Various Retailers / Brands: Protein Powder Per-Gram of Protein Cost Analysis
from $0.02/gram
(May Vary By Location)
+138Deal Score
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Note: While some items listed may not be on sale currently, we are promoting these offers on the Frontpage due to strong feedback from and excellent contributions made by the community, who view this as a way to compare products and save money on a more consistent basis between stronger sales.
Various Retailers have select Protein Powders starting at 1.88 Cents per Gram of Protein. Pricing may be subject to change as determined by the manufacturer and/or retailer.
Thanks to WolfTheCat and all other community members involved in contributing to and evaluating this list.
Pricing and availability may vary in-store vs. online (where applicable) and/or by region.
A higher or lower cost-per-gram-of-protein may not be indicative of quality.
Cost Per Gram of Protein Analysis (lowest to highest):
Visit the main forum post here and consider bookmarking this page to check back for any potential future updates/additions.
WolfTheCat:"The primary metric here is cost per gram of protein, because I figure that is what you want in protein powder. I also list:
The type of protein (Whey, soy, etc...). If it is a blend, I include the first two main components in order. For example Isolate > Concentrate means the blend is primarily isolate and has some concentrate.
The size of the container, in pounds. Some people don't want 15lb containers.
The percent of protein that is Leucine, considered the most important BCAA and a metric of a quality amino acid profile.
The percent of product mass that is protein. More mass-dense proteins have fewer ingredients that you may not want, such as inert ingredients, moisture, fat, and carbs (or, in some cases, heavy metals...).
The percent of calories that is protein. This is important for folks avoiding fat and/or carbs."
*** Edited with more products, and new notes in red at the bottom***
* Products with an Amazon link assume a full 5-product S&S discount for calculations. If you aren't getting the full discount, check out this post.
This post isn't about a single deal, but more a comparison of recent SlickDeals and options from Costco, Amazon, MyProtein, and Aldi that compare well. I added Muscle Milk to have a main URL, and it's competitive, but it doesn't conclusively "win" the comparison - you should look at the other options.
(*)MyProtein has constantly revolving sales and coupons that I can't keep up with. You can usually find a 50% off coupon if you search for one online, so I based the calculations assuming you have one, but YMMV.
Notes:
The primary metric here is cost per gram of protein, because I figure that is what you want in protein powder. I also list:
The type of protein (Whey, soy, etc...). If it is a blend, I include the first two main components in order. For example Isolate > Concentrate means the blend is primarily isolate and has some concentrate.
The size of the container, in pounds. Some people don't want 15lb containers.
The percent of protein that is Leucine, considered the most important BCAA and a metric of a quality amino acid profile.
The percent of product mass that is protein. More mass-dense proteins have fewer ingredients that you may not want, such as inert ingredients, moisture, fat, and carbs (or, in some cases, heavy metals...).
The percent of calories that is protein. This is important for folks avoiding fat and/or carbs.
Stuff I don't consider, but you are free to debate in the comments:
Vegan, Non-GMO, Kosher, types of flavorings/sweeteners.
Whether the supplier is honest. The supplement industry is unregulated, and I am only comparing what they claim. That may or may not match what is actually in the product, and I have no way of knowing if they tell the truth or not.
Serving/scoop size because it is an irrelevant metric. This is normalized by giving a price per gram protein. You can adjust your servings to have as much or little protein as you want.
Extra ingredients (wanted or unwanted).
New Notes:
If you want another product considered, add a comment and add a deal so I have a link and discounted price for calculations.
If the link is to SlickDeals, I use the deal price for calculation.
I will add and remove products, and will post a comment when I do so. If you want to stay current, subscribe to this post.
Model: Muscle Milk 100% Whey Protein Powder, Chocolate, 5 Pound, 66 Servings, 25g Protein, 2g Sugar, Low in Fat, NSF Certified for Sport, Energizing Snack, Workout Recovery, Packaging May Vary
Deal History
Deal History includes data from multiple reputable stores, such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The lowest price among stores for a given day is selected as the "Sale Price".
Sale Price does not include sale prices at Amazon unless a deal was posted by a community member.
Muscle Milk 100% Whey Protein Powder, Chocolate, 5 Pound, 66 Servings, 25g Protein, 2g Sugar, Low in Fat, NSF Certified for Sport, Energizing Snack, Workout Recovery, Packaging May Vary
Manufacturer:
CYTAB
Model Number:
71954
Product SKU:
B0106ZJ27K
UPC:
660726760703
ASIN:
B0106ZJ27K
Brand:
Muscle Milk
Item Dimensions LxWxH:
12 x 5 x 16 inches
Item Weight:
5 pounds
Item model number:
71954
Manufacturer:
CYTAB
Community Wiki
Last Edited by WolfTheCat
April 4, 2024
at
07:10 AM
*** Moved to Wiki - I will try to keep this current-ish.
- Anyone can add/remove products now, but I may whomp changes when I re-copy from my spreadsheet
* Products with an Amazon link assume a full 5-product S&S discount for calculations. If you aren't getting the full discount, check out this post.
