Plant protein vs whey protein: which costs less per 25 g of protein?
On what 25 g of protein costs, the cheapest packages in the two categories are $0.08 apart. The cheapest plant protein we track is BulkSupplements.com Pea Protein Powder (1 kg) at $1.41; the cheapest whey is MuscleTech Nitro Tech 100% Whey Gold, Double Rich Chocolate (5 lb) at $1.33. Both before delivery.
The two categories are priced the same way, on the grams of protein each panel prints per serving against the price, so these figures sit on one scale. The cheapest and the most expensive in each are the ends of the range; every package between them is on the two ranking pages linked below. Counts are packages with a current price, so a package that is out of stock today drops out until it is priced again.
| Category | Packages with a price | Cheapest per 25 g | Most expensive | Of those, named at package |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant protein | 17 | $1.41 | $8.32 | 8 |
| Whey protein | 29 | $1.33 | $4.08 | 6 |
What this does not compare
Protein quality, amino acid profile, digestion, allergens, taste and what goes into a scoop besides protein. None of that is measured here, and the price of 25 g of protein says nothing about it. “Named at package” counts products whose exact package a certifier names in its public database, which is the same rule every page here uses.
The full rankings are cheapest plant protein per 25 g and cheapest whey per 25 g.
Where to buy: the plant protein shortlist
The pick is the cheapest certified product, at the exact package sold where the certifier names packages, with no adverse finding on record, a price its retailer let us read recently, and no more than a year’s supply at the label’s serving; per delivered dose where the retailer publishes a delivery rate. Where none does, it is the cheapest such product before delivery, and it says how far the order is from free delivery. It is the same pick the category page shows. Any answer shown beside it is the cheapest under a different rule and says so on its own line; answers that cost more than the pick fold under one line until you ask for them.
How these lines are chosen
Among 21 products and 21 retailer listings we track; Amazon and Walmart are not included. A month is thirty doses of the size in the heading, priced the same way as the per-dose figure beside it. “Delivery known” ranks only products whose retailer publishes a delivery rate; a cheaper product with an unpublished rate is on its own line, or in the full list below.
Full comparison of every product in this category: Plant Protein. Every question we answer: the question index.
What this rests on: prices we last recorded at the retailer named on each product page, which go stale, and each page says when it was checked; the products we track, not every product sold, and Amazon and Walmart are not among the stores; listings and labels read at the source, each linked from the page. Found an error? Tell us. The full method: How we compare.