Whole-food baselines

Grocery staples priced from BLS national averages and store brands. Every packaged product is measured against these.

Bench Facts

22 foods, prices as of Oct 21, 2026

Median product

Protein per calorie38%

Cost per gram4.3¢

Best

Canned tuna96%Peanut butter1.7¢

Rankings

Each list is sorted best first. Hover a food to find it in the other lists.

Protein concentration

Share of calories from protein. Higher is better.

Cost per gram of protein

What one gram of protein costs at regular retail price. Lower is better.

Protein grades

22 foods. Grades place the median against all products.

Protein per caloriemedian 38%

ABCDE

Cost per grammedian 4.3¢

ABCDE

Winners

of 22 foods

Trade-offs

Products in the shaded corner beat the category median on both axes. The line joins the products nothing else beats on both.

Whole foods
Best trade-offs: nothing else is better on both axes
Better than the median on both axes

Protein concentration vs. cost per gram

Protein concentration, % of calories

Cost per gram of protein, log scale

Leaderboard

Every number per labeled serving, at regular retail price.

22 of 22

#		Type
1	Great Value Chunk light tuna in water	fish	24 g	100	96%	4.0¢	$0.96
2	Great Value Raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail-off, frozen (31-40 per lb)	shellfish	20 g	90	89%	9.9¢	$1.97
3	Great Value 100% liquid egg whites, cage-free	eggs	5 g	25	80%	6.3¢	$0.31
4	Generic Chicken breast, boneless skinless	poultry	22.5 g	120	75%	4.2¢	$0.93
5	Great Value Greek plain nonfat yogurt	dairy	17 g	100	68%	3.6¢	$0.62
6	Great Value Lowfat small curd cottage cheese, 2% milkfat	dairy	12 g	90	53%	4.0¢	$0.48
7	Great Value All natural boneless skinless chicken thighs, frozen	poultry	16 g	140	46%	5.1¢	$0.82
8	Generic Ground beef, lean (90% lean / 10% fat)	red meat	20 g	176	45%	9.4¢	$1.88
9	Generic Pork chops, boneless	pork	21.14 g	201	42%	4.8¢	$1.01
10	House Foods Premium tofu, firm	soy	7 g	70	40%	7.6¢	$0.53
11	Marketside Atlantic salmon fillet, farmed, skinless	fish	20.42 g	208	39%	11.8¢	$2.41
12	Generic Sirloin steak, boneless, USDA Choice	red meat	19.92 g	214	37%	15.7¢	$3.13
13	Generic Eggs, large	eggs	6.28 g	72	35%	3.0¢	$0.19
14	Great Value Mozzarella string cheese sticks	dairy	7 g	80	35%	3.9¢	$0.27
15	Great Value Edamame in the pod, frozen	soy	7 g	90	31%	11.0¢	$0.77
16	Great Value Lentils, dry	legumes	24.63 g	352	28%	1.7¢	$0.43
17	Great Value Black beans, canned	legumes	8 g	120	27%	3.5¢	$0.28
18	Generic Whole milk (3.25% milkfat)	dairy	7.69 g	149	21%	3.3¢	$0.26
19	Great Value Garbanzos chick peas, canned	legumes	6 g	120	20%	4.5¢	$0.27
20	Great Value Creamy peanut butter	nut butter	7 g	180	16%	1.7¢	$0.12
21	Great Value Whole natural almonds	nuts	6 g	160	15%	7.6¢	$0.45
22	Great Value 100% whole grain old fashioned oats	grains	5 g	150	13%	2.9¢	$0.15