Growing research around the many benefits of protein has seen millions prioritise the macronutrient and add supplements to their diets, with many turning to protein powders as a practical way of upping their daily intake. However, this research often comes with a chaser of alarmist social media videos. As a fitness writer and coach I see plenty of information that can be misleading.
As supply works to meet increasing demand, more and more brands are releasing their own take on this popular supplement, creating a saturated market and a confusing shopping experience. To help you cut through the noise of social media and the hundreds of protein products to choose from, I’ve tested a range of quality protein powders to bring you a selection of the best.
As a long-time lifter and avid exerciser, I’ve been using protein powders as a way to build muscle on a budget for more than a decade. In that time, I have tried an array of the most popular brands, and discovered a few hidden gems too.
Below you can find the supplements that met, and in some cases surpassed, the standards I’ve set along with expert insights on what to look for when shopping for a protein powder and what to swerve.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
You can trust IndyBest reviews because they’re written by people who are passionate about their specialist areas. For me, as a fitness writer, that’s all things health and fitness. I spend my weeks moving between my laptop and any form of exercise available to me, be that gymnastics, weightlifting, running, walking, padel or any number of other sports. This provides the perfect testing ground for new fitness products, and plenty of opportunities to knock back a post-workout shake. I consult with nutritionists, doctors, sports scientists, trainers and a host of other experts when creating my reviews and apply rigorous testing standards to every product.
How I tested the best protein powders
You won’t wake up with significantly bigger biceps the day after one workout and a complementary protein shake – that’s not how exercise and nutrition work. The key to muscle and strength gains is consistency; committing to regular, progressive strength training and a decent daily protein intake (between 1.6g and 2.5g of protein per kilogram of body mass each day, for those looking to build muscle, according to FuelHub nutritionist Edward Mather). Though I’ve used many of these protein powders for a long term, that still makes it impractical to subjectively report back on their muscle-building potential. What I can do is take a look at their nutritional breakdown and how appropriate this is for hypertrophy AKA muscle growth.
I also looked at added ingredients and their purported benefits, value for money, flavour and mixability. The aim is to find you a protein shake that’s tasty, enjoyable to drink, doesn’t cost the earth and helps you hit your health and fitness goals. For each product on this list, I followed the instructions on the packet to the letter of the law to make a shake with both water and milk. I also used them in a few recipes, such as overnight oats and protein pancakes, to see how versatile they could be.
The best protein powders for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Optimum Nutrition gold standard 100% whey protein: £20.00, Optimumnutrition.com
- Best budget option – Myprotein impact whey: £14.99, Myprotein.com
- Best for flavour – ESN designer whey protein: £33.99, ESN.com
- Best for muscle gain – Innermost the strong protein: £29.95, Johnlewis.co.uk
- Best for weight loss – Protein Works clear diet whey protein: £22.99, Theproteinworks.com
Optimum Nutrition gold standard 100% whey protein
Best: For muscle gain
Size: From 310g (10 servings) up to 2.27kg (73 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein
Flavours available: 14, including white chocolate raspberry, caramel toffee fudge and strawberry
Protein per serving: 24g
Why we love it
- Packed with amino acids
- High quality protein
As a fitness writer, my cupboards are jam-packed with protein powders to pick from. Invariably, this is the one I end up choosing.
Why? Because it tastes great, mixes brilliantly and never leaves me feeling bloated post-shake. It works as well in a milk or water-based drink as it does in porridge or pancakes, and provides an impressive 24g of protein per 30g serving, alongside 112 calories, 1.2g of fat, 1.6g of carbs and just 1g of sugar.
The brand’s Middlesborough-based facility is an Informed Sport-registered site, meaning products and manufacturing processes must pass stringent standards and regular inspections – another brownie point earned for this review.
The Optimum Nutrition tub also boasts about having 5.5g of naturally occurring BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), although I’m always a little sceptical of this inclusion as whey already contains all BCAAs.
But the fact it never fails to deliver a smooth, creamy shake, and there are plenty of flavour options, is enough to earn this Optimum Nutrition powder the top spot.
Buy now £29.00, Optimumnutrition.com
Myprotein impact whey
Best: Budget buy
Size: 1kg (33 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein
Flavours available: 40, including cookies and cream, chocolate brownie and cinnamon danish
Protein per serving: 23g
Why we love it
- Loads of flavours
- Reasonably priced
As a keen lifter of more than a decade, Myprotein’s impact whey has been part of my life for a long time. It tastes good, there is a huge range of flavours available, the nutritional breakdown is a bodybuilders best friend and it’s budget-friendly too.
