Aftershock vs C4
C4 Original carries 150 mg of caffeine and 1.6 g of beta-alanine, the ingredient that makes the skin tingle, in a 6.9 g serving. Aftershock has 160 mg of caffeine, no beta-alanine, and adds 5 g of citrulline and 2.5 g of betaine.
Where do the products actually differ?
Amounts per serving, from the label. C4 Original (Cellucor), EU formula.
| Per serving | Aftershock | Aftershock V2 | C4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form and serving | powder, 25 g | powder, 20 g | powder, 6.9 g |
| Pack | 20 servings | 25 servings | 198 g or 396 g tub |
| Caffeine | 160 mg | 160 mg | 150 mg |
| Beta-alanine (tingle) | no | no | 1.6 g |
| L-citrulline | 5 g | 5 g | no |
| Creatine | 2.5 g monohydrate | 2.5 g monohydrate | 1.5 g monohydrate |
| Betaine | 2.5 g | 2.5 g | no |
| L-theanine | 100 mg | 320 mg | no |
| L-tyrosine | no | 1 g | no (N-acetyl-L-tyrosine 200 mg) |
| Every dose on the label | yes | yes | yes |
- Form and serving
- Aftershockpowder, 25 g
- Aftershock V2powder, 20 g
- C4powder, 6.9 g
- Pack
- Aftershock20 servings
- Aftershock V225 servings
- C4198 g or 396 g tub
- Caffeine
- Aftershock160 mg
- Aftershock V2160 mg
- C4150 mg
- Beta-alanine (tingle)
- Aftershockno
- Aftershock V2no
- C41.6 g
- L-citrulline
- Aftershock5 g
- Aftershock V25 g
- C4no
- Creatine
- Aftershock2.5 g monohydrate
- Aftershock V22.5 g monohydrate
- C41.5 g monohydrate
- Betaine
- Aftershock2.5 g
- Aftershock V22.5 g
- C4no
- L-theanine
- Aftershock100 mg
- Aftershock V2320 mg
- C4no
- L-tyrosine
- Aftershockno
- Aftershock V21 g
- C4no (N-acetyl-L-tyrosine 200 mg)
- Every dose on the label
- Aftershockyes
- Aftershock V2yes
- C4yes
- Source C4: gymbeam.sk (predajca v EÚ), checked 2026-09-27. Green apple flavour. The US C4 Original has a different formula.
Which pre-workout wins?
It depends on what you want from it.
C4 Original is a small classic pre-workout serving: caffeine, beta-alanine and arginine. If the tingle does not bother you and you want a simple kick, it does that. Aftershock is for someone who does not want the tingle and wants citrulline, creatine, betaine and L-theanine in the same serving.
