Third-Party Tested Protein Powder 2026: Which Are Certified
18 of the 24 protein powders we checked are on an independent testing list. 16 of them are on a sport list, which checks for drugs banned in sport; the other 2 are only on a contents list, which checks the tub holds what the label says.
Which protein powders are on which list?
The table shows the 18 powders that are on at least one of the 5 testing lists. A tick means the list names that product, not just the brand. The other 6 we checked are on no list; they are named under the table.
NSF Certified for Sport alone has more than 250 protein-powder listings from more than 40 brands (October 1, 2026). To look up any brand, use NSF’s own search.
All brands with NSF Certified for Sport protein listings
1st Phorm, Athlean-Rx, Bare Performance Nutrition, BioSteel, BiPro, Bulk Supplements, Cellucor, Core Med Science (OIAM), Cwench, Designs For Sport, Dotfit, Enduraphin, Formufit (H-E-B), FYTA, Garden of Life, Gnarly Nutrition, Heart & Soil, Herbalife24, Just Ingredients, Klean Athlete, Ladder, LTH, Macro1 Nutrition, Momentous, Muscle Milk, Optimum Nutrition, Podium Nutrition, Purist, Sascha Fitness, Sava Nutrition, SFH, Silver Star Nutrition, Spoken, Taylor Dukes Wellness, TB12, The Feed Lab., The Unicorn Co., Thorne, Transparent Labs, True Athlete (The Vitamin Shoppe), Vega, Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, Xymogen Athletix.
| Powder | NSF Certified for Sportsport | Informed Sportsport | Informed Choicesport | NSF/ANSI 173contents | USPcontents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vega Sport Premium Protein | ✓28 lots | not found | ✓ | ✓ | not found |
| Garden of Life Sport Whey Isolate | ✓1 lot | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Klean Athlete Klean Isolate | ✓10 lots | not found | not found | ✓ | not found |
| Thorne Whey Isolate | ✓23 lots | not found | not found | ✓ | not found |
| Transparent Labs Whey Isolate | ✓3 lots | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Ascent Native Fuel Whey | not found | ✓ | not found | not found | not found |
| BPN Whey Isolate | ✓4 lots | not found | not found | not found | not found |
| Dymatize Elite 100% Whey | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Dymatize ISO100 | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Garden of Life Sport Plant Protein | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Isopure Low Carb Whey Isolate | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| Kaged Whey Isolate | not found | ✓ | not found | not found | not found |
| Legion Whey+ Whey Isolate | not found | not found | not found | ✓ | not found |
| Momentous Essential Whey Isolate | 12-serving pack only | not found | not found | ✓ | not found |
| Naked Whey | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| NOW Sports Whey Isolate | not found | ✓ | not found | not found | not found |
| ON Gold Standard 100% Isolate | not found | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
| ON Gold Standard 100% Whey | 10 lb only | not found | ✓ | not found | not found |
✓ sport list (checks for banned drugs) · ✓ contents list (checks the label) · “only” means NSF lists a size we do not link · each tick links to the listing or the program’s list.
Not on any list we searched: Cellucor C4 Whey, GHOST Whey Protein, Isopure Zero Carb Whey Isolate, Nutricost Whey Isolate, Orgain Organic Plant Protein, Premier Protein 100% Whey Powder.
A powder missing from a public list may still have been tested by another lab. It just gives you nothing to check. Is your brand missing? Send us the proof and we update the table within 5 business days.
Product links are affiliate links. We earn a commission if you buy; it never changes a score or the order. We only link powders on a public testing list.
Our pick is a price pick: if nobody tests you for drugs, any list here is extra care, so the lower price decides. If you are drug-tested, buy the every-batch option above. Powder is a convenient option, not a requirement; food can cover your protein.
Prices are each brand’s list price; to check the price in your store, use our cost per 25 g check.
Does the listing cover your flavor and tub size?
Not always. A brand on NSF’s list does not mean your flavor and tub are on it. For each powder, we read the NSF listing for the flavor we link: 9 listings. 6 match the tub we link. The other 3, for 2 powders, cover a different size, so we do not count them.
| Powder | Flavor listed | Sizes listed | Lots named | Covers the tub we link? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BPN Whey Isolate | Vanilla | 790 g | 4 lots | Yes |
| Garden of Life Sport Whey Isolate | Vanilla | 660 g | 1 lot | Yes |
| Klean Athlete Klean Isolate | Natural Vanilla | 25.8 g, 258 g, 516 g | 10 lots | Yes |
| Thorne Whey Isolate | Vanilla | 29.7 g, 906 g | 23 lots | Yes |
| Transparent Labs Whey Isolate | French Vanilla | 1,029 g | 3 lots | Yes |
| Vega Sport Premium Protein | Creamy Vanilla | 828 g, 1.86 kg | 28 lots | Yes |
| Momentous Essential Whey Isolate | Strawberry | 296.4 g | all lots | No |
| ON Gold Standard 100% Whey | Double Rich Chocolate | 4.53 kg | 4 lots | No |
| ON Gold Standard 100% Whey | Vanilla Ice Cream | 4.62 kg (10.2 lb) | 4 lots | No |
The 5.05 lb tub of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, the size we link, is on neither of ON’s NSF listings; they cover only the 10 lb tubs. If you are drug-tested and want ON, buy the 10.18 lb tub in Vanilla Ice Cream from ON’s own store and match its lot to that listing.
