7 Best & Cheapest Whey Protein Isolate Powder Brands
You don’t need to fork out a hefty sum of money to get a decent whey protein isolate powder. Here’s a quick review of seven affordable and quality products.
Cheap and quality may seem like the opposite of each other, but in the case of whey protein, there is usually nothing special about pricier brands as opposed to cheaper ones, except maybe for some fancy packaging and a premium name!
It’s your choice if you want to spend your money on an overpriced, sumptuous product, but don’t expect any better or faster results because what’s inside is pretty much the same thing you’d get from cheaper products.
Where to Buy Affordable, Quality Whey Protein Isolate?
There are in fact many good brands on the lower end of the price scale. Here are seven choices that give you some of the best bang for your buck:
1. HR Supplements Whey Protein Isolate
($20.49 for 1 kg/2.2 lbs.)
Without lots of marketing hypes and “special” formulas, this store sells bulk sports powders and many other types of nutritional supplements at very competitive prices. They carry both whey protein isolate and concentrate in unflavored and flavored versions. The unflavored powder is very clean and only contains whey isolate and soy lecithin. The flavored ones contain natural and artificial flavors, sweeteners and other additives.
All products from this company are lab tested for purity — certificates of analysis (COAs) are published on their site.
2. Eniva 100% Natural Power Whey Isolate
($36.95 for 2.75 lbs.)
Eniva’s Natural Power 100% Whey Protein Isolate is a clean protein powder that is free from soy, artificial ingredients and added sugar. It includes partially hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, which is a partially “pre-digested” form of WPI that is more easily digested and absorbed by the body compared to regular WPI.
This product is only offered in one versatile natural flavor: organic vanilla. The other two ingredients are sunflower lecithin (improves mixability) and stevia (natural sweetener). They also offer a cheaper whey powder formula that includes a blend of whey protein isolate, concentrate and hydrolysates.
3. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein
($57.99 for 5 lbs.)
Gold Standard whey protein by Optimum Nutrition is one of the most recognized and affordable brands on the market today. The formula consists of whey protein isolate, whey concentrate and whey peptides.
If you only want pure isolate, they do have a 100% Isolate formula, but it comes at a higher price. The original Gold Standard formula only contains 1 gram less protein per serving than their isolate formula, but costs much less.
4. Cellucor COR-Performance Whey
($37.99 for 5.19 lbs.)
This is one of the best deals that is currently offered at a discounted price. Cellucor is a reputable company in the sports nutrition world and many of their products are among the top-sellers at numerous stores.
COR-Performance is a mix of both whey isolate and concentrate with 24 grams of protein per serving of 33 grams. On the negative side, this product does not contain emulsifiers, like lecithin, and although the label says “mixes easily”, it actually doesn’t mix that well. Unless you are going to mix it in a blender, it’s better to choose a product with lecithin in it as it helps improve mixability.
5. PureBulk Whey Isolate 90%
($29.75 for 1 kg/2.2 lbs.)
This is another great place where you can buy bulk powders at low prices. They sell plain, unflavored whey isolate (90% protein) that only contains sunflower lecithin and no other additives. They do third-party lab tests to ensure the purity of their products, and they can provide the COA for any product upon request.
6. NOW Foods Whey Protein Isolate
($63.99 for 5 lbs.)
If you are trying to avoid all the unnecessary fillers and artificial additives then this is a great product to check out. NOW Foods (aka NOW Sports) whey protein isolate only contains natural ingredients and flavors. No artificial sweeteners or flavors are added to this one.
7. BSN Syntha-6 Isolate
($32.40 for 2.01 lbs.)
Well, this isn’t a pure whey protein isolate, but a 50/50 blend of both whey and casein protein isolates. This provides your body with both fast and slow release protein sources, making it a great option for a post-workout recovery supplement.
I’d also recommend you check out the original Syntha-6 formula, which is a blend of whey protein concentrate, casein and egg albumen — it’s a great source of quality protein, tastes great, and very affordable at $56.99 for a 5-pound tub.
