The 8 Best EAA Supplements for 2024 (Tested) - Lift Vault (2024)

For many years, the benefits of BCAAs have been touted by exercise nutritionists. And while those claims are still valid, more and more research is coming out that shows the importance of essential amino acid (EAA) supplementation.

This is especially true for athletes, who are breaking down their bodies on a regular basis in order to stimulate muscle growth and increase muscle protein synthesis.

So… what’s the best essential amino acid supplement to help support these goals? And just what is the difference between BCAAs and EAAs anyway?

We reviewed some of the most popular essential amino acid supplements to find out.

Related:

• Best Carb Supplements
• Best BCAAs for Women
• Best Intra Workout Supplements

Best Essential Amino Acid (EAA) Supplements

1. Best Overall EAA Intra Workout: Intra – Transparent Labs
2. Best Premium Intra Workout EAA Supplement: Enigma – Apollon Nutrition
3. Best Value EAA Supplement: BCAA – Huge Supplements
4. Best Tasting EAA Intra Workout: Superhuman Intra – Alpha Lion
5. Best EAA Intra Workout for Long Workouts: Intra Blast – NutraBio
6. Best EAA Supplement with Caffeine: Amino Synergy + Caffeine – Kaged Muscle
7. Most Cutting Edge EAA Supplement: EAA – Chemix

Here are the best EAA supplements we’ve been able to find.

Intra – Transparent Labs

• Price per serving: $1.63
• Total EAA per serving: 6.7 g
• BCAA per serving: 5 g
• BCAA ratio: 2:1:1
• Other ingredients: coconut water powder (1 g), Elev ATP (150 mg), citrulline malate (2 g), potassium, sodium, magnesium

Transparent Labs’ Intra supplement is a solid choice for those seeking a well-rounded intra workout that delivers a good dose of EAAs to aid muscle repair.

At a reasonable price point with a fully disclosed label, Intra by Transparent Labs is our generally recommended EAA supplement.

Combining 1 gram of coconut water powder and electrolytes for hydration, 1,250 mg of betaine anhydrous and 150 mg of ElevATP for strength, and 2 grams of citrulline malate for nitric oxide production, Intra helps support any pre workout supplements and makes sure you can keep working through the longest workouts.

EAA Surge – Jacked Factory

Price per serving: $1.65
Total EAA per serving: 6.7 g
BCAA per serving: 3.94 g
BCAA ratio: 4:1:1
Other ingredients: L-Citrulline Malate (2 g), Taurine (2 g), Coconut Water Powder Blend (500 mg)

Jacked Factory notably uses Amino9 in its EAA product, which is a trademarked blend of the nine essential amino acids.

Trademarked ingredients can help ensure consistent quality, but they can also increase prices. What makes Amino9 interesting is that it uses a 4:1:1 BCAA ratio, bucking the conventional wisdom of the 2:1:1 BCAA ratio.

This means that for each part of L-isoleucine and L-valine, you’re getting four parts of L-leucine.

So what’s better, 4:1:1 or 2:1:1?

According to Jim Stoppani, it’s less about the ratio and more about making sure you’re getting enough of each constituent part. You should aim for at least 1 gram of L-isoleucine and L-valine in your supplement to ensure your L-leucine is maximally effective.

Unfortunately, EAA Surge falls a bit short of that, with an estimated 600 mg each of L-Isoleucine and L-Valine. This is assuming that EAA Surge uses the same ratio as Nine by Black Market Labs, which also uses Amino9 as its EAA source, but discloses each ingredient on the label.

EAA Surge also contains 2 grams of L-Citrulline Malate, though this is a sub-clinical dosage and will probably not have a significant impact on blood flow or nitric oxide production.

I’m including EAA Surge on this list so that people can make an informed choice.

Enigma EAA – Apollon Nutrition

• Price per serving: $2.00
• Total EAA per serving: 14.5 g
• BCAA per serving: 10 g
• BCAA ratio: 2:1:1
• Other ingredients: coconut water powder (1 g), potassium, sodium, di-magnesium malate, L-glutamine (5 g)

When you hear the name “Apollon Nutrition” you know what to expect: overdosed labels featuring research-backed ingredients. Enigma, their intra workout and essential amino acid supplement, is no different.

