Does creatine actually work? A plain reading of the human trials
Yes, creatine works, and it is not close. Creatine monohydrate has hundreds of human randomized controlled trials behind it, more than almost any supplement you can buy. The short version: 3 to 5 grams a day of plain monohydrate reliably improves strength, power, and training volume, and a newer body of evidence suggests it helps cognition too. You do not need a loading phase, and you do not need an expensive form.
How much, and what form
The studied dose is 3 to 5 grams per day of creatine monohydrate. That is it. "Micronized" just means finer powder that mixes better; it is the same molecule. The exotic forms (hydrochloride, ethyl ester, buffered) charge more to solve problems monohydrate does not have. Skip the loading phase unless you are in a hurry, your muscles saturate either way within a few weeks.
Timing barely matters. Daily consistency is the whole game, because creatine works by saturating a reservoir, not by an acute hit.
What the strength evidence shows
This is the settled part. Meta-analyses pooling dozens of trials show creatine increases maximal strength and power output and lets you do more total work in a session, which compounds into more muscle over months. The effect is modest per session and large over a year of consistent training. See the evidence panel on this micronized monohydrate for the cited trials.
The cognition case (newer, promising)
The interesting frontier: creatine appears to support working memory and mental fatigue, especially when the brain is stressed by sleep deprivation. The effect in well-rested young people is smaller and less consistent. This is real human data, not mechanism hand-waving, but it is younger evidence than the strength literature, so treat it as promising rather than proven.
Creatine for women
The "creatine is a men's gym thing" idea is a marketing artifact, not a scientific one. The trials that include women show the same strength and cognitive benefits, and it does not cause bulk. It also does not cause the mythical bloat at maintenance doses, the water it draws is intracellular, inside the muscle.
What it will not do
It is not a fat burner, not a pre-workout stimulant, and it will not do anything if you do not train. If you want a capsule instead of powder, creatine capsules are the same compound in a swallow-friendly form, and a bulk tub like this unflavored monohydrate is the same thing by the pound.
The honest caveat: creatine draws water into muscle, so the scale may tick up a pound or two in the first weeks. That is the mechanism working, not fat. If you have kidney disease, clear it with your doctor first, otherwise the safety record across decades of study is about as clean as supplements get.