The Best Protein Powder of 2026
The best protein powder for most people is Naked Whey: 25 g of protein a scoop for $1.84 per 25 g on Amazon. Its only ingredient is whey, with no sweetener or flavor, and it is on the Informed Choice testing list.
By Erin Rose Updated October 20, 2026 How we score
Our pick for: Most people
- Protein
- 25 g a scoopWhey concentrate, the only ingredient
- Per 25 g of protein
- $1.84Amazon price
- A tub
- $139.995 lb, 76 servings on Amazon
- Testing list
- Informed ChoiceTested for banned substances
- Flavor
- NoneUnflavored, so it mixes into food
- Sweetened with
- NothingNo sweetener, flavor or color added
Why we pick it The only ingredient is whey protein concentrate, which the brand says comes from grass-fed cows. Nothing is added. Informed Choice tests store-bought samples of it for drugs banned in sport. One scoop gives 25 g of protein for 120 calories.
What you give up It has no flavor, so it is best in a smoothie, oatmeal or coffee. As a whey concentrate, it has a little lactose. If you want flavor, see the flavored whey below.
The best protein powder for your needs
Naked Whey suits most people. If one of these matters more to you, buy the powder made for it. Each one is on a testing list.
Best whey isolate: BulkSupplements Whey Protein Isolate
It is all whey isolate, filtered so more of each scoop is protein, and it is on NSF Certified for Sport, which tests for drugs banned in sport. It is unflavored and has nothing added. It costs about 15% less than Naked Whey per 25 g tonight. More in the best whey isolate.
BulkSupplements Whey Protein Isolate
$1.57 per 25 g · 25 g a scoop · NSF Certified for Sport
Easiest on the stomach: Dymatize ISO100
It is hydrolyzed whey isolate: filtered to remove most of the lactose and partly broken down. If regular whey upsets your stomach, try this one first. It is on Informed Choice. It costs about 15% more than Naked Whey per 25 g.
Dymatize ISO100
$2.12 per 25 g · 25 g a scoop · Informed Choice
Best plant-based protein powder: Vega Performance Protein
It is made from pea, pumpkin seed and sunflower seed protein, with no milk. Vega is the only plant powder here on NSF/ANSI 173, a test that sets limits for lead and other metals. Like most plant powders, it carries more lead than whey, so Consumer Reports suggested 3 to 4 scoops a week. See every plant powder on a testing list.
Vega Performance Protein
$1.79 per 25 g · 30 g a scoop · NSF Certified for Sport
Lower cost, with flavor: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard
It costs about 19% less than Naked Whey per 25 g tonight. It is flavored (we price Double Rich Chocolate) and sweetened with ace-K, a no-calorie sweetener. It is on Informed Choice. In Consumer Reports’ 2025 lead test of 23 protein powders and shakes, only 4 had less lead.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard
$1.49 per 25 g · 24 g a scoop · Informed Choice
Protein powder for weight loss or GLP-1 drugs
Use a powder with 20 g of protein or more and about 120 calories a scoop, in place of a snack. Naked Whey fits, at 120 calories a scoop. Protein helps you keep muscle while you lose weight, and that matters more on Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound (Mozaffarian 2025). See protein on GLP-1 drugs, or the best protein shakes if a bottle is easier on days you can’t eat much. Counting calories? See the best low-calorie protein powder.
How to choose a protein powder
Get 20 to 30 g of protein a scoop
In young men, about 20 g of protein after a workout built muscle as well as 40 g did (Moore 2009). Older adults need more at one time, about 30 g (Moore 2015). Every powder in the table below gives 21 to 30 g a scoop.
On a budget? Compare the cost of 25 g of protein, not the tub
Tubs differ in scoop size and protein a scoop, so a cheap tub can cost more per gram. The table below does the math for you. Bigger tubs nearly always cost less per scoop.
Buy one on a testing list
Protein powder is not checked by the FDA before it is sold. A testing list is the easiest way to know someone outside the brand checked it. Informed Choice and Informed Sport test for drugs banned in sport. NSF Certified for Sport does that and also checks the label. NSF/ANSI 173 checks the label and sets limits for metals. If you are drug-tested for sport, buy a tub on Informed Sport or NSF Certified for Sport, such as BulkSupplements Whey Protein Isolate. See which protein powders are third-party tested.
Whey or plant
Plant protein builds muscle almost as well as whey, and strength gains are the same (Reid-McCann 2025). Choose plant if you avoid milk, and pick one with 30 g a scoop to make up the small gap.
Is protein powder safe?
