Best High Protein Yogurt: 20+ Brands Tested and Ranked (2026)

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Updated July 28, 2026

High protein yogurt has quietly become one of the most useful foods in my kitchen and is something our own advisory board member Kaitlin Wong, RDN enjoys. When you are a woman over 40 trying to hold onto muscle, steady your appetite or hit your protein target on a lower-calorie day, a thick cup that delivers 15 to 20 grams of protein for around 100 calories is a fantastic tool.

I bought and tasted more than 20 tubs and cups for this roundup on ordinary grocery runs at Kroger, Target, Costco, Aldi and Whole Foods. No samples and no sponsor steering the picks. I ranked everything by the one number I care about most, which I call protein density: grams of protein per 100 calories. That single metric cuts through the marketing, because a yogurt can shout high protein on the front and still bury it under sugar and calories on the back.

My overall winner is Fage Total 0%, with Simple Truth Organic plain as the cheaper near-twin I reach for most weeks. The full ranking, my taste notes and an honest list of the ones I would skip are all below. If you are still working out your daily number, start with how much protein per day for women.

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High protein yogurt comparison: 20+ brands ranked

Here is every yogurt I tested, ranked by protein per 100 calories. The plain strained Greek yogurts and store brands win on density, while the boosted cups deliver the biggest single-serving protein numbers. The sweetener column matters to me, so I have flagged it for you too.

What to look for in a high protein yogurt

Five things decide whether a yogurt earns a spot in my cart. First, the protein floor. I want at least 12 grams per serving, and 15 to 20 grams if it is standing in for a meal. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that meals built around 25 to 30 grams of protein improve fullness and help preserve lean mass during weight loss, which is exactly why I treat yogurt as a protein anchor rather than a snack. Thirty grams of protein is also the number needed to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (full discussion on this and citations here) so if I'm not having yogurt as part of a protein meal, I often add protein powder to boost it to that number and add flavor.

What to look for in a high protein yogurt

Five things decide whether a yogurt earns a spot in my cart. First, the protein floor. I want at least 12 grams per serving, and 15 to 20 grams if it is standing in for a meal. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that meals built around 25 to 30 grams of protein improve fullness and help preserve lean mass during weight loss, which is exactly why I treat yogurt as a protein anchor rather than a snack.

Second, added sugar. The naturally occurring sugar from milk is fine. It is the added sugar I watch, and a true high protein yogurt should carry little to none. Third, the sweetener, which I care enough about to cover on its own just below. Fourth, fat level. Nonfat wins on density, while a whole-milk cup brings staying power and works better in cooking. Fifth, the ingredient list. The shortest lists, often just milk and cultures, are the ones I trust most. If you want help turning these into actual meals, my high protein meal plan for women does the planning for you.

A quick word on why I skip sucralose and acesulfame potassium, the two artificial sweeteners you will see in ratio Protein, Yoplait Protein and Dannon Light and Fit. My reasons come from recent research. A 2022 randomized controlled trial in Cell found that sucralose measurably shifted the gut microbiome and impaired blood sugar responses in healthy adults. A large French cohort study in The BMJ that followed more than 100,000 people linked both acesulfame potassium and sucralose to a higher risk of coronary heart disease. And laboratory screening published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health reported that a byproduct of sucralose was genotoxic and that sucralose weakened the intestinal barrier. None of this is a closed case. The findings are still being debated and both sweeteners remain approved by regulators. For me it is reason enough to skip them and add my own sweetness with fruit, and if you are comfortable with them that is a fair personal call.

Best plain Greek yogurt

This is the category I buy the most and it is where the density winners live. Fage Total 0% is my overall pick. At 80 calories and 16 grams of protein in a 5.3-ounce cup, it lands at 20 grams of protein per 100 calories, the best ratio of anything I tested. It is thick enough to stand a spoon in, properly tangy and made from nothing but milk and cultures. I use it as a sour cream swap, a smoothie base and the bowl I build breakfast on if I'm not having eggs.

Simple Truth Organic plain nonfat is my value pick and honestly my second most-bought. It would absolutely be my first pick if I was sure it was more widely available. The macros sit within a gram of Fage, it is certified organic with a single-ingredient label, and it usually rings up cheaper at Kroger. If you shop at Costco or Aldi, the Kirkland and Friendly Farms plain Greek tubs are just as dense for a fraction of the price and I cover those in the budget section.

Holding onto muscle matters more every year, and the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily for building and maintaining muscle, paired with resistance training. A plain Greek yogurt base makes that target far easier to reach. For ideas, see my high protein breakfast ideas and the full high protein recipes hub.

Best flavored Greek yogurt

If plain is not your thing, the boosted flavored cups are where you get the biggest single-serving protein numbers. Chobani High Protein 20g is my favorite of the bunch. The 6.7-ounce cup delivers 20 grams of protein with no added sugar, real fruit and a clean tang that still tastes like yogurt rather than a protein bar. It is sweetened with stevia, which keeps it on my list.

