YK11 vs RAD-140: Which Is Better? Evidence Compared

Short answer: neither YK11 nor RAD-140 has been tested for muscle in people, so “which is better” can only be answered from animal data and user reports. RAD-140 has a little more human data: one trial in women with advanced breast cancer, where its half-life was about 45 hours and liver-enzyme rises were the most common side effect (LoRusso 2022). YK11 has none; in rats it caused brain inflammation and oxidative stress (Dahleh 2023). Users describe YK11 as stronger for size and RAD-140 as better for a dry, lean look. Stacking the two combines two suppressive compounds.

YK11

YK11 is a synthetic steroid that acts as a partial androgen-receptor agonist (Kanno 2011). Its “myostatin inhibitor” label comes from mouse muscle cells, where it raised follistatin, a protein that blocks myostatin (Kanno 2013). It has never been in a clinical trial. Since this page was first written, rat studies have shown brain oxidative stress and inflammation after five weeks (Dahleh 2023).

Check out my entire article on YK11 here.

RAD 140

RAD-140 (testolone, vosilasarm) is a nonsteroidal SARM. Users credit it with strength and “dry” gains (anecdotal). In rats it grew a hormone-sensitive muscle at very low doses with less effect on the prostate, and in young male monkeys 28 days raised body weight over 10% while cutting testosterone from about 600–800 to 200–300 ng/dL (Miller 2011). Its only human trial was in 22 women with breast cancer at 50–150 mg a day (LoRusso 2022).

Read my entire blog post on RAD 140 here.

YK11 VS RAD 140 – Half-Life

RAD-140’s half-life is about 45 hours (44.7 h in the trial), which supported once-daily dosing (LoRusso 2022); the old figure of 60 hours on this page was not from a study. YK11’s half-life is not established: the often-quoted 12 hours has no source, and in a human excretion study no intact YK11 reached the urine (Piper 2018).

YK11 VS RAD 140 – Benefits

No study has measured muscle, strength or vascularity with either compound in people. The comparisons below are the original author’s own experience, kept as written; they are anecdotal.

Muscle Mass

In the author’s experience, YK11 gave more size. Its myostatin link has only been shown in cells, so the mechanism is not established in people.

I’ve gained around 15 pounds of muscle in just one eight-week cycle while on YK11, while RAD 140 bestowed with around 10 pounds of muscle.

Strength

Although RAD 140 is known as ‘the strength SARM’ around bodybuilding communities, when compared to YK11, it simply fails to impress.

I felt a lot stronger and more powerful while on YK11 and the best part about all of this was that I didn’t even experience an increase in irritability or aggression.

I did feel more dominant in the gym, but it wasn’t suffused with a feeling of raw aggression, which is something that I’ve struggled with while on RAD 140.

Vascularity

Both YK11 and RAD 140 increase vascularity, but if I had to pick a winner, it would be the latter.

YK11 simply can’t compete with the fat loss RAD 140 bestows you with which indirectly causes more vascularity to be exhibited.

Motivation

You will feel increased motivation from both of these SARMs while at the gym. Your usual weights will feel lighter since both compounds increase strength, which will further drive you to lift more and more.

I have personally felt more motivation while on YK11 as it made me a beast both inside and outside of the gym. I felt invincible, full of Testosterone, manly, and out of this world.

It was quite the experience.

YK11 VS RAD 140 – Side Effects

Side effects in people are only partly known for RAD-140 and not at all for YK11.

Testosterone suppression

Neither has been measured in men. RAD-140 cut testosterone by about two-thirds in monkeys; YK11 has no data. The original author needed a four-week Nolvadex PCT after YK11 and reported getting by without one after RAD-140 (anecdotal). See RAD-140 PCT.

If you’re wondering what suppression feels like, the first thing you’ll notice is the lethargy and lack of libido, which is then followed by mood swings and a decrease in motivation.

Aggression

Interestingly enough, RAD 140 did make me a bit moody while I was on it. I was feeling irritable all the time, and something was always irking me.

As already mentioned, my experience with YK11 was quite different and if I had to put it in one word, it would be dominant – I felt in control during day-to-day situations and could still manage my anger.

Liver toxicity

The old version said YK11 is “laced with alcohol” because of a methyl group, and that RAD-140 doesn’t raise liver enzymes. Both were wrong. YK11’s liver effects have not been studied. RAD-140 raised AST in 59% and ALT in 45% of trial patients, serious in 23% (LoRusso 2022), and several case reports describe cholestatic liver injury in users (Perananthan 2024). A liver panel before and after is the minimum; see are SARMs liver toxic.

Joint pain

This is something I usually don’t talk about much, but I did feel my joints hurting during RAD 140 usage

It was less pronounced on YK11 for the author. YK11 increased bone-forming cell activity in a lab study (Yatsu 2018), but joint effects of either compound have not been studied; see SARMs for joint healing.

YK11 VS RAD 140 – Results

The original author reported about 15 lb of muscle on an 8-week YK11 cycle versus about 10 lb on RAD-140, more strength and motivation on YK11, and more fat loss and vascularity on RAD-140. These are one person’s results without bloodwork. Reader transformations: YK11 before and after and RAD-140 before and after. For comparison, the SARMs that were measured in trials added about 1.2–1.3 kg of lean mass.

YK11 VS RAD 140 – Pricing

Prices are similar, with RAD-140 usually a little cheaper; current prices at our partner shop are shown in the boxes on this page. Quality matters more than price: only 41% of 44 tested SARM products matched their label (Van Wagoner 2017). Our current pick and why is in the SwissChems review.

Conclusion

YK11 vs RAD-140 compares two compounds with no human muscle data. RAD-140 has a measured 45-hour half-life and a clear liver-enzyme signal from its only trial; YK11 has rat data showing brain inflammation and nothing in people. Users rate YK11 higher for size and RAD-140 for a leaner look. The original author suggested starting with RAD-140 as the less potent of the two; given its liver data, bloodwork before and after is essential either way, and stacking them adds suppression from both. Compare other options in the SARMs database and YK11 vs LGD-4033.