too.
Other Variables
There are plenty of other variables to consider if you’re looking to use pre-workout, but the biggest ones are usually taste, cost and dietary restrictions.
If a pre-workout doesn’t taste good, you probably won’t want to consume it, so it’s worth looking for options that you’ll actually enjoy by considering the different available flavors for each brand. On another note, if you follow a plant-based diet or have specific allergies, you’ll want to look out for formulas that match your needs: For example, some of the amino acid compounds found in pre-workouts, including several of the options here, are derived from animal products and thus are not vegan-friendly.
Beyond taste, it’s worth looking at the cost per serving—some tubs of pre-workout may look affordable, but in reality, they often contain fewer servings or weaker ingredients. A good pre-workout should strike a balance between performance, flavor and overall value.
And finally, if pre-workouts simply don’t agree with your body? “Natural alternatives work great too: bananas, honey, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and water [with a sprinkle of Himalayan pink salt] can all provide clean fuel,” says Ramos Jr.