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Data study
What 31 protein bar labels say and what a gram of protein costs in a bar
The Nutrition Facts panels of 31 published protein bars from 11 brands, as two independent readers transcribed them, priced at the brands’ own stores. What a gram of protein costs in a bar, how much protein, sugar, sugar alcohols and fiber a bar states, how many calories come with each gram of protein, and what the ingredient lists name.
Data as of . Label images captured from to ; prices read on . Two-reader labels only: 31 of the 64 published protein bar records.
At a glance
| Figure | Result | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Protein bar labels studied (read by two independent readers) | 31 | 64 published protein bar records; 11 brands |
| With a cost per gram of protein (an in-stock price and a servings count) | 26 (84%) | 31 labels |
| Median cost per gram of protein | $0.129 | 26 labels with a cost per gram |
| Middle half of cost per gram (lower to upper quartile) | $0.095 to $0.156 | 26 labels with a cost per gram |
| Median protein per bar | 20 g | 31 labels |
| Print 0 g of sugar | 4 (13%) | 31 labels |
| Carry a sugar-alcohols amount | 24 (77%) | 31 labels |
| Median calories per gram of protein | 10.0 kcal | 31 labels |
| Name collagen in the ingredient list | 17 (59%) | 29 labels with a transcribed ingredient list |
| Median price per bar | $2.58 | 26 labels with a price |
Cost per gram of protein
Each label’s figure is the one the protein bar ranking prints: its lowest price per serving among the sizes in stock at the brand’s own store, divided by the grams of protein a serving states. 26 of the 31 labels (84%) have one; the rest had no in-stock size with a servings count on the day prices were read.
Across those 26, the median is $0.129 per gram of protein. The middle half runs from $0.095 (lower quartile) to $0.156 (upper quartile): a quarter of the 26 cost less than $0.095 a gram and a quarter more than $0.156.
The same figures as a table
| Cost per gram of protein | Labels | Share of 26 |
|---|---|---|
| under $0.100 | 7 | 27% |
| $0.100 to under $0.125 | 4 | 15% |
| $0.125 to under $0.150 | 8 | 31% |
| $0.150 to under $0.200 | 6 | 23% |
| $0.200 or more | 1 | 4% |
Flavours count separately. Each flavour of a bar is its own label here. Of the 5 brands with two or more priced labels, 5 price all of them at one price per serving, so a brand with many flavours weighs more in these medians: the most labels from one brand is 9 of the 31. Counting each brand once instead (the median of each brand’s own median), the median across the 10 brands with a cost per gram is $0.143 per gram of protein.
Protein per bar
31 of the 31 labels state grams of protein per serving; the median is 20 g, and the figures run from 10 g to 28 g. Bars differ in weight and in protein, so a price per bar compares unlike amounts of protein; cost per gram of protein divides that difference out.
The same figures as a table
| Protein per bar | Labels | Share of 31 |
|---|---|---|
| under 15 g | 2 | 6% |
| 15 g to under 20 g | 7 | 23% |
| 20 g to under 25 g | 18 | 58% |
| 25 g or more | 4 | 13% |
Sugar per bar
31 of the 31 labels carry a sugar amount (the panel’s sugars row); the median is 2 g. 4 of the 31 (13%) print 0 g, and 0 of the 31 (0%) carry no sugar amount.
The same figures as a table
| Sugar per bar | Labels | Share of 31 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 g | 4 | 13% |
| more than 0 g, under 3 g | 14 | 45% |
| 3 g to under 6 g | 7 | 23% |
| 6 g to under 10 g | 2 | 6% |
| 10 g or more | 4 | 13% |
Sugar alcohols and fiber
Sugar alcohols. 24 of the 31 labels (77%) carry a sugar-alcohols amount; among those 24, the median is 6 g. The other 7 carry none: a record has a sugar-alcohols amount only where a row with an amount was transcribed from the panel.
Fiber. 29 of the 31 labels (94%) carry a dietary fiber amount; among those 29, the median is 3 g. The other 2 carry none.
| Panel row | Labels with an amount (out of 31) | Median, where stated |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar alcohols | 24 | 6 g |
| Dietary fiber | 29 | 3 g |
Calories per gram of protein
A bar’s calories divided by its grams of protein, both as the panel prints them: how many calories come with each gram of protein. 31 of the 31 labels state both; the median is 10.0 kcal per gram of protein, and the middle half runs from 9.5 kcal to 12.5 kcal. The figure describes the label’s arithmetic only; it is not a score.
| Calories per gram of protein | Labels | Share of 31 |
|---|---|---|
| under 8 kcal | 4 | 13% |
| 8 kcal to under 10 kcal | 6 | 19% |
| 10 kcal to under 12 kcal | 13 | 42% |
| 12 kcal to under 15 kcal | 5 | 16% |
| 15 kcal or more | 3 | 10% |
What the ingredient lists name
Read only from the names of the ingredient rows two readers transcribed from the label. A product’s name, its store page and a callout on the front of the pack are never used. 29 of the 31 labels have a transcribed ingredient list.
