Compare Protein Powders

18 ranked products · Two to 4 at a time · Updated 17 Sept 2026

Pick any two to four of the 18 ranked protein powders and read them side by side. This page opens on the board's top 3, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate and Thorne Whey Protein Isolate.

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Protein Powders compared side by side. Each column is one product, each row is one measure taken from the same research that built the board.
Measure	Optimum Nutrition Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey	Transparent Labs Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate	Thorne Thorne Whey Protein Isolate	Nutricost Nutricost Whey Protein Concentrate Powder	Legion Legion Whey+	Dymatize Dymatize ISO-100	Momentous Momentous Whey Protein Isolate	NOW Foods NOW Foods Whey Protein (Creamy Chocolate)	Naked Nutrition Naked Whey	Swolverine Swolverine Plant Protein	Orgain Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder	Equate Equate Whey Protein Powder	Ascent Ascent Clear Whey Protein Powder	Factor Form Factor Form Whey Protein	Sprout Living Sprout Living Epic Protein Vanilla Lucuma	BioSteel BioSteel Vanilla Whey Protein	Truvani Truvani Plant Based Protein Powder	Premier Protein Premier Protein Powder
Tier	S	S	A	A	A	B	B	B	C	C	C	C	C	C	D	D	F	F
Rank on this board	1 of 18	2 of 18	3 of 18	4 of 18	5 of 18	6 of 18	7 of 18	8 of 18	9 of 18	10 of 18	11 of 18	12 of 18	13 of 18	14 of 18	15 of 18	16 of 18	17 of 18	18 of 18
Ladder points	1356 LP	1049 LP	742 LP	717 LP	645 LP	607 LP	579 LP	546 LP	459 LP	447 LP	445 LP	421 LP	409 LP	382 LP	307 LP	257 LP	206 LP	73 LP
Our verdict	Not unsafe, just outclassed: a concentrate blend trading on fifteen-year-old goodwill while isolates beat it on every ownership metric. It still sweeps legacy roundups, but community sentiment has shifted against it.	The consensus best protein powder of the current cycle: Labdoor-verified label accuracy, an 88% protein-by-weight ratio, flawless mixability, and the same clean formula year after year. The safest tub to own for a decade.	A certification-first brand whose reputation rests entirely on consistency, with NSF certification and clinical-grade manufacturing. Tastes good enough that you will actually finish the tub.	The honest budget tub: clean, simple, mixes fine, and the community's designated alternative to overpriced brands. Ownership value nobody else on this board matches.	Batch-tested, no artificial sweeteners, and a perfect score from Fortune's dietitians. Slightly thinner evidence base than the top two, but the same ownership philosophy.	A pure isolate with a long, quiet record of mixing instantly and digesting easily. Uncited this cycle, but its multi-year mainstream standing earns the slot.	Batch-certified for sport, which is the gold-standard ownership guarantee. Uncited this cycle, ranked on the strength of that verification model.	The no-drama legacy tub from a company that does not reformulate. Uncited this cycle, kept for its exceptional stability.	Outstanding ingredient simplicity and third-party certification, held back by a low protein-by-weight ratio and an unflavored taste many owners bail on.	Two major outlets call it the best vegan powder and back it with testing claims, so you pay up from Orgain and here the product earns it. It ranks just behind Orgain under this lens because Orgain delivers a comparable experience for less money.	The plant-based and budget slot. Formula-stable and widely available, but a blend with a middling protein-per-scoop ratio.	The purest expression of the value lens. Consumer Reports found low lead levels in its tests, and budget-comparison coverage treats it as the benchmark store-brand whey that pricier tubs have to beat. It delivers the core whey experience for the least money on the board, which is why it takes the top spot.	A legit top-pick listing from Steady Athlete and the best entry into clear whey, a fast-growing niche for people who hate milky shakes. It ranks last among the picks only because its value case is thinner than the others, not because the product fails.	The best-tasting and most travel-friendly of the well-sourced picks, from a younger brand with a shorter track record.	The taste winner among vegan powders per Health.com's dietitian testing, but it is priced as a premium product, which keeps it out of the top tier under this lens. Buy it for enjoyment, not value.	Clean sports whey with an expert-list slot and no boutique markup. Slightly less proven than the top four, hence the position.	The most aggressively marketed premium plant protein examined, and it landed in Consumer Reports' heavy metal lead testing. Boutique pricing plus regulatory-adjacent scrutiny with no compensating test results places it last on the board.	Low lead per Consumer Reports and huge availability, but the formulation leans on sucralose and the brand's position rests on marketing reach, not testing discipline. Buy Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey instead.