Oikos Pro is the creamiest option I tried, almost pudding-like thanks to its ultra-filtered milk base, with 20 grams of protein in the vanilla cup and 25 grams in the plain tub. Both Chobani and Oikos use stevia rather than artificial sweeteners, which is why they edge out ratio Protein and Yoplait Protein for me despite all four hitting big protein numbers.

Best skyr

Skyr is the Icelandic cousin of Greek yogurt, strained even more, so it tends to run a couple grams higher in protein with a denser, almost cheesecake texture. Siggi's plain nonfat is the one I keep coming back to. It is famously not-too-sweet, with 16 grams of protein and only a few grams of naturally occurring sugar and the ingredient list is refreshingly short.

Icelandic Provisions is the pick if you find Siggi's a little too tart. It is slightly creamier and a touch sweeter, with comparable protein around 17 grams per cup. Either one is a strong everyday choice, and both prove that you do not need a protein-boosting additive to clear 15 grams.

Best whole milk yogurt

Whole-milk yogurt trades a little density for richness and staying power, and there are days that trade is worth it. Fage Total 5% is the gold standard here. It is luxuriously thick, deeply tangy and the one I want for tzatziki, a dolloped dinner topping or a yogurt that keeps me full for hours. The protein stays high at around 14 grams per cup even with the extra fat.

Chobani Whole Milk Plain is the more affordable, widely stocked alternative, with a mellow flavor that works for people who find nonfat Greek too sharp. If you are leaning into a higher-fat, protein-forward way of eating, my low carb high protein diet guide pairs well with these picks.

Best drinkable yogurt

Drinkable yogurts have become my answer for post workout quick protein and for anyone on a GLP-1 medication who finds a full meal hard to get down. Pillars is my personal favorite and anytime I hit Whole Foods after the gym, two of them become my post workout meal. Each 12-ounce serving gives you 18 grams of protein for just 100 calories with no added sugar, 3 grams of prebiotic fiber and six live probiotic cultures, sweetened with only a little organic stevia. It is smooth and sippable rather than chalky and the peach flavor is my favorite.

Oikos Pro 23g in a 7-ounce bottle is the pick when you want the biggest protein number, with 23 grams from ultra-filtered milk and whey and no added sugar and Chobani High Protein drinks come in 20-gram and 30-gram versions for a fast, no-chew hit.

A 2024 review in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism noted that a meaningful share of the weight lost on GLP-1 therapies can come from lean mass, which makes hitting your protein target on a suppressed appetite genuinely important. A drinkable yogurt is one of the easiest ways to do it. For more, see my guide to GLP-1 foods.

Best plant-based and dairy-free yogurt

Dairy-free is the category where you have to read the label hardest, because coconut and most nut milks are naturally low in protein. The brands that succeed add a protein source. Kite Hill Greek-Style is my top dairy-free pick. It uses an almond-milk base boosted with soy protein to reach about 15 grams per cup with zero sugar, and it is the closest a plant yogurt has come to the real thing in my testing. I personally avoid soy but if you don't mind that, the flavor is good.

Icelandic Provisions Oatmilk Skyr is the other winner, built from oat milk and pea protein for around 16 grams of protein plus a little fiber and very little saturated fat. A word of caution on the coconut-only options like So Delicious and Forager: they can deliver as little as 1 to 3 grams of protein per serving, so they make a fine treat but they're not really a protein food. Silk's soy yogurt is a reasonable middle ground at 7 grams with the best calcium of the plant set.

Best low-sugar yogurt (and the ones I skip)

For the lowest sugar with real protein, Two Good is the leader at just 2 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein in an 80-calorie cup, sweetened with stevia. Oikos Triple Zero is close behind with 15 grams of protein, no added sugar and a bonus 3 grams of fiber, also stevia-sweetened. These are the cups I grab when I want flavor without the sugar load.

Now the honest part. A few yogurts market themselves as a health food but are really dessert. Noosa and Ellenos are both delicious, and both lean on cane sugar or honey, so you are looking at roughly 6 to 13 grams of protein against double-digit sugar. Enjoy them as a treat, just do not count them as your protein. I would also steer past anything sweetened with sucralose or acesulfame potassium if, like me, you prefer to avoid certain artificial sweeteners and past the flavored cups where the sugar grams climb past the protein grams. When the back of the cup shows more sugar than protein, put it back.

Best budget and store-brand yogurt

The biggest surprise of this whole test was how well the store brands performed. Kirkland Signature nonfat plain Greek from Costco hits 18 grams of protein per serving at roughly 55 cents, and Friendly Farms plain Greek from Aldi matches it at around 50 cents. Simple Truth Organic at Kroger gives you organic milk for about a dollar. All three land within a hair of Fage on protein density at a fraction of the cost, which is why a big plain tub is almost always the smartest buy.

The one value skip is Trader Joe's whole-milk Greek, which came in at just 6 grams of protein per serving, low enough that the calories are not earning their keep. If feeding a protein habit affordably is the goal, buy plain in bulk and flavor it yourself and let my high protein meals for weight loss do the rest of the work.

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