Every Grocery Store Protein Source Ranked by Cost per Gram (2026 Prices)

The cheapest grocery store protein source costs $0.011 per gram of protein. The most expensive costs $0.183 per gram — a 17× price difference for the same macronutrient. Knowing where protein sits on the cost spectrum lets you build a high-protein diet at any budget.

All prices in this analysis are based on average U.S. grocery store retail prices from March 2026, sourced from USDA Economic Research Service data, Bureau of Labor Statistics food price indices, and spot checks at Walmart, Kroger, and Costco. Protein content uses USDA FoodData Central values for raw weight unless noted otherwise.

What Are the Cheapest Protein Sources at the Grocery Store?

This master table ranks 45 common protein sources by cost per gram of protein. Price is per typical retail unit, and protein is calculated per 100 g of the edible portion.

Rank	Food	Price/lb	Protein per 100g	Cost per g Protein	Calories per 100g	Category
1	Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)	$1.49	18.6 g	$0.018	209	Animal
2	Eggs (large, conventional)	$2.89/doz	12.6 g	$0.019	143	Animal
3	Whole chicken	$1.59	17.4 g	$0.020	215	Animal
4	Chicken drumsticks	$1.69	18.1 g	$0.021	172	Animal
5	Dried lentils	$1.59	25.8 g	$0.014	353	Plant
6	Dried split peas	$1.49	24.6 g	$0.014	341	Plant
7	Dried black beans	$1.39	21.6 g	$0.014	339	Plant
8	Chicken breast (boneless, skinless)	$3.49	31.0 g	$0.025	165	Animal
9	Pork loin	$2.99	27.3 g	$0.024	143	Animal
10	Ground turkey (93/7)	$3.99	21.0 g	$0.042	170	Animal
11	Canned tuna (chunk light)	$1.19/5oz	25.5 g	$0.033	116	Animal
12	Ground beef (80/20)	$4.49	17.2 g	$0.058	254	Animal
13	Tofu (extra firm)	$2.29/14oz	17.3 g	$0.033	144	Plant
14	Cottage cheese (2%)	$3.49/16oz	11.8 g	$0.065	81	Dairy
15	Greek yogurt (plain, nonfat)	$4.99/32oz	10.2 g	$0.054	59	Dairy
16	Pork shoulder	$2.49	16.5 g	$0.033	236	Animal
17	Canned chickpeas	$0.99/15oz	8.9 g	$0.026	164	Plant
18	Milk (whole)	$3.79/gal	3.3 g	$0.025	61	Dairy
19	Peanut butter (natural)	$3.99/16oz	25.1 g	$0.035	588	Plant
20	Tempeh	$3.29/8oz	20.3 g	$0.071	192	Plant
21	Ground beef (90/10)	$5.99	20.0 g	$0.066	176	Animal
22	Turkey breast (deli)	$6.99	19.0 g	$0.081	104	Animal
23	Frozen tilapia	$4.99	26.2 g	$0.042	128	Animal
24	Canned salmon	$3.49/6oz	20.5 g	$0.100	142	Animal
25	Edamame (frozen)	$2.49/12oz	11.9 g	$0.062	121	Plant
26	Sardines (canned)	$2.29/4.4oz	24.6 g	$0.075	208	Animal
27	Cheddar cheese	$4.99	24.9 g	$0.044	403	Dairy
28	Mozzarella cheese	$4.49	22.2 g	$0.045	280	Dairy
29	Ham (deli)	$5.49	16.6 g	$0.073	145	Animal
30	Frozen shrimp	$7.99	24.0 g	$0.073	99	Animal
31	Pumpkin seeds	$6.99	30.2 g	$0.051	559	Plant
32	Steak (sirloin)	$8.99	26.1 g	$0.076	183	Animal
33	Sunflower seeds	$3.99	20.8 g	$0.042	584	Plant
34	Almonds	$7.99	21.2 g	$0.083	579	Plant
35	Salmon (fresh Atlantic)	$9.99	20.4 g	$0.108	208	Animal
36	Seitan	$5.99/8oz	75.2 g	$0.035	370	Plant
37	Bacon	$6.99	11.6 g	$0.133	458	Animal
38	Beef jerky	$8.99/3oz	33.2 g	$0.318	322	Animal
39	Cashews	$8.99	18.2 g	$0.109	553	Plant
40	Walnuts	$7.99	15.2 g	$0.116	654	Plant
41	Pistachios	$9.99	20.2 g	$0.109	560	Plant
42	Pepperoni	$4.99	22.5 g	$0.049	494	Animal
43	Prosciutto	$9.99/4oz	26.0 g	$0.338	240	Animal
44	Chia seeds	$8.99	16.5 g	$0.120	486	Plant
45	Pine nuts	$14.99	13.7 g	$0.241	673	Plant

Sources: USDA FoodData Central for nutrition data. Pricing from USDA ERS, BLS CPI food indices, and retail spot checks (March 2026).

How Do Animal and Plant Protein Sources Compare on Cost?

The cheapest protein sources include both animal and plant options. Here is a category breakdown.

Category	Cheapest Source	Cost/g Protein	Most Expensive Source	Cost/g Protein	Category Average
Poultry	Chicken thighs (bone-in)	$0.018	Turkey breast (deli)	$0.081	$0.030
Legumes/Beans	Dried lentils	$0.014	Canned chickpeas	$0.026	$0.018
Pork	Pork loin	$0.024	Bacon	$0.133	$0.058
Seafood	Canned tuna	$0.033	Fresh salmon	$0.108	$0.071
Dairy	Milk (whole)	$0.025	Cottage cheese	$0.065	$0.047
Beef	Ground beef (80/20)	$0.058	Beef jerky	$0.318	$0.130
Soy Products	Tofu	$0.033	Tempeh	$0.071	$0.052
Nuts/Seeds	Peanut butter	$0.035	Pine nuts	$0.241	$0.103
Eggs	Conventional	$0.019	Pasture-raised	$0.042	$0.031

Dried legumes dominate the cheapest tier. Their low cost per gram of protein is partly offset by lower protein bioavailability — the DIAAS (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score) for most legumes is 0.5-0.7 compared to 1.0 for eggs and chicken. This means the body absorbs roughly 50-70% of legume protein as effectively as animal protein, according to FAO/WHO methodology.

How Does Fresh vs Frozen vs Canned Affect Protein Cost?

For several common protein sources, the form you buy (fresh, frozen, or canned) significantly impacts cost per gram of protein.

Protein Source	Fresh ($/g)	Frozen ($/g)	Canned ($/g)	Cheapest Form	Savings vs Fresh
Chicken breast	$0.025	$0.022	N/A	Frozen	12%
Salmon	$0.108	$0.072	$0.100	Frozen	33%
Shrimp	$0.073	$0.065	$0.098	Frozen	11%
Tuna	N/A	N/A	$0.033	Canned	—
Tilapia	$0.058	$0.042	N/A	Frozen	28%
Green peas	$0.078	$0.046	$0.052	Frozen	41%
Chickpeas	N/A	N/A	$0.026	Canned (vs dried $0.014)	—
Black beans	N/A	N/A	$0.022	Dried ($0.014)	—
Edamame	$0.085	$0.062	N/A	Frozen	27%
Spinach (as protein source)	$0.320	$0.184	$0.195	Frozen	42%

Frozen protein is almost always cheaper than fresh, with no meaningful difference in protein content. A study in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis found that frozen chicken breast retained 99.7% of its protein content compared to fresh, while frozen fish retained 99.2%.

Canned fish is the exception where canned can approach or beat frozen pricing due to extremely long shelf life and bulk processing efficiency.

What Is the Protein-per-Calorie Ranking of Grocery Store Foods?

Cost per gram tells one side of the story. If you are also tracking calories, protein per 100 calories is equally important.

Rank	Food	Protein per 100 kcal	Calories per 100g	Protein per 100g	Cost per g Protein
1	Chicken breast (raw)	18.8 g	165	31.0 g	$0.025
2	Shrimp	24.2 g	99	24.0 g	$0.073
3	Canned tuna	22.0 g	116	25.5 g	$0.033
4	Tilapia	20.5 g	128	26.2 g	$0.042
5	Egg whites	21.6 g	52	11.2 g	$0.039
6	Seitan	20.3 g	370	75.2 g	$0.035
7	Greek yogurt (nonfat)	17.3 g	59	10.2 g	$0.054
8	Pork loin	19.1 g	143	27.3 g	$0.024
9	Cottage cheese (2%)	14.6 g	81	11.8 g	$0.065
10	Turkey breast (deli)	18.3 g	104	19.0 g	$0.081
11	Tofu (extra firm)	12.0 g	144	17.3 g	$0.033
12	Ground turkey (93/7)	12.4 g	170	21.0 g	$0.042
13	Sardines	11.8 g	208	24.6 g	$0.075
14	Eggs (whole)	8.8 g	143	12.6 g	$0.019
15	Salmon (fresh)	9.8 g	208	20.4 g	$0.108
16	Lentils (dried, cooked)	7.3 g	353	25.8 g	$0.014
17	Ground beef (80/20)	6.8 g	254	17.2 g	$0.058
18	Cheddar cheese	6.2 g	403	24.9 g	$0.044
19	Peanut butter	4.3 g	588	25.1 g	$0.035
20	Almonds	3.7 g	579	21.2 g	$0.083

The top protein-per-calorie sources are lean animal proteins and seafood. While dried lentils rank #5 overall for cost, they drop to #16 for protein per calorie because of their high carbohydrate content (63 g carbs per 100 g).

