What Is the Healthiest Protein Powder?

By Maia James
With research provided by Michael Hopkins, PhD

Recently, the most common question that’s landed in my inbox has been: “What is the healthiest protein powder brand?”

Dr. Hopkins and I set out to compare 26 brands to identify the healthiest protein powders on the market. The bottom line is that you should buy one of these seven brands:

1. Puori / 2. Be Well / 3. KOS / 4. Sun Warrior / 5. Just Ingredients / 6. Truvani / 7. Nutiva

There is a lot of info to follow on everything you might wondering about protein powder–including whether or not you should even add protein powder into your diet. Let’s get into it.

How to Determine What Is the Healthiest Protein Powder

You’ll see below that we identified a bunch of healthful, safe, high quality brands of protein powder. Here’s what we looked for in trying to answer: What is the healthiest protein powder brand?

• Quality & Safety Standards: Protein powders, particularly those derived from plants, can contain heavy metals. As we do for any product we investigate, we looked for rigorous quality control and testing in the powders we reviewed–well beyond FDA compliance. Ideally, protein powder brands provided us with third party lab testing certifications. A couple of brands we reviewed even have Clean Label Project certification.
• Hexane-Free: Protein powders may be processed with carcinogenic hexane, a solvent used in extracting oils from plants. We sought assurance that the protein powder brands we would recommend could demonstrate that they are hexane-free. This could be achieved be either a testing or certification, or by using safer extraction methods like cold pressing or ethanol extraction.
• Flavors: Many protein powders contain natural or artificial flavors to enhance taste. Only brands with organic natural flavors were eligible for our Best Stuff or Good Stuff categories (more here on flavors). Anything with artificial flavors was automatically deemed Bad Stuff. (It’s worth noting that all of these brands were Bad beyond just the use of artificial flavors, though.)
• Preservatives & Other Additives: Some protein powders contain preservatives, emulsifiers, or stabilizers to enhance shelf life or texture. Depending on the specific ingredient, these may or may not bump a product down from Good to merely Okay Stuff. For example, guar gum is in many protein powders, and Dr. Hopkins doesn’t think it poses a health risk. However, as he saw ingredients like diglycerides, polydextrose, maltodextrin, etc., he would likely move that product down to Bad or Sneaky Stuff.
• Sweeteners: Rather than adding sugar, most flavored protein powders contain alternative sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, or acesulfame potassium. These artificial sweeteners definitely pose health risks and any brand that uses them was put in our Bad Stuff category. On the other hand, monk fruit extract, stevia or xylitol, which are natural plant-derived sugar substitutes, are acceptable–even though Dr. Hopkins and I both happen to hate how they taste! One natural calorie-free sweetener that’s NOT fine is erythritol, which has been linked to heart problems. Brands that rely on erythritol for sweetener were put in our Sneaky Stuff category.
• Sunflower Oil: While there is nothing inherently WRONG with sunflower oil, it is high in omega-6, which is something we need but get too much of. While sunflower oil is okay in moderation, it is in just about every processed food, which means we are not consuming it moderately! Since protein powder is considered a health food, we definitely dinged brands for using sunflower oil in their blends.
• Organic: Most of the brands that made it in the Best and Good Stuff list are certified organic. We accepted whey protein from grass-fed cows as Best/Good Stuff even if it isn’t certified organic. In fact, only one brand of whey protein uses organic whey.

Best Stuff: The 7 Healthiest Protein Powder Brands

Be Well by Kelly Grass-Fed Protein Powder

• Protein type(s): Beef protein isolate, choco bean powder.
• Flavors available: Unflavored, chocolate, vanilla–each comes in beef or vegan version .
• Other ingredients: Cocoa powder, vanilla, monk fruit extract.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Beef protein comes from grass-fed cows.
• Paleo-friendly because free of dairy and grains. 
• Lactose-free.
• While beef protein and whey protein have different concentrations of amino acids (beef is higher in collagen and lower in leucine, for example), these differences are not meaningful for most people looking for extra protein.

Cost per gram: $0.09

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KOS Organic Superfood Plant Protein

• Protein type(s): Pea, flax seed, quinoa, pumpkin seed, chia seed.
• Flavors available: Chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, and others.
• Other ingredients: Organic superfoods blend, digestive enzyme blend, vitamin blend, stevia, monk fruit, natural flavors.
• These blends contain only safe ingredients.
• Certified organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Choose unflavored for one without any sweeteners or flavorings.
• Top pick for a clean vegan protein with other vitamins included.

