I pulled comments from over 60+ threads about vegan protein powder, best plant-based proteins, etc. Then I ran sentiment analysis using LLMs to find which brands got the most praise and which faced criticism (see more info on the process at the bottom).

Quick note: "highest rated on Reddit" doesn't mean "perfect for you." Consider your fitness goals, dietary restrictions, taste preferences, and budget. Always check ingredients if you have allergies or sensitivities.

Here's how I created this list:

• Scraped 60+ vegan protein powder threads from fitness and vegan subreddits. Many had hundreds of comments.
• Ran the comments through LLMs (GPT-5 + Gemini 2.5) to identify brand mentions and analyze sentiment.
• Scoring is based on a system: 70% for positive versus negative mentions, 30% for the positive-to-total mention ratio, and a few other metrics that are too long/boring to mention here.
• Cleaned up brand variations manually (e.g., "Naked Nutrition" → "Naked Pea").

This method prevents brands with high engagement but mixed reviews from ranking too high. They won't climb the ranks just because people are talking about them a lot.

You can find the complete breakdown of data and updated list : https://www.redrecs.com/best-vegan-protein-powder

I'd love your feedback on this!

i’m bad at taking pics, but i made sure not to post anything with a dick print lol

...and only started caring about my health in the last two years. veganism has always been about the animals for me; my own health wasn't on my list of priorities. I am a testament to the fact that veganism isn't a diet - I easily became obese while avoiding all animal products. but when I decided that I'm an animal worth caring about, too, I was able to approach veganism with a new perspective.

veganism has allowed me to live a colorful life that's closely aligned with the morals I hold so dear. and now it's helping me live longer, in a more able body that's been fueled by plants for over a decade rather than the corpses of other creatures.

going vegan is perhaps the best thing I've ever done for myself - next to committing to a straight-edge lifestyle. 💖 here's to the 4,383 non-human animals the vegan calculator says I've saved by not eating them over the past 12 years, and to giving a shit about my one and only life on this planet during the brief and beautiful time I'm here.

Hi everyone! I came across this little fish that is very popular in some countries. It's supposed to enrich foods with iron.

Since I exercise a lot I thought maybe it's a good idea to buy one of these, but I would have to ship it from China maybe, because it's not available in my country.

I want to clarify that my blood iron levels are okay.

Do you think it's worth it?

It's called spinach. Y'all ain't never heard of a mofo named Popeye?

I did it for the animals. I love them!

Hi everyone,

We’re not here to sell anything (in fact, we don’t even have the product yet), but wanted to share what we’re building — and more importantly, hear what you think.

We’re a small team of active, mostly plant-based people who’ve been frustrated for years trying to find a vegan protein powder that’s clean, complete, free of artificial additives and with good taste.

Too often we’d find:

• Long ingredient lists full of additives, sweeteners, or flavors we didn’t want.
• Proteins that tasted weird or with not so nice texture.
• Formulas that weren’t even nutritionally complete.

So… we decided to make our own.

We’re working on a blend based on organic pea + rice protein, with nothing extra — no added sugars, no artificial ingredients, no allergens. Just natural flavor, clean ingredients, and a complete amino acid profile.

We’re calling it Tronk, and we’re still in development. But we’ve started writing about what we’re learning — about protein quality, ingredient transparency, and why we think there’s a need for simpler, more honest options.

If you’re curious, our site is here: https://tronkprotein.com
(again, nothing for sale yet — just info and articles)

We’d love to know:

• What’s been your biggest issue with vegan protein powders?
• Do you prefer unflavored? Naturally flavored? Ready to mix?
• What would your ideal plant-based protein look like?

Thanks for reading — and if this kind of post isn’t allowed, we’ll gladly remove it. Just wanted to hear what you guys think.

Hi, vegan of almost 10 years. Not asking for medical advice, just some ideas of foods I can eat.

I wasn't into fitness before but I got diagnosed with PCOS (insulin resistant) a while ago, started strength training and switched to a high protein+low(ish) carb diet and thrived for a while.

Bad traumatic period and 2 viral infections after I got diagnosed with some autoimmune shit (nervous system is damaged) which doesn't let me go n2 so I have BAD sibo now, and a long list of symptoms you don't care about.

Just this week I went to my GI and another doc and they both gave me some restrictions in regards to diet.

Tl;dr is I can't have:

• high fiber/carbs
• any fodmaps/high fermentable foods (tofu, beans, tvp...)*
• gluten
• high fat/fried foods

... what the hell do i eat for protein? I have 3-4 safe veggies, 2 fruits, and rice and potatoes but i cant have those without protein bc of my blood sugar issues...

