I’ve been toying with the idea of doing this post for a while now, but have struggled with the sheer volume of protein bars available on the market. I mean, how could I possibly narrow down the crowded multi-billion dollar U.S. protein bar market into just a handful of brands, and then go ahead and pick one as a winner? (I’m up to TWENTY-FOUR bars now, btw!)
Anyway, here’s how I gave it a go: the first thing I did was eliminate a few categories…I wasn’t looking for the best granola bar, cereal bar, or meal replacement bar. Second, I decided that I really needed to break this down into a two-part series – for this post, I’m just focusing on your run of the mill protein bars. Natural/organic/paleo options are covered in the second part of this Quest for the Best series because they don’t always compete in the same market or on the same criteria as the ones below.
Next, I tried to focus on the most popular brands and widely available options that were targeted at your everyday consumer. Maybe a bodybuilder would eat these, but so would a soccer mom looking for an easy, on-the-go, protein-packed snack. Many are widely available at grocery stores or pharmacies, some are easier to find in a sports or nutrition shop. Either way, I like to think I am at least somewhat up to speed on what’s happening in the sports nutrition world, and most of these picks are “hot” right now.
For the sake of a sound comparison, I tried to taste test the same or similar flavors from every brand. Chocolate in some form is pretty much the industry standard, so that’s what I went with. Some of them forced me to venture into cookie dough or chocolate peanut butter varieties, but they’re still somewhere close to that chocolate baseline.
Scoring and Ranking the Bars
When I first started this series, I would rank the different brands based on taste and texture alone. While those are still the 2 most important factors I care about when deciding whether to buy a bar, I’ve also incorporated scoring for macros, ingredients, and value.
- Taste – Scored out of 10 possible points.
- Texture – Scored out of 10 possible points.
- Macros – Scored out of 5 possible points. Bars that come in at less than 200 calories with at least 30% of calories from protein scored highest.
- Ingredients – Scored out of 5 possible points. This one is more challenging to score objectively than macros or value, but bars lost points for things like ingredient lists that are a mile long or tons of added fiber from stuff like “soluble corn fiber.” Including excessive sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners like Sucralose or acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) also contributed to lower scores.
- Value – Scored out of 5 possible points. Bars that were less than $2 scored highest, and bars that cost over $3 got no points in this category.
While I tried to be as objective as possible when scoring these bars, at the end of the day, we probably care about different things when it comes to our protein bars. Feel free to consider all the details for yourself and come to your own conclusion!
Quick rundown of different colors you’ll see in the chart below:
- Yellow (on the macro ratio) indicates carb content.
- Blue (on the macro ratio) indicates protein content.
- Green (on the macro ratio) indicates fat content.
see all the reviews:
Protein Bars Comparison Chart
Want to see all my reviews in one spot? Check out the full spreadsheet, including reviews of all the flavors I tried for each brand!
Highly Recommended Bars
1. ONE Protein Bar
peanut butter cup
The price on these bars varies widely across retailers and Amazon. I’ve seen them as low as $2.00 per bar at Target (regular price). Check out the full spreadsheet for my reviews of 4 other flavors – Reese’s Peanut Butter Lovers (10/10!!), Blueberry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Fruity Cereal.
- Taste: 9/10. I like that this flavor isn’t overly sweet and has a good amount of chocolate and peanut butter flavor.
- Texture: 9/10. Nice and soft but still a little chewy with a good chocolate coating. Some flavors like Peanut Butter Cup and Blueberry Cobbler also have crunchy bits on the inside to keep things interesting.
2. Pure Protein Bar
galactic brownie
This bar has great macros and price. Check out the full spreadsheet for my review of 1 other flavor – Chocolate Deluxe!
- Taste: 8.5/10. Great brownie like taste and a gooey icing under the chocolate coating, but a slight artificial aftertaste.
- Texture: 8/10. A little on the chewy side (and smaller than the other bars), but a nice chocolate coating with a center that has some crunchy bits tucked inside.
3. Built Puff
brownie batter
I didn’t expect to like these bars since I really dislike the texture of original Built Bars. With the macros and flavor, I’d buy these again though.
- Taste: 9/10. The chocolate flavor is pretty rich and it’s right on the edge of too sweet, but doesn’t taste super artificial like some others on the list.
- Texture: 8/10. This bar isn’t really like any of the other bars on this list – it’s almost like a chocolate coated marshmallow. It’s a little sticky, but I prefer this much more than Built original bars.
4. Fulfil Protein Bar
chocolate peanut caramel
Check out the full spreadsheet for my review of 1 other flavor – Chocolate Salted Caramel!
- Taste: 8.5/10. Lots of peanut butter and good chocolate flavor on this bar, but I found it a little too sweet.
- Texture: 8.5/10. A soft and chewy bar with layers of texture and a nice chocolate coating that’s covered with crunchy bits.
5. think! Protein Snack Bar
s’mores
This bar is smaller than most of the bars on this list at only 40 grams vs the typical 50-60 gram size.
- Taste: 8/10. You can tell they were going for the s’mores flavor here…I get the graham, marshmallow, and a touch of chocolate but it’s overly sweet for my taste.
