Ranked by data

Best Peptides for Muscle Growth in 2026

The best muscle-growth peptides — GH secretagogues, HGH, and IGF-1 analogues — ranked by muscle-growth effectiveness scores, with dosing details.

10 compounds · ranked by muscle growth score

Peptides build muscle indirectly through the GH/IGF-1 axis, so expectations should differ from anabolics — slower, but with sleep and recovery benefits along the way. This list ranks the GH & IGF axis class by our 0–10 muscle-growth effectiveness score. Each entry links to a full guide covering dosing, timing, and stacking.

The Ranking

  1. #1

    IGF-1 LR3

    GH & IGF

    IGF-1 Analog

    Muscle growth7/10
    Recovery 7Strength 4Endurance 2

    IGF-1 LR3 guide for physique users: 20–120 mcg/day dosing, 4–6 week cycles, post-workout timing, the GH/slin/IGF trinity stack, and hypoglycemia protocol.

    Read the full IGF-1 LR3 guide

    Available at Real Peptides (US) 20% off auto-applied

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

  2. #2

    IGF-1 LR3

    GH & IGF

    IGF-1 Receptor Agonist

    Muscle growth6/10
    Recovery 6Strength 4Fat Loss 2

    Evidence-based IGF-1 LR3 and DES guide: dosing protocols, GH/insulin stack synergy, site-specific DES for lagging muscle groups, hypoglycemia management, and cycle length.

    Read the full IGF-1 LR3 guide
  3. #3

    IGF-1 DES

    GH & IGF

    Truncated IGF-1 Analog

    Muscle growth5/10
    Recovery 6Strength 2Fat Loss 1

    Evidence-based IGF-1 DES guide: pre-workout site-injection protocol for lagging body parts, dosing per site, GH and LR3 stacks, half-life, and side effects.

    Read the full IGF-1 DES guide

    Available at Swiss Chems (US) 10% off auto-applied

    A 5-week protocol at 75 mcg/day ≈ 3 vials

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  4. #4

    Acetamoren

    GH & IGF

    Non-Peptide Ghrelin Receptor Agonist (GHS-R1a)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 7Cognition 3Strength 2

    Acetamoren (MK-777) guide: oral ghrelin-receptor agonist dosing, MK-677 comparison, IGF-1 and sleep protocol, side effects, and stack pairings for recomp.

    Read the full Acetamoren guide
  5. #5

    GHRH Analog + GHRP (Ghrelin Agonist) Blend

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 7Fat Loss 5Endurance 3

    Evidence-based CJC-1295 + ipamorelin guide: saturation dosing, DAC vs Mod GRF 1-29, fasted injection timing, recomp and sleep protocols, and side-effect management.

    Read the full CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin guide

    Available at Real Peptides (US) 20% off auto-applied

    A 12-week protocol at the documented component doses ≈ 9 vials

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

  6. #6

    GHRP-6

    GH & IGF

    Growth Hormone Secretagogue (Ghrelin Mimetic)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 6Endurance 3Fat Loss 2

    Evidence-based GHRP-6 guide: 100–200mcg dosing, 3-pulse protocol, mod-GRF / CJC-1295 stack, appetite and bulking use case, side effects, and cycle length.

    Read the full GHRP-6 guide

    Available at Real Peptides (US) 20% off auto-applied

    A 12-week protocol at 125 mcg 3×/day ≈ 4 vials

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

  7. #7

    Hexarelin

    GH & IGF

    Growth Hormone Secretagogue (GHRP)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 6Fat Loss 5Endurance 2

    Hexarelin protocol guide: 100 mcg saturation dose, CJC-1295 stack for GH pulse, cycle length, desensitization management, cortisol/prolactin side effects.

    Read the full Hexarelin guide

    Available at Real Peptides (US) 20% off auto-applied

    A 6-week protocol at 150 mcg twice daily ≈ 3 vials

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

  8. #8

    Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (191-aa)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 8Fat Loss 7Endurance 3

    Evidence-based HGH guide: somatropin dosing from 1 IU anti-aging to 6 IU recomp, IGF-1 targets, slin/T3 stack, injection timing, side effects, and kit verification.

    Read the full HGH (Somatropin) guide
  9. #9

    MK-677

    GH & IGF

    Growth Hormone Secretagogue (GHS-R1a Agonist)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 7Cognition 3Fat Loss 2

    Evidence-based MK-677 guide: 25 mg dosing protocol, IGF-1 bloodwork targets, cycle length, SARM and TRT stacks, side effects, and glucose management.

    Read the full MK-677 guide

    Available at Real Peptides (US) 20% off auto-applied

    A 16-week protocol at 22.5 mg/day ≈ 5 bottles

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

  10. #10

    PEG-MGF

    GH & IGF

    IGF-1 Splice Variant (E-peptide)

    Muscle growth4/10
    Recovery 6Strength 1

    PEG-MGF protocol for lifters: post-workout IM dosing for satellite-cell activation, IGF-1 LR3 and GH stack timing, cycle length, and side-effect profile.

    Read the full PEG-MGF guide

    Available at Swiss Chems (US) 10% off auto-applied

    A 5-week protocol at 300 mcg twice weekly ≈ 2 vials

    Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

How This Ranking Works

Every compound in our library is scored 0–10 on six effectiveness axes (muscle growth, fat loss, strength, endurance, recovery, cognition) as part of our content pipeline. This page filters the library to GH & IGF and sorts by the muscle growth score. Compounds that score zero on this axis are omitted. Rankings recompute automatically whenever the underlying compound data changes — they are never influenced by affiliate relationships.

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