Thermogenics are like fat burners or diet pills with an emphasis on burning more energy to create heat.
The result is increased fat shedding and weight loss.
Boosting thermogenesis is a difficult process, because overshooting can be downright dangerous–that’s what got ephedra pulled from the market in the early 2000s.
However, the current crop of thermogenics on the market boasts many effective products for assisting with boosting metabolism and shedding extra weight.
Our research team has come up with rankings of the best thermogenic supplements you can get right now.
Our advisory panel and our research team rank the best health products and supplements based on performance, label accuracy, and the efficacy of the ingredients in the products.
- Best overall: LeanBean
- Best for athletes: PhenQ
- Best for rapid weight loss: Burn-XT
- Evlution Trans4orm
- Old School Labs Vintage Burn
Research
Rankings
Last updated: October 24, 2022
Thermogenics considered: 27
Hours of research: 39
Experts reviewed: 10
Scientific papers referenced: 18
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
Best Overall  | 1. LeanBean
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Best for athletes  | 2. PhenQ
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Best for rapid weight loss  | 3. Burn-XT
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 | 4. Evlution Trans4orm
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 | 5. Old School Labs Vintage Burn
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 | 6. Cellucor SuperHD
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 | 7. Genius Burn
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 | 8. Team Six Star6urn PM
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 | 9. Animal Cuts Thermogenic
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 | 10. Modern Man
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1. LeanBean
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LeanBean is one of the trendiest thermogenics on the market today, and for good reason.
This premium product has success that comes from a formula specifically engineered for women, making it a morning ritual with professional bodybuilders and Instagram models.
LeanBean has a formula designed to control diet (suppressant) while accelerating metabolism as well. The result is faster weight loss allowing for increased fat burning all over the body. No harmful additives. All natural.
How it works
Each serving of Leanbean is stuffed with garcinia cambogia, green tea, green coffee, turmeric, cayenne pepper, konjac, and chromium.
The result: Better energy and strength as well as a lower body fat percentage.
Our verdict: The premium (and most effective) thermogenic for women we’ve seen.
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2. PhenQ
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PhenQ has only recently hit the supplement scene. But as it turns out, this five-in-one weight loss pill has helped over 190,000 customers.
Their secret is the inclusion of a series of hard-hitting fat oxidizers: capsicum, caffeine, niacin, chromium picolinate, nopal, and L-carnitine.
Not only is PhenQ designed to help burn stored fat — it’s also formulated to suppress appetite, block fat production, improve mood and boost energy levels. It provides the power of several different weight-loss pills all in one product.
3. Burn-XT
Burn-XT is a great supplement if you want to stay minimal and keep the ingredients list short. Its active ingredients number only five in total: acetyl-L-carnitine, green tea extract, caffeine, capsaicin, and black pepper extract, which boosts the absorption and the bioavailability of the previous four ingredients.
All of these active ingredients have strong evidence behind their efficacy as thermogenic supplements, so this is a great choice for a first line of defense against low metabolism.
4. Instant Knockout
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Instant Knockout is a top-notch thermogenic that’s formulated for people who are serious about weight loss.
Originally formulated for professional MMA fighters, its combination of heavy-hitting ingredients (including green tea extract, cayenne pepper extract, caffeine, and chromium to name just a few) makes it a great option for rapid fat loss.
It’s an especially good pick for men, thanks to its inclusion of key testosterone-boosting minerals like zinc. Elevated testosterone accelerates thermogenesis and builds muscle at the same time.
5. Old School Labs Vintage Burn
If you want a supplement that includes every fat burning compound that works, Vintage Burn has got you covered. It’s got all the best ingredients, and no filler.
Green tea extract, green coffee bean extract, raspberry ketones, caffeine, bacopa, forskolin, and garcinia cambogia all make the cut. When it comes to the classics, Vintage Burn can’t be beat.
6. Cellucor SuperHD
The defining features of Cellucor HD are its heavy dose of B vitamins and its inclusion of some rare and obscure herbal extracts alongside classic combos like caffeine and green tea extract.
