Comparison
Phenylpiracetam vs Alpha-GPC
Phenylpiracetam
A phenylated derivative of piracetam 20-60x more potent. Originally developed for Soviet cosmonauts.
Alpha-GPC
The most bioavailable common choline source. About 40% of an oral dose reaches the brain within an hour, where it serves as substrate for acetylcholine synthesis and as a phospholipid membrane component. The de facto pairing for every racetam stack.
| Field | Phenylpiracetam | Alpha-GPC |
|---|---|---|
| Category | racetam | cholinergic |
| Dose range | 100–300mg | 300–600mg |
| Half-life | 4h | 6h |
| Onset | 30min | 30min |
| Evidence | EVIDENCEB | EVIDENCEA |
| Safety | ●●●●○ | ●●●●● |
| Legal (US) | USUnscheduled | USOTC |
| PubMed refs | 80 | 320 |
The comparison in plain English
Auto-generated from dataPhenylpiracetam and Alpha-GPC are both in the racetam (racetam) and cholinergic respectively. Phenylpiracetam A phenylated derivative of piracetam 20-60x more potent. Alpha-GPC The most bioavailable common choline source.
Bottom line
Phenylpiracetam (evidence B, safety 4/5) has a stronger evidence base than Alpha-GPC (evidence A, safety 5/5). Alpha-GPC has the slightly cleaner safety profile. For users new to either, the higher-evidence option is the safer first try.
Choose Phenylpiracetam if
Phenylpiracetam is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Modulates AMPA, NMDA, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and increases dopamine receptor density (D1, D2, D3) in the striatum) and the dose range (100–300mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 4h.
Choose Alpha-GPC if
Alpha-GPC is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Rapidly absorbed and cleaved into choline and glycerophosphate) and the dose range (300–600mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 6h.