How Much Protein Can You Buy for $50 per Week?

Here is what $50 per week of grocery spending gets you in total protein, depending on which sources you prioritize.

Strategy	Weekly Foods	Total Protein (g)	Protein per Day (g)	Avg. Cost/g Protein
Budget Maximum	5 lb chicken thighs, 3 doz eggs, 2 lb dried lentils, 2 lb dried beans	1,420 g	203 g	$0.016
Balanced Budget	3 lb chicken breast, 2 doz eggs, 1 lb ground turkey, 32 oz Greek yogurt, 1 lb lentils	1,080 g	154 g	$0.027
High Variety	2 lb chicken breast, 1 lb salmon, 1 doz eggs, 16 oz cottage cheese, 1 lb tofu, 14 oz tempeh	780 g	111 g	$0.050
Plant-Forward	3 lb tofu, 3 lb dried lentils, 2 lb dried beans, 32 oz soy milk, 1 lb peanut butter	1,190 g	170 g	$0.020
Premium	2 lb salmon, 2 lb sirloin steak, 1 lb shrimp, 12 oz prosciutto	520 g	74 g	$0.096

The budget maximum strategy delivers over 200 grams of protein per day for under $50 per week. The premium strategy delivers only 74 grams per day at the same price — a 2.7× difference.

How Do Store Brand vs Name Brand Proteins Compare?

Store brands typically offer identical nutritional profiles at lower prices. Here is a direct comparison.

Product	Name Brand Price	Store Brand Price	Savings	Protein Difference
Greek Yogurt (32 oz, nonfat)	Fage: $5.99	Kroger: $3.99	33%	0 g (identical)
Eggs (1 dozen, large)	Eggland's Best: $4.49	Store brand: $2.89	36%	0.1 g (negligible)
Chicken breast (boneless)	Perdue: $4.49/lb	Store brand: $3.49/lb	22%	0 g (identical)
Cottage cheese (16 oz)	Daisy: $4.29	Store brand: $3.49	19%	0 g (identical)
Canned tuna (5 oz)	Bumble Bee: $1.79	Store brand: $1.19	33%	0.5 g (negligible)
Peanut butter (16 oz)	Jif Natural: $4.49	Store brand: $3.49	22%	0 g (identical)
Cheddar cheese (8 oz)	Tillamook: $5.49	Store brand: $3.99	27%	0 g (identical)

USDA nutritional data confirms that macronutrient profiles are virtually identical between store brand and name brand for staple protein sources. The protein in a store brand egg is biochemically identical to a name brand egg from the same production system.

How Does Cooking Method Affect the Protein You Actually Get?

Cooking reduces the water content of most protein sources, which changes the per-weight protein concentration. But does cooking destroy protein itself?

Food	Raw Protein/100g	Cooked Protein/100g	Change	Protein Retained (total)	Best Cooking Method for Retention
Chicken breast	31.0 g	31.0 g	0%	99-100%	Baking, poaching
Salmon	20.4 g	25.4 g	+25%	97-99%	Baking, steaming
Ground beef (80/20)	17.2 g	25.9 g	+51%	93-97%	Pan frying (fat renders out)
Eggs	12.6 g	13.6 g	+8%	98-100%	Any method
Lentils (dried→cooked)	25.8 g	9.0 g	-65%	97-99% (water absorption)	Boiling
Tofu	17.3 g	17.5 g	+1%	98-100%	Any method
Shrimp	24.0 g	24.4 g	+2%	97-99%	Quick sautee, steaming

The apparent increase in protein per 100 g for cooked meat is due to water loss during cooking — the total protein in the portion stays nearly the same. Lentils show an apparent decrease because they absorb water, roughly tripling in weight. Research published in Meat Science confirms that total protein loss during standard cooking methods is typically under 5%.

How Can You Track Grocery Protein Accurately?

The biggest source of error in tracking grocery protein is the difference between raw and cooked weight. Logging 100 g of cooked chicken breast as raw chicken breast underestimates your protein by approximately 25%, since cooked chicken is more protein-dense per gram due to moisture loss.

Nutrola's food database includes separate entries for raw and cooked versions of every common protein source, with clear labeling. The app's photo AI can also estimate cooked portion sizes and map them to accurate cooked nutrition data, eliminating the most common tracking error for home-cooked meals.

For budget-conscious meal planning, knowing the exact cost per gram of protein for each food you buy helps you stay within both your macros and your budget. The data in this article provides a starting point, but regional and seasonal price variations mean your actual costs will differ. Tracking both spending and nutrition in a single system gives you the most actionable view of your diet efficiency.