Myprotein’s RRP is pretty reasonable to start with. Then, like the supplement world’s answer to DFS, the brand’s website always seems to be having some sort of sale to send prices tumbling down even further. Before you go to the checkout, it’s always worth scouring Google for a discount code to see if you can save a few extra pennies.
You get a good amount of bang for your buck as well. Each serving is low in calories (114), carbs, fats and sugars, while containing roughly 22g of protein (this varies slightly by flavour). The protein powder mixes pretty well, and it’s been ranked grade A – the highest available – by independent laboratory tests.
Buy now £25.90, Myprotein.com
ESN designer whey protein
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Best: For flavour
Size: 520g (13 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein
Flavours available: Almond coconut, banana milk, cinnamon cereal, dark cookies and cream, Leon's cereal, milk chocolate, stracciatella, strawberry cream, vanilla milk, white chocolate pistachio
Protein per serving: 22g
Why we love it
- Tasty
- Light, drinkable texture
- Mixes perfectly in seconds
When I asked nutrition experts what to look out for when buying protein powder, they agreed that bright, bold and unsubstantiated claims on the packaging should be an immediate red flag.
That’s why it’s refreshing to see the clean tub of German brand ESN’s designer whey – “high protein, no added sugar,” is all the brand felt the need to say.
Each serving contains 22g of protein, 1.8g of carbohydrates, 1.6g of fat and 112 calories, making it an efficient way to up your protein intake without unwanted extras. But the thing that impressed me most was the taste.
The powder mixed effortlessly with 200ml of water to deliver a smooth, light-yet-creamy texture. This made it a lot easier to drink than many heavy shakes I’ve tried in the past, particularly post-workout.
It tasted great too, with both the milk chocolate and dark cookies and cream options impressing on test thanks to their sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, flavour profiles.
A 30-serving tub retails at £33.99, which is fairly standard for protein powder. But, from what I’ve seen, there are usually a few deals and discount codes to be found if you have a dig around the internet.
Buy now £31.62, ESN.com
Innermost the strong protein
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Best: For strength training
Size: 520g (13 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein and casein
Flavours available: Smooth chocolate, creamy vanilla, summer strawberry
Protein per serving: 34g
Why we love it
- High protein content
- Creatine for improved performance
If you like lifting weights, this could be the protein powder for you. It comes with a generous 34g protein serving in each serving, while keeping calories (147) carbohydrates (2g) and fat (1.1g) low.
The powder contains both fast-digesting whey protein and slow-digesting casein protein, helping you recover from your workout and build muscle throughout the day. It also has 3g of creatine, which can be used as a source of energy by your muscles when contracting, increasing power and performance in explosive activities like jumping or lifting heavy weights.
Particularly for a protein powder with a higher protein content, it mixes impressively well with water and tastes pretty good too. It wasn’t my favourite option on the flavour front, but it is the shake I reach for most regularly after a heavy lifting session thanks to its high protein content and creatine offering.
Buy now £29.95, Liveinnermost.com
Protein works clear diet whey protein
Best: Protein powder for weight loss
Size: 1kg (40 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein isolate
Flavours available: 6, including blue raspberry, mixed berry burst, orange and mango and peach iced tea
Protein per serving: 20g
Why we love it
- Low in calories
- Tasty and refreshing
Take note
- Takes longer to mix than most
Most standard protein shakes have somewhere between 110 and 150 calories per serving. This drink has just 85 – a figure which, while not a huge chunk lower, can help you on your way to a calorie deficit if you’re drinking protein shakes on a consistent basis.
Alongside this perk, it does everything you want from a protein powder too. Each serving contains 20g of protein, which is high for a low-calorie option, as well as minimal carbs, fats and sugars.
It takes a little more shaking than many rivals, as clear whey protein powders often do, but when the froth settles you’re left with a tasty, refreshing drink with the consistency of squash.
Buy now £23.31, The proteinworks.com
Holland & Barrett TriActive performance whey
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Best: For bonus benefits
Size: 520g (13 servings)
Type of protein: Whey protein
Flavours available: Blackcurrant
Protein per serving: 21g
Why we love it
- Tart, fruity and refreshing flavour
- Extra benefits thanks to added vitamins
This tasted unlike any whey protein I’ve ever used before, and I quite liked it. The powder’s natural blackcurrant flavouring gives it a refreshing tartness, which was a welcome departure from the supplement market’s fail-safe Neapolitan ice cream flavour spectrum.
