C4 Pre-Workout NZ: Original vs Sport vs Cans

You are standing in front of four things all called C4 and they all cost about the same. One is a tub, one is a smaller tub, one is a can in the fridge, and one says "Energy + Amino" on the front. The difference that actually matters is caffeine per serve, and it ranges from 135 mg to 200 mg across the range.

Here is the honest version, with the numbers off the labels we stock.

The short answer

• C4 Original is the classic: 200 mg caffeine, 2,000 mg beta-alanine and 1,000 mg creatine nitrate per serve. $49.45 for 30 serves ($1.65 a serve) or $73.95 for 50 serves ($1.48 a serve).
• C4 Sport is the lighter one: 135 mg caffeine, 5 calories, $49.45 for 30 serves. It is NSF Certified for Sport, and it is the sensible first pre-workout.
• C4 Carbonated cans sit in the middle at 150 mg caffeine, 0 g sugar and 30 calories. $6.79 a can, or $70.00 for a 12-pack, which is $5.83 a can.
• C4 Energy + Amino ($49.45, 30 serves, 25 calories) is a lighter sipping drink with aminos rather than a full training pre-workout. Its label lists the caffeine inside an energy blend (natural caffeine from green coffee bean) without a standalone milligram figure, so treat it as a light-caffeine drink, not a training dose.
• If you have never used pre-workout, start with C4 Sport or half a scoop of Original. Do not start with a full scoop at 5am.

What actually separates them

The formulas overlap more than the packaging suggests. Every training product in the range leans on the same two ideas: caffeine for the alertness, beta-alanine for the tingle.

C4 Original is the only one with a listed creatine dose, 1,000 mg per serve as creatine nitrate. That is a fifth of the 5 g most creatine research uses, so treat it as a bonus rather than your creatine plan. If creatine is the goal, Cellucor's unflavoured monohydrate is $45.00 for 72 serves, or $0.63 a serve.

C4 Sport is the one to hand someone who says coffee makes them jittery. The cans are that same idea in a format you can throw in a car console: 150 mg caffeine, zero sugar, 30 calories, no shaker to wash.

C4 Pro Whey also says C4 on it. It is a protein powder, 28 serves for $89.85, not a pre-workout. Do not buy it expecting a kick.

Is C4 actually strong?

By 2026 standards, no. It is mid-stim.

Two hundred milligrams was a big number when C4 launched. Plenty of formulas now sit at 300 mg or more. If you have built a tolerance and want the walls to move, C4 Original will not do it, and we would rather say so than sell you a tub you find flat. Our rundown of the heaviest-hitting formulas we stock shows where the ceiling sits.

Mid-stim is also where most people should live. 200 mg is roughly two instant coffees, enough to change how a 6am session feels without wrecking your sleep at 9pm.

The C4 range at NZ Supps

Prices as at 2 September 2026. Original comes in seven flavours including Blue Raspberry, Green Apple and Watermelon. Cans include Cotton Candy, Twist Lime and two Jolly Rancher flavours; Purple Frost is currently out of stock.

C4 Sport's facet data lists 4,900 mg beta-alanine, which looks high for a 7.1 g scoop. the beta-alanine sits inside the 4,900 mg Performance Blend and is not listed on its own *C4 Sport is listed as containing creatine, but no dose is recorded. creatine monohydrate is in the same 4,900 mg blend, dose not listed separately

The tingle is beta-alanine, and it is harmless

That prickly, itchy feeling across your face and hands about fifteen minutes in is paraesthesia from beta-alanine. C4 Original and the cans both carry 2,000 mg per serve, right in the range where most people feel it.

It is not the pre-workout working, and it is not a sign you got a good scoop. It fades in about half an hour. If you hate it, C4 Sport is the one to reach for, and why the tingles happen has the longer version.

How the caffeine stacks up against the guidance

EFSA's 2015 opinion on caffeine is the clearest number to work from. It concluded that single doses of about 3 mg per kg of bodyweight do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults, and that around 400 mg across a day is fine for most people.

Run your own bodyweight through it:

• 60 kg: about 180 mg in one hit, so a scoop of Original (200 mg) is slightly over. Sport at 135 mg or a can at 150 mg sits under.
• 70 kg: about 210 mg, so a full scoop of Original fits.
• 90 kg: about 270 mg, with room for a coffee earlier in the day.

The bit people forget is the rest of the day. A flat white, an energy drink at lunch and then 200 mg before training adds up fast. The caffeine per serve comparison has every pre-workout we stock, and caffeine bands explained covers the low, mid and high tiers.

Picking one, honestly

If you have never used pre-workout, take C4 Sport or half a scoop of Original in 300 ml of water, 20 to 30 minutes before you train rather than in the car park. If you train five or six days a week, buy the 50-serve Original tub: you save 17 cents a serve, which is about $8.50 across the tub.

If the problem is that you keep forgetting to make it, buy cans. A 12-pack at $70.00 is $5.83 a can against $6.79 for singles, so the pack pays for itself in about ten cans. You are still paying roughly three and a half times the powder price for the convenience, and that is worth saying out loud.

And if you want caffeine without a training stimulus, C4 Energy + Amino or a can at your desk does the job. That question gets its own answer in energy drink vs pre-workout. The brand's history also explains a lot about why the range is shaped this way, which we covered in the story of C4.

Where NZ Supps fits

We hold the whole range here in New Zealand. Order before 1pm on a weekday and it goes out the same day, and shipping is free over $99, which a 50-serve tub or a 12-pack clears on its own.

Not sure which one fits your training? Find your stack sorts it in a couple of questions. Otherwise browse the pre-workout range or the canned energy fridge. We are not going to talk you into a second tub you do not need.

How much caffeine is in C4 pre-workout?

C4 Original has 200 mg per serve. C4 Sport has 135 mg, and a C4 Carbonated can has 150 mg. All three are per single serve, so double-scooping Original puts you at 400 mg.

Is C4 Sport weaker than C4 Original?

On caffeine, yes: 135 mg against 200 mg. It also has no creatine and only 5 calories. Whether that makes it worse depends on whether 200 mg leaves you jittery.

Are C4 cans the same as the powder?

Close, but not identical. A can has 150 mg caffeine, 2,000 mg beta-alanine, zero sugar, 30 calories and no creatine. The powder is cheaper per serve, the can is easier.

What is the tingling from C4?

Beta-alanine, at 2,000 mg per serve in C4 Original and the cans. It peaks around 15 minutes in and fades within half an hour. It is not a sign of potency.

Is C4 worth the price in New Zealand?

At $1.48 to $1.65 a serve for the powder it sits mid-market. The cans at $5.83 to $6.79 each are a convenience purchase, not a value one.

Does C4 have creatine in it?

C4 Original lists 1,000 mg per serve as creatine nitrate, a fifth of a standard 5 g dose. C4 Sport also contains creatine but we do not have the dose on file. Keep a separate monohydrate if creatine matters to you. Sources: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4102). Product data from nzsupps.co.nz, prices as at 2 September 2026.