Protein Ranking Calculator

65 proteins. USDA data. Set cutting or bulking, toggle budget, see what actually wins.

What the Data Reveals

You just saw the top 20 in the Reddit post. Here's all 65 — and the patterns that only show up at scale.

Fish beats chicken, and it's not close

The top 6 by efficiency are all seafood. Shrimp (23.9g/100cal), lobster (23.0g), cod (21.7g), mahi-mahi (21.7g), tuna (21.6g). Turkey breast — the first non-seafood entry — ties at 21.6g. Chicken breast comes in at 18.8g. That's #15.

Why? Fish is lean tissue with minimal fat and zero carbs. A 100-calorie serving of shrimp has 27% more protein than the same calories from chicken breast.

Why doesn't everyone eat fish? Cost ($7–16/lb fresh), prep time, availability, and taste. Efficiency on paper doesn't survive contact with your actual kitchen. Most people rotate 2–3 proteins, not 6 species of fish.

The form matters more than the animal

Same animal, wildly different numbers depending on what you grab:

Tuna: fresh (21.6g/100cal) → canned in water (20.8g) → canned in oil (12.5g). Oil nearly halves the efficiency.

Chicken: breast (18.8g) → boneless skinless thigh (13.2g) → thigh with skin (11.7g). That's a 37% drop from the same bird.

Eggs: whites (21.0g) → whole (8.1g). Yolks have protein, but the fat craters the ratio.

The spread within a single animal often exceeds the spread between different animals. "I eat chicken" isn't specific enough. Chicken breast and chicken thigh aren't even in the same tier.

Five proteins survive every filter

Run every filter at once — efficiency above 15g/100cal, under $0.05/g protein, available at any grocery store, minimal prep — and you're left with five:

1. Canned tuna (20.8g/100cal, $0.026/g) — shelf-stable, zero cooking, portable. Best all-around value in the dataset.
2. Turkey breast (21.6g, $0.042/g) — beats chicken on efficiency, widely available, lean.
3. Chicken breast (18.8g, $0.030/g) — not the most efficient, but neutral flavor works in anything.
4. Tilapia (20.5g, $0.042/g) — the affordable fish. Frozen fillets, cooks in minutes, mild taste.
5. Pork tenderloin (18.3g, $0.038/g) — as efficient as chicken, cheaper, more flavorful. Underrated.

These five aren't #1 on any single metric. They're top-15 on all of them. That's why they work in practice, not just on a spreadsheet.

Your constraint reshuffles the entire ranking

Cutting: efficiency dominates — cod, shrimp, turkey breast. Every calorie must earn its protein.

Cutting + budget: the ranking flips — chicken drumsticks ($0.016/g), canned tuna ($0.026/g), chicken thigh ($0.026/g). Cheap cuts that barely appear in the efficiency top 20.

Zero prep: completely different set — canned tuna, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, egg whites from a carton, protein powder.

Bulking: efficiency barely matters. You have calorie headroom. Whey, bacon, parmesan, chicken breast. Total protein per serving matters more than density.

Four different goals. Four different #1 proteins. Go back up and try it.

Now Cook With Them

This page ranks the raw ingredients. If you want to see how they perform in actual meals:

• 112 Recipes Ranked by Protein-Per-Calorie — same methodology, applied to full recipes you can make this week
• Protein Calculator — figure out how much protein you actually need per day

Protein Per 100g: Quick Answers

The top queries landing on this page. Each answer pulled from USDA FoodData Central.

How much protein is in cooked shrimp per 100g?

Cooked shrimp has 24g protein per 100g (USDA). That works out to 23.9g per 100 calories, making it the most protein-dense common food by calorie. Shrimp is also low-cost frozen and cooks in 3 minutes. See where shrimp ranks →

How much protein is in chicken breast per 100g?

Cooked chicken breast has 31g protein per 100g (USDA). Per 100 calories, that's 18.8g — ranking #15, behind most seafood. Chicken breast is the most popular protein but not the most efficient per calorie. Compare all proteins →

How much protein is in canned tuna per 100g?

Canned tuna in water has 26g protein per 100g (USDA). At 20.8g per 100 calories and $0.026 per gram of protein, it's the best overall value in the dataset. Canned in oil drops to 12.5g per 100 calories. See the full ranking →

How much protein is in cod per 100g?

Raw cod has 18g protein per 100g; cooked rises to about 23g (USDA). Per 100 calories, cod delivers 21.7g, tying with mahi-mahi for third place. It's one of the leanest white fish options available. Compare fish proteins →

How much protein is in cooked hake per 100g?

Cooked hake has about 24g protein per 100g (USDA FoodData Central). Like most white fish, hake is extremely lean, with nearly all calories coming from protein. It ranks in the top 10 for protein efficiency. See the ranking →

How much protein is in pork tenderloin per 100g?

Cooked pork tenderloin has 26g protein per 100g (USDA). At 18.3g per 100 calories, it matches chicken breast in efficiency but often costs less. It's one of five proteins that survive every filter in our ranking. Run the filters →

How much protein is in beef per 100g?

It depends on the cut. Lean ground beef (93/7) has 26g protein per 100g. Eye of round hits 29g. But fattier cuts drop the per-calorie efficiency sharply: 80/20 ground beef delivers only 11.3g per 100 calories versus 17.3g for 93/7. Compare beef cuts →

How much protein is in egg whites per 100g?

Egg whites have 11g protein per 100g raw (USDA). Per 100 calories, that's 21.0g — top 10 in efficiency. Whole eggs drop to 8.1g per 100 calories because yolk fat adds calories without proportional protein. See eggs in the ranking →

Methodology

Metric: Grams of protein per 100 calories = (protein per 100g ÷ calories per 100g) × 100

Data source: USDA FoodData Central. Primary dataset: SR Legacy (covers 7,000+ foods). Supplemented with Foundation Foods entries where available. Every entry includes a verifiable USDA food code — click any protein name above to check it at fdc.nal.usda.gov.

What this doesn't measure: amino acid completeness, digestibility, micronutrients (salmon has omega-3s, beef has heme iron), satiety, or taste. These matter. They're just not what this metric captures.

Bulking mode note: Ranked by grams of protein per 100g of food. Concentrated foods like whey powder and jerky score high because they're dense — actual serving sizes vary. Use directionally, not as a meal plan.

Cost data: Approximate US retail prices, 2025. Sources: BLS Average Retail Food Prices, USDA ERS Meat Price Spreads. Prices vary by region, season, and store. Treat as directional.

Cooking doesn't destroy protein. Boiled, baked, grilled — all methods preserve 95%+ of protein content.

All data from USDA FoodData Central. Click any protein name to verify. You're not trusting us — you're checking USDA data.