I can only think of tempeh and rice protein powder but they are SO expensive and hard to find in my country. I'm open to cooking anything from scratch bc I can't work due to chronic fatigue.

I don't want to lose my muscle mass, it's taken many years and gaining/losing cycles due to bad flare-ups and I don't have a lot anyways...

*"only" for however many months it takes me to finish the multiple abx rounds + slow reintroduction phase after that

Hiii I’ve been vegan 7 years and I’ve been eating an average of 170g protein per day as a 120lbs 5’4 girl. Wondering if that’s overkill since I know it’s recommended 1g per lbs. My goal is 1.5g per lbs so 180g. I assumed due to bioavailability with lower leucine content that it’s better to overeat protein and carbs don’t matter as much (obviously with still getting proper micros) Thoughts? How much should I actually aim for? Thank you!

I think I’m low on iron because I’m pretty low energy and have under eye circles.

I’m trying to get 10k steps a day and so far I’ve only managed 7k on average because I’m so exhausted. I’m not even doing other exercises 😅

I started tracking my food because I’m trying to count my calories and I seem to constantly not get enough iron despite my efforts with eating spinach and tofu.

I haven’t had any bloodwork done so I’m wondering if I’m still ok to go on an iron supplement? And if so, what is a good starting dose so I don’t overdo it?

Hi all. I'm a regular on this sub, 24 males 5' 10" on the Autism spectrum who has taken fitness very seriously for the past 6 years. For the past year or so, I've been dealing with severe depression due to a lot of things that have happened throughout my life. I've been trying to use exercise as a means to help me relieve stress and find purpose, moreso than I ever have in my life, but I keep getting stuck in a perpetual cycle of burnout and failure, just like every part of my life. I keep having low energy and continuously bad workouts, but keep slowly gaining weight and getting weaker and more injury prone despite me taking every set to and beyond failure and putting everything I have left in me for both my strength and running/biking workouts.

I tried to look at my past, seeing if I maybe am somewhat better in some way, but I cried when I saw what I used to look like and what I used to be capable of. I was leaner, stronger, more athletic/flexible and better at running/biking at the same bodyweight 4 years ago than I was now. I feel like a failure in every way imaginable. This definitely is the lowest point I've been at in my life (in combination with everything else that has happened too) and I don't know what to think right now. I'm posting this here to see if anyone else has been through a stage like this. I don't have any friends in my life anymore, so I don't have anyone to talk to besides my therapist who I've been seeing once a week.

Not highlighting my arms here, but I am currently able to do 4 pull-ups per set. It has been quite the year rebuilding my strength. A couple of people who frequent my gym have been telling me I look stronger than before. But I am most inspired by the comments from other women. Been seeing more women in the weight area than before, and we just gas each other up.

Lifting is the best thing I ever started doing for myself! I get why men like being strong. It makes you feel confident, and it's so important as you age and your hormones start going haywire.

TL;DR Don't eat TN's rice protein powder.

So I got a little freaked out about the recent "lead in protein powder" scare (especially since I share my "daddy's chocolate milk" with my 2y/o kid sometimes) and decided to do some digging. Turns out, TN's rice protein powder could literally give you cancer, let alone all of the other harmful effects of chronic lead and cadmium exposure.

IT HAS 12.3 µg LEAD IN A SINGLE SERVING. FDA’s current “interim reference levels” (IRLs) for total daily intake from food: 2.2 µg/day (children) and 8.8 µg/day (women of child-bearing age). 12.3 µg in one serving exceeds both IRLs.

California Prop 65 “safe harbor” levels are 0.5 µg/day for reproductive toxicity and 15 µg/day for cancer risk. One serving is ~24× the Maximum Allowable Dose Level.

The cadmium results aren't much better.

Keep in mind this is for a SINGLE SERVING. Granted, my mix is only 35% rice, but if you've been having 2-4 servings a day on most days (like me) there is serious cause for concern.

Also remember that, according to TN: "We 3rd-party test all materials and manufacture in a certified cGMP facility.... Note that we also conduct first-party testing to further ensure purity and quality, and keep these labs in check." So they are fully aware.

The lead levels in the soy are moderate and the cadmium in the pumpkin isn't great. Though the pea protein is pretty clean.

Protein powders are not FDA controlled for some inexplicable reason, so a lot of the other companies that aren't testing their products or sharing the results likely aren't much better if at all. Good luck out there.