Protein Ranking Calculator
65 proteins. USDA data. Set cutting or bulking, toggle budget, see what actually wins.
Filter categories
| # | Protein | g/100cal | Category | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shrimp (cooked) | 23.9 | Seafood | Elite |
| 2 | Lobster (cooked) | 23.0 | Seafood | Elite |
| 3 | Cod (Atlantic, raw) | 21.7 | Seafood | Elite |
| 4 | Mahi-mahi (cooked) | 21.7 | Seafood | Elite |
| 5 | Tuna (fresh) | 21.6 | Seafood | Elite |
| 6 | Turkey breast | 21.6 | Poultry | Elite |
| 7 | Egg whitesno cook | 21.0 | Eggs | Elite |
| 8 | Tuna (canned, water)no cook | 20.8 | Seafood | Elite |
| 9 | Elk (raw) | 20.7 | Game | Elite |
| 10 | Tilapia (cooked) | 20.5 | Seafood | Elite |
| 11 | Halibut (cooked) | 20.3 | Seafood | Elite |
| 12 | Venison (raw) | 20.1 | Game | Elite |
| 13 | Crab meat | 20.0 | Seafood | Elite |
| 14 | Seitan (prepared) | 19.8 | Plant | Strong |
| 15 | Chicken breast (skinless) | 18.8 | Poultry | Strong |
| 16 | Pork tenderloin | 18.3 | Pork | Strong |
| 17 | Scallops (raw) | 17.4 | Seafood | Strong |
| 18 | Duck breast (skinless) | 17.4 | Poultry | Strong |
| 19 | Greek yogurt (nonfat)no cook | 16.9 | Dairy | Strong |
| 20 | Whey protein isolateno cook | 16.2 | Supplement | Strong |
| 21 | Smoked salmonno cook | 15.6 | Seafood | Strong |
| 22 | Catfish (cooked) | 15.5 | Seafood | Strong |
| 23 | Swordfish (cooked) | 15.2 | Seafood | Strong |
| 24 | Ham (sliced)no cook | 14.5 | Pork | Solid |
| 25 | Beef sirloin (lean) | 14.3 | Beef | Solid |
| 26 | Cottage cheese (nonfat)no cook | 14.3 | Dairy | Solid |
| 27 | Salmon (Atlantic, wild) | 14.0 | Seafood | Solid |
| 28 | Turkey (ground) | 13.5 | Poultry | Solid |
| 29 | Chicken thigh (boneless) | 13.2 | Poultry | Solid |
| 30 | Beef tenderloin | 13.2 | Beef | Solid |
| 31 | Pork chop (lean) | 13.1 | Pork | Solid |
| 32 | Tuna (canned, oil)no cook | 12.5 | Seafood | Solid |
| 33 | Lamb leg (lean) | 12.5 | Lamb | Solid |
| 34 | Sardines (canned, oil)no cook | 11.8 | Seafood | Solid |
| 35 | Chicken drumstick | 11.8 | Poultry | Solid |
| 36 | Chicken thigh (skin-on) | 11.7 | Poultry | Solid |
| 37 | Tofu (firm) | 11.6 | Plant | Solid |
| 38 | Whole chicken | 11.4 | Poultry | Solid |
| 39 | Cottage cheese (full fat)no cook | 11.3 | Dairy | Solid |
| 40 | Ground beef (85% lean) | 10.4 | Beef | Solid |
| 41 | Beef chuck | 10.4 | Beef | Solid |
| 42 | Edamame (frozen) | 9.9 | Plant | Moderate |
| 43 | Tempeh | 9.6 | Plant | Moderate |
| 44 | Ground pork | 8.7 | Pork | Moderate |
| 45 | Parmesan cheeseno cook | 8.6 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 46 | Bison (ground) | 8.4 | Game | Moderate |
| 47 | Ricotta (part-skim)no cook | 8.2 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 48 | Beef jerkyno cook | 8.1 | Beef | Moderate |
| 49 | Eggs (whole) | 8.1 | Eggs | Moderate |
| 50 | Mozzarellano cook | 7.9 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 51 | Lentils (cooked) | 7.8 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 52 | Beef brisket | 7.4 | Beef | Moderate |
| 53 | Kidney beans | 6.9 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 54 | Bacon (cooked) | 6.8 | Pork | Moderate |
| 55 | Black beans | 6.7 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 56 | Peas (green) | 6.7 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 57 | Pinto beans | 6.3 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 58 | Cheddar cheeseno cook | 6.2 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 59 | Feta cheeseno cook | 5.4 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 60 | Chickpeas | 5.4 | Legumes | Moderate |
| 61 | Milk (whole)no cook | 5.2 | Dairy | Moderate |
| 62 | Italian sausage | 4.5 | Pork | Low |
| 63 | Peanut butterno cook | 4.3 | Legumes | Low |
| 64 | Almondsno cook | 3.7 | Nuts | Low |
| 65 | Cream cheeseno cook | 1.7 | Dairy | Low |
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:
- Canned tuna (20.8g/100cal, $0.026/g) — shelf-stable, zero cooking, portable. Best all-around value in the dataset.
- Turkey breast (21.6g, $0.042/g) — beats chicken on efficiency, widely available, lean.
- Chicken breast (18.8g, $0.030/g) — not the most efficient, but neutral flavor works in anything.
- Tilapia (20.5g, $0.042/g) — the affordable fish. Frozen fillets, cooks in minutes, mild taste.
- 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
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.