2021's Top 5 Natural Pre-Workout Supplements
Updated 03/31/2026How to find a pre-workout that boosts your performance without the sweats, stings, or jitters.
Natural pre-workout supplements use organic ingredients to supercharge your workouts, unlocking huge energy, focus, and endurance — all without the burning skin, sweating, and pounding heart from normal pre-workout.
The demand for a gentler pre-workout alternative is so great, the market has exploded overnight. With so many options, finding a pre-workout with quality ingredients and no artificial fillers has become difficult.
That’s why Consumers Survey analyzed all the top natural pre-workout supplements, finding what to look for and what to avoid, laying it all out in this quick guide. Plus, we even reveal the Top 3 natural pre-workout supplements on the market today.
How Pre-Workout Boosts Your Performance
Pre-workout prepares your body for rigorous exercise by providing three powerful nutrients:
- Caffeine
- When taken in the right amount, caffeine promotes wakefulness, energy, and focus, enabling you to push your muscles and cardiovascular system for highly-productive workouts.
- Nitrates
- After ingestion, these natural compounds are converted to nitric oxide (N.O.) N.O. expands your blood vessels, letting them carry more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This leads to bigger pumps, cleaner form, and higher endurance.
- Electrolytes
- These nutrients, including Vitamin C, potassium, and sodium, allow your muscles to tighten and relax. By giving your body plenty of electrolytes, a quality pre-workout supports a sustained, intense workout.
What To Look For In A Quality Natural Pre-Workout
Naturally-Derived CaffeinePre-workout “jitters” come from high doses of harsh, synthetic caffeine. Natural caffeine can give you the same push, without the “dirty” sensation. Look for caffeine derived from green tea, coffee fruit extract, or yerba mate.
Beetroot PowderBeets are one of nature’s best sources of nitrates. Several studies have shown that, when athletes take beetroot powder before a workout, their performance markedly increases. Substantial beetroot content provides all the nitrates you need for a strong workout.
Apple Cider Vinegar PowderACV is rich in electrolytes and powerful nutrients that help improve your metabolism and weight management.
Beware of "proprietary blends"
Check ingredient labels for “N.O. Boost Blends,” “Energy Blends,” or anything similar. Blends may sound impressive, but they have two problems.
First, they don’t tell you the dosages of individual ingredients, allowing manufacturers to skimp out on important ingredients.
Second, they can include unnecessary ingredients, helping manufacturers justify a higher price tag.
what to avoid in a natural pre-workout
Excessive Caffeine
Too much caffeine can lead to jitters, elevated heart rate, and anxiety. To get an extra workout boost, you don’t need more caffeine than a cup of coffee. Look for pre-workout supplements with no more than 100 mg of caffeine.
Artificial Sweeteners
Manufacturers include these to improve taste, but some experts are concerned about their long-term health effects. Artificial sweeteners are also known to be addictive. Look for natural flavors instead — they taste just as good.
Beta-Alanine & Niacin
Niacin is an essential B Vitamin, but check the dosage. Taking too much niacin leads to pre-workout’s signature “burning skin” sensation. The same goes for beta-alanine. We already get plenty of these nutrients from our diets, so they’re best avoided in pre-workout.
A Quality Pre-Workout Should Include The Following:
30+ Servings Per ContainerSome companies skimp out on servings, but still charge as much as the others. Get the best value by making sure your pre-workout has at least 30 servings per container.
Natural FlavorsYou shouldn’t have to hold your nose to take your pre-workout. Look for great-tasting, natural flavorings like xylitol, stevia, or monk fruit.
Money-Back GuaranteeMoney-back guarantees let you explore different pre-workouts until you find a favorite. They also demonstrate a company’s confidence in their product. Look for at least a 90-day money-back guarantee and avoid unclear policies.
Top 3 Natural Pre-Workout Supplements of 2021
After reviewing dozens of studies and analyzing all the top natural pre-workout supplements on the market, we’ve finally narrowed them all down to 3 outstanding products. Check them out below.