For healthy adults, yes. Two things are worth knowing.
Lead
Consumer Reports tested 23 protein powders and shakes in 2025. Plant powders had about 9 times as much lead as dairy ones on average. Gold Standard was among the lowest: Consumer Reports said 1 to 2 scoops a day is fine. Consumer Reports did not test Naked Whey. Consumer Reports tested Vega under its old name (Vega Sport Premium Protein) and said 3 to 4 scoops a week. A 2025 Clean Label Project study of 160 powders found the same pattern. 77% of plant powders were over California’s Prop 65 warning level for lead, against 28% of whey powders.
Kidneys
If you have kidney disease, ask your doctor before adding protein powder. Extra protein can be a problem when the kidneys are already weak.
8 protein powders compared
These 8 powders from 7 brands are each on at least one testing list. Our pick is first, then the rest from cheapest to dearest per 25 g of protein. Some prices include an Amazon deal that day, so that order can change. For more powders, see protein powder prices.
| Powder | Cost per 25 g of protein | Why it is or is not a pick |
|---|---|---|
| Naked Whey25 g a scoop · Informed Choice | $1.84 | Our pick: one ingredient, no sweetener, on Informed Choice |
| Naked Pea27 g a scoop · Informed Choice | $0.71 | Lowest-cost plant protein here, unflavored, pea only; Vega has stricter testing for lead |
| MusclePharm Combat25 g a scoop · Informed Sport | $1.35 | Blend of five proteins, including whey and egg; on Informed Sport; $0.50 less per 25 g than our pick |
| Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard24 g a scoop · Informed Choice | $1.49 | Flavored whey blend, low in lead; $0.35 less per 25 g than our pick |
| BulkSupplements Whey Protein Isolate25 g a scoop · NSF Certified for Sport | $1.57 | Unflavored whey isolate, nothing added; NSF Certified for Sport; $0.27 less per 25 g than our pick |
| Vega Performance Protein30 g a scoop · NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Choice, NSF/ANSI 173 | $1.79 | Best plant: the only plant powder here on NSF/ANSI 173 |
| Dymatize ISO10025 g a scoop · Informed Choice | $2.12 | Easiest on the stomach: hydrolyzed isolate; $0.28 more per 25 g than our pick |
| Thorne Whey Protein Isolate21 g a scoop · NSF Certified for Sport, NSF/ANSI 173 | $2.58 | Isolate on NSF Certified for Sport, only 21 g a scoop; $0.74 more per 25 g than our pick |
Questions people ask
How much protein powder should I take a day?
One or two scoops is plenty for most people. Powder fills a gap; most of your protein should still come from food. Muscle gains from extra protein level off at about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, about 110 g for a 150 lb person (Morton 2018). Work out your own number.
Is there a protein powder made for women?
Women can use the same powders as men. Some pink “for women” tubs give less protein a scoop. Protein powder for women.
Is a protein shake in a bottle better than powder?
Not better, just easier. A bottle needs no shaker and travels well, but powder usually costs less per gram of protein. Our pick for a bottle is Premier Protein; see the best ready-to-drink protein shakes.
How we picked
We left out powders on no testing list, ready-to-drink shakes (they have their own page) and tubs Amazon cannot sell today, such as Ascent’s 4 lb bag. For the rest, we checked 5 testing lists for 23 protein powders sold on Amazon, worked out what 25 g of protein costs in each tub and read Consumer Reports’ 2025 lead results. How much protein you need and which kind to buy are in our protein guide. Our pick is unflavored; for other plain options, see the best unflavored whey.
Sources
- Moore DR, et al. “Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2009. PubMed 19056590
- Moore DR, et al. “Protein ingestion to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis requires greater relative protein intakes in healthy older versus younger men.” J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015. PubMed 25056502
- Morton RW, et al. “A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults.” Br J Sports Med. 2018. PubMed 28698222
- Reid-McCann RJ, et al. “Effect of Plant Versus Animal Protein on Muscle Mass, Strength, Physical Performance, and Sarcopenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Nutr Rev. 2025. PubMed 39813010
- Mozaffarian D, et al. “Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and the Obesity Society.” Obes Pillars. 2025. PubMed 40673264
- Consumer Reports, 'Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead', Consumer Reports, October 14, 2025. consumerreports.org
- Clean Label Project, 2024-25 Protein Powder Category Report, January 9, 2025. cleanlabelproject.org
- Testing lists, read October 3, 2026: Informed Choice, Informed Sport, NSF Certified for Sport and NSF/ANSI 173.