What reviewers rate	Still named Best Overall in Wired's 2026 guide and given a 5-star rating as best whey by Forbes Health Widely available and heavily cross-shopped Named Best Overall after three years of Wired testing TreeLine Review awarded it Best Overall for clean ingredients and excellent mixability	Fully dissolves within about a minute with no clumping Third-party lab testing found protein content matching the label claim almost exactly High protein-by-weight ratio Multi-year track record of the same formula	Named the best whey protein powder overall in Bon Appétit's taste-tested guide Built around NSF certification and clinical-grade manufacturing Brand reputation rests on what is in the tub staying consistent One of the few brands with NSF certification for sport	One of the cheapest clean protein options per serving Simple formula with no gimmicks, stable over years Easier on the gut and the wallet than most rivals Held up by community users as the honest alternative to overpriced powders	Third-party batch testing on every lot No artificial sweeteners Scored 5 out of 5 in Fortune's RD-tested guide Rated a perfect 5 out of 5 in Fortune's testing	Pure isolate with a years-long reputation for mixing instantly Digests easily in daily use Long-established mainstream product buyers genuinely cross-shop Long-standing isolate with a strong reputation among everyday users	NSF Certified for Sport testing on every batch Stable formula with the strongest long-term ownership signal in the category Athlete-grade quality Healthline's pick for best overall protein powder for building muscle	Decades-old supplement house with in-house testing infrastructure Formula does not get quietly reformulated A tub you can buy for years without the formula moving under you Named Best Chocolate protein powder in a registered-dietitian roundup	Simple, short ingredient list Third-party certification Named a top pick by Verywell Fit and best overall by Yahoo Health Single-ingredient whey with a grass-fed sourcing story	Men's Journal named it the best vegan protein powder Delivers 25 grams of protein per scoop with no chalky aftertaste Fortune named it best overall vegan for packing a lot into a lean serving Garage Gym Reviews highlights its third-party testing and popular flavors	Named Best Budget pick in Health.com's tested organic guide Formula-stable for years and widely available Rare vegan blend that avoids the heavy-metal red flags hitting pea-and-rice-heavy competitors Steady Athlete's 2026 roundup made it Editor's Choice	Consumer Reports testing showed low levels of lead Mixes and tastes fine as a basic whey Widely treated as the benchmark store-brand whey that pricier tubs must beat Delivers the core whey experience at the lowest cost on the shelf	Listed in Steady Athlete's 2026 top picks Clear whey format suits people who dislike milky shakes Part of the category's fastest-growing niche 26 grams of protein per serving	Named the best whey for travel in Bon Appétit's taste-tested guide Singled out from a crowded field on flavor and format Delivers an impressive 25 grams of protein per serving Bon Appetit praises its chocolate and vanilla flavors	Scored some of the highest taste ratings of any vegan powder in Health.com's dietitian testing Mixes well with water alone Recommended as the alternative to the overpriced vegan trap in this category Rated among the best-tasting vegan powders by Health.com and Verywell Fit	Clean, sports-focused whey Named a top pick on a dietitian-rounded list Stays well inside mainstream whey pricing Listed among a registered dietitian's top protein powder picks	Organic formula Plant-based, vegan-friendly protein blend Health.com's top organic plant protein Consumer Reports' follow-up lead testing found it among the powders with satisfactorily low lead levels	Named among Forbes' best powders of 2026 Consumer Reports found its lead levels low Hugely available to supermarket shoppers One of the low-lead products in Consumer Reports' 28-product test
