# What is the cheapest pre-workout per serving in South Africa? Source: https://www.healthnews24.co.za/answers/cheapest-pre-workout-per-serving-south-africa/ Publisher: Healthnews24 (South Africa's supplement answer desk) Updated: 2026-10-27 > The cheapest verifiable pre-workout per serving is USN XTS Hyperdrive at about R5.40–R5.90 a 5.3 g scoop (our calculation) (R214–R232.99 for 210 g, October 2026), with 150 mg of caffeine. Most South African tubs do not publish serving counts or caffeine, so a true league table is not possible. Caffeine capsules cost R3.32 per 200 mg. Key facts: - USN XTS Hyperdrive is about R5.40–R5.90 per 5.3 g scoop (R214–R232.99 for 210 g, October 2026; our calculation). - Biogen Premium costs at least about R13.40 per serving by our estimate (a 600 g tub holds at most about 30 servings). - Cellucor C4 Original costs R23.30–R25.10 per serving; Optimum Gold Standard R30. - Ultra Caffeine 200 mg capsules cost R3.32 each (R199 for 60, Takealot). - Most SA pre-workout tubs do not publish servings, caffeine or doses on retailer pages. ## What is the cheapest pre-workout per serving? On the evidence we could verify in October 2026, **USN XTS Hyperdrive** is the cheapest: R214 on USN's shop (up to R232.99 at Dis-Chem) for 210 g. Its standard serving is one 5.3 g scoop, which by our calculation gives about 39 servings (USN does not print a serving count), or roughly **R5.40–R5.90 a serving**. USN lists 150 mg of caffeine as a headline figure and cites Informed Choice batch testing (a seller claim), but the page does not say which serving size the caffeine applies to. ## How do the other tubs compare? | Product | Price (October 2026) | Servings | Cost per serving | Caffeine | |---|---|---|---|---| | USN XTS Hyperdrive 210 g | R214–R232.99 | about 39 (5.3 g scoop, our derivation) | about R5.40–R5.90 | 150 mg (headline) | | Biogen Premium 600 g | R399.99–R429.99 | not published (our estimate: at most about 30) | at least about R13.40–R14.40 | 150 mg | | Cellucor C4 Original 195 g | R699–R752.99 | 30 (US page) | R23.30–R25.10 | 200 mg (US page) | | Optimum Gold Standard 330 g | R899.99 | 30 | R30 | not published | Biogen's cost is our estimated floor: the listed actives weigh about 20 g a serving, so the tub holds at most about 30 servings. ## What about the very cheap tubs? Evox Alpha Pre-Surge Extreme (R249.95 for 400 g), the Clicks Pre-Workout Formula (R155 for 240 g) and Nutritech Nuke (R259 for 240 g) look cheap, but the retailer pages we read do not state servings, caffeine or doses. All we can honestly give is price per 100 g of powder: about R62 (Evox), R65 (Clicks) and R108 (Nuke). A tub with no published doses is poor value if you cannot tell what is in it. NPL Blackout (R599.99 for 400 g, about 20 servings implied) works out near R30 a serving. ## Which is cheapest per mg of caffeine? | Source | Cost per 100 mg caffeine | |---|---| | Ultra Caffeine 200 mg capsules (R199 for 60, Takealot via undated PriceCheck snapshot) | about R1.66 | | USN XTS Hyperdrive | about R3.60–R3.90 | | Biogen Premium (floor) | about R9–R10 | | Cellucor C4 | about R11.70–R12.50 | Pre-workouts are expensive caffeine: you pay for other ingredients. A coffee at home is cheaper still. See [pre-workout versus coffee](/answers/pre-workout-vs-coffee-south-africa/). ## Is there a cheaper way to get the useful ingredients? Yes. Buy singles and use only what has evidence. For a day's citrulline, beta-alanine and creatine: - My Whey citrulline malate: R4.78 per 6 g - My Whey beta-alanine: R2.50 per 3.2 g - Pure Natural Options creatine: R2.22 per 5 g That is about R9.50 for the three, and the beta-alanine and creatine are daily supplements, not pre-workout only. ATP Fitness's equivalents cost more (citrulline R6.72, beta-alanine R4.16, creatine R4.17), but come with no sweeteners or flavouring. See [build your own pre-workout](/answers/diy-pre-workout-stack-with-single-ingredients-south-africa/). ## What should you not trade for price? - Transparency: do not buy a tub that hides its doses. - Testing: if you are drug-tested, choose a batch-tested product you can verify. See [pre-workout and drug tests](/answers/pre-workout-banned-substances-sports-south-africa/). - Your health: under-18s, pregnant women and people with heart conditions should not use pre-workout. See [is pre-workout safe](/answers/is-pre-workout-safe-south-africa/). For ranked options see our [best pre-workout in South Africa](/best/best-pre-workout-south-africa/) comparison. ## Products mentioned | Product | Size | Price (source, date) | Servings | R per serving | Sweeteners | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | USN XTS Hyperdrive Pre-Workout 210 g | 210 g | R214-R232.99 (USN online shop, 2026-10) | — | R5.40 | not stated | | Evox Alpha Pre-Surge Extreme Super-C Orange 400 g | 400 g | R250 (Dis-Chem Living Fit (Living Fit shop), 2026-10) | — | — | not stated | | Clicks (house brand) Clicks Pre-Workout Formula 240 g | 240 g | R155 (Clicks (listing via PriceCheck), 2026-10) | — | — | not stated | | Biogen Premium Pre-Workout 600 g | 600 g | R399.99-R429.99 (Dis-Chem Living Fit, 2026-10) | — | — | not stated | | Ultra Caffeine 200 mg (60 capsules) | 60 capsules | R199 (Takealot via PriceCheck, 2026-10) | 60 | R3.32 | Not published | | Cellucor (C4) Cellucor C4 Original Pre-Workout 195 g | 195 g | R699-R752.99 (Dis-Chem Living Fit, 2026-10) | 30 | R25.10 | Sucralose and acesulfame potassium | Disclosure: ATP Fitness is a commercial partner of Healthnews24 and its products are featured on this site. Rankings follow our published method, and every pick, including ATP Fitness, shows its price maths and trade-offs. ## Sources - [USN: XTS Hyperdrive pre-workout](https://www.usn.co.za/products/xts-hyperdrive) - [Dis-Chem Living Fit: Biogen Premium Pre-Workout 600 g](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/biogen-premium-pre-workout-600g/) - [Dis-Chem Living Fit: Cellucor C4 Original 195 g](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/cellucor-c4-original-pre-workout-powder-195g/) - [Biogen: Premium Pre-Workout product article](https://biogen.co.za/?p=35301) - [Guest NS et al. (2021) ISSN position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. JISSN](https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4)