Top Picks are updated monthly based on testing and analyses:
Top Pick
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Consumers Survey Recommended
- 30 servings per container
- 90mg caffeine from coffee & mate
- Strong electrolytes
- 1500mg ACV
- 4000mg beetroot powder
- Soy, dairy, GMO-free
- 365-day money-back guarantee
#1: Pre-workout By essential elements
Best Natural Pre-Workout Powder
Pre-Workout by Essential Elements is made with a strong dose of beetroot powder and ACV, providing a major boost to hydration, muscular endurance, and metabolism.
This supplement supplies an ideal 90 mg of caffeine, derived naturally from coffee fruit and mate. It’ll push your energy and focus to a higher level without leaving you feeling strung-out and jittery, helping you gain more from your workout.
With 105mg of sodium, 5mg of potassium, and 111% daily value of Vitamin C, Pre-Workout fuels long, intense workouts with ample electrolytes.
To top it off, Essential Elements backs up Pre-Workout with an outstanding 365-day money-back guarantee. All these factors in mind, this is the best natural pre-workout we found, earning it a clear Number One spot on this list.
Learn More About Our #1 Pick > >Rating
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#2: pRE by ATH Organics
Great Pre-Workout Powder
ATH Organics’ PRE brings a quality dose of caffeine from natural sources, healthy oxidants, and a strong nitrate content from a variety of sources.
However, PRE contains a number of “blends,” so it’s difficult to tell how much of each ingredient this supplement actually contains. Not to mention, these blends are filled with ingredients that haven’t been proven to benefit exercise. On top of that, its electrolyte content comes up short, and it lacks apple cider vinegar.
Still, ATH Organics’ PRE contains a number of quality ingredients, and its nitrate and caffeine content are sure to provide some workout benefit. It deserves a spot on this list.
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Rating
#3: organic plant-based pre-workout by garden of life
Good Pre-Workout Powder
Garden of Life’s pre-workout supplement contains a proper dose of caffeine derived from coffee fruit, but overall, it lacks the ingredients to really boost your workout.
This supplement contains few sources of nitrates. With very little beetroot, it can’t provide much of a boost to your explosive power or muscular endurance.
With low Vitamin C, potassium, and sodium, Organic Plant-Based Pre-Workout provides limited electrolyte support.
Finally, its lack of apple cider vinegar is a major missed opportunity for metabolism and weight management support.
However, Garden of Life maintains a strong commitment to organic ingredients and contains solid antioxidants. It just makes this list.
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#4: BeetElite by HumanN
BeetElite brings great electrolytes, high beet content, and a commitment to purity.
However, this supplement contains no caffeine. While its electrolyte and N.O. content will help push your workout, without caffeine, BeetElite won't have any effect on your energy or focus.
BeetElite also lacks apple cider vinegar. As a result, this supplement will have minimal benefit to metabolism or weight loss.
With only 20 servings per container, BeetElite doesn't bring great value.
That said, its electrolyte and beetroot content are strong, landing it on this list.
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#5: Organic Workout Powder By Organic Muscle
Organic Workout Powder by ORGANIC MUSCLE provides beetroot and antioxidants but lacks many critical ingredients.
With no sodium or Vitamin C, this supplement's hydration falls short. It lacks apple cider vinegar. Organic Workout Powder is padded out with four separate ingredient blends. While it contains some quality antioxidants, many of its ingredients are poorly studied.
This supplement's biggest issue is its caffeine content. At 125mg, it's much more likely than others on this list to cause anxiety and jitters.
Still, Organic Workout Powder is a good option for those who don't mind the caffeine. That's why it makes our Top 5.
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P.S. While Essential Elements has the best pre-workout supplement we've found, we would still love to hear about any others you've tried. If you have had a great experience of your own, please send us an email to info@ConsumersSurvey.org with the details.
Sincerely,
Dean
Health Editor
What We Do
ConsumersSurvey uses a unique three-step approach to reviewing the most popular products in the online marketplace
1. Research First we conduct in-house research with a highly qualified editorial team comprised of individuals who specialize in various fields.
2. SurveyWe survey our readers who have tried the product over time in order to learn from their experiences.
3. OpinionWe monitor public opinion in the world’s most popular marketplaces, from Amazon and eBay, to Bizrate and Pricegrabber.