Where it falls short	A concentrate blend with artificial sweeteners Protein-by-weight ratio well below the isolates it competes against Community sentiment has turned: top user sentiment in a popular thread is no longer buying it Sold on goodwill built up over fifteen years rather than current formula quality	Costs a clear premium over basic concentrates Premium pricing buys grass-fed branding, not measurably better protein Charges isolate-plus-brand prices Track record is measured in years rather than decades	Not the cheapest isolate available Narrower range and availability than the leaders Wellness-brand pricing on an isolate that performs identically to cheaper rivals Premium tag buys only a marginal edge over value alternatives	Flavor polish lags behind better-known brands Goes bad fast, with poor quality control reported by users Only a middling Amazon rating Clumps unless shaken hard	Slightly narrower flavor range than the category leader Fewer outlets cover it than the leaders, so the long-term record is thinner	Ranked behind Transparent Labs by every current specialist panel that tests isolates head to head	Price per serving above two dollars, recently discounted from even higher Serving cost several times the value picks Pushed hardest by its own marketing Costs more than comparable isolates that deliver a very similar experience	Slightly less flavor polish than the top-ranked whey	Protein-by-weight is only around 72% of the scoop per user analysis Unflavored version has a genuinely polarizing taste some owners abandon entirely Only around 72 percent protein by scoop weight, which reviewers call not great Unflavored version is marked not recommended on taste by Reddit owners	Costs more than the default value vegan options	A blend with a middling protein-per-scoop ratio Lower protein density per serving than the wheys above it Plant-based formulas as a class carried higher heavy-metal readings in current lab testing Not among the powders Consumer Reports cleared for low lead, and its pea-and-rice protein base is the type that skewed high in lead in independent testing	Basic store-brand formulation with no specialty processing or premium ingredients Store-brand formula with opaque sourcing No third-party sport certification Okay is the ceiling for flavor and quality	Thinner value case than standard whey powders Clear whey's juice-like format is a niche taste Clear whey is a niche use case Slightly worse raw value than the tubs above it	Newer brand with a shorter long-term record than the names above it Newer direct-to-consumer brand with a shorter track record	Priced as a premium product rather than a value buy Boutique brand with less ownership history than the names above it Only 20g of protein per serving, one of the lowest protein densities in the category Premium artisan price for the protein it delivers	Slightly less proven than the top-ranked picks The brand went through creditor protection and changed hands Multi-year record of supply gaps and support uncertainty EatingWell's tasters found the vanilla and chocolate did not deliver	Came under Consumer Reports heavy metal testing in its lead investigation Charges boutique prices carried largely by purity imagery and celebrity positioning Plant-based buyers have better-reviewed options in Swolverine and Orgain Expensive for a modest protein yield	Sweetened heavily with sucralose Swept into the viral social media avoid controversy Identity rests on marketing reach rather than formulation quality Flavor is artificial-adjacent
Evidence behind it	50 sources across 40 outlets	13 sources across 10 outlets	4 sources across 4 outlets	9 sources across 8 outlets	21 sources across 18 outlets	32 sources across 29 outlets	4 sources across 4 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	23 sources across 19 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	9 sources across 9 outlets	3 sources across 2 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	2 sources across 2 outlets	8 sources across 7 outlets
Flagged as one to avoid	1 of 15 research runs	1 of 15 research runs	1 of 15 research runs	2 of 8 research runs	Not flagged	1 of 6 research runs	1 of 7 research runs	Not flagged	2 of 15 research runs	Not flagged	Not flagged	1 of 4 research runs	Not flagged	Not flagged	1 of 4 research runs	2 of 4 research runs	3 of 7 research runs	4 of 6 research runs
Announced	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded
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Every column is the same research that built the board. Nothing here is a specification sheet copied from a maker. Read how we rank for what a tier and a ladder point mean.