Which is cheaper for protein, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?

Vital wheat gluten, at $0.013 per gram of protein against $0.017 for peanuts (raw) (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.40 vs $0.52.

Which has more protein per calorie, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?

Vital wheat gluten, with 20.3 g protein per 100 kcal against 4.6 g for peanuts (raw), 4.4x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.

Which should I buy, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?

Vital wheat gluten 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

Peanuts (raw) vs Vital wheat gluten: 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.

Vital wheat gluten is 1.3x cheaper per gram of protein ($0.013/g vs $0.017/g), while it also carries more protein per calorie (20.3 g vs 4.6 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
Peanuts (raw)	$0.017	$0.52	115 g	654 kcal	4.6 g
Vital wheat gluten	$0.013	$0.40	40 g	148 kcal	20.3 g

Full macros, per serving

Food (per serving)	Price	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Peanuts (raw) (100 g)	$0.45	571	26.2 g	15.8 g	49.6 g
Vital wheat gluten (100 g)	$1.00	370	75.2 g	13.8 g	1.9 g

A week of protein from each

Hitting a common 100 g/day protein target from vital wheat gluten alone costs $9.31 a week; from peanuts (raw) alone, $12.02. That is a gap of $2.71 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

Vital wheat gluten is both the cheaper protein ($0.013/g against $0.017/g) and the leaner one (20.3 g protein per 100 kcal against 4.6 g). Most matchups force you to pick a side. This one does not, so peanuts (raw) has to win on taste, prep time or what else it brings to the meal, because it is not winning on the numbers.

What the calories cost you

Getting 30 g of protein from peanuts (raw) brings 654 kcal with it. On a 2,000 kcal day, three servings would be most of your budget before anything else goes on the plate. That is fine when you are eating at maintenance or building, and it is the reason this food falls apart on a cut no matter how good the price per gram looks.

Two budget staples, so the tiebreak is elsewhere

Both of these sit in the cheapest third of everything we track (#5 and #4 of 25), and the difference between them is $0.12 per 30 g of protein. That is small enough that shelf life, prep time and whether you will actually eat it should decide this, not the price column.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper for protein, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?: Vital wheat gluten, at $0.013 per gram of protein against $0.017 for peanuts (raw) (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.40 vs $0.52.
Which has more protein per calorie, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?: Vital wheat gluten, with 20.3 g protein per 100 kcal against 4.6 g for peanuts (raw), 4.4x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.
Which should I buy, peanuts (raw) or vital wheat gluten?: Vital wheat gluten 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.