Glossary
Cost per gram of protein
Cost per 1g protein = (total cost) ÷ (total grams of protein). It's the single best metric for budget bulking — eclipses 'protein per serving' since portions vary.
Why this metric
A chicken breast is "high protein" — but at $7/lb (~$0.06/g protein), and tofu at ~$0.04/g protein, what's actually efficient? Per-gram cost is the only honest comparison.
How to compute
For each ingredient:
- Cost: $X per 100g
- Protein: Yg per 100g
- Cost per 1g protein = X ÷ Y
For a multi-ingredient meal, sum cost ÷ sum protein.
CostMyMeal automation
Open any recipe → result card auto-shows "Cost / 1 g protein" using your ingredients, country, and supermarket. Below the country-specific threshold, you get a violet MACRO HERO badge.
Country thresholds (current data)
- US: $0.06/g
- KR: ₩60/g
- ES: €0.05/g
- MX: MX$1.20/g
Cheapest sources per country
- Universal: Eggs ($0.030/g US, ₩56/g KR)
- Korea cheat code: Tofu (₩31/g)
- Spain: Chicken thigh (€0.013/g)
- Mexico: Eggs again (~$1.10/g)
See the [data ranking blog post](/blog/cost-per-gram-protein-ranking/) for full breakdown.
Related pages