The protein powder guide: what’s actually in the scoop

A protein powder is a convenience food. That’s all it is, and that’s plenty. It won’t do anything a chicken breast can’t, but it will do it in fifteen seconds at 6 a.m. with no cooking. The only questions worth asking are how much protein you actually get, what else comes with it, and what it costs per gram of protein.

The front of the tub won’t answer any of those. The Supplement Facts panel on the back will. We collected that panel for 17 popular powders from each brand’s own site on September 27, 2026. Here they are, side by side.

The label data

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

How to read a protein label in thirty seconds

1. Protein per scoop, then scoop size

Protein per scoop in our set runs from 19 g to 30 g, but scoop sizes run from 25 g to 46 g of powder. A bigger scoop isn’t a better scoop; it may just mean more of something else. Divide protein by scoop weight and you get protein by weight: the share of the powder that is actually protein.

For example, Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate (Milk Chocolate) is 85% protein by weight (28 g in a 33 g scoop). Orgain Organic Protein Plant-Based Protein Powder (Creamy Chocolate Fudge) is 46% (21 g in 46 g). Neither number is “good” or “bad” on its own; the second has more room for carbs, fiber and flavor. But it tells you what you’re paying for.

2. Protein per 100 calories

If you’re cutting, calories are the budget. Protein per 100 kcal tells you how efficiently a powder spends it. At the top of our table, Garden of Life SPORT Organic Plant-Based Protein (Chocolate) lists 30 g of protein for 90 kcal. Dymatize ISO100 Hydrolyzed (Gourmet Chocolate) lists 25 g for 120 kcal. Further down, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey (Double Rich Chocolate) lists 24 g for 130 kcal. All three are reasonable. The differences add up if you drink two a day.

One caution on that top row: 30 g of protein alone works out to roughly 120 kcal, more than the 90 kcal on the label. Plant-protein labels often count fiber and other ingredients differently, so a label can legitimately look off, but we mark any powder whose calories and macros disagree by more than 15% with a † in the table (Orgain, Garden of Life) rather than quietly “correct” it.

3. Isolate, blend or plant

• Whey isolate (11 of our 17): whey filtered further to strip out most of the carbs and fat. Usually the highest protein by weight.
• Whey blend (4 of 17): a mix of whey concentrate and isolate. A little more carb and fat per scoop, and often cheaper.
• Plant (2 of 17): pea, rice and similar proteins. Bigger scoops, and the flavor and texture vary more between brands than whey does.

4. Flavor changes the label

This one catches people. The same product in two flavors can have two different labels. MyProtein Impact Whey Protein (Unflavored) lists 19 g of protein; MyProtein Impact Whey Protein (Chocolate Smooth) lists 19 g too, but with different carbs and fat. Some brands differ by more than that. If you switch flavors, re-read the panel.

5. Blanks are honest

Two rows in our table say “not listed”. For Naked Whey chocolate and Momentous, we couldn’t confirm every figure from a label the brand itself publishes, so we left the cell blank rather than fill it from a guess. You’ll see that rule throughout this site.

What 25 g of protein actually costs

Price per tub is a useless comparison: tubs differ in size, scoops differ in size, and protein per scoop differs too. The number that lets you compare anything with anything is cost per 25 g of protein:

servings = container weight (g) ÷ scoop weight (g) protein in the tub = servings × protein per scoop (g) cost per 25 g protein = price ÷ protein in the tub × 25

We haven’t printed prices here on purpose. Our label data doesn’t include them, and supplement prices change weekly with sales, sizes and subscriptions. A number from last month is worse than no number. Instead, the protein cost tool has all 17 labels built in: type the price you’re looking at and the tub size, and it does the math. It also has a row for any powder that isn’t on our list: copy three numbers off the label and you get the same answer.

Use the same number for food. A delivery meal, a pack of chicken and a tub of whey can all be compared on cost per 25 g of protein. The meal prep vs delivery guide does exactly that.

What I use

For what it’s worth, I like True Nutrition and Professional Muscle. Neither is in the table above yet, because we haven’t collected their labels to the same standard. When we do, they’ll be held to exactly the same rules as everyone else. Professional Muscle also stocks other brands, Isopure among them, and Isopure’s Zero Carb whey is in the table: 25 g of protein for 110 kcal in a 30 g scoop.

Liking a brand isn’t a ranking. The table is sorted by a number, not by who we like, and that’s a rule.

How much protein, and when

The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s position stand puts daily protein for most people who exercise at roughly 1.4 to 2.0 g per kilogram of bodyweight, spread across the day. Powder is just one way to fill the gap between what your meals give you and that target. It isn’t a requirement, and it isn’t better than food.

If you don’t know your target, start with the macro calculator, which lets you set protein in g/kg and shows the formula it uses. Built and Shaped set your macros, protein included, from a real TDEE calculation adjusted by your measured burn.

Buying checklist

1. Read the Supplement Facts panel for the flavor you’re buying, not the product page headline.
2. Work out protein by weight and protein per 100 kcal. Two divisions, and both are in the table above.
3. Compare on cost per 25 g of protein, never on tub price.
4. If you compete in a tested sport, look for a third-party testing mark such as NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport on the specific product, and check it on the certifier’s own site.
5. Buy the one you’ll actually drink. The best label in the world does nothing in the back of a cupboard.