[Spreadsheet] The Best Vegan Protein Bars: I bought and tested 20 highly recommended or rated bars over the last month or so to find the best ones

bondo

New member
My goal: Collect as many highly rated/popular vegan protein bars, test them, and determine which ones are the best ones.

Over the past month or so, I was able to get my hands on 20 of these bars, here's a picture of most of my collection.

How I Tested Bars​


First, I identified the 3 most important parts of a good protein bar and scored them out of 10 (where a higher score is always better):
  • Protein content – The percent of calories from protein.
  • Taste – Self-explanatory.
  • Cost per 10g of protein – All vegan protein bars are fairly expensive, but some more than others. I wanted to find bars that were provided value for their price.
Each category received a score out of 10.

Think of the scores like a school grade. A 5/10 in this ranking system is quite bad (like a 50% in school).

The Results​


While you're welcome to view my blog post with a write-up of the results, I suspect that a lot of /r/veganfitness redditors would find my spreadsheet full of data more useful.

You can view it and make your own copy here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16PRV09Hhl5VuolCbeJ5OoAMr_eg6PWiv-nieSathB-E/edit?usp=sharing

Note that the results in the spreadsheet may be slightly different than the blog post because the prices on the sheet update automatically (they've already changed a bit since I wrote the post).

Which Bars Were the Best Overall?​


I've seen a few of these recommended here and there on this subreddit, so the top ones shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Based on the overall scores (adding the 3 individual scores together), the 5 that cluster together at the top are:
  • Simply Bars
  • Clif Builder's (has palm oil)
  • No Cow bars (has palm oil)
  • Pegan Bar
  • PROBAR Base Bar (has palm oil)
If there's a specific thing you care about more than others (e.g. cost per bar, sugar content, fiber, etc.), the spreadsheet will help you find the best one specifically for you.

The Best Bars in terms of quality (not counting price)​


You might also find this scatter/bubble chart interesting where I plotted the protein content vs. the taste rating.

Final notes​


If there are any bars you'd like to see added, or you spot a mistake, or you have a question, just let me know.

Also, there are affiliate links in the blog post, but shouldn't be any in the spreadsheet, just so you're aware.
 
@bondo Thanks OP! I’ve used Cliff Builders for quite awhile but I didn’t know how to check out others without spending a bunch of money. 😊
The cliff bars are the cheapest and with 20g protein I just let the other health stuff slide.
 
@danaport There’s a grocery store near me that often sells the Builder Bars at $1.25 per if you buy them in groups of eight. Which is incredible for Canada, pricing wise.
 
@mikepwit I've seen them at Costco as well for a similar price.

For the sheet I just went with the most available/reliable source, but you can definitely find some deals on some of these.
 
@bondo Completely agreed on Simply Protein being the best and on GoMacro being the worst.

The Simply Protein chips are great too: light & crispy; surprising that they can do that with pea protein.

As for GoMacro, I had one yesterday for the first time, and I don't know how they managed to make a bar whose first ingredient is sugar (syrup) taste bad.
 
@bondo This is so well done. I've always wanted to do this, and took a few of the first steps, but never finished. Thank you for being more competent than me.

It confirms that Builder Bars are the best overall, something I sort of knew already.

But now I have the best 4 alternatives to Builder bars to keep in mind for when I can't find them or if I want to push my protein content.
 
@bondo You're a braver man than I. The lemon flavor of Rise was almost inedible for me, and mind you I am the least picky eater in terms of taste ( cold, old food, dont matter).

Coconut was much easier to stomach, tasty even.

Lemon, maybe it's just me, but hard pass. Had to return 2 boxes for Vega sports bars.
 
@bondo Mannn this is great! Kudos for the good work. I’ve been wanting to do something similar for a while. However my biggest criteria are no palm oil; low saturated fat; and low sugar. (And taste!) I’ve been trying so many lately. The pro bar base really are delicious. I wanted to like the no cow bars but I tried two flavors and could barely force myself to finish eating them.

I’m going to try the simply bars! Even though my ideal bar would be soy-free, but I am not actively avoiding it.

I also like the orgain bars (but low protein) and the BHU vegan fit bars. NUGO slim are top ranking for me with high protein and low fat, but the taste is just ok. Edible and fine tasting, just bland.
 
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