Dairy and eggs
How much protein is in whey protein powder?
A third of a cup of whey protein powder has about 25 g of protein.
That's 78 g of protein per 100 g, or 22 g for every 100 calories.
Protein per serving
| Serving | Weight | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⅓ cup | 32 g | 25 g | 113 |
| 100 g | 100 g | 78 g | 352 |
How whey protein powder compares
Other dairy and eggs, ranked by how much protein you get per 100 calories.
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Protein per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|
| Egg whitesraw | 11 g | 21 g |
| Greek yogurtplain, nonfat | 10 g | 17 g |
| Cottage cheese2% low-fat | 11 g | 13 g |
| Skim milknonfat | 3.4 g | 9.9 g |
| Plain yogurtlow fat | 5.3 g | 8.3 g |
| Ricottapart-skim | 11 g | 8.3 g |
| Eggswhole, hard-boiled | 13 g | 8.1 g |
| Mozzarellapart-skim, low moisture | 24 g | 8.1 g |
| Swiss cheesesliced | 27 g | 6.9 g |
| Parmesangrated | 28 g | 6.8 g |
| Milk2% reduced fat | 3.3 g | 6.6 g |
| Cheddar cheeseregular | 23 g | 5.7 g |
| Fetacrumbled | 14 g | 5.4 g |
| Whole milk3.25% fat | 3.2 g | 5.2 g |
How it fits into a meal
For building muscle, Schoenfeld and Aragon's 2018 review of the research suggests about 0.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight at each meal, spread over at least four meals a day. At 170 lb (77 kg), that's about 31 g a meal. A third of a cup of whey protein powder covers about 81% of that.
Work out your own daily and per-meal target with the protein calculator.
Related reading
Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central ("Beverages, Protein powder whey based", FDC ID 173180). Actual values vary by brand, recipe and cooking method, so treat these numbers as close estimates.