Cost per gram: $0.09

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Just Ingredients Protein Powder

• Protein type(s): Whey protein isolate, pea, collagen, chia, and/or watermelon seed, depending on flavor you choose.
• Flavors available: Plain, vanilla, chai, chocolate, peanut butter, berry, mint, and many others.
• Other ingredients: Stevia, monk fruit, coconut milk, sea salt–plus cacao, vanilla, cream cheese, collagen, and more, depending on the flavor.
• Vegan blends available.
• Most ingredients are organic.
• Whey comes from New Zealand grass-fed cows.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• No natural flavors–all ingredients are actual whole foods, such as mandarin oil and pineapple in the Tropical Paradise flavor.

Use code: GOODSTUF on their website for 10% off

Cost per serving: $0.09

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Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein

• Protein type(s): Hemp.
• Flavors available: None.
• Only ingredient is hemp protein, which is cold pressed to remove oils.
• Certified organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• The least processed brand we reviewed.
• Top pick for a super simple, unflavored plant protein.

Cost per gram: $0.08

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Puori Pasture Raised Whey Protein Powder

• Protein type(s): Whey protein concentrate.
• Flavors available: Vanilla, chocolate.
• Other ingredients: Coconut sugar, natural flavor, vanilla, cacao powder.
• Not entirely organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Clean Label Project certified.
• The only Best Stuff brand to use the least processed version of whey protein.
• Among the less expensive Best Stuff brands.
• Our overall top pick.

Use code: GIMMETHEGOODSTUFF on their website for 20% off.

Cost per gram: $0.08

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Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Protein

• Protein type(s): Pea, hemp, goji berry.
• Flavors available: Vanilla, chocolate, mocha, berry, and more .
• Other ingredients: Coconut MCT, organic stevia extract, organic sea salt, organic flavor, organic guar gum.
• Certified organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• All the natural flavors used are organic.
• Most expensive of the Best Stuff.

Cost per gram: $0.10

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Truvani

• Protein type(s): Pea protein, pumpkin protein, and chia protein.
• Other ingredients: Organic cocoa, organic vanilla, organic monk fruit–depending on the flavor you may also find vanilla, lemon oil, matcha, etc.
• Certified organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• No natural flavors or other additives
• Significantly more expensive than most of the other brands we reviewed.

Cost per gram: $0.13

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Good Stuff: 4 Healthy Protein Powder Brands

Equip Foods Grass-Fed Beef Isolate Powder

• Protein type(s): Beef isolate powder
• Flavors available: Vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter, salted caramel, strawberry iced coffee and unflavored.
• Other ingredients: coconut cream powder, cocoa powder, acacia powder, beet juice (for color in strawberry), light roast peanut flower powder, sea salt, indian spray-dryed coffee (in iced coffee flavor), stevia extract.
• Not organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Unflavored Prime has 1 ingredient, grass-fed beef. 

Code: GIMMETHEGOODSTUFF for 15% off your order on their website.

Cost per serving: $2.13

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Naked Nutrition

• Protein type(s): Whey protein concentrate, pea, or rice, depending on which formulation you choose.
• Flavors available: Vanilla, chocolate, berry, coconut almond, and many others.
• Other ingredients: If you choose plain whey, then there are none (just cold-pressed, grass-fed whey). Other flavors may contains MCT oil, organic coconut sugar, sea salt, and monk fruit extract, natural plant-based flavors, potassium chloride, maltodextrin, and/or potassium chlorine.
• Not organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Uses the least processed version of whey protein.
• Not all of the Naked products qualify as Best or Good Stuff, since some flavors contain maltodextrin and natural flavors.
• The Naked Whey chocolate flavor and Naked Pea use coconut sugar, making them a great choice if you don’t like stevia or monk fruit. 
• Naked’s Shake line is also sweetened with coconut sugar rather than stevia and monk fruit–but it does contain natural flavors.
• Naked Rice contains just sprouted brown rice protein, so from a nutritional standpoint this one is healthful. We recommend limiting rice intake because it is frequently high in arsenic. If you already have a lot of rice in your diet, we don’t recommend a rice protein powder.
• Naked also offers a goat whey protein version. 
• Naked Egg is made of whey protein, but not organic and includes sunflower lecithin, so we don’t recommend it. 
• Naked is the most affordable of the Best and Good Stuff.

Cost per gram: $0.06

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Ritual

• Protein type(s): Pea protein.
• Other ingredients: Natural flavor, organic coconut medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, xanthan gum, salt, sunflower lecithin, Reb-M (from fermented sugarcane), mixed tocopherols, organic monk fruit (Luo han guo) extract. 
• Clean Label Project Certified.
• Certified organic.
• Would be Best Stuff except for natural flavors and sunflower lecithin.

Cost per gram: $0.09

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Rookie Wellness

• Protein type(s): Pea protein.
• Other ingredients: Pre/probiotics, multivitamins.
• Not certified organic.
• Does undergo third-party testing.
• Among the most expensive brands we reviewed.
• Other ingredients: Stevia, guar gum, sea salt, cocoa powder, natural flavors.