It took a bit of extra shaking to ensure all lumps and bumps were ironed out, but overall the texture was pretty good.
TriActive is Holland and Barrett’s new sports nutrition range, designed to deliver bonus benefits beyond competitors. The whey has added zinc, magnesium, manganese and copper for the purposes of maintaining cognitive function, reducing tiredness and fatigue, and contributing to connective tissue health respective.
As always, I approach any claims around extra perks with a pinch of salt. But speaking to the Holland & Barrett development team, it was clear how much work had gone into ensuring these claims could be backed up.
The shake also contains a decent 21g of protein per serving, along with 1.7g of fat, 3.2g of carbs and 106 calories per serving, stacking up nicely against rivals.
Another thing I liked was the absence of a scoop; instead, serving sizes are given in tablespoons. This meant there was a little more variance in my servings than usual, but I didn’t end up with another unwanted scoop in my cutlery drawer when I reached the bottom of the tub.
Buy now £25.03, HollandandBarrett.com
Indi recover essential lean protein
Best: Vegan protein
Size: 480g
Type of protein: Pea, chickpea
Flavours available: Natural berry
Protein per serving: 20g
Why we love it
- No bloating after drinking
- Refreshing flavour
- Vegan
Take note
- Expensive
This isn’t your average protein powder. For one, it’s plant-based, and there’s only one flavour option: natural berry (”No salted caramel here”, the brand’s website proudly proclaims).
It’s also chock-full of bonus natural ingredients including pomegranate, coconut water, blackcurrant, green tea, Montmorency cherry, baobab and haskap berry.
While I can’t head to a lab to check the direct impacts of each of these inclusions, I can say the shake was far more refreshing to drink after a workout than the standard sweet, creamy offerings on the market.
I experienced no bloating after drinking it, and Indi manages top bypass most (if not quite all) of the grainy texture I associate with vegan powders.
If you’re after something a little bit different, and less artificial-tasting, from your regular shake, I’d recommend giving it a go.
Buy now £24.36, Indisupplements.com
Form performance protein
Best: For sensitive stomachs
Size: 520g (13 servings)
Type of protein: Organic pea, brown rice, and pumpkin seed protein
Flavours available: Banoffee, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate peanut, tiramisu and vanilla
Protein per serving: 30g
Why we love it
- Easy to digest
- Boosts immunity
- Vegan
Like my Optimum Nutrition top pick, this is another multiple award-winner. But this time, it’s plant-based.
Form’s performance protein vegan blend combines wholesome ingredients such as organic pea, brown rice and pumpkin seed protein to deliver a whopping 30g of protein per serving.
Presented in 100 per cent plastic-free, compostable packaging, this gluten-free powder contains added anti-inflammatory ingredients such as curcumin and black pepper extract to boost immunity and increase the absorption of nutrients, along with digestive enzymes such as amylase, protease and lactase to aid natural digestion and reduce bloating.
I tasted each of the five flavours available, and found they mixed well with water, producing smooth, creamy shakes. However, they’re all definitely on the sweet side – some people might find the vanilla and banoffee flavours a bit much.
However, the chocolate peanut and chocolate hazelnut flavours are deliciously nutty, while the tiramisu flavour isn’t far off an iced coffee or frappe when mixed with water. Blend any of the flavours with almond milk, a banana and a large teaspoon of nut butter to enjoy a thick, tasty shake.
Buy now £20.25, Formnutrition.com
C4 whey protein
Best: For overnight oats
Size: 814g
Type of protein: whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate
Flavours available: Reese's peanut butter and chocolate, Hershey's
Protein per serving: 25g
Why we love it
- Tasty
- High in protein
- Delicious in overnight oats
Take note
- Too sweet for some
I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth. The exception to this rule lies in anything with a hint of peanut butter, so a Reese’s Pieces flavoured protein was always going to go down well.
The flavour does justice to the tasty confectionery it’s inspired by, and I found it worked particularly well in overnight oats – the sweetness of the chocolate is balanced out nicely by the realistically earthy peanut butter.
When I was making a shake, it took a little bit of extra effort to mix, with a few clumps remaining in the mixture unless I subjected it to some extra vigorous shaking.
