Protein powder without sucralose: 13 whey and plant options

Sucralose, the sweetener sold as Splenda, is in a lot of popular protein powders, usually alongside acesulfame potassium. If you'd rather avoid it, you have four routes: monk fruit, stevia, a little real sugar, or no sweetener at all. Below are 13 label-checked whey and plant-based options across those groups, with protein, sugar, and price per 20g of protein, plus a free checker you can paste any ingredient list into.

Disclosure: I run Cantein, a hemp protein company. Our vanilla and chocolate are sweetened with monk fruit, and our unflavored has no sweetener. They're on this list, and so are several cheaper options.

The short list

Pick Sweetened with Protein source Protein per scoop Added sugar Price per 20g protein
Monk fruit
Promix French Vanilla Vegan Monk fruit Pea isolate 25g in 31g 0g $1.25
Cantein Vanilla or Chocolate Organic monk fruit Hemp 22g in 35g 0g $2.27
Truvani Vanilla Organic monk fruit Pea, pumpkin seed, chia 20g 0g $3.00
Stevia
Naked Vanilla Whey Isolate Fermented Reb-M (stevia) Whey isolate 30g in 37g 0g $2.08
A little real sugar
Naked Vanilla Whey Organic coconut sugar Whey concentrate 25g in 37g 5g total sugars $2.10
Naked Vanilla Pea Organic coconut sugar Pea 25g in 37g 3g $1.12
Vega Protein Made Simple, Vanilla Organic cane sugar Pea 15g in 26g 5g $2.02
Orgain Simple Organic, Creamy Vanilla Organic coconut sugar Plant blend with nuts and seeds 20g in 40g 5g $2.71
No sweetener
Naked Whey (unflavored) None Whey concentrate 25g in 30g 0g $1.68
Naked Pea (unflavored) None Pea 27g in 30g 0g $0.86
Promix Unflavored Vegan None Pea isolate 25g 0g $1.22
Cantein Unflavored None Hemp 28g in 35g 0g $1.79
Truvani Unflavored & Unsweetened None Pea, pumpkin seed, chia 20g 0g $3.00

Facts are from each brand's product page or label. The plant-based products were checked October 2, 2026, and the Naked whey products October 8, 2026. Price per 20g of protein uses the one-time list price for the size linked in the sources; subscriptions and larger bags are cheaper for most brands, including ours ($2.04 for flavored and $1.61 for unflavored on subscription). Naked lists total sugars, not added sugars, for its vanilla whey; part of that is lactose from the whey.

Is sucralose bad for you?

Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. The FDA approved it for 15 food categories in 1998 and as a general-purpose sweetener in 1999, after reviewing more than 110 studies, and set an acceptable daily intake of 5mg per kilogram of body weight. The FDA still lists sucralose as an approved sweetener.

Since then, a few studies have given some people reasons to avoid it:

  • Blood sugar response. In a 2022 trial published in Cell, 120 healthy adults took sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, stevia, or no sweetener for two weeks, at doses below the acceptable daily intake. All four sweeteners changed participants' gut bacteria, and saccharin and sucralose also worsened glucose tolerance compared with the control groups. The responses varied a lot from person to person. It was a small, short trial and didn't measure long-term health.
  • A manufacturing impurity. A 2023 lab study found that sucralose-6-acetate, a compound formed when sucralose is made (up to 0.67% of the commercial sucralose samples tested), damaged DNA in screening tests, and that it and sucralose weakened the barrier of human gut-lining tissue. These were cells and tissue in a dish, not people.
  • Weight control. In 2023 the World Health Organization advised against using non-sugar sweeteners, sucralose included, to control body weight. That's a recommendation about weight, not a finding that they're unsafe.

None of this shows that a sucralose-sweetened shake is dangerous. If you'd still rather skip it, the options above make that easy. This page isn't medical advice; if you're managing blood sugar, ask your doctor or dietitian.

Whey without sucralose

Many big-brand flavored wheys use sucralose (see the examples below). Unflavored whey usually has no sweetener at all, and a few brands sweeten flavored whey without it.

Naked Whey (unflavored): one ingredient

The label lists one ingredient: whey protein concentrate from grass-fed cows. 25g of protein per 30g scoop, at $1.68 per 20g of protein. With no flavor or sweetener, it works in smoothies, oats, and baking.

Naked Vanilla Whey: three ingredients, a little sugar

Whey protein concentrate, organic coconut sugar, and natural flavor. 25g of protein and 5g of total sugars per 37g scoop, at $2.10 per 20g of protein. Naked notes that the coconut sugar counts as a tree nut allergen.

Naked Vanilla Whey Isolate: stevia instead of sucralose

Whey protein isolate, natural vanilla extract, fermented Reb-M (a sweet compound from stevia leaves), and sunflower lecithin. 30g of protein and less than 1g of sugar per 37g scoop, at $2.08 per 20g of protein. If you dislike stevia too, see our guide to protein powder without stevia.

Plant-based without sucralose

Sucralose is less common in plant powders, which tend to use stevia, monk fruit, or sugar. All ten plant-based picks in the table avoid it.

Promix French Vanilla Vegan: lowest-cost monk fruit pick

Four ingredients: organic Canadian yellow pea protein isolate, organic vanilla extractives, monk fruit, and vitamin B12. 25g of protein and 0g added sugar per 31g serving, at $1.25 per 20g of protein.

Cantein Vanilla or Chocolate: no pea, no gums

Six ingredients: organic hemp protein, organic MCT powder (from coconut), organic vanilla powder or organic cocoa powder, organic flavor, organic monk fruit, and salt. No sucralose, stevia, sugar alcohols, gums, or inulin. Each 35g scoop has 22g of protein and 0g added sugar. USDA Organic.

Where it loses: at $2.27 per 20g of protein it costs more than Promix or Naked, and it has less protein per scoop. It tastes like hemp under the vanilla or cocoa, which is earthier than pea or whey. Our hemp is grown in Heilongjiang, China.

Truvani Vanilla: short organic label, highest price

Pea protein, pumpkin seed protein, and chia, with organic vanilla and monk fruit. 20g of protein per scoop, at $3.00 per 20g of protein.

Naked Vanilla Pea, Vega Made Simple, and Orgain Simple: a little sugar

Naked Vanilla Pea is pea protein, organic coconut sugar, and vanilla, with 3g of added sugar and the lowest price of any flavored pick. Vega Protein Made Simple uses organic cane sugar and has a small 15g scoop. Orgain's Simple line uses organic coconut sugar and contains peanuts and tree nuts. Orgain's main Organic Protein line uses stevia instead.

Unsweetened protein powder

The only way to avoid every sweetener is unflavored. All five unflavored picks above contain no sweetener: one whey, two pea, one hemp, and one pea-pumpkin-chia blend. Unflavored powders taste like their source, so blend them with a banana, dates, berries, or cocoa and you control the sweetness. Our recipes page has smoothie and food ideas.

Popular powders that do contain sucralose

These well-known powders list sucralose on the brand's own product page, as of October 8, 2026:

  • Dymatize ISO100, Gourmet Vanilla: sucralose and steviol glycosides (stevia).
  • Dymatize Elite 100% Whey, Gourmet Vanilla: sucralose and acesulