Most Popular Peptides in 2026: The Top 20 People Actually Take

Rankings of the top peptides are everywhere, and most of them are one person’s opinion. This one ranks peptides by how many people actually take them, from what Regimen users log in the app in October 2026. It shows the top 20 two ways, with the GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and without them, and says in a line or two what each one is and what people use it for.

What Are the Most Popular Peptides?

The most popular peptide by far is retatrutide. Among Regimen users, 57% take retatrutide, 18% take tirzepatide and 15% take MOTS-c. Testosterone cypionate sits between them in the list below because people track it alongside their peptides, but it’s a steroid hormone, not a peptide. The share of Regimen users who take each one:

1. Retatrutide: 57%
2. Testosterone cypionate (not a peptide): 22%
3. Tirzepatide: 18%
4. MOTS-c: 15%
5. GHK-Cu: 14%
6. NAD+ (not a peptide): 14%
7. KLOW: 12%
8. Tesamorelin: 10%
9. Testosterone enanthate (not a peptide): 9%
10. SS-31: 8%
11. KPV: 7%
12. BPC-157: 6%
13. Glutathione: 6%
14. HGH (a protein): 6%
15. CJC-1295 / ipamorelin: 6%
16. hCG (not a peptide): 5%
17. 5-amino-1MQ (not a peptide): 5%
18. Wolverine stack (BPC-157 + TB-500): 5%
19. Semax: 4%
20. Semaglutide: 4%

Shares add up to more than 100% because many people take more than one compound. Why the GLP-1 drugs count as peptides, and why NAD+ and HGH don’t, is in is Ozempic a peptide.

What Are the Top 3 Peptides?

Counting the GLP-1s, the top 3 peptides are retatrutide (57% of Regimen users), tirzepatide (18%) and MOTS-c (15%), with GHK-Cu right behind at 14%.

Leave out the GLP-1s and the top 3 are MOTS-c (15%), GHK-Cu (14%) and KLOW (12%).

What Are the Big 3 Peptides?

There’s no official big 3. If you mean the three peptides people take most outside the weight-loss drugs, it’s MOTS-c, GHK-Cu and KLOW. KLOW is itself a blend of four peptides: GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500 and KPV. Counting blends like KLOW, GLOW and the Wolverine stack, 23% of Regimen users take BPC-157 in some form.

What Is the King of All Peptides?

There isn’t one by any official measure. By use, it’s retatrutide: 57% of Regimen users take it, three times as many as the next peptide. It’s still in trials and not approved anywhere, so it’s the most popular peptide, not an approved one. How it compares with the approved drugs is in retatrutide vs tirzepatide.

The 20 Most Popular Peptides, Not Counting GLP-1s

Leave out the GLP-1 drugs and testosterone and the list turns to recovery, skin, energy, sleep and growth hormone. The share is the percentage of all Regimen users who take each one.

1. MOTS-c (15%). A 16-amino-acid peptide your mitochondria make. People take it for energy, exercise capacity and metabolic health. MOTS-c guide.
2. GHK-Cu (14%). Three amino acids bound to copper, used for skin, hair and tissue repair, as a serum or an injection. GHK-Cu injection guide.
3. KLOW (12%). One vial with four peptides: GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500 and KPV, taken for recovery and skin. KLOW dosage guide and KLOW calculator.
4. Tesamorelin (10%). A growth hormone releasing drug, FDA-approved as Egrifta to reduce belly fat in people with HIV; others take it for visceral fat. Tesamorelin guide.
5. SS-31 (8%). Also called elamipretide, a peptide that targets the mitochondria, FDA-approved in 2025 as Forzinity for Barth syndrome, a rare mitochondrial disease. Others take it for energy and longevity. SS-31 guide.
6. KPV (7%). The last three amino acids of alpha-MSH, a natural hormone, taken for gut and skin inflammation. The evidence is mostly from lab and animal studies. KPV guide.
7. BPC-157 (6%). A 15-amino-acid fragment of a stomach protein, taken for tendon, muscle and gut healing. Human studies are few. BPC-157 guide and BPC-157 calculator.
8. Glutathione (6%). A three-amino-acid antioxidant your body makes, injected for skin and recovery. Glutathione injection guide.
9. CJC-1295 / ipamorelin (6%). A blend of two growth hormone secretagogues, taken for sleep, recovery and body composition. CJC-1295 and ipamorelin guide.
10. Wolverine stack (5%). BPC-157 and TB-500 together, the usual pick for an injury. Wolverine stack guide.
11. Semax (4%). A nasal-spray peptide developed in Russia, taken for focus. Semax nasal spray guide.
12. Selank (4%). Semax’s companion, a nasal-spray peptide taken for calm and anxiety. Selank dosing guide.
13. TB-500 (4%). A synthetic fragment of thymosin beta-4, taken for injuries, often with BPC-157. TB-500 guide.
14. DSIP (3%). Delta sleep-inducing peptide, taken for sleep. Best peptides for sleep.
15. Cagrilintide (3%). A long-acting version of amylin, a hormone that curbs appetite, usually taken with a GLP-1. Still investigational. Cagrilintide guide.
16. Ipamorelin (3%). The growth hormone secretagogue on its own, without CJC-1295.
17. GLOW (3%). A blend of GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and TB-500, KLOW without the KPV. GLOW dosage guide.
18. Epitalon (2%). A four-amino-acid peptide taken for longevity and sleep, studied mostly in Russia.
19. Kisspeptin (2%). A hormone that switches on the reproductive axis, taken for libido, fertility and natural testosterone. Kisspeptin guide.
20. Melanotan II (2%). A synthetic peptide taken to tan. It isn’t approved anywhere.

Not Peptides, but Just as Popular

Six compounds in the top 20 aren’t peptides, but people track them right next to their peptides:

• Testosterone cypionate and enanthate: TRT, a steroid hormone. Testosterone cypionate dosage guide.
• NAD+: a coenzyme made of two nucleotides, injected for energy. NAD+ injection guide.
• HGH: growth hormone itself, at 191 amino acids a protein. HGH dosage calculator.
• hCG: taken with TRT to keep the testes working. TRT and hCG guide.
• 5-amino-1MQ: a small molecule taken for fat loss.

What Do People Take Together?

About half of Regimen users take two or more compounds, and 40% take three or more. The most common mix is a GLP-1 with a peptide: among Regimen users who logged a GLP-1 dose in the last 30 days, 46% also logged a peptide dose, most often MOTS-c, GHK-Cu or KLOW. Regimen, a peptide tracker, gives each compound its own schedule and reminders, and shows what’s in a blend like KLOW. How people keep a stack straight, and what to watch when adding a compound, is in the multi-compound tracking guide.

What Are the Best Peptides to Take?

There’s no best peptide for everyone, and the evidence behind each one is very different. What people take is clearer. Here are the top 3 for each goal among Regimen users, with each peptide counted under the one goal it’s mostly taken for (growth hormone peptides under muscle growth, blends like KLOW under healing) and non-peptides like NAD+ left out.

Best Peptides for Muscle Growth

For muscle growth, Regimen users most often take tesamorelin (10%), CJC-1295 with ipamorelin (6%) and ipamorelin on its own (3%). All three raise your own growth hormone. More in best peptides for muscle growth.

Best Peptides for Weight Loss

For weight loss, Regimen users most often take retatrutide (57%), tirzepatide (18%) and semaglutide (4%). More in best peptides for fat loss.

Best Peptides for Skin

For skin, Regimen users most often take GHK-Cu (14%), KPV (7%) and glutathione (6%). GHK-Cu is used for hair too: copper peptides for hair growth.

Best Peptides for Energy and Longevity

For energy and longevity, Regimen users most often take MOTS-c (15%), SS-31 (8%) and epitalon (2%). More in the MOTS-c guide.

Best Peptides for Healing and Recovery

For healing and injuries, Regimen users most often take KLOW (12%), BPC-157 (6%) and the Wolverine stack (5%). All three contain BPC-157. More in the BPC-157 and TB-500 recovery stack guide.

More goal guides: best peptides for sleep, BPC-157 vs TB-500 for injuries, peptides for women and, if you’re new, the beginners guide.

What This List Is and Isn’t

This ranks what people take, not what works or what’s safe. A peptide being popular says nothing about its evidence. Most peptides on it are research peptides, sold “for research use only”, not approved by the FDA for human use and often banned in tested sport; what that means for safety is in are peptides safe. Nothing here is a recommendation or medical advice. More of what Regimen users do, from doses to side effects, is on the peptide, GLP-1 and TRT statistics page.

Sources

• Regimen app data: compounds logged as taken in the 30 days to October 26, 2026, as a share of everyone who logged a dose in that window; brand names merged into the generic (Mounjaro and Zepbound into tirzepatide, Ozempic and Wegovy into semaglutide). Spelling variants are merged (SS-31 and elamipretide, epitalon and epithalon). Blends are counted as one compound, the way they’re logged, and the Wolverine stack includes BPC-157 + TB-500 blends.
• Tesamorelin approval: Egrifta WR prescribing information, DailyMed.
• Tirzepatide vs semaglutide: Aronne et al., SURMOUNT-5, NEJM 2025.
• Sport: WADA 2026 Prohibited List.