How ProteinPrice Works
The price tracking methodology, Value Score formula, and 12 retailers we monitor, explained simply.
A full breakdown of how we calculate Value Score, how often prices refresh, and exactly which retailers we monitor, so you know where every number on the site comes from.
The Value Score Formula
Sticker price is the worst way to compare protein powders. A $25 tub can be terrible value and a $65 tub can be the cheapest protein you've ever bought: it all depends on how many grams of protein you're getting per dollar. That's why every product on ProteinPrice.com is ranked by Value Score.
Total protein grams is calculated as protein per serving × servings per tub. We then divide by the lowest current price found across all retailers. This rewards large tubs, high-protein formulas, and competitive pricing: the things that actually make a product good value.
Value Score is normalized to a 0–100 scale for easy comparison. The raw g/$ figure is always shown alongside it.
How We Track Prices
Our automated scrapers fetch live prices directly from each retailer's website. No prices are self-reported by brands. Here's the full pipeline:
- Scrapers run on a schedule and request live product pages from each retailer.
- The current price, size, and availability are extracted and timestamped.
- New data is written to our product catalog, replacing the previous snapshot.
- Value Scores are recalculated immediately based on the latest best price.
- The site rebuilds and deploys within minutes: data is never more than a few hours old.
We run this cycle daily, so prices reflect real-time availability including flash sales, subscription discounts, and bulk pricing.
The 12 Retailers We Track
We monitor prices across these 12 US retailers, covering the full range from mass-market to specialty supplement stores:
Not every product is available at every retailer. When a product isn't stocked at a given store, that retailer simply doesn't appear in the price comparison for that product: it never inflates or deflates the Value Score.
Affiliate Links & Rankings
Affiliate disclosure: When you click a "Buy" link and make a purchase, ProteinPrice.com may earn a small commission from the retailer. This does not affect rankings in any way: all products are sorted purely by Value Score, which is calculated from independently tracked price data. We show you the cheapest option even when it earns us less.
Affiliate commissions help cover server costs and keep the price tracking running. Brands and retailers cannot pay for better placement, and no ranking is ever manually adjusted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often are prices updated?
Prices are fetched daily. The timestamp in the site header shows the last update time.
Do you track subscription or member prices?
We track the standard retail price. Some retailers like Costco or Amazon Subscribe & Save offer lower subscription prices: we note these where possible, but the base price is always used for Value Score calculation to keep comparisons fair.
Why is a product showing the wrong price?
Prices can change between our scraping cycles. If you see a significant discrepancy, the retailer's site is always the source of truth. Email us at
[email protected] and we'll investigate.
Can a brand pay to appear higher in rankings?
No. Rankings are calculated algorithmically from price and nutrition data. There is no paid placement anywhere on ProteinPrice.com.
How do you handle products with different serving sizes?
We use the total protein grams per tub (protein per serving × servings) so differences in scoop size don't distort the comparison. Two products with identical total protein and price will always score identically.
Can I suggest a product or retailer to add?
Yes: email
[email protected] with the product name and URL. We review all suggestions.