Cost per serving: $0.12

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Wicked Protein

• Protein type(s): Whey protein isolate.
• Other ingredients: Natural flavors, citric acid, stevia.
• Flavors available: Many fruit flavors.
• Not certified organic.
• Clean Label Project Certified.
• The plain version contains only whey protein isolate and could therefore be considered Best Stuff.

Cost per gram: $0.07

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Okay Stuff: 5 Healthy Enough Protein Powder Brands

Garden of Life Organic Protein Powders

• Protein type: Whey protein isolate, brown rice protein, and/or pea protein, depending on which flavor you choose.
• Available flavors: Makes many different types of protein powders in many different flavors.
• The only brand we found to use organic whey. 
• The “lightly sweetened” variety contains cane sugar.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Other ingredients: Probiotic blend, collagen peptides, organic tapioca fiber, sea salt, stevia, natural flavors–and depending on the flavor you choose, you might find erythritol, cane sugar, cacao, natural flavors, brown rice protein, sunflower lecithin.
• Avoid flavors with erythritol–these are Sneaky Stuff.
• Among the most expensive of the brands we reviewed.

Cost per gram: $0.13

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Primal Fuel Coconut Whey Protein Drink Mix

• Type(s) of protein: Whey protein isolate.
• Other ingredients: Coconut milk powder, inulin, guar gum, monk fruit, konjac root gum, stevia, natural flavors.
• Available flavors: Comes in chocolate coconut and vanilla coconut.
• Not organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• No unsweetened option available.

Cost per gram: $0.10

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Trader Joe’s Hemp Protein Powder

• Protein type(s): Hemp protein.
• Other ingredients: Organic palm sugar, organic vanilla flavor.  
• Available flavors: Vanilla.
• Only conducts in-house testing.
• Very low actual protein grams/serving compared to others–you’d need to have a bigger serving to hit the grams.
• Weirdly expensive for a TJ’s product.
• Would be Best Stuff if not for the lack of third-party purity testing. 

Cost per gram: $0.13

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Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein

• Type(s) of protein: Whey protein isolate.
• Other ingredients: Cocoa powder, stevia, natural flavors, sodium chloride.
• Available flavors: None.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Whey comes from grass-fed cows.
• Not organic.
• More affordable than most other Best, Good, or Okay brands.

Cost per gram: $0.06

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Vega Sport Premium Protein

• Type(s) of protein: Pea, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, and/or alfalfa.
• Other ingredients: Probiotic blend L-B, tart cherry, apple, sea salt, stevia extract, natural flavors, xantham gum.
• Available flavors: Vanilla, chocolate, mocha, and others.
• Certified organic.
• Undergoes third-party testing.
• Tested high in heavy metals in Clean Label Project’s 2018 testing. We don’t have information on current levels. 

Cost per gram: $0.11

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Bad Stuff: 5 Artificially-Flavored Protein Powder Brands

BSN Syntha-6 Ultra Premium Protein Matrix

Contains soy lecithin, artificial flavors and sweeteners, maltodextrin, and corn syrup.

Dymatize Nutrition ISO100 Hydrolyzed Protein Powder

Contains artificial flavors and sweeteners.

MusclePharm Combat Protein Powder

Contains artificial flavors and sweeteners.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey

Contains artificial flavors.

PEScience Select Protein

Contains artificial flavors and sweeteners.

Sneaky Stuff: 7 Secretly Unhealthy Protein Powder Brands

Amazing Grass Protein Superfood

Contains many fillers, flavors, sunflower lecithin, and rice syrup.

Bodylogix Natural Isolate Whey Protein

Is not organic, and contains sunflower lecithin and natural flavors.

Isopure Zero Carb Protein

Not organic, doesn’t undergo any third-party testing, and contains soy lecithin.

Legion Whey+ Whey Protein Powder

Not organic, and contains natural flavors and sunflower lecithin.

Orgain Organic Protein Powder

Contains gums, rice, sunflower oil, natural flavors, and erythritol.

Pure Protein 100% Whey Protein Supplement

Only conducts in-house testing, is not organic, and includes fillers, natural flavors, and sunflower lecithin.

Quest Protein Powder

Contains lecithins and gums, is not organic, and tested high in heavy metals in Clean Label Product’s 2018 testing.

Should You Consider a Protein Powder in Your Diet?

Store-bought protein powders are definitely not essential for most people. If you eat a balanced diet, even if you’re vegan, you can easily get enough protein from your meals. However, protein powders can still be a convenient and beneficial addition to your diet. This is especially true if you’re looking to build muscle. Or if you’re simply pressed for time! There are mornings when I just don’t feel like cooking eggs or prepping a big breakfast. That’s when a scoop of protein powder in a smoothie ensures that I can make it to lunch without excessive snacking. 