* Products with a SlickDeals link use the price shown in the deal.
[b](*)MyProtein has constantly revolving sales and coupons won't be able to keep up with. You can usually find a 50% off coupon if you search for one online, so I based the calculations assuming you have one, but YMMV.
Stuff I don't consider, but you are free to debate in the comments:
Vegan, Non-GMO, Kosher, types of flavorings/sweeteners.
Whether the supplier is honest. The supplement industry is unregulated, and I am only comparing what they claim. That may or may not match what is actually in the product, and I have no way of knowing if they tell the truth or not.
Serving/scoop size because it is an irrelevant metric. This is normalized by giving a price per gram protein. You can adjust your servings to have as much or little protein as you want.
Extra ingredients (wanted or unwanted).
If you want another product considered, add a comment and add a deal so I have a link and discounted price for calculations.
I will add and remove products, and will post a comment when I do so. If you want to stay current, subscribe to this post.
More accurate information and additional products available in this post's wiki.
Slickdeals Frontpaged this deal, which takes away my ability to edit the main post.
They also removed several of the products in the comparison and altered some of the pricing in ways that no longer make sense (for example, they changed a 50% my protein coupon to a 35% coupon, but didn't change the per-gram price, making the math wrong).
I have put the original post in the wiki, where I (or anyone else) can edit it.
More accurate information and additional products available in this post's wiki.
My favorite, being an obligate carnivore, but didn't include on list because it isn't a protein powder.
Thanksgiving Turkey. An 18lb bird, 59c/lb near thanksgiving, with about 7lb yield after roasting:
- 1.23c per gram of protein
- $10.62 for 7lb of meat
- 53% of calories from protein
- 27.3% of edible mass from protein
- 6.7% of protein is Leucine
I have ten of these in my freezer outside.
It's a sad day in August when you run out of Thanksgiving turkey.
More accurate information and additional products available in this post's wiki.
Cost is not the only important thing. Some powders may have more value to you for various reasons that are not considered in this analysis, such as merchant reputability, additional ingredients like Creatine, how well it dissolves, how good it tastes, GMO, Vegan, Kosher, etc... Feel free to discuss all that here in the comments.
As an example, I think Muscle Milk is competitive. It's not the cheapest in cost/g, but it's a major brand sold at stores, probably more reputable, and is primarily whey isolate, but I am suspicious of it's low percentage protein (in both calories and mass), making me think it has a lot of extra stuff that you may not want/need.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
It's the companies internal process because their name is on the line.
They test on supplements as well.
A good company will ensure they meet the right metrics for consumption.
You can debate me all day but I've had hours of discussion around this.
You'll find reputable brands such as Isopure more than likely have strict measures in place vs a no name protein dealer on Amazon.
Also lawsuits. Some supplement companies have lost court cases against professional athletes after their product was found to be contaminated with PEDs. I have no idea how successful they were at collecting anything they were awarded, though.
Good luck trying to find a Whey Protein Isolate, that's unsweetened, that doesn't contain any extra ingredients, is third party tested, NSF-certified, & isn't pricey.
As much as whey costs now & with how many people purchase it, it makes me wonder why one of the large food manufacturing companies that sells cheese hasn't tried selling whey. I imagine a lot of people would buy it just on the idea that it is cleaner/safer than buying from a supplement company.
It's the companies internal process because their name is on the line.
You'll find reputable brands such as Isopure more than likely have strict measures in place vs a no name protein dealer on Amazon.
I'm not confident keeping a good name is a strong enough motivator for corporations.
American corporate history very clearly indicates that when a major corporation or government is given a choice of maximizing short-term gain vs. a possibility of consequences at some point in the future, they are very likely to pick the short-term profit.
- Current (and historic) Boeing safety issues
- VW Diesel emissions cheating
- Lehman Brothers - Subprime lending meltdown
- Savings and Loan meltdown
- US Government debt/deficit
- Recent regional bank failures
- Enron scandal
- Space shuttle Challenger disaster
- Halliburton/BP Deepwater Horizon construction issues
- Apple slowing older devices to sell new ones
- Facebook/Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal
Do you think Isopure cares about their good name more than Lehman Brothers, VW, Apple, Enron, or BP did?
I'm not confident keeping a good name is a strong enough motivator for corporations.
American corporate history very clearly indicates that when a major corporation is given a choice of maximizing short-term profit vs. a possibility of consequences at some point in the future, they are very likely to pick the short-term profit.