- Texture: 8.5/10. A little on the softer side, but it still has a bit of crunch on the inside for some textural interest. The chocolate coating on the outside is quite thin.
6. Grenade Carb Killa
fudged up
This bar has gotten a lot harder to find in the US over the last few years, but if you can find it, it’s a good one! Check out the full spreadsheet for my reviews of 3 other flavors – Birthday Cake, Oreo, and Salted Caramel.
- Taste: 10/10. Dare I say this tastes better than a candy bar? The chocolate has a great flavor.
- Texture: 9/10. This bar has a great chocolate coating, but the texture varies between the flavors. My favorite flavors have a cookie texture with a creamy layer on top tucked in under the coating, with crunchy bits embedded in the coating.
7. think! High Protein Bars
brownie crunch
These bars are gluten free, kosher, are touted as low-glycemic and are widely available at grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. Although they claim to be sugar free, there are 12 grams of sugar alcohols.
- Taste: 8/10. The flavor is nice and chocolatey and not overly sweet.
- Texture: 8/10. These bars have a good crunch to them, but sadly no layers inside and the bar is just a little on the dry side.
8. BSN Protein Crisp Protein Bar
chocolate crunch
Pretty solid taste for a bro bar, but I don’t love the ingredients list.
- Taste: 8/10. There’s a good milk chocolate flavor in this bar that reminds me of Cocoa Crispies. I thought there was a little bit of a weird aftertaste though.
- Texture: 8/10. This is an all crispy bar with a chocolate coating on the bottom and chocolate drizzle on top. Fortunately, it’s not overly dry even with nothing-but-crisps.
9. Fit Crunch Snack Size High Protein Baked Bar
chocolate chip cookie dough
The regular size of this bar weighs in at 88 grams and 380 cals, so I reviewed the snack bar here since it’s closer to the size of other bars in this list. The macros on this bar aren’t great with 44% of calories coming from fat.
- Taste: 8/10. This is a seriously sweet bar but you do get the cookie dough taste.
- Texture: 9/10. There are some really great layers to this bar but the outer chocolate coating melts the second you touch it. It’s also a bit chewy.
Recommended with Reservations
These bars are still worth trying, but haven’t earned a “highly recommended” mark because of taste/texture, macros, or mile long ingredients lists.
10. Alani Protein Bar
caramel crunch
This company used to make a “Fit Snacks” branded protein bar that was pretty tasty, but it looks like those have been discontinued in favor of this new protein bar.
- Taste: 6.5/10. This bar is overwhelmingly sweet and the caramel flavor just isn’t really there. Plus the chocolate tastes very artificial.
- Texture: 8.5/10. Nice layers with chocolate coating, a soft/sticky layer, and a cookie layer.
11. Barebells Protein Bar
chocolate dough
This brand also offers a plant based bar in Hazelnut Nougat flavors and 4 flavors of soft bars. Check out the full spreadsheet for my review of one other flavor – Birthday Cake!
- Taste: 8/10. This one is also too sweet for me and the chocolate flavor is a little lackluster.
- Texture: 8/10. I like that this brand has a coating with some crunchy bits embedded in the coating, but the inside of the bar is softer than I’d like. I thought the birthday cake flavor was especially soft, but the chocolate dough flavor was a little chewier.
12. Quest Nutrition Hero Bar
chocolate peanut butter
Quest has made a big push for the use of allulose as an alternative sweetener in this bar. For the Chocolate Caramel Pecan flavor, there are 11 grams of allulose in the bar, contributing less than 5 calories per bar. Check out the full spreadsheet for my reviews of 2 other flavors – Chocolate Caramel Pecan and Cookies & Cream!
- Taste: 8/10. The chocolate and peanut butter flavors were great, but I could taste the artificial sweeteners too much.
- Texture: 10/10. Nice layers of crunch and chewy caramel inside this bar. It’s also coated in a nice chocolate layer.
13. PowerCrunch Protein Energy Bar
triple chocolate
The macros on this bar are worse than average with 55% of calories coming from fat.
- Taste: 7.5/10. I thought the flavor of this bar was kind of like chocolate combined with an odd taste. Either way, the chocolate flavor was not very rich.
- Texture: 8/10. I like the texture of these bars overall – they have layers of sticky stuff in between layers of light as air wafers, all surrounded by a nice chocolate coating. That said, they can come off a bit dry.
14. Dive Bar Nutrition Protein Bar
TRASH CAN COOKIE
Most of the bars by this brand have about 90mg of caffeine, but they do have caffeine-free options. Check out the full spreadsheet for my reviews of 3 other flavors from this brand – Cookies ‘n’Dreams, Peanut, But Her Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Though!
- Taste: 9.5/10. This bar has a slightly peanut buttery taste in the base, plus lots of M&Ms like a monster cookie. I took off half a point because it walks a very fine line between too sweet and just sweet enough.
- Texture: 7/10. I wasn’t expecting to love the texture because at first glance, it’s got that sticky, uncoated look to it. But when you bite in, it’s got a soft chew that’s just enough to not be weird, plus the M&Ms keep things interesting.