With ingredients like blue whiting protein hydrolysate and toothed clubmoss extract, you are hoping for a diamond in the rough–but given Cellucor SuperHD’s reviews, it just might work.
7. Genius Burn
Genius Burn goes for a cutting-edge blend of many of the newest thermogenic herbal extracts. It doesn’t play the same game as other supplements; it’s caffeine-free and incorporates ingredients you won’t find anywhere else, like paradoxine seed extract, theacrine, and ashwagandha extract.
8. Team Six Star6urn PM
Team Six Star6urn PM is stimulant-free, making it a great choice for a thermogenic to take later in the day to increase energy expenditure while you sleep.
It’s also a good option for people who are caffeine-sensitive and can’t take caffeine-based alternatives.
9. Animal Cuts Thermogenic
Animal Cuts presents a lot of potent ingredients, but the lengthy ingredients list means many aren’t delivered at effective dosages. Moreover, the caffeine content is a bit high for most users.
10. Modern Man
Modern Man is a thermogenic supplement that does double duty as a testosterone booster. If you are a man in your 40s or beyond and you think that your excess body fat might be partially attributable to low testosterone, Modern Man could help burn fat and boost testosterone.
Category winners
Best thermogenic overall: LeanBean
LeanBean uses an industry-leading blend of the most effective natural weight loss compounds that work together to increase your body’s metabolism, generating a potent thermogenic effect. These ingredients also help tamp down on hunger and increase fat oxidation, making it our top overall thermogenic supplement.
Best thermogenic for women: LeanBean
LeanBean uses all-natural compounds to increase your body’s caloric burn rate, helping to shed fat more efficiently. The excellent balance of natural weight loss compounds and the moderate caffeine content make it great for women.
Best thermogenic for men: Instant Knockout
Made to harness the power of testosterone to burn fat and increase metabolism, Instant Knockout is the perfect pick for men looking to accelerate their metabolic energy expenditure.
Best thermogenic for athletes: PhenQ
Athletes can benefit from the advanced metabolism boosters found in PhenQ, like alpha-Lacy, nopal, and chromium picolinate. These compounds are designed to amplify the natural thermogenic effect of a tough workout or training session.
Best thermogenic for rapid weight loss: Burn-XT
For dropping pounds quickly, you want a thermogenic that focuses on the most powerful ingredients. Burn-XT is up to the task—Burn-XT combines acetyl-L-carnitine, green tea extract, cayenne pepper, and caffeine with black pepper extract for maximum bioavailability and maximum weight loss.
Best thermogenic for cutting: PhenQ
PhenQ works to activate multiple different metabolic pathways at once, assisting with the often-difficult task of cutting fat while retaining muscle mass. For bodybuilders and athletes cutting weight, PhenQ is well-suited as a supplement to dieting and training protocols targeting fat loss and muscle mass retention.
Who should buy a thermogenic?
Thermogenics are useful for three broad categories of people:
People trying to boost their weight loss. Diet and exercise can only go so far: boosting your weight loss by increasing fat oxidation is exactly where a thermogenic can step in and help.
People who need help maintaining weight loss after a diet. Losing weight is tough, but keeping it off can be even harder.
Your body’s metabolism compensates for weight loss, downregulating your metabolic rate after you shed body fat (1). A thermogenic might be able to offset this effect, making weight maintenance easier.
Bodybuilders and athletes looking to hit a target weight. Serious athletes in sports with weight classes, like wrestling, boxing, and MMA, need every edge they can get to succeed during a cutting phase. A thermogenic can help you hit your target weight quicker and more easily.
If you fall into any of these three categories, a thermogenic could be a good choice. Some of the most effective weight loss pills are based around powerful thermogenic compounds, and many of the best overall supplements for weight loss exert their benefits primarily through thermogenesis.
While a thermogenic alone isn’t enough to achieve significant weight loss, it can definitely help, especially when combined with a good weight loss program.
How we ranked
There’s a huge range of thermogenic products on the market that promise improvements in weight loss. To formulate our rankings, we used scientifically-based principles to find the best.
