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Data study
What 55 pre-workout labels disclose
The Supplement Facts panels of 55 published pre-workouts from 25 brands, as two independent readers transcribed them. What they state about doses, how much caffeine a serving lists, how many reach the reference doses the dose audit uses, and what a serving costs at the brand’s own store.
Data as of . Label images captured from to ; prices read on .
At a glance
| Figure | Result | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-workout labels studied | 55 | 25 brands |
| No ingredient inside a proprietary blend, and an amount stated for every audited active | 46 (84%) | 55 labels |
| At least one ingredient inside a proprietary blend with no amount of its own | 9 (16%) | 55 labels |
| State a caffeine amount per serving | 38 (69%) | 55 labels |
| Median caffeine, where stated | 200 mg | 38 labels |
| Median price per serving | $1.42 | 51 labels with a price |
Dose disclosure
A label discloses a dose when it prints an amount beside the ingredient. A proprietary blend prints one total for several ingredients, so the amount of each one inside it is not on the label. Every label is in exactly one row below.
| What the label states | Labels | Share of 55 |
|---|---|---|
| No ingredient inside a proprietary blend, and an amount for every active the dose audit reads | 46 | 84% |
| At least one ingredient inside a proprietary blend, with no amount of its own | 9 | 16% |
| No ingredient inside a proprietary blend, but an audited active with no amount stated (a branded complex, or a name printed with no amount) | 0 | 0% |
| An audited amount only one reader recorded, so withheld | 0 | 0% |
Counted by ingredient instead: across the 55 labels the dose audit reads 282 actives that have a reference dose (an active printed on several rows of one label counts once), and 271 of the 282 (96%) carry a stated amount.
| Audited active | Count |
|---|---|
| Amount stated | 271 |
| inside a proprietary blend, with no amount of its own | 10 |
| one part of a branded complex, with no amount of its own | 1 |
| named with no amount printed | 0 |
| a caffeine salt or complex with no caffeine yield stated | 0 |
| an amount only one reader recorded (withheld) | 0 |
| All audited actives | 282 |
Caffeine per serving
38 of the 55 labels (69%) state a caffeine amount per serving. Among those 38, the median is 200 mg. Rows naming caffeine in more than one form are added together, as the dose audit adds them; a caffeine salt counts only at the caffeine yield its label states.
| Caffeine per serving | Labels | Share of 38 |
|---|---|---|
| under 150 mg | 0 | 0% |
| 150 mg to under 200 mg | 10 | 26% |
| 200 mg to under 250 mg | 13 | 34% |
| 250 mg to under 300 mg | 3 | 8% |
| 300 mg to under 350 mg | 8 | 21% |
| 350 mg or more | 4 | 11% |
The other labels, out of the same 55:
| Caffeine on the label | Labels |
|---|---|
| Caffeine inside a proprietary blend, with no amount of its own | 2 |
| Caffeine as one part of a branded complex, with no amount of its own | 0 |
| Caffeine named with no amount printed | 0 |
| A caffeine salt or complex with no caffeine yield stated | 0 |
| A caffeine amount only one reader recorded (withheld) | 0 |
| No caffeine row, but coffee, tea, guarana, yerba mate, kola, cocoa or a branded stimulant named | 2 |
| No caffeine row, and none of those names | 13 |
Every pre-workout with no caffeine on the label is named on the caffeine page.
Against the reference doses
For each ingredient the dose audit scores on these labels: how many list it, how many state an amount for it, and how many state an amount at or above its reference dose. A reference dose is the amount a cited study or guideline used, with its type printed beside it; it is not a recommendation for anyone. An ingredient inside a proprietary blend has no disclosed amount, so it is never counted as at or above.
| Ingredient | Reference dose | Labels listing it (share of 55) | Amount stated | At or above the reference (share of those listing it) | At or above, share of all 55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beta-Alanine | 4 g position-stand range | 41 (75%) | 40 | 3 (7%) | 5% |
| Caffeine | 200 mg position-stand range | 40 (73%) | 38 | 28 (70%) | 51% |
| Betaine Anhydrous | 2.5 g trial dose | 35 (64%) | 35 | 21 (60%) | 38% |
| L-Citrulline | 6 g trial dose | 34 (62%) | 33 | 14 (41%) | 25% |
| L-Tyrosine | 2 g trial dose | 28 (51%) | 27 | 8 (29%) | 15% |
| Taurine | 1 g trial dose | 26 (47%) | 24 | 23 (88%) | 42% |
| Alpha-GPC | 250 mg trial dose | 17 (31%) | 17 | 6 (35%) | 11% |
| Citrulline Malate 2:1 | 8 g trial dose | 12 (22%) | 11 | 7 (58%) | 13% |
| Creatine Monohydrate | 5 g position-stand range | 12 (22%) | 11 | 3 (25%) | 5% |
| L-Theanine | 100 mg trial dose | 12 (22%) | 12 | 8 (67%) | 15% |
| Choline Bitartrate | 2 g trial dose | 8 (15%) | 8 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| L-Carnitine L-Tartrate | 2.931 g trial dose | 3 (5%) | 3 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| Nitrosigine | 1.5 g trial dose | 3 (5%) | 3 | 1 (33%) | 2% |
| Theacrine | 200 mg trial dose | 3 (5%) | 3 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| Creatine HCl | 5 g trial dose | 2 (4%) | 2 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) | 400 mg trial dose | 2 (4%) | 1 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| Rhodiola Rosea | 200 mg trial dose | 2 (4%) | 2 | 1 (50%) | 2% |
| HMB | 3 g trial dose | 1 (2%) | 1 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
| Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) | 600 IU intake guideline | 1 (2%) | 0 | 0 (0%) | 0% |
Where a source states a range, the reference dose is one end of it, as on the method page:
- Beta-Alanine, 4 g: the low end of 4-6 g/day (Trexler et al., ISSN Position Stand 2015).