Momentous Essential Grass-Fed Whey Isolate is listed only in a 12-serving Strawberry pack, not the 25-serving tub we link.
What does each testing list check?
3 lists screen for drugs banned in sport. 2 check that the tub holds what the label says. They also test at different times: one tests every batch, the others test some batches or buy samples from shops. None of them is a heavy-metal ranking. For lead test results, see heavy metals in protein powder.
| List | What it checks | When it tests |
|---|---|---|
| NSF Certified for SportSport list (checks for banned drugs) | Label claims plus banned substances. NSF says products are tested for 280+ banned substances. | By lot. A listing can name the certified lots; some say “All”. |
| Informed SportSport list (checks for banned drugs) | Banned substances, at LGC's anti-doping laboratory. | Every batch, before it is released to market. |
| Informed ChoiceSport list (checks for banned drugs) | Banned substances, at LGC's anti-doping laboratory. | Samples bought from retail at least monthly and blind tested. |
| NSF/ANSI 173Contents list (checks the label) | That what is in the product matches the label, with no undeclared ingredients or unacceptable levels of contaminants. | Product certification, with annual audits. It is not a banned-substance program. |
| USP VerifiedContents list (checks the label) | Ingredient identity and amount, purity, and manufacturing quality. | Product certification, with audits. |
Informed Choice lists a product line, not each flavor, size or lot. Its Dymatize entry names only “ISO100 Hydrolyzed Protein Powder (USA)”. You can check that the line is in the program, but you cannot match a lot number to it.
How do you check the tub in your hand?
Match the tub to the list yourself. A listing covers what the program tested, not every tub the brand sells.
- Find the flavor, the size and the lot or batch number on your tub. The lot is usually printed near the date.
- Open the program’s own list, not the brand’s website. Search the brand and product name.
- On NSF Certified for Sport, check that the listing names your flavor and size. Then check that your lot is one of the certified lots. The tables above show how many lots each listing names.
- On Informed Sport, every batch is tested before it is sold, so any tub of a listed product is covered.
- On Informed Choice, check that the product name matches your tub.
- If your tub is not on a list and you are drug-tested, contact the brand or buy a listed tub before you compete.
What if the label says “tested” but names no list?
Then you have nothing to check. A label that says “third-party tested” may be true, but only a named program lets you look the product up. Look for the program’s name on the tub, then find your product on that program’s own list.
How we checked this
Dates. We searched the five lists for every powder between August 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026. NSF/ANSI 173 matches come from our August 25, 2026 copy of that list. We re-read each NSF Certified for Sport listing on October 1, 2026 for its flavor, sizes and lots. Informed Sport’s live site blocked automated checks on October 1, 2026, so its ticks come from our September copy of the list. Lists change; check yours before you buy or compete.
Close, but not counted. NSF Certified for Sport lists “Organic Plant-Based Performance Protein Vanilla” from Garden of Life (listing 1233901). The name differs from the Sport plant protein we link and the brand’s site blocked our reads, so we could not confirm they are the same. Vega’s listing uses the product’s newer name, “Performance Protein + Recovery”; Vega says it was renamed from Sport Premium Protein. Transparent Labs has a second NSF listing for the same flavor in a 1,053 g size (listing 1756594). NSF also lists Momentous Essential Grass-Fed Whey Protein in chocolate and vanilla (listings 1410573, 1410568); that is a different product from the Whey Isolate we link. NSF lists Cellucor Whey Sport in chocolate and vanilla (listings 1597647, 1597648); we link C4 Whey, a different product, which is on no list.
Not checked. BSCG is not one of the five lists we search. A powder listed only by BSCG shows here as on no list.
NSF count. The 268 NSF Certified for Sport protein listings from 44 brands come from NSF’s full list of 2,543 listings, read October 1, 2026. We kept product names with whey, protein, isolate or casein and left out bars, shakes, drinks, collagen, creatine, amino and gainer products. It is a name filter, not a hand check, so the count is approximate; the page rounds it down (“more than”). Each flavor and size is its own listing, so there are fewer products than listings.
Corrections. Changes are logged on our corrections log.
Sources
- NSF Certified for Sport (NSF): www.nsfsport.com. Program description checked September 22, 2026.
- Informed Sport (LGC): sport.wetestyoutrust.com. Program description checked September 22, 2026.
- Informed Choice (LGC): choice.wetestyoutrust.com. Program description checked September 22, 2026.
- NSF/ANSI 173 (NSF): www.nsf.org. Program description checked September 22, 2026.
- USP Verified (USP): www.quality-supplements.org. Program description checked September 22, 2026.
- NSF Certified for Sport listing pages, read October 1, 2026: 1778885, 1545203, 1121764, 1513728, 1809884, 1708470, 1676856, 1256427, 1484223.
- Listing screenshots captured October 1, 2026 from NSF Certified for Sport and Informed Choice.
What 25 g of protein costs in every tub: protein powder cost per 25 g. Two big names side by side: ON Gold Standard vs Dymatize ISO100. Which isolate to buy: best whey isolate protein powder. All protein guides: protein.