We Found the Best Cheap Protein Powder for Under $1 an Ounce

Protein powder is expensive. Sure, you’re buying in bulk. But still. What about those of us who are just dipping our toe into the world of getting swole? What if we aren’t sure we want to make getting gains our entire personality and we just want to test it out and not spend $50 for a bucket of protein powder? Or what if we are fully committed to bulking up, but we don’t have that kind of cash? Keep reading, because I found the best cheap protein powder to buy.

What we mean when we say “cheap protein powder”

Here’s what affordable protein powder means to us: protein powder that costs less than $1 an ounce. For context, our number one best tasting protein powder costs around $1.50 an ounce.

What we looked for in the best cheap protein powder

Affordable price. As outlined above, we defined cheap protein powder as costing less than $1 an ounce.
Good flavor. Even cheap protein powder should taste good. It shouldn’t be a chore to drink.
Easy to mix. Shaking up your protein powder shouldn’t be your workout. It should dissolve easily in water, milk, or a smoothie.

We ended up with just two cheap protein powders—and they’re both chocolate. The non-chocolate flavors we tried were downright bad. But we’ll keep searching and we’ll update this article when we find a good cheap vanilla protein powder. Here’s the best cheap protein powder we found in a taste test.

Best Cheap Protein Powder, Ranked

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Runner-Up

Elevation Chocolate

Aldi

Elevate protein powder isn’t exclusive to Aldi, but you can get it for a song there. Seriously, this stuff is truly cheap protein powder at just over 60 cents an ounce. But you do get what you pay for. It’s not super rich with chocolate flavor and it’s tough to incorporate by shaking. I’d blend this up with some banana and milk or water to cover up the slight protein-y aftertaste. Note: I only endorse the Elevation Chocolate flavor. The Vanilla flavor is unacceptable.

Credit: Merc / Aldi

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Sixstar Triple Chocolate

Amazon

You can get this genuinely good, affordable protein powder for 68 cents an ounce on Amazon. And you should. Because it tastes like milk chocolate—even when it’s just mixed with water. It’s creamy and sweet and the powder actually dissolves. It’s good with water but if you shook this with some sort of milk I think it’d be hard to stop gulping. It’d be dessert! I might start lifting just to have an excuse to drink this stuff. It’s the best cheap protein powder by far.

Credit: Merc / Amazon

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other cheap protein powders we tried:

Elevation Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla

About the Author

Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients. Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now). Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test! Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.