- Current (and historic) Boeing safety issues
- VW Diesel emissions cheating
- Lehman Brothers - Subprime lending meltdown
- Savings and Loan meltdown
- US Government debt/deficit
- Recent regional bank failures
- Enron scandal
- Space shuttle Challenger disaster
- Halliburton/BP Deepwater Horizon construction issues
- Apple slowing older devices to sell new ones
- Facebook/Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal
Do you think Isopure cares about their good name more than Lehman Brothers, VW, Apple, Enron, or BP did?
Some of these links are broken. For example
3.34¢/g Protein - Isopure Whey Isolate -- doesn't take you to an Isopure protein
3.02¢/g Protein - MyProtein Impact Whey Isolate(*) -- doesn't take you to a MyProtein protein
I did decide to try MyProtein Casein. Never tried the MyProtein brand, hope it's good.
So I typically buy in 5lb tubs. My latest purchase was a unflavored isolate. The only ingredient is isolate. I paid 73$ I think. I look at the label it has 75 servings with a 29g scoop, 27g of protein per serving. I was curious and looked at that bulk 15lb box that was listed here. Why is each bag 5lbs and only 45 servings per bag with the same scoop?
More accurate information and additional products available in this post's wiki.
Quote
from BobbyBrown32
:
Some of these links are broken. For example
3.34¢/g Protein - Isopure Whey Isolate -- doesn't take you to an Isopure protein
3.02¢/g Protein - MyProtein Impact Whey Isolate(*) -- doesn't take you to a MyProtein protein
I did decide to try MyProtein Casein. Never tried the MyProtein brand, hope it's good.
Thank you for letting me know. I just audited all the links and made a couple changes in the wiki. Hopefully that fixes the issue for you - all the links currently work for me.
More accurate information and additional products available in this post's wiki.
Quote
from vgvgdb
:
So I typically buy in 5lb tubs. My latest purchase was a unflavored isolate. The only ingredient is isolate. I paid 73$ I think. I look at the label it has 75 servings with a 30g scoop, 28g of protein per serving. I was curious and looked at that bulk 15lb box that was listed here. Why is each bag 5lbs and only 45 servings per bag with the same scoop?
That would be a question for New World Nutritionals.
Clearly:
30g x 45 servings = 1350g or 2.98lb.
The nutrition facts screenshot does not match the 15lb product they are selling on eBay.
That really cheap pea protein is no joke, even at $35 in florida, which is $7 more than posted. People are generally turned off by pea protein, but that's because it makes for a terrible shake. Pea protein really shines as an addition to savory dishes. It is beneficial that it is unflavored, as it will make a great protein booster to things like brothy soups. Really a fantastic deal.
That really cheap pea protein is no joke, even at $35 in florida, which is $7 more than posted. People are generally turned off by pea protein, but that's because it makes for a terrible shake. Pea protein really shines as an addition to savory dishes. It is beneficial that it is unflavored, as it will make a great protein booster to things like brothy soups. Really a fantastic deal.
Why does it make for a terrible shake? Does it not blend well or have a strong taste?
So I typically buy in 5lb tubs. My latest purchase was a unflavored isolate. The only ingredient is isolate. I paid 73$ I think. I look at the label it has 75 servings with a 29g scoop, 27g of protein per serving. I was curious and looked at that bulk 15lb box that was listed here. Why is each bag 5lbs and only 45 servings per bag with the same scoop?
Why does it make for a terrible shake? Does it not blend well or have a strong taste?
Because it's made of peas man. If you've ever had those hard roasted chickpeas, that's what pea protein powder tastes like. Now add artificial flavoring and sweetener, and it will almost always be disgusting. Unflavored is the only way to make pea protein powder palatable. Whey (and casein) fundamentally taste like dairy, so they work well as a quick shake, though casein less so because of its somewhat off putting texture.
I just got the powder, added it to chili and if you didn't tell people, they would just think it was chili. It makes a lot of sense in bean/savory dishes. I added it to a soup as well, just made it taste a little bean-y. Great way to get a little extra protein in your diet.
I tried the Unflavored Orgain Organic Pea Protein from Costco and it is blech imo. However, my partner thinks its fine. I'll try mixing it into some meals as suggested
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Slickdeals Frontpaged this deal, which takes away my ability to edit the main post.
They also removed several of the products in the comparison and altered some of the pricing in ways that no longer make sense (for example, they changed a 50% my protein coupon to a 35% coupon, but didn't change the per-gram price, making the math wrong).
I have put the original post in the wiki, where I (or anyone else) can edit it.
My favorite, being an obligate carnivore, but didn't include on list because it isn't a protein powder.
