MuscleTech Clear Muscle HMB Free Acid 42 Softgels Review
#6 of 6 · Best Premium Free-Acid HMB✓ Label verified · Supplement Facts read Oct 11, 2026Real retailer photo, cut out. Label unedited.
Consider it only if you specifically want the free-acid form. The dose and the labelling are right: 1 g of free acid three times a day, clearly stated.
$32.75 · 42 softgels (Amazon US, Oct 11, 2026)$2.34 per day at 3 g (3 softgels)
Why It Scores 7.7 — And The Label Line Behind Each Number
Dose vs the Trials
30% of score1,000 mg of HMB free acid per softgel, one softgel three times daily: 3 g of HMB a day in three doses, the studied schedule.
- Directions
- 1 softgel 3 times daily
- Daily dose as labelled
- 3 g
Form & Label Clarity
20% of scoreThe panel states the form (free acid) and the amount of HMB itself. The added 250 mg of betaine per softgel is far below the 2.5 g a day used in betaine studies.
- Form
- HMB free acid (BetaTOR), liquid softgel
- Per serving
- HMB free acid 1,000 mg · betaine anhydrous 250 mg
Testing & Manufacturing
20% of scoreNo third-party testing statement on the label or listing. Not in NSF's Certified for Sport database.
- Testing
- No third-party testing statement on the label or listing
Formula & Capsule
15% of scoreLiquid softgel with glycerin, modified food starch, carrageenan, sorbitol, water and natural flavors; contains coconut ingredients.
- Other ingredients
- Glycerin, modified food starch, carrageenan, sorbitol, purified water, natural flavors; contains coconut ingredients
Value
15% of score$32.75 for 42 softgels on Oct 11, 2026: 14 days at 3 g, $2.34 a day, the highest on the list.
- Price
- $32.75 for 42 softgels (Amazon US, Oct 11, 2026)
- Cost per day at 3 g
- $2.34 (bottle lasts 14 days)
- More Specs
- Serving
- 1 softgel
- Count
- 42 softgels
Label verified. Every figure read from the Supplement Facts photo, Oct 11, 2026.
Marketing Claims Vs. Reality
1,000 mg BetaTOR HMB free acid per softgel.
Printed on the Supplement Facts panel.
16.3 lb of lean muscle gained in a 12-week university study.
The figure matches one trial of HMB free acid (Wilson 2014: 7.4 kg lean mass against 2.1 kg on placebo). A later 12-week trial found HMB no better than leucine (Jakubowski 2019), and a 2020 meta-analysis found no significant effect on fat-free mass (Jakubowski 2020).
Superior absorption.
The ISSN position stand says the free acid may raise blood HMB more than the calcium salt and that research was too thin to call it superior (Wilson 2013).
What Our Test Actually Found
One study carries the marketing
The 12-week result on the listing is real and published, and it is far larger than anything else in the HMB literature. When another group ran a similar 12-week programme, HMB added to whey did no better than leucine added to whey (Jakubowski 2019).
Free acid versus calcium salt
Free acid gives 1,000 mg of HMB per 1,000 mg; the calcium salt gives about 825 mg. That is a real difference in content and a small one, and it does not justify a price four to eight times higher.
The betaine is decoration
250 mg per softgel is 750 mg a day. Betaine studies use about 2.5 g a day.
Full analysis: all pros & cons (9), buy if / skip if
- 3 g of HMB a day as labelled, in three doses
- Free-acid form, amount of HMB itself stated
- One softgel per dose
- Sold by Amazon directly
- $2.34 a day
- A bottle lasts 14 days
- Marketing rests on one outlier study
- Carrageenan and sorbitol in the softgel
- No testing statement
- You want HMB free acid and not the calcium salt
- You want one softgel per dose
- Price is not a concern
- Cost per day matters: calcium HMB costs $0.28 to $1.33 a day
- You expect the 16 lb result on the listing
- You avoid carrageenan or sorbitol
The dose and the labelling are right: 1 g of free acid three times a day, clearly stated. The price is four to eight times that of calcium HMB for a form no trial has shown to work better, and the marketing rests on one outlier study.
Clear Muscle is the one product here that uses HMB free acid instead of the calcium salt. Each liquid softgel holds 1,000 mg of BetaTOR, printed as 'beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate free acid', plus 250 mg of betaine anhydrous, and the directions say one softgel three times a day. That is 3 g of HMB itself, with no calcium to subtract. The position stand notes that the free acid may be absorbed faster and that there was not enough research to call either form superior (Wilson 2013). The listing's headline, 16 lb of lean muscle in 12 weeks, comes from a single study of the free acid (Wilson 2014: 7.4 kg against 2.1 kg on placebo). A later 12-week trial found HMB no better than leucine (Jakubowski 2019), and meta-analyses in trained lifters found no meaningful effect. A 42-softgel bottle lasts 14 days and cost $32.75 on Amazon US on Oct 11, 2026: $2.34 a day.
Right dose, wrong price
Clear Muscle labels and doses its HMB correctly and is the only free-acid option here. No trial shows the free acid beating the calcium salt, and the headline result on the listing has not been reproduced. For the same 3 g a day, NutraBio costs less than half and BulkSupplements about an eighth.
If This Doesn’t Fit — Try These
01NutraBio HMB
If you want to try HMB as it was tested, this bottle saves you the arithmetic: two capsules with each of three meals.
02BulkSupplements HMB
If a scoop and a glass of water three times a day do not bother you, this bag gives you studied-dose HMB for less than thirty cents a day, with the most honest panel on the list.
03Bucked Up HMB
Bucked Up gives you inexpensive, plainly made HMB capsules with a testing statement.
Quick Answers
Is HMB free acid better than calcium HMB?
It may be absorbed faster. The ISSN position stand says there is not enough research to call either form superior (Wilson 2013).
Will Clear Muscle add 16 lb of muscle in 12 weeks?
One study of HMB free acid reported 7.4 kg of lean mass against 2.1 kg on placebo (Wilson 2014). A later 12-week trial found HMB no better than leucine (Jakubowski 2019), and meta-analyses in trained lifters found no meaningful effect. Do not expect that result.
Sources & Further Reading
3 peer-reviewed sources, each linked to PubMed
- [1] Wilson JM, et al. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2014;114(6):1217-27. PMID 24599749 — The effects of 12 weeks of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate free acid supplementation on muscle mass, strength, and power in resistance-trained individuals: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. A 12-week trial in resistance-trained individuals reported a lean body mass gain of 7.4 kg with HMB free acid against 2.1 kg with placebo and a larger increase in total strength; results of this size have not been reproduced by later trials.
- [2] Jakubowski JS, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(1):65-74. PMID 30113522 — Equivalent Hypertrophy and Strength Gains in β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate- or Leucine-supplemented Men. In 26 resistance-trained men over 12 weeks, whey protein plus 3 g of HMB a day produced the same gains in muscle size and strength as whey protein plus 3 g of leucine a day.
- [3] Wilson JM, et al. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013;10(1):6. PMID 23374455 — International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). The ISSN position stand concludes that about 38 mg of HMB per kg of body weight a day, taken close to training and for two weeks before a hard bout, can reduce muscle damage and aid recovery; that calcium HMB and HMB free acid have both been used, with too little research to call one superior; and that long-term use is safe.
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