While Enigma is pricier than many other competing EAA supplements, you won’t find anyone coming close to the whopping 14.5 gram dose of EAAs in each serving. When it comes to muscle repair, Enigma spares no expense.

On top of that, 1 gram of coconut water powder and 1 gram of electrolytes will keep you hydrated throughout the most grueling training sessions. For these reasons, Enigma was also selected as one of the best intra workout supplements.

If you’re looking for the best EAA supplement regardless of price, Enigma is it. It doesn’t hurt that it tastes great too.

Superhuman Intra Workout – Alpha Lion

• Price per serving: $1.81
• Total EAA per serving: 10 g
• BCAA per serving: 6 g
• BCAA ratio: 2:1:1
• Other ingredients: electrolytes, coconut water powder (1 g)

Alpha Lion’s Superhuman Intra is another solid addition to its Superhuman line of supplements. While not quite as stacked as Enigma, Superhuman Intra still delivers 10 grams of EAA, which is more than most EAA supplements.

Intra stays squarely in its lane, sticking to essential amino acids and electrolytes, leaving the power, energy, and focus up to its pre-workout counterparts.

It’s also damn delicious, earning the title of best tasting EAA supplement, narrowly edging out the delicious Enigma.

Intra Blast – NutraBio

• Price per serving: $1.33
• Total EAA per serving: 10 g
• BCAA per serving: 7.4 g
• BCAA ratio: 2:1:1
• Other ingredients: L-glutamine (5 g), betaine anhydrous (2 g), and electrolytes.

NutraBio is a company known for high quality, going so far as to manufacture their own nutritional supplements instead of outsourcing. Their Intra Blast intra-workout supplement is no exception, delivering 10 grams of essential amino acids, 7.4 of which are branched chain amino acids for muscle repair.

In addition to electrolytes for hydration and betaine anhydrous for power output, Intra Blast also contains 5 grams of glutamine. In individuals deficient in glutamine, it has been shown to aid muscle protein synthesis.

For additional supplements that include glutamine, check out our best glutamine supplements roundup.

Amino Synergy EAA – Kaged

• Price per serving: $0.33
• Total EAA per serving: 3 g
• BCAA per serving: n/a
• BCAA ratio: n/a
• Other ingredients: coconut water powder (500 mg), caffeine (124 mg)

At just $10 per tub (based on the sale price at KagedMuscle.com), Amino Synergy + Caffeine is the best value EAA supplement on this list. It’s so cheap you could even double scoop it and it’d make a decent pre workout for beginners.

While it does include the patented Ajipure MP9 blend of “ultra-premium” EAAs, we do not know the dosage of each amino acid, or even how many of those amino acids are BCAAs. This is definitely an area where I’d like to see more label transparency from Kaged Muscle, a company who rarely uses proprietary blends.

Note: There is also a version of Amino Synergy without caffeine, but it is $25, not $10.

EAA – Chemix

• Price per serving: $1.60
• Total EAA per serving: 10.6 g
• BCAA per serving: 5.1 g
• BCAA ratio: 4:1:1
• Other ingredients: 842 mg organic recovery & energy mushroom blend, featuring: lion’s mane, turkey tails, oyster mushroom, and others.

Chemix is always doing something different with its supplements and challenging the conventional wisdom of what a supplement “should” include.

A perfect example of this is the BCAA ratio in their EAA product, which includes 4 grams of leucine for every gram of isoleucine and valine, or a 4:1:1 ratio. This is twice as much leucine vs. the 2:1:1 ratio that is widely supported by research (though Chemix cites their sources too).

On top of the head-turning BCAA ratio, Chemix’s EAA supplement also includes an 842 mg mushroom blend, including lion’s mane and turkey tails.

If you’re looking for an essential amino acid supplement that is on the cutting edge, then you need to try Chemix EAA.

