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The 7 Best Protein Powders for Women
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- Best Overall Protein Powder for Women: Naked Nutrition Whey
- Best Overall Vegan Protein Powder for Women: KOS Organic Plant Protein
- Best Value Protein Powder for Women: NOW Plant Protein Complex
- Best Organic Protein Powder for Women: Orgain Simple Organic Plant-Based Protein
- Best Protein Powder for Pregnant Women: Ritual Prenatal Protein Powder
- Best Protein Powder for Active Women: Garden of Life Organic Vegan Sport Protein Powder
- Best Protein Powder for Women Over 50: XO Jacqui Menopause Support Protein
- FAQs About Protein Powder for Women
Protein is vital for everybody to consume, but many people just don’t get enough of it.
While many protein powders on the shelves are marketed towards men, women are in need of the muscle-building macronutrient, too.
In addition to boosting muscle mass, protein is critical for increasing satiety, maintaining a healthy body weight, and supporting immunity.
If you don’t eat enough protein in the day—or are a regular exerciser—protein powder can help to bridge the gap.
In this article, check out our list of the seven best protein powders for women, including our top picks for plant-based and whey proteins as well as budget-friendly, organic, pregnancy-approved, and age 50+ options.
| Best Overall | Vegan | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Naked | KOS Organic | NOW |
| Protein Per Serving | 25g | 20g | 22g |
| Cost Per Serving | $94.99 for 61 servings ($1.55/svg) Shop Now | $36.99 for 15 servings ($2.47/svg) Shop Now | $43.99 for 24 servings ($1.83/svg) Shop Now |
Best for: Women wanting a clean protein powder; those who tolerate dairy protein well; women who want to buy in bulk.
Naked Nutrition’s Naked Whey protein powder contains just three ingredients—whey protein concentrate, organic coconut sugar, and organic natural flavor—and 25g of protein per serving.
This grass-fed whey is one of the cleanest protein powders on the market, making it an excellent option for women who want a dairy-based protein powder that provides all of the essential amino acids.
Naked Nutrition sources their whey protein from small Northern California and Idaho dairy farms, where the cows are grass-fed year-round and raised without growth hormones like rBGH or rBST.
At $94.99 per canister, Naked Whey seems like a lot—however, you get plenty of bang for your buck with this 5-pound, 61-serving container.
Best for: Women wanting a plant-based vegan protein powder; women wanting additional benefits in their protein powder (digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals, and fruits and vegetable blends).
Our best overall pick for vegan protein powder is the KOS Organic Plant Protein, which contains 20g of protein per serving from organic pea, flax, quinoa, pumpkin seed, and chia seeds.
Plus, this protein powder also provides digestive enzymes, a fruit and vegetable blend (shitake mushroom, broccoli, tomato, carrot, cranberry, apple, and orange), as well as 12 vitamins and minerals.
According to many reviewers, the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor also qualifies as one of the best-tasting protein powders for women.
However, although Kos Organic Plant Protein is dairy-, egg-, and soy-free, this protein powder is not suitable for people with peanut or tree nut allergies, as it contains organic peanut flour and organic coconut milk and sugar.
Best for: Women looking for a budget protein powder option that doesn’t compromise on quality.
For women looking for a good value protein powder, NOW Plant Protein Complex is an affordable, high-quality choice.
This NOW protein powder is a vegan option, getting its 22g of protein per serving from pea, hemp, and quinoa.
NOW also has plenty of certifications to back up their products, including the Informed-Sport certification, which tests every batch of products for over 270 prohibited and harmful substances.
However, some reviewers don’t love the grainy texture of this protein powder, and others experience digestive issues when consuming the sugar alcohol xylitol.
Best for: Women looking for a Certified Organic protein powder; women wanting a protein powder without stevia or sugar alcohols.
Orgain Simple Organic Plant-Based Protein is a great choice for women wanting a USDA Organic Certified protein powder with minimal ingredients.
This vegan protein powder provides 20g of protein per serving from organic pea protein, peanut flour, pumpkin seed, almond, and chia.
Orgain’s Simple Organic Plant-Based Protein is also great for women because it contains good amounts of iron—a mineral commonly depleted in women—at 35% of the Daily Value per serving.
However, this is not a sugar-free option—rather than using stevia, monk fruit, sugar alcohols, or artificial sweeteners, Orgain opted to add organic coconut sugar, totaling 5g per serving.
Best for: Pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding women who want a clean, vegan protein powder.
Pregnant and postpartum women still need protein—but many protein powders don’t have the right amounts of nutrients to support their needs.
Each serving of Ritual Prenatal Protein Powder contains 20g of vegan protein from organic peas, 0g of sugar, and 250mg of choline—an essential nutrient for prenatal and postpartum women.
Ritual also provides high transparency, with full traceability of all ingredients.
For example, they source choline from Missouri (made using nature-identical tartaric acid to support a growing baby’s neurodevelopment), and their handcrafted vanilla flavor comes from vanilla farms in Madagascar.
Best for: Active women who want to support muscle growth and recovery.
Garden of Life Organic Vegan Sport Protein Powder is an excellent choice for active women, providing 30g of vegan protein per serving with dozens of other beneficial compounds.
For example, this protein powder contains probiotics to support immunity, BCAAs and glutamine to promote muscle growth, and organic tart cherries, apples, turmeric, goji berries, and blueberries to help with post-exercise recovery.
Plus, Garden of Life has quadruple third-party certifications to back it up and is NSF Certified for Sport and Informed Choice for Sport Certified.
Overall, Garden of Life Organic Vegan Sport is one of the best protein powders for female muscle gain and active women.
Best for: Women over age 50 or who are going through any stage of menopause.
One of the most unique protein powders on the market, XO Jacqui Menopause Support Protein contains beneficial nutrients and compounds to support women going through menopause.
This protein powder may help to reduce menopausal symptoms like bloating, joint stiffness, mood swings, insomnia, and hot flashes with the addition of organic chaste berry, blueberry, pomegranate, and beetroot.
It’s also soy-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, estrogen-free, and contains no added sugar—rather, it’s sweetened with organic monk fruit.
However, this powder contains slightly lower amounts of protein, at 14g per serving.
FAQs About Protein Powder for Women
Is Protein Powder Good for Women?
Yes, protein powder can be beneficial for women, especially those who don’t consume enough dietary protein throughout the day and those who are vegan or vegetarian, pregnant or postpartum, or who maintain high levels of activity.
Which Protein Powder Is Best for Weight Loss for Females?
Any low-sugar protein powder can be beneficial for weight loss, as protein helps support satiety and lean body mass.
Which Protein Shake Is Best for Women to Gain Weight?
Protein shakes with higher calorie counts can help women to gain weight.
However, most protein powders are not high in calories; therefore, you would want to mix it with higher-calorie foods.
For example, you could mix protein powder with milk, peanut butter, and fruit to make a higher-calorie shake.
When Should Women Drink Protein Shakes?
Women can drink protein shakes at any time of the day.
However, active women will likely want to drink protein shakes after a workout to support muscle growth and recovery.
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