Vegan Protein Powder Comparison 2026: The Honest Overview

Vegan protein has a bad reputation. Tastes gritty, costs too much, and supposedly lacks amino acids. Is that still true? I looked at the current options.

The key metric: price per gram of protein

With plant protein, the protein content is often lower than whey. A kilo of vegan powder might have 70% protein instead of 80%. That makes a difference to the real price.

That is why I always calculate price per gram of protein. Not per kilo of powder.

The contenders compared

Zumub Vegan Pea Protein: £0.015/g

The budget king. £5.99 for 400g with 80% protein content. That gives 24g protein per serving. Taste? Meh. It is pea protein. Works best in smoothies with banana and peanut butter.

For whom? People going purely on value and masking the taste with other ingredients.

Zumub Vegan Pea Rice Blend: £0.017/g

£12.99 for 1kg. The mix of pea and rice gives a more complete amino acid profile. 23g protein per serving. The taste is slightly more neutral than pure pea protein.

For whom? Those wanting a better amino acid profile without paying much more.

XXL Vegan Protein: £0.040/g

£12.99 for 500g. 20g protein per serving. Twice as expensive per gram as Zumub, but with better flavours. Chocolate and Vanilla are drinkable.

For whom? People willing to pay more for better taste.

Huel Complete Protein: £0.073/g

£29.99 for 26 servings (20g per serving). The premium player. Additionally enriched with vitamins and probiotics. Taste-wise solid.

For whom? People wanting an all-in-one package and not watching every penny.

Vegan protein vs Whey: The truth

Is whey better? Scientifically: slightly. Whey has more leucine and absorbs faster. But the difference is smaller than marketing wants you to believe.

A meta-analysis by Messina et al. (2018) found no significant difference in muscle building between plant and animal protein, as long as total intake is adequate.

Practically this means: if you eat enough protein, the source is secondary.

My recommendation

For most people: Zumub Pea Rice Blend. Good amino acid profile, fair price, 1kg bag lasts a while.

Budget extremely tight? Zumub Pea Protein. Does not taste great, but £0.015 per gram protein is hard to beat.

Taste matters? XXL Vegan Protein. Costs more, but you actually enjoy drinking it.

Compare all vegan proteins on WheyWijzer →