Which is cheaper for protein, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?

Cottage cheese (lowfat), at $0.027 per gram of protein against $0.166 for beef jerky (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.82 vs $4.97.

Which has more protein per calorie, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?

Cottage cheese (lowfat), with 13.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 8.1 g for beef jerky, 1.6x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.

Which should I buy, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?

Cottage cheese (lowfat) wins on both axes here: cheaper per gram of protein and more protein per calorie. Unless taste, prep or the rest of your macros say otherwise, it is the better default.

Protein head-to-heads · July 2026

Beef jerky vs Cottage cheese (lowfat): which protein is cheaper?

USDA macros joined to current US grocery prices, reduced to the two numbers that decide it: dollars per gram of protein, and protein per calorie.

Cottage cheese (lowfat) is 6.1x cheaper per gram of protein ($0.027/g vs $0.166/g), while it also carries more protein per calorie (13.1 g vs 8.1 g per 100 kcal), so it wins on both axes.

Food	$/g protein	30 g protein costs	You need	kcal that come with it	Protein/100 kcal
Beef jerky	$0.166	$4.97	90 g	371 kcal	8.1 g
Cottage cheese (lowfat)	$0.027	$0.82	273 g	229 kcal	13.1 g

Full macros, per serving

Food (per serving)	Price	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Beef jerky (100 g)	$5.50	411	33.2 g	11 g	25.6 g
Cottage cheese (lowfat) (100 g)	$0.30	84	11 g	4.3 g	2.3 g

A week of protein from each

Hitting a common 100 g/day protein target from cottage cheese (lowfat) alone costs $19.09 a week; from beef jerky alone, $115.96. That is a gap of $96.87 every week for the same protein. In practice you mix sources: the planner computes the cheapest mix for your exact target and calorie cap, live from the same dataset.

This one is not a trade-off

Cottage cheese (lowfat) is both the cheaper protein ($0.027/g against $0.166/g) and the leaner one (13.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 8.1 g). Most matchups force you to pick a side. This one does not, so beef jerky has to win on taste, prep time or what else it brings to the meal, because it is not winning on the numbers.

The gap here is 6.1x, which is unusual

Most matchups in this dataset land inside 2x. Beef jerky costing 6.1x what cottage cheese (lowfat) does for the same gram of protein means you are buying something other than protein: processing, shelf stability, convenience or flavour. Worth paying for sometimes, but name it, because at a 100 g/day target that gap is $96.87 a week and $5037.39 a year.

One of these is a convenience purchase

Beef jerky ranks #25 of 25 on cost per gram of protein, near the bottom. It is not a bad food, it is an expensive way to buy protein: $4.97 per 30 g against $0.82 for cottage cheese (lowfat). If it is in your basket for the protein, swap it. If it is there because it travels well or you enjoy it, that is a different and perfectly good reason.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper for protein, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?: Cottage cheese (lowfat), at $0.027 per gram of protein against $0.166 for beef jerky (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.82 vs $4.97.
Which has more protein per calorie, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?: Cottage cheese (lowfat), with 13.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 8.1 g for beef jerky, 1.6x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.
Which should I buy, beef jerky or cottage cheese (lowfat)?: Cottage cheese (lowfat) wins on both axes here: cheaper per gram of protein and more protein per calorie. Unless taste, prep or the rest of your macros say otherwise, it is the better default.

Prices are representative US grocery prices as of July 2026; your store will differ. Educational content, not medical or dietary advice. Dataset: free download, CC-BY.