Thanksgiving Turkey. An 18lb bird, 59c/lb near thanksgiving, with about 7lb yield after roasting:
- 1.23c per gram of protein
- $10.62 for 7lb of meat
- 53% of calories from protein
- 27.3% of edible mass from protein
- 6.7% of protein is Leucine
I have ten of these in my freezer outside.
It's a sad day in August when you run out of Thanksgiving turkey.
Cost is not the only important thing. Some powders may have more value to you for various reasons that are not considered in this analysis, such as merchant reputability, additional ingredients like Creatine, how well it dissolves, how good it tastes, GMO, Vegan, Kosher, etc... Feel free to discuss all that here in the comments.
As an example, I think Muscle Milk is competitive. It's not the cheapest in cost/g, but it's a major brand sold at stores, probably more reputable, and is primarily whey isolate, but I am suspicious of it's low percentage protein (in both calories and mass), making me think it has a lot of extra stuff that you may not want/need.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
And, why would I trust independent testing paid for by the manufacturers being tested?
It's the companies internal process because their name is on the line.
They test on supplements as well.
A good company will ensure they meet the right metrics for consumption.
You can debate me all day but I've had hours of discussion around this.
You'll find reputable brands such as Isopure more than likely have strict measures in place vs a no name protein dealer on Amazon.
They test on supplements as well.
A good company will ensure they meet the right metrics for consumption.
You can debate me all day but I've had hours of discussion around this.
You'll find reputable brands such as Isopure more than likely have strict measures in place vs a no name protein dealer on Amazon.
Good luck trying to find a Whey Protein Isolate, that's unsweetened, that doesn't contain any extra ingredients, is third party tested, NSF-certified, & isn't pricey.
As much as whey costs now & with how many people purchase it, it makes me wonder why one of the large food manufacturing companies that sells cheese hasn't tried selling whey. I imagine a lot of people would buy it just on the idea that it is cleaner/safer than buying from a supplement company.
You'll find reputable brands such as Isopure more than likely have strict measures in place vs a no name protein dealer on Amazon.
American corporate history very clearly indicates that when a major corporation or government is given a choice of maximizing short-term gain vs. a possibility of consequences at some point in the future, they are very likely to pick the short-term profit.
- Current (and historic) Boeing safety issues
- VW Diesel emissions cheating
- Lehman Brothers - Subprime lending meltdown
- Savings and Loan meltdown
- US Government debt/deficit
- Recent regional bank failures
- Enron scandal
- Space shuttle Challenger disaster
- Halliburton/BP Deepwater Horizon construction issues
- Apple slowing older devices to sell new ones
- Facebook/Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal
Do you think Isopure cares about their good name more than Lehman Brothers, VW, Apple, Enron, or BP did?
American corporate history very clearly indicates that when a major corporation is given a choice of maximizing short-term profit vs. a possibility of consequences at some point in the future, they are very likely to pick the short-term profit.
- Current (and historic) Boeing safety issues
- VW Diesel emissions cheating
- Lehman Brothers - Subprime lending meltdown
- Savings and Loan meltdown
- US Government debt/deficit
- Recent regional bank failures
- Enron scandal
- Space shuttle Challenger disaster
- Halliburton/BP Deepwater Horizon construction issues
- Apple slowing older devices to sell new ones
- Facebook/Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal
Do you think Isopure cares about their good name more than Lehman Brothers, VW, Apple, Enron, or BP did?
Very good points
3.34¢/g Protein - Isopure Whey Isolate -- doesn't take you to an Isopure protein
3.02¢/g Protein - MyProtein Impact Whey Isolate(*) -- doesn't take you to a MyProtein protein
I did decide to try MyProtein Casein. Never tried the MyProtein brand, hope it's good.
3.34¢/g Protein - Isopure Whey Isolate -- doesn't take you to an Isopure protein
3.02¢/g Protein - MyProtein Impact Whey Isolate(*) -- doesn't take you to a MyProtein protein
I did decide to try MyProtein Casein. Never tried the MyProtein brand, hope it's good.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Clearly:
30g x 45 servings = 1350g or 2.98lb.
The nutrition facts screenshot does not match the 15lb product they are selling on eBay.
My best guess is that since they sell 3lb packages on their website here:
https://bestbulkwheypro
They may have used a screenshot from their 3lb package on eBay instead of one from their 15lb package.
Added this deal to wiki:
I removed a bunch of expired deals, and altered a price or two with new information, and added some new vendors in this post's wiki..
Why does it make for a terrible shake? Does it not blend well or have a strong taste?
It is a 3 lbs bag and you get 5 for the 15 lbs
I just got the powder, added it to chili and if you didn't tell people, they would just think it was chili. It makes a lot of sense in bean/savory dishes. I added it to a soup as well, just made it taste a little bean-y. Great way to get a little extra protein in your diet.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.