Best Protein Bar Reviews and Comparisons 2023

Ever thought about topping up your whole food protein intake with a protein cookie, ready-to-drink protein shake, protein powder, or protein bar? Each uses their own protein blend, which typically includes a combination of whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate, and soy protein isolate.

Protein intake is essential for workout recovery, muscle building, fat loss, and maintaining a healthy diet. But it’s not always easy to reach your target daily intake from whole foods alone.

So what do you need to look for to find the best protein bars on the market?

It really comes down to finding the nutrient balance to match your fitness goal. If you’re on a bulking diet this could mean more carbs, whereas weight loss diets might require more protein and less carbs. Taste, texture, and sugar level are also important.

By the end of this guide you’ll know which protein bars have the nutrient balance you need. It includes everything you need to know about the best brands, cost-per-serving, flavors, protein blends, and how to find the lowest price.

We also analyzed the ingredients from more than 50 protein bars, then created a top 10 list of the best on the market. This includes individual protein bar reviews, and products that are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

What is a Protein Bar?

Protein bars are a quick and easy way to boost your daily protein intake. Weighing 100 grams or less, they usually provide at least 20 grams of protein per bar.

To create a recipe that’s so high in protein, most supplement companies use a protein blend. This often includes 2 or more types of protein from the following; whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, milk protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, and casein.

But not all protein bars use protein blends. Some bars derive their protein content directly from a mix of whole foods, such as with KIND bars or RXBAR protein bars (egg whites and nuts).

Some of the best protein bars are high in fiber and low in sugar, which helps you to avoid cheat meals by keeping you feeling full for longer. Bodybuilders and other athletes often use protein bars as pre or post-workout snack.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

Before buying any protein bar or meal replacement bar, it’s worth considering how they’ll fit in to your daily nutrition program.

While many appear to have balanced macronutrient and vitamin profiles, it’s important that the bars are not your main source of protein. This should always come from whole foods.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

It’s important to point out that the official protein RDA from the Institute of Medicine is a minimum to help prevent you getting sick. It doesn’t factor in any heavy resistance training or large amounts of physical activity on a regular basis, such as if you have a job that involves a lot of manual labour.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) suggests that the average American isn’t getting enough protein in their diet. Their recommendation was to consume up to twice the RDA, which equates to around 25% of your daily calories.

Daily protein intake guidelines also tend to vary for bodybuilders, with no end of articles and research papers into the subject.

As a general guideline, 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (2.2 g/kg of BW) is a good starting point. Higher levels of protein intake, usually in the range of 1.2 – 1.5 grams per pound of body weight (2.6 – 3.3 g/kg BW) per day, can also be beneficial if your goal is to lose fat.

Top 10 Best Protein Bars

After reviewing 50+ of the top protein bars on the market, from companies including MuscleTech, MusclePharm, and Quest Nutrition, we’ve managed to create a top 10 shortlist.

Whereas some buying guides include multiple listings of the same bar in different flavors, we’ve selected the 10 best protein bars based on their overall nutrient profile, protein content, and price.

Taste and texture were also important factors in our decision.

Protein Bar or Protein Shake?

The top protein bars on the market contain 30 grams of protein, but most are limited to between 10 and 20 grams. In contrast, protein powders like MuscleTech Mass Tech contain up to 63 g of protein, and even more if you make them with milk instead of water.

Protein bars also have a much more limited ingredient list. This means they may not be viable as a long-term feature in your diet.

For example, if you wanted to consume a high amount of protein and carbs, alongside BCAAs and creatine after your workout, you could do this with a single protein shake. But with protein bars, you’d have to buy the BCAAs and creatine separately.

If you need a high protein snack and it isn’t practical to make a protein shake, protein bars are a great tasting snack to fuel your muscles. Just be aware that protein shakes include a wider range of beneficial ingredients, such as complete multivitamin and mineral complexes, BCAAs, glutamine, and creatine.

Who can benefit from eating protein bars?

Anyone who is struggling to reach their daily protein intake target with whole foods alone could benefit from protein bars.

When’s the best time to eat a protein bar?

Not sure which is the best protein bar for your nutrition goals? It’s worth considering when you plan on eating them.

If they’re simply a way to increase your daily protein intake, then your best option would be low carb protein bars. These can be enjoyed any time of the day, but preferably in the evening when you’re likely to be less active.

A casein protein shake would be your best option directly before bed, as the protein breaks down slower and provides a constant flow of aminos to your muscles throughout the night.

Protein bars can also be enjoyed pre-workout and post-workout. To bulk up and gain muscle, you’ll want a high carb, high protein bar pre-workout for a boost of energy, or post-workout to boost muscle recovery.

A popular myth is that eating more meals throughout the day speeds your metabolism and can assist with fat loss. But there simply aren’t enough studies to prove this is the case.

The benefit of eating smaller meals on a regular basis is that you’re less likely to boost your caloric intake with unhealthy snacks. Drinking enough water and eating high fiber protein bars is an excellent solution to stop you feeling hungry during the day.

Health Benefits of Protein Bars

If you’re following a calorie-controlled diet, it can be difficult to avoid snacking between meals. This is when protein bars can be a healthy, low-cost, convenient alternative to snack foods that can be high in sugar and saturated fats.

Protein bars also:

Protein Bar Side Effects

Some bodybuilding supplements contain a complex combination of ingredients that lead to mild side effects with some users. These side effects are usually clearly labelled.

Fortunately, there are no side effects to taking protein bars. As with eating any type of food, you just have to check the ingredients label for allergy information.

As a side note for anyone starting a high protein diet, it’s important to drink lots of water. This helps your kidneys to dispose of the waste products created when your body digests protein.

How to Choose a Good Protein Bar

Some of the best protein bars have a very similar macronutrient profile. This usually means 20-30g of protein, 20-30g of carbs, and less than 10g of fat per bar.

Two ingredients that vary massively between supplement companies are fiber and sugar.

Most protein bars include less than 5g of fiber, but some, such as MuscleTech Mission1 Clean or Quest Protein Bars, include 15g+.

That’s why it’s important to identify the best protein bar brand for reaching your nutrition goals.

You might also want to only source your protein from whole foods, which would limit you to just a few brands, such as RXBAR and KIND. These are supplement companies whose ingredients mostly include whole foods, like nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fruits.

5 Tips for Choosing the Best Protein Bar

1. Quality of ingredients: what type of protein are they using? what type of sweetener?
2. Brand reputation: reviews of protein bars
3. Value for money: cheap protein bars are worth avoiding. protein bars should cost between $1 and $3
4. Taste/flavor: protein bar reviews, eat the bars so make sure good flavor
5. Application to your goals: meal replacement bars for weight loss, high calorie protein bars for workout fuel and bulk up

Most protein bars contain between 150 calories (low carb, high protein) and 400 calories (high carbs, sugars, and protein). There can also be a big difference in the net carbs per bar, which is calculated as: total carbs – dietary fiber. e.g. 50g carbs – 18g fiber = 32g net carbs.

Checking the protein source is also important.

Protein blends are typically from a dairy-based source, like whey, casein or a combination of both. But the protein content of some bars comes from whole foods (nuts and egg whites) or soy protein.