How to compare plant protein prices

A tub's sticker price doesn't tell you what a serving actually costs — that depends on how many servings are in the container and how much protein is in each one. Divide price by servings, then divide again by grams of protein, to get a number that lets you compare two products fairly. There's no fixed rule that plant protein is cheaper than whey; it depends on the specific ingredient and how it was processed.

Why price per gram of protein is the number that matters

Two tubs at the same shelf price can cost very different amounts per gram of actual protein if one has 24 servings and the other has 15, or if one serving delivers 21 g of protein and the other delivers 15 g padded out with fillers or a smaller scoop. Price per serving — total price divided by number of servings — is the first step; price per gram of protein — that number divided again by grams of protein per serving — is the one that actually lets you compare two products on the thing you're paying for, the same way unit pricing works on a grocery shelf.

Is plant protein cheaper than whey?

Not as a fixed rule. Soy and pea protein are commodity crops that are relatively inexpensive to process into a protein isolate, which is why bargain-priced plant proteins built on those ingredients are common. But a plant protein blend that combines an isolate with a fermented ingredient — as ours does, with fava bean protein isolate and YESTEIN™ fermented nutritional yeast protein — can cost more to produce than a plain commodity whey concentrate. Whether a given plant protein or whey product is cheaper comes down to the specific ingredients, the processing method and the brand, not the category label on the tub.

What actually drives the price

A few things move price per gram of protein independent of whether the source is plant or animal: whether the protein is a concentrate, isolate or hydrolysate (more processing generally costs more); whether it's a single ingredient or a blend, and how many components are in that blend; whether the formula is fermented, flavored or otherwise processed beyond the raw isolate; and servings per container, which affects the sticker price without changing the per-serving cost. A wide price spread between two products with similar protein-per-serving numbers is usually explained by one or more of these, not a meaningfully different raw-ingredient cost. See plant protein without fillers for how to check whether a lower price is coming from a smaller actual protein dose.

What our label works out to

Electric Tiger Plant Protein is as low as $54.47 a bottle on subscription — the largest multi-bottle break available — with 24 servings of 21 g of protein each (110 calories, 1 g of sugar per two-scoop serving). That works out to about $2.27 a serving, or about $0.11 per gram of protein. Every ingredient on the label is printed; there's no proprietary blend hiding the amount of any one component. If you have G6PD deficiency or a family history of it, read who should not take fava bean protein before trying it, since the protein here comes from a fava bean isolate.

Questions people ask

Are plant protein shakes worth it?

That depends on what you're comparing it to and what you need protein for generally — see plant protein: what the research shows for what the trial evidence does and doesn't support. On price alone, work out the cost per gram of protein rather than judging by the bottle price or the word "premium" on the label.

Why is some plant protein so much cheaper than others?

Usually a smaller protein amount per serving, a lower-cost single ingredient rather than a blend, less processing (concentrate rather than isolate), fewer added ingredients, or a larger servings-per-container count spreading the sticker price further — not necessarily a meaningfully different underlying ingredient cost.

Is plant protein cheaper than whey protein?

Not reliably. Some commodity plant proteins are less expensive to produce than whey; some plant protein blends, particularly ones using isolates and fermented ingredients, cost more per gram of protein than a plain whey concentrate. Compare the actual price-per-gram-of-protein number on the specific products you're weighing, not the category.

Related reading: how to choose a good plant protein, plant protein without fillers, and plant protein vs whey: what actually differs.