The downside to protein powder is that it’s a highly processed food. Ingredients like soy protein, pea protein, or whey protein in powders and ready-made smoothies aren’t just whole foods that have been dried and ground into powder. Instead, these proteins are extracted from the foods in a lab, leaving you with the protein but without the other beneficial components of the whole food. For this reason, I don’t see protein powder as providing a health boost as much as providing a hack for getting protein without the effort of cooking real food.

(By the way: The recommended daily intake of protein is 0.84 grams per kilogram of body weight for adult males and 0.75 grams per kilogram for adult females. This works out to roughly 50 grams a day for most people. It’s best to distribute your protein intake across meals, aiming for about 20 grams per meal for optimal utilization.)

What is a Complete Protein?

Protein is composed of 20 amino acids, but only 11 of these are produced by the human body. We must get the other nine amino acids (called “essential amino acids”) from the foods we eat. When a food contains all 9 of these amino acids, it is called a “complete protein.” Animal proteins (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy) are complete. And many plant-based proteins (for example quinoa, buckwheat, hempseed, blue-green algae, and soybeans) are also complete. All of the protein powders reviewed in this guide are complete proteins.

Can Protein Powder Be Harmful?

Dr. Hopkins found no compelling evidence that protein powder supplements can harm kidney function or bone health in healthy individuals, which was what I had commonly heard. (Those with pre-existing kidney conditions should monitor their protein intake under medical supervision). For anyone seeking more information on this, Dr. Hopkins recommends this article.  

While we aren’t worried about most people taking too much protein via a powder, some protein powders are definitely not health foods, as you can see under Bad Stuff and Sneaky Stuff.

What Kind of Protein Powder is Healthiest?

Dr. Hopkins favors plant-based protein powders, which are well-digested and often contain fiber and digestive enzymes. He reasons that whey protein, derived from milk, may cause stomach issues due to lactose intolerance in some individuals. Perhaps the biggest plus to plant-based protein powder is environmental, a value he and I both consider when we shop.

On the other hand, animal-based protein powders tend to have fewer issues with heavy metal contamination, which is a major concern

Bottom line: When searching for brands we didn’t include or eliminate any brands based on whether they are plant- or animal-derived proteins. Here are two factors to consider when deciding between plant protein powders and whey protein

What Protein Powders Do Not Have Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury have been found in some protein powders, posing potential health risks if consumed regularly. These contaminants can enter protein powders through the soil where plant-based ingredients are grown or during the manufacturing process. To avoid heavy metals in your protein powder, choose products that are third-party tested for purity and safety. Additionally, rotating between different types of protein sources can help minimize the risk of exposure to any one contaminant.

A 2018 study by Clean Label Project showed that most protein powders are contaminated with heavy metals. A few salient points:

• Chocolate flavors tended to be higher in metals than vanilla or unflavored. This is likely because–as we know–cacao itself can be a significant source of metals. 
• Remember that you can be exposed to heavy metals even from whole foods. 
• Packaged foods tend to be more contaminated, as well as contaminated with things like BPA, and protein powder is a processed, packaged food. 
• Overall, protein powders made from plant-based sources like soy or hemp were found to have higher levels of contamination compared to those made from whey (milk). This increased contamination in plant-based proteins is likely due to the plants’ natural tendency to absorb heavy metals from the soil.
• Three brands in our list have Clean Label Project certification, meaning they are tested and clear of unsafe levels of heavy metals: Puori, Ritual, and Wicked.

Different Types of Whey Protein

Animal-based protein powders typically use one of three types of whey protein:

1. Whey Protein Concentrate: Contains about 70-80% protein by weight and has higher levels of lactose, fats, and carbohydrates. It may cause issues for those with lactose intolerance.
2. Whey Protein Isolate: Undergoes additional processing to remove most of the lactose, fats, and carbohydrates, resulting in about 90% or higher protein content by weight. It contains minimal lactose, making it generally well-tolerated by people who are lactose intolerant.
3. Whey Protein Hydrolysate: Further processed to break down the protein into smaller peptides, making it easier to digest and even lower in lactose than whey protein isolate.

Unless you are lactose intolerant, I recommend choosing protein powders with less processed whey (in other words, concentrate rather than isolate rather than hydrolysate) for the simple reason that less processing tends to be better when it comes to anything we eat. Most brands use whey protein isolate, but our top protein powder pick–Puori–uses whey protein concentrate.

If you came here wondering, What is the healthiest protein powder?, I hope this post has helped make your shopping easier. Please comment with questions or feedback!

Stay sane,

Maia, Founder & CEO