Frequently Asked Questions about Essential Amino Acid (EAA) Supplements

What are EAAs?

Essential amino acids (EAA) are amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize, instead requiring ingestion.

There are nine essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, valine, histidine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, and tryptophan.

What are the benefits of EAA?

There are a number of benefits to EAA supplementation.

A few of the most significant EAA benefits include:

• helping grow muscle by supporting the mTOR signaling pathway
• improving strength
• supporting metabolic health
• preventing muscle loss
• supporting immune system health
• reducing muscle soreness and DOMS

In athletes, they are primarily ingested while working out or immediately after in order to support muscle protein synthesis (i.e. building muscle).

Is there an optimal EAA ratio?

In short, no. There is not a widely agreed-upon EAA ratio.

Most of us are already familiar with the recommended 2:1:1 ratio for BCAAs (2 parts leucine, 1 part isoleucine, 1 part valine), but this does not necessarily apply to EAAs.

To help correct for this, I looked at the amount of each essential amino acid in six different EAA supplements and averaged them out to get an idea of what a “typical” profile looks like.

• L-Leucine – 2,833 mg
• L-Isoleucine – 1,417 mg
• L-Valine – 1,417 mg
• L-Lysine – 636 mg
• L-Threonine – 517 mg
• L-Phenylalanine – 204 mg
• L-Tryptophan – 68 mg
• L-Histidine – 54 mg
• L-Methionine – 34 mg

You’ll notice that leucine, isoleucine, and valine are typically maintained at the same 2:1:1 ratio found in BCAA supplements. From there, lysine and threonine are found at around a 0.4 ratio, phenylalanine at a 0.1 ratio, and tryptophan, histidine, and methionine at 0.05 or less.

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine (BCAAs) are typically included at a 5 to 6 gram dosage, with the remaining 6 amino acids contributing an additional 1.5 grams on average.

This does not mean this is an optimal formulation of essential amino acids, but it is what is typically found in the market today.

I looked at Apollon Nutrition, NutraBio, Redcon, Transparent Labs, ASC Supplements, and Performax, brands I trust, to help get a picture of what goes into a “typical” EAA supplement.

How are EAA different than BCAA (EAA vs BCAA)?

Three of the nine essential amino acids are branched chain amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. So right away there are obvious similarities because they share the same amino acids.

One of the key differentiators between BCAAs and EAAs is that muscle protein synthesis can be sustained for a longer period of time when BCAAs are combined with additional EAAs.

The simple explanation for this is that while leucine is incredibly important for signaling muscle protein synthesis, it requires a complete set of amino acids to achieve this. This can either come from whole food, EAA supplementation, or other cells within the body.

By supplementing BCAA with EAA, you’re providing a complete toolkit for building muscle.

When should you take EAA?

The best time to take EAA is intra workout, or while you workout, and after your workout.

If you drink a protein shake or eat whole food after a workout, then you’re likely already getting EAAs there. Eggs, turkey, fish, cottage cheese, quinoa, beans, and other legumes are all excellent natural sources of essential amino acids.

How are EAAs different than whey protein (EAA vs whey)?

EAAs are amino acids in their raw form, while whey protein is sourced from milk.

This immediately presents some differences:

• Whey protein supplements, while not calorically dense, will have more calories than EAA supplements.
  • This can be good or bad depending on your specific goals. For example, for athletes on a “cut,” switching from whey protein to EAAs could help reduce caloric intake.
• EAAs are vegan, while whey protein, being sourced from milk, is not.
• Whey can be a little tough to digest if it contains lactose. This can cause gas and bloating.
  • To get around this, I prefer to use whey isolate protein, which does not contain lactose.
• EAAs are absorbed rapidly by the body. This makes them a good choice for intra workout supplementation. Whey protein requires digestion.

In short, both are excellent supplements for building muscle. Personally, I would take EAA either right before or while I workout and then drink a protein shake afterward. This could be especially helpful for morning workouts when I am in a semi-fasted state.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.