Pre-Workout · computed from the label

C4 Original

by Cellucor · $29.99 / 30 servings ($1.00/serving)
F
Formula
Barely dosed
A+
Deal
Basically DIY price
✕ Skip it — the formula fails regardless of price

"America's #1 selling pre-workout." Sold at every GNC and grocery store.

0 of 3 recognized ingredients hit their clinically studied dose — and at least one amount is hidden in a proprietary blend, which caps the grade at C.

Ingredients vs the studied dose

IngredientLabel doseStatus
Beta-Alanine
1.6g beta-alanine — half the studied dose
1.6g⚠ LOW
Creatine Monohydrate
~1g creatine nitrate — well below the 5g creatine dose
1g (as nitrate)⚠ LOW
Caffeine Anhydrous
Caffeine is inside a proprietary blend — amount undisclosed
hidden? HIDDEN

Make it yourself — per serving

Ingredient (bulk)Cost/serving
Beta-Alanine$0.15
Creatine Monohydrate$0.23
Caffeine Anhydrous$0.08
Flavor + sweetener$0.20
Your DIY cost$0.66
Cellucor charges ($29.99 / 30 servings)$1.00

That's a 1.5× markup over building the same actives from bulk powders.

The verdict

The mass-market default, and it shows: beta-alanine is underdosed, the "pump" comes from an inferior arginine form, and the actives are buried in a proprietary "Explosive Energy Blend" so you can't verify the caffeine and creatine amounts. Cheap to buy, but you're guessing at the doses — Formula grade is capped for the hidden blend.
Open the interactive card → Decode your own supplement

Head-to-head

C4 Original vs Gorilla ModeC4 Original vs Wrecked

More Pre-Workout grades

Pre-Kaged — BGorilla Mode — A+Total War — BBULK Pre-Workout — APulse — ABucked Up — C

Educational only — not medical advice. Grades and clinical doses are computed from public labels against sourced research (citations on the main site); prices last verified 2026-07-21. Expensive Powder has no sponsors; bulk links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a grade. Talk to a clinician before starting any supplement.