Powerful and proven ingredients. We sought out products that used well-supported ingredients in their formulation, such as green tea extract, green coffee bean extract, cayenne pepper, and forskolin.
We retained products that contained at least three proven ingredients for weight loss.
Minimal side effect profile. We eliminated products that contained ingredients with high rates of negative side effects and adverse events, like synephrine and bitter orange extract (though it’s never possible to prevent all adverse events).
Judicious caffeine use. There’s no doubt that caffeine is an effective thermogenic, but some unscrupulous supplement manufacturers load up their products with a lot of caffeine and not much else, relying on the buzz from caffeine to generate increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation.
We ditched these caffeine-heavy products that were weak on substance. We also included some of the best stimulant-free products in our rankings for people who are caffeine-sensitive.
Clean supplement design. As always, we also considered the overall purity and supplement design.
We had a strong preference for products that used natural ingredients, no artificial colors, and little in the way of binders, fillers, and stabilizers.
After sorting our remaining products by overall quality, we had our final rankings. These are the best options on the market if you are looking for a high quality thermogenic.
FAQ
Q: When should you take thermogenics?
A: The optimal time to take a thermogenic is in the morning. Some of the more powerful thermogenic supplements include caffeine, or are based on natural products that have caffeine, like green tea extract and green coffee bean extract.
The caffeine in these products is good for increasing fat oxidation, but it could cause insomnia if you take it at night. Another reason to take a thermogenic in the morning is that many (though certainly not all) thermogenic products have appetite suppressant effects as well.
That means they can help you eat less at meals, as long as the appetite suppressant effect is active during the day.
Q: Is caffeine a thermogenic?
A: Yes, caffeine is one of the best-studied thermogenic compounds. It increases your metabolic rate and increases your rate of fat oxidation, making it doubly effective for weight loss (2).
However, despite its thermogenic benefits, it’s not the best thermogenic for everyone. Caffeine has some well-documented side effects like jitters, anxiety, and sleeplessness, which can become a problem with high dosage uses.
Q: What is the best thermogenic fat burner ingredient?
A: It’s hard to single out one specific ingredient as the most effective thermogenic, but of the many candidates green tea extract might be the most versatile.
It has a good safety profile, and has a robust evidence supporting its benefits for weight loss. It also acts as an appetite suppressant, and moreover, it has many health benefits beyond weight loss thanks to its potent antioxidant effects.
Most thermogenic supplements don’t rely on just one ingredient, though; they use an ensemble of different ingredients in an effort to get better results.
Q: What are some good natural thermogenics?
A: Among the natural thermogenic ingredients out there, some of the top performers in scientific research include green tea extract, green coffee bean extract, and cayenne pepper.
That’s not to say that other ingredients aren’t worth pursuing; these are just the ones with the longest history of success.
Q: What is the best thermogenic for females?
A: Our top recommendation for women also happens to be our top recommendation overall: LeanBean takes the cake thanks to its well-rounded formulation and the fact that it doesn’t go overboard with caffeine.
Women can be particularly sensitive to the negative effects of caffeine, first because their body mass tends to be lower to begin with, and second because of some hormonal interactions that can occur with caffeine.
LeanBean is able to leverage the benefits of caffeine-based ingredients like green tea extract and green coffee bean extract, but it does not include caffeine as a standalone ingredient.
Other products that are low in caffeine are also great choices for women looking for a good thermogenic. You can find similar products in our rankings of fat burners for women.
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Recap
Finding a good thermogenic supplement can be tricky, but the right one can increase weight loss by increasing your body’s metabolic set point, without causing adverse health effects.
The best thermogenic supplements contain ingredients that are not only effective on their own, but interact with each other in a positive way to increase the fat burning potential.
Look for key ingredients like green tea extract, green coffee bean extract, caffeine, capsaicin, acetyl-L-carnitine, conjugated linoleic acid, and garcinia cambogia for your best chance at good results.
For BodyNutrition’s #1 thermogenic supplement recommendation, click here.