Collagen. 17 of those 29 (59%), from 5 brands, name collagen in the ingredient list. 0 of them state an amount for it, so the study counts only whether collagen is named, not how much of a bar’s protein it is. 3 of the 29 name gelatin; they are counted separately, not as collagen.
The rule used
- A label names collagen when a transcribed ingredient row’s name contains “collagen”, whether the row is its own line or a part of a blend.
- A label names gelatin when a row’s name contains “gelatin”.
- Matching ignores capital letters. The words only record what the label prints; the study does not compare protein sources or say what a source means for a bar.
Amino-spiking check. The check looks for glycine, taurine or creatine among the first 5 entries of a label’s ingredient list, which runs in descending order by weight (how we rate). It ran on 29 of the 31 labels, those with a transcribed ingredient list, and flagged 0 of those 29 (0%), with 0 flags in all. A flag reports where an ingredient sits on the list, not how much was added or why.
| Ingredient flagged | Flags (labels checked: 29) |
|---|---|
| Glycine | 0 |
| Taurine | 0 |
| Creatine | 0 |
More on the check and what it cannot see: amino spiking.
Price per bar
The median price per serving, here the price of one bar, is $2.58, across the 26 of the 31 labels with an in-stock price at the brand’s own store and a servings count: each label’s lowest price per serving among the same sizes its cost per gram is priced from. On 26 of the 26 labels with a cost per gram, the box it is priced at states a count of bars equal to the servings it is priced at, so a serving is priced as one bar. Bars state different amounts of protein, so cost per gram of protein is the figure that compares across them.
How to compare protein bar costs and labels
- Price the protein, not the box. Divide the box price by the bars it holds, then by the grams of protein a bar states. That gives the cost per gram of protein, which compares across bar sizes.
- Check what a bar holds. The labels here state 10 g to 28 g of protein a bar (median 20 g), so two prices per bar can buy very different amounts of protein.
- Read the sugars, sugar alcohols and fiber rows together. 4 of the 31 labels print 0 g of sugar, and 24 of the 31 carry a sugar-alcohols amount: a sugars figure alone does not show what else the carbohydrate line holds.
- Divide calories by protein. Calories per gram of protein (median 10.0 kcal here) shows how much else comes with the protein.
- Read the ingredient list for the protein sources. It runs in descending order by weight; a name such as collagen or gelatin is on the list, not on the facts panel.
- Read the facts panel, not the front of the wrapper. Every figure here comes from the label’s Nutrition Facts panel, its ingredient list and the brand’s own store; a callout on the front of a pack is never used as data.
- Note the date. Store prices change; each figure here is from the day it was read.
A longer walk-through of the arithmetic: cost per gram of protein. To work one out for a box not listed here: the cost-per-gram calculator.
How we computed this
- Records. The 31 of the 64 published protein bar records whose labels were read by two independent readers (what “verified” means). On 0 of them the first two readings differed, and a third reading agreed with one of them. The other 33 published protein bar records, from 1 brand, were parsed once from the brand’s own nutrition table and are left out, as in the site’s other data studies; the ranking lists them, and their figures are on their product pages. The 31 studied are records the protein bar ranking lists, from 11 brands: Alani Nu, Barebells, BSN, Built Bar, CLIF Bar, David Protein, ONE Brands, Orgain, Promix Nutrition, Pure Protein, Transparent Labs.
- Cost per gram of protein. As the ranking computes it (how we rate): the lowest price per serving among the in-stock sizes, divided by the grams of protein per serving on the label.
- Panel figures. Protein, sugar, sugar alcohols, fiber and calories are the amounts two readings agreed on, as the product page prints them. A row with no agreed amount is counted as carrying none, never estimated.
- Ingredients. From the transcribed ingredient row names only, by the rule printed above.
- Prices. Only from the brand’s own store, read on the dates above. No retail-listing price is used.
- Arithmetic. Shares are rounded to the nearest whole percent, and each states what it is a share of. The median of an even count is the mean of the middle two; the quartiles are the medians of the lower and upper halves of the sorted figures, the middle figure of an odd count left out of both. Costs per gram print to the tenth of a cent, as the ranking prints them. A figure that cannot be computed is printed as “not enough data”, never estimated.
- Regenerated. The page is rebuilt from the records with the rest of the site, so its figures move as labels and prices are re-read. Errors we find are logged on corrections.
Data and citation
Download the CSV: one row per label studied (31 rows), with the product, its page, the label and price capture dates, serving size, calories, protein, sugar, sugar alcohols, fiber, calories per gram of protein, whether the ingredient list names collagen or gelatin, the amino-spiking check, the price per serving, the cost per gram of protein and the size it is priced at.
To cite: Gym Product Review editorial team, “What 31 protein bar labels say and what a gram of protein costs in a bar”, gymproductreview.com/studies/protein-bars-2026, data as of October 27, 2026. Please link the method page with any figure.
The full list, product by product: the protein bar ranking. The other data studies: all data studies.