15. Quest Nutrition Quest Bars
birthday cake
Quest has a huge flavor variety and in my experience, the texture varies from flavor to flavor – some of their bars can be sticky and some of them can be a little dry and crumbly. They also now offer minis and a dipped version of some of their flavors. Check out the spreadsheet for reviews of 2 more flavors – Blueberry Muffin and Chocolate Brownie!
- Taste: 8.5/10. Solid birthday cake flavor, though it’s a little on the sweet side. I did like that this flavor included a coating.
- Texture: 6/10. Most Quest bars don’t have a coating and some flavors don’t have much in the way of texture differences to keep me interested. They can be a bit dense and are often chewy.
16. Built Bar
cookies & cream
Check out the spreadsheet for my reviews of 8 other flavors!
- Taste: 8/10. This flavor isn’t bad – not too sweet or fake tasting, but I didn’t really get the cookies ’n cream vibe.
- Texture: 4/10. There’s a nice chocolate coating on the outside and they’re soft to bite into, but the inside really has no textural interest. It’s just a sticky blob throughout that gets horribly stuck in my teeth.
17. GNC Total Lean Layered Lean Bar
Whipped chocolate mousse
- Taste: 7/10. I thought the chocolate flavor was a little off, but I like that the bar isn’t overly sweet.
- Texture: 9/10. A thick chocolate coating surrounds a cookie bottom and creamy top.
18. MusclePharm Combat Sport Bar
chocolate cake
If you like a more dense, chewy bar than the previous options, this is a great bar to take a look at.
- Taste: 7.5/10. The chocolate is pronounced and has a bit of a caramel flavor. It’s not overly sweet but it toes that line pretty closely.
- Texture: 8.5/10. Nice and thick textured/crunch coating with a dense, chewy inside.
19. REDCON1 MRE Bar
crunchy peanut butter cup
Although this bro bar is tasty, it’s got a typical bro ingredients list that I don’t love. One thing I found interesting though is the mix of proteins they use in this bar – pretty different from what you typically see in a bar!
- Taste: 8.5/10. Pretty tasty, not overly sweet, but I wish the peanut butter flavor was more pronounced.
- Texture: 8.5/10. Lots of textural interest in this chocolate coated bar. I took points off because it’s ever so slightly dry and the oats inside give it a chewiness where you would expect a crunchiness.
20. Anabar Protein Packed Candy Bar
milk chocolate campfire s’mores
- Taste: 8/10. This bar borders on too sweet for me, but it does have great chocolate and marshmallow flavors.
- Texture: 8/10. The chocolate coating on the outside melts really easily. There are little bits of marshmallow visible in the bar along with a good amount of crunch.
21. ProSupps MyBar
Ice Cream cookie crunch
I tried this bar a few years back when it was still a 55 gram size, but it’s now a whopping 88 grams and the flavor I originally tried has been discontinued.
- Taste: 7.5/10. This bar is right on the border of too sweet but it does have great flavor and you actually get some of that ice cream cookie flavor.
- Texture: 9/10. It reminds me of the MusclePharm Combat Crunch bars but with a less dense/chewy center. There are some nice little crunchy bits too (not super crunchy though).
Not Recommended
22. Met-RX Big 100 Colossal Protein Bar
Super cookie crunch
This is one of those huge bro-ey bars that I talked about in the intro to this post…it’s a monstrosity at 100 grams and 410 cals, but to be fair, it does advertise itself as a meal replacement bar. It also has a macro mix of a meal as opposed to a typical protein supplement/snack.
- Taste: 6.5/10. The cookies and cream flavor really comes through, although I felt like a pretty strong artificial aftertaste got in the way of me enjoying it.
- Texture: 10/10. Enough textural elements to keep me really interested – it’s mainly a crunchy cookie bar with a chocolate coating on the bottom and a smooth vanilla cream layer on top. I will say that upon inspecting the vanilla cream layer, it does seem pretty sticky and taffy like.
23. 1st Form Level-1 Bar
chocolate PB pretzel
- Taste: 6.5/10. The chocolate flavor is okay, but I don’t get the sweet/salty combo and it’s got an artificial aftertaste.
- Texture: 6.5/10. While there’s a nice coating of chocolate on the outside, it’s actually pretty hard to bite into this bar because the inside is almost like a harder version of a Butterfinger.
24. FitCrunch Wafer
chocolate peanut butter
- Taste: 6.5/10. While the peanut butter flavor comes through pretty strong, it’s actually not sweet enough and a little cardboard-y.
- Texture: 7/10. This bar has great crunch but I thought it came off pretty dry and kind of crumbly.
These are the original 10 bars I reviewed! The list has grown just a little bit.
see all the reviews:
Protein Bars Comparison Chart
Want to see all my reviews in one spot? Check out the full spreadsheet, including reviews of all the flavors I tried for each brand!
Note: I was not provided any compensation or samples to endorse these products. The views expressed here are my own. The Amazon links contained in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you buy anything from Amazon after clicking through these links, I’ll earn a small commission (usually just a few pennies) from your purchase. Your purchase price will be the same whether you use my affiliate links or navigate to Amazon independently.
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