- Caffeine, 200 mg: the low end of 3-6 mg/kg (Guest et al., ISSN Position Stand 2021); 3 mg/kg for a 67 kg adult: 3 x 67 = 201 mg, rounded to 200 mg.
- Creatine Monohydrate, 5 g: the high end of 3-5 g/day (Kreider et al., ISSN Position Stand 2017).
Each ingredient page lists every product’s verified dose against its reference dose: all ingredients. The sources of every reference dose: how we rate.
Cost per serving
The median price per serving is $1.42, across the 51 of the 55 labels with an in-stock price at the brand’s own store and a servings count. Each product’s figure is its lowest price per serving among the sizes on sale up to 5 kg, on the day the price was read.
The median cost per fully dosed serving, the measure the pre-workout ranking prices on, is $1.96, across the 47 labels that ranking can price that way. It divides the price per serving by the label’s dose-integrity share: each audited active’s stated amount over its reference dose, capped at 1, averaged (how we rate).
Label flags
The proprietary-blend flag the records carry is set on 9 of the 55 labels, clear on 46, and absent on 0. The amino-spiking check reads the ingredient lists of protein powders, bars and snacks (how we rate); it has a result on 0 of these 55 pre-workout records.
How to read a pre-workout label
- Look for an amount beside each ingredient. A blend prints one total for the ingredients under it; the label does not say how much of each one that total holds.
- Find caffeine as its own line, in milligrams. Where caffeine comes as a salt or a branded complex, the label may print the weight of that ingredient and not the caffeine in it. Coffee, tea and guarana extracts can appear with no caffeine figure at all.
- Compare an amount with what the research used. Each reference dose above is the amount a cited study or guideline used. Where a source gives a range, note which end the comparison uses.
- Work out the price per serving. Divide the price of the size you are looking at by the servings that size states.
- Read the panel, not the front of the tub. Every figure here comes from the Supplement Facts panel; a callout on the front of a pack is never used as data.
A longer walk-through: reading a facts panel, proprietary blends and reference doses.
How we computed this
- Records. The 55 of the 55 published pre-workout records whose labels were read by two independent readers (what “verified” means). On 19 of them the first two readings differed, and a third reading agreed with one of them. They are the records the pre-workout ranking lists, from 25 brands: 1st Phorm, Alani Nu, Animal (Universal Nutrition), BSN, Cellucor, Dymatize, EVL Nutrition, Ghost, Gorilla Mind, Huge Supplements, Jacked Factory, Jocko Fuel, Kaged, Legion Athletics, MusclePharm, Naked Nutrition, NutraBio, Nutricost, Optimum Nutrition, PEScience, Redcon1, Rule 1 Proteins, RYSE, Transparent Labs, XWERKS.
- Doses. Each amount is the one the product’s own dose-audit table prints, from the Supplement Facts panel only. An amount only one reader recorded is withheld, here as on the product page, and counted as withheld.
- Reference doses. As how we rate prints them, with their type, source and, for a range, the end used.
- Prices. Only from the brand’s own store, read on the dates above; sizes over 5 kg are not used.
- Arithmetic. Shares are rounded to the nearest whole percent, and each states what it is a share of. The median of an even count is the mean of the middle two. A figure that cannot be computed is printed as “not enough data”, never estimated.
- Regenerated. The page is rebuilt from the records with the rest of the site, so its figures move as labels and prices are re-read. Errors we find are logged on corrections.
Data and citation
Download the CSV: one row per label studied (55 rows), with the product, its page, the label and price capture dates, the dose-disclosure group, caffeine, the price per serving, and for each ingredient in the reference table its amount, why none is stated where none is, and whether it is at or above the reference dose.
To cite: Gym Product Review editorial team, “What 55 pre-workout labels disclose”, gymproductreview.com/studies/pre-workout-labels-2026, data as of October 22, 2026. Please link the method page with any figure.
The full list, product by product: best pre-workouts.