The Cheapest Sources of Protein, Ranked by Price Per Gram
Hitting your protein goal doesn't require expensive cuts or powders. Here are the cheapest sources of protein by grams-per-dollar — chicken thighs, eggs, beans, lentils and more.
Protein is usually the most expensive part of the grocery bill, but the price-per-gram between sources is enormous. If you're trying to eat more protein without spending more, here's where it actually hides — ranked by how many grams of protein you get per dollar.
The short list (most grams of protein per dollar)
Based on cross-market price analyses, the best value, roughly in order:
- Dried lentils & dried beans — the cheapest protein on earth per gram. A pound of dry lentils gives ~100g of protein for around $2–2.50. The trade-off is prep time and slightly lower protein "completeness."
- Chicken thighs — the best value in meat by a wide margin, often delivering the most grams per dollar of any animal protein. Cheaper and more forgiving to cook than breast.
- Eggs — a near-perfect, complete protein that's quick to cook and stores for weeks.
- Canned beans — pricier than dried but still excellent value, and zero prep.
- Chicken breast — leaner and a bit costlier than thighs, still a strong value.
- Canned tuna — cheap, shelf-stable, complete protein.
- Bulk whey protein — if you supplement, buying in bulk is far cheaper per gram than ready-to-drink shakes.
- Cottage cheese & plain yogurt (big tubs) — buying the large size, not single-serve cups, is what makes these a deal.
- Milk — an underrated, cheap complete protein.
- Peanut butter & oats — not protein-dense on their own, but cheap, calorie-and-protein-carrying staples.
A note on "complete" vs. "incomplete" protein
Beans and lentils win on raw cost, but they're slightly lower in some essential amino acids and less protein-dense than meat or eggs. In practice this matters little if you eat a varied diet — pairing legumes with grains (beans + rice, lentils + bread) covers the gaps. For pure cost-efficiency, a mix of legumes + eggs + chicken thighs is hard to beat, and can hit 150g of protein a day for roughly $6–8.
How to actually buy it cheap
- Buy chicken in family packs and freeze in meal-sized portions — see today's meat & seafood deals.
- Buy dried legumes in bulk bags from the pantry staples aisle; they keep for a year.
- Buy eggs and dairy in the larger size and check the unit price — see dairy & eggs.
- Watch the per-pound price, not the package price. A "value" pack isn't always cheaper per pound.
We track these prices and show the unit cost on every listing, so you can see which protein is genuinely the best deal that week. For more, see 12 ways to cut your grocery bill.