But the 25g protein total per serving, along with a respectable 142 calories, 2.4g of fat and 3.2g of carbs, makes this a worthy option for any sweet treat fiends.
Buy now £20.00, Proteinpackage.co.uk
The Organic Protein Co organic whey protein
Best: For limited ingredients
Size: 400g or 1.2kg
Type of protein: Organic whey protein concentrate
Flavours available: 5, including banana and lucuma, cacao and maca, madagascan vanilla, cookies and cream, unflavoured
Protein per serving: 15g-19.6g
Why we love it
- Short ingredients list
- No bloating
Take note
- Acquired taste
- Slightly lower protein total
This protein powder has a refreshingly short list of ingredients on the rear of the packet. The banana and maca has just three – “organic whey protein concentrate from organic milk, organic drum dried banana powder and organic lucuma powder”.
It’s an acquired taste, with the banana option being slightly too acquired for me, but the raw cacao and maca option delivers something enjoyably bitter for fans of (very) dark chocolate like myself.
The protein total per serving (between 15g and 19.6g depending on the flavour) is lower than most, but this can be viewed as a trade-off for the absence of additives like emulsifiers. The brand also prides itself on transparency, listing the source nation of each ingredient on the back of the packet.
In summary: if you like classically sweet protein powders, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you’re in the market for something a bit more pared back and natural, it fits the bill nicely.
Buy now £21.60
The verdict: Protein powders
After testing a huge variety of protein powders, Optimum Nutrition ‘s gold standard 100 per cent whey protein powder came out on top. It mixes brilliantly with minimal shaking to deliver a tasty, creamy drink. I never experienced any post-shake bloating, and the brand has expanded its flavour offering in recent years to mitigate against chocolate, strawberry and vanilla fatigue.
If you’re in the market for a more budget- friendly option, Myprotein’s impact whey protein powder offers great taste, decent mixability and plenty of flavour options for a more affordable fee. it also benefits from near-constant discounts and offers.
The delicious ESN designer whey protein ran Optimum Nutrition very close for first place, so if you can find it at a good price I highly recommend picking up a tub. Though pricier, and only available in smaller pouches, Innermost’s the strong protein delivers a larger 34g of protein per serving alongside 3g of creatine – a potent cocktail for supporting muscle and strength gains. And the low-calorie Protein Works clear diet whey protein is a top option for those looking to lose weight.
FAQs
What to look for in a protein powder
The first thing to look for in a protein powder is, perhaps obviously, a decent protein powder. Prep Kitchen nutritional therapist Kerry Beeson says anything between 20g and 30g is good going.
The next thing to consider is cost. Don’t be drawn in by big-name athlete affiliations or bold claims on the tub, just deal in provable facts.
“The only extra thing worth paying for with a simple whey protein powder is that the product has been lab tested to ensure you’re getting what’s said on the tin,” says Holland and Barrett product developer Suria Darley.
On top of this, you’ll want to find a supplement you enjoy drinking. From experience, you’re far more likely to reach for a tasty shake than a vile one after a hard workout. Individual intolerances also need to be taken into consideration.
“If you’re lactose-intolerant, choose lactose-free whey isolate,” Beeson adds. “For everyday use, a concentrate might be more cost-effective. Ideally, you should choose a product with minimal added sugars or fillers, and watch out for proprietary blends, which often hide ingredient amounts.
“Also think about whether you need to accommodate dietary preferences such as halal, soy or gluten-free products. If you take other supplements, make sure you check to see if your powder contains added vitamins or minerals.”
How much protein do I need per day?
“The World Health Organisation recommends 0.83g of protein per kg of body mass per day [for healthy adults]. However, we know from the scientific literature that this RDA is outdated,” says Edward Mather, nutritionist at FuelHub.
This figure may serve sedentary individuals, but for those who are active, exercising or looking to build muscle, a higher daily total is prescribed.
This is because protein molecules are made from chains of amino acids, which are used by the body to repair and grow tissues, including muscle.
“There is now a large body of evidence that shows the optimal range for an active healthy adult is anywhere between 1.6g and 2.5g of protein per kilogram of body mass each day,” says Mather. “Where you place yourself in this bracket will be determined by your goals, training and lifestyle."
Research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests that eating “approximately 1.6g/kg” is a good approach for those looking to build muscle through strength training. For the average person, a lower protein total may be sufficient.
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