The 4 BEST Stim-Free Pre-Workouts (Tested)

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If you’re cutting back on caffeine or avoiding it later in the day, you might be eyeing a stim-free pre-workout, and wondering if it actually works.

The good news is that stimulants like caffeine are only one type of performance-enhancing ingredient found in pre-workouts.

There are a lot of other ingredients that can boost mental focus, strength, power, and endurance to take your workouts to the next level. 

I have bought and personally tested more than 25 pre-workouts for FeastGood.com, and my 12 years of experience as a supplement store manager gives me a lot of insight into what makes a great product.

In this article, I’ll break down some of the best stim-free pre-workouts that I have personally  tested and highlight some of the key features and ingredients in each to help you decide which one is best for you.

Key Takeaways

• Key ingredients like citrulline, beta-alanine, and taurine can support athletic performance and recovery even without the use of stimulants

• My favourite all-around stimulant-free pre-workout based on taste, quality, and effectiveness is Transparent Labs Stim-Free 

• You can find formulas targeted for specific outcomes like fat loss (Swolverine Pre) or muscle pump (Gorilla Mode Nitric), or some that are more well-rounded for all aspects of performance

What is a Stim-Free Pre-workout and who is it for?

A stim-free pre-workouts refers to one that does not contain caffeine or other ingredients that act as central nervous system stimulants like theobromine, dendrobium, synephrine, and huperzine. 

There are plenty of reasons you might be looking for a stimulant-free pre-workout. If you often feel jittery or anxious from caffeine (whether it’s from pre-workouts, coffee, or energy drinks) a stim-free option can give you the performance and recovery boost you want without the unwanted side effects.

They’re also a solid choice if you tend to work out in the evening, since they can still enhance focus and endurance without messing with your sleep.

Who should use stim-free pre-workouts?

• People who workout late in the day and don’t want their pre-workout to affect their sleep

• Those who already consume a lot of caffeine through other sources like coffee and energy drinks and want to stay within a safe daily limit

• Anyone who feels jittery or uncomfortable when consuming caffeine

Who shouldn’t use stim-free pre-workouts?

• Individuals looking for a buzzy energy feeling from their pre-workout

• Those who take pre-workout predominantly for energy and mental focus

Best Stim-Free Pre-Workouts (Ranked) 

	TL Stim Free	Legion Pulse SF	Gorilla Mode Nitric	Swolverine
Key Ingredients	Citrulline Beta-Alanine Betaine Taurine Tyrosine ElevATP® Senatciv®	Citrulline Beta-alanine Betaine Alpha GPC	Citrulline Creatine Monohydrate Betaine Glycerol Malic Acid Taurine  NO3-T ® Vaso-Drive AP ®	Citrulline Beta-Alanine Betaine Carnitine Taurine
Noticeable Effects	Pump Skin Tingles Muscular  Endurance Recovery Strength Mental Focus	Pump Skin Tingles Muscular Endurance Strength Recovery Mental Focus	Pump Strength NO Skin tingles	Pump Skin Tingles Endurance Strength Fat Metabolism Mental Focus
Cost Per Serving	$1.66	$2.25	$1.50 – $3.00	$2.28
Artificial Ingredients	No	No	Yes	No
Third Party Tested	Yes	Yes	Yes	Maybe*

*The page for certificates of analysis for Swolverine still exist, but the last time their pre-workout was tested was 2022 which had a product expiry date in 2024. I do not see any indication that they are still testing.

Transparent Labs Stim-Free

• Cost: $1.66 per serving
• Key Ingredients: Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Betaine, Taurine, Tyrosine, ElevATP®, Senactiv® 
• Clinically Dosed Ingredients: 7/7
• Artificial Additives: No
• Third Party Tested: Yes with publicly disclosed results

I recommend Transparent Labs Stim-Free to nearly every client who wants a clean, effective, and affordable stim-free option. You can check it out here.

Product Review:

Transparent Labs Stim-Free earned a permanent spot on my supplement shelf after the very first time I tried it. As a busy mom with a full-time job, I often have to work out in the evening. It was tough finding a stim-free pre-workout that still had full clinical doses of all the key performance ingredients.

Transparent Labs Stim-Free checks all the boxes. 

With clinical doses for all seven performance-enhancing ingredients, Transparent Labs Stim-Free is a high quality, well-rounded pre-workout. The ingredients in Stim-Free are proven to support endurance, stamina, strength, recovery, blood flow/muscle pump, and mental focus. 

I noticed a fairly decent muscle pump from Transparent Labs Stim-Free, but the biggest things I notice when using this product is that I have insane improvements to strength, stamina, and recovery. 

When I first tested this pre-workout, I planned to use it during a lower-intensity deload week where I would purposefully lower my training volume. Instead, I found myself wanting to increase my weight and reps and had to constantly remind myself to keep my training volume low. 

Like all Transparent Labs products, Stim-Free does not use any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives in its formula. The brand prides itself on being transparent with all of its products, from identifying the exact doses of non-medicineal ingredients like the sweeteners to publicly displaying all of their third party lab testing results on their website. 

While being one of the highest-dosed pre-workouts on this list, Transparent Labs Stim-Free is also the most affordable, costing $1.66 per clinically-dosed scoop. 

Currently, Transparent Labs Stim-Free is available in 4 different flavor varieties: Strawberry Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, Peach Mango, and Tropical Punch. 

Highlights:

• Clinical dosing with just one scoop
• High quality ingredients
• Good taste
• Comprehensive formula with a wide range of performance benefits

Drawbacks:

• 4g of beta-alanine might cause strong tingles

Read my full experience testing Transparent Labs Stim-Free here

Gorilla Mode Nitric

• Cost: $1.50 – 3.00
• Key Ingredients: Citrulline, Creatine Monohydrate, Betaine, Glycerol, Malic acid, Taurine, NO3-T®, Vaso-Drive AP® 
• Clinically Dosed Ingredients: 5/5 (4 ingredients don’t have clinical doses established)
• Artificial Additives: Sucralose
• Third Party Tested: Yes, results publicly displayed on the product’s info page

After testing several different pump-based pre-workouts, I was relieved to finally find a product where I REALLY noticed a significant benefit. While a lot of products make big claims like promising “Skin-tearing muscle pumps”, Gorilla Mode Nitric really came through with its promises to increase circulation and muscle pump. 

Gorilla Mode Nitric is a product that prides itself on having industry-leading dosages with a 2-scoop serving delivering more than 40 grams of ingredients. 

When I tried other pre-workouts with similar high doses of ingredients, like Pre-Kaged, I experienced frequent negative side effects like upset stomach which were so intense and distracting that I struggled to finish my workouts. 

Gorilla Mode Nitric was one of the only ultra-high dosed pre-workouts that I did not get any negative side effects from. 

Another key thing that really sets Gorilla Mode Nitric apart from the other pre-workouts on this list is that they don’t have any beta-alanine in their formula. This is the ingredient that causes the skin-tingling sensation commonly experienced with pre-workouts. As someone who is extremely sensitive to beta-alanine, this is a strong selling point for me.

While these high doses of ingredients do help ensure great performance-benefits like strength and endurance, it is clearly reflected in the cost per serving. If you take the recommended 2 scoop serving to get clinical doses for all of the ingredients, the cost per serving jumps to $3.00. 

For individuals who have a more generous supplement budget and who want a stimulant-free pre-workout that they can really feel, Gorilla Mode Nitric is an appealing option.

The one claim that I didn’t think Gorilla Mode Nitric held true to was saying that their product had no gritty or chalky texture. I personally found this one fairly gritty, especially with a 2-scoop serving. It wasn’t so awful that I didn’t think I could drink it, but it definitely had a noticeable texture. 

There are currently 9 different flavors available for Gorilla Mode Nitric, including some unique options like White Gummy Bear and Bombsicle. 

Gorilla Mode Nitric is third party tested, and clearly displays their testing results directly on the product page. 

For those concerned with artificial additives, Gorilla Mode Nitric does use artificial sweeteners like sucralose and acesulfame potassium in their product, but they use natural ingredients like grape powder and beet root powder for their coloring.

Highlights:

• Amazing Muscle Pumps
• Clinically Dosed
• No Negative Side Effects

Drawbacks:

• Gritty Texture
• Requires two scoops to get a full clinical dose

Read my in depth review of Gorilla Mode Nitric here

3. Legion Pulse Stim-Free

• Cost: $2.25
• Key Ingredients: Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Betaine, Alpha-GPC
• Clinically Dosed Ingredients: 4/4
• Artificial Additives: None
• Third Party Tested: Yes

Legion Pulse Stim-Free offers a lot of similar benefits to Transparent Labs Stim-Free, like clinical doses, third party testing, and prioritizing high quality, all-natural ingredients. 

The reason that Transparent Labs has taken the top spot away from Legion comes down to the fact that Legion Pulse has fewer total ingredients and a significantly higher cost per serving. 

Legion Pulse Stim-Free contains clinical doses of 4 ingredients: citrulline, beta-alanine, betaine, and alpha-GPC. This formula is still designed to increase strength, muscular endurance, mental focus, and muscle pump and I did have really great results while using this product. 

My first time using the full dose (2 scoops), I set a PR on my 8k run and felt like I could have easily completed 10km or more that day without stopping. 

Another thing worth noting is that I felt the beta-alanine tingles very intensely with this product compared to some other pre-workouts, especially when doing cardio. During some workouts, the tingling sensation was so intense that I found it really distracted from my workout. This effect was less obvious during my heavy lifting sessions, but as I mentioned before, I am quite sensitive to beta-alanine.

Of all of the pre-workouts on this list, I think that Legion Pulse Stim-Free has the best taste. It is currently available in 8 different fruity and candy flavored varieties. (Fruit Punch and Arctic Blast are the two I have tested so far). 

Legion Pulse Stim-Free does not use any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives in their products and they are third party tested using LabDoor who is a gold standard in the third party testing industry. 

A full serving of Legion Pulse Stim-Free costs $2.25 which puts it almost perfectly between Transparent Labs ($1.66) and Gorilla Mode Nitric ($3.00). 

While I preferred Transparent Labs Stim-Free, Legion Pulse has definitely earned their spot on this list due to their high quality ingredients, clinical dosing, and well-rounded formula. 

Highlights:

• All ingredients are clinically dosed
• Great taste
• Lots of flavor variety

Drawbacks:

• More expensive than similar quality products who have higher doses of ingredients

Read my full review of Legion Pulse Stim-Free here

4. Swolverine Pre-Workout

• Cost: $2.28
• Key Ingredients: Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Betaine, Carnitine, Taurine
• Clinically Dosed Ingredients: 4/6
• Artificial Additives: None
• Third Party Tested: Possibly*

Swolverine Pre was one of the first pre-workouts I ever tested for FeastGood.com, and was one of the first stimulant-free pre-workouts I tried, which has helped it be a memorable product for me. 

Anecdotally, the tub happens to be my favourite color, teal, which has boosted its staying power in my memory. 

Swolverine Pre contains a lot of the same key ingredients found in the other pre-workouts mentioned on this list, like citrulline, beta-alanine, betaine, and taurine. This makes it a great, well-rounded pre-workout that boosts strength, power, and muscular endurance. 

Swolverine Pre also has natural electrolytes from coconut water and pomegranate fruit powder which helps with hydration and recovery. 

One thing that sets Swolverine apart for me, and the reason that it is on this list is because it uses carnitine in its formula, an ingredient that isn’t commonly found in pre-workouts. 

Carnitine can boost physical endurance and stamina, but it also supports fat metabolism making Swolverine a great option for individuals who are looking for fat loss support without adding more caffeine and stimulants to their day. 

Carnitine can also make you sweat more during exercise, a side effect that I definitely noticed myself while taking Swolverine Pre.

At $2.28 per serving, Swolverine is more affordable than Legion Pulse and Gorilla Mode Nitric, but is a little bit more expensive than Transparent Labs who is higher dosed with more transparent third party testing.

When I first tested Swolverine Pre, it was third party tested with the results available on their website. You can access those results here. Now, however, one of the pre-workout certificates has a broken link and the other is dated in 2022 for a product that would have expired in 2024. I cannot find any indication if they still third party test their products or where the results are displayed. 

The only other potential downside to Swolverine Pre is that it is only available in one flavor, Mango Lemonade. If you don’t like mango or sour flavors, there is no hope of finding a flavor that you enjoy. 

Highlights:

• Prioritizes All-Natural Ingredients
• Good formula for endurance and fat loss

Drawbacks:

• Some ingredients not clinically dosed
• Unclear third party testing 

You can read more about my time thoroughly testing Swolverine Pre here

Our Testing Methodology Explained

When evaluating pre-workout products, I go deeper than just reading the label. I test pre-workouts for weeks at a time, using them for a variety of workouts and at different times per day. I also evaluate different aspects of the purchasing experience like ease of ordering, shipping/return policies, and the brand itself in aspects like transparency and customer service.

Why Trust Our Recommendation?

I have managed a supplement store for more than a decade, and have been a pre-workout user and personal trainer for nearly twice as long. This combination of experience gives me both first-hand and insider industry knowledge for what makes a great product.  

We have a diverse team at FeastGood.com, which includes Registered Dietitians and coaches with PhDs in Human Nutrition. We have personally tried and tested all of the products mentioned in this article. 

I do not receive any compensation from these companies in exchange for these reviews and nobody has “paid” for their spot in this article.

References

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Gough, L.A., Sparks, S.A., McNaughton, L.R. et al. A critical review of citrulline malate supplementation and exercise performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 3283–3295 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04774-6

Tumilty, L., Davison, G., Beckmann, M. et al. Oral tyrosine supplementation improves exercise capacity in the heat. Eur J Appl Physiol 111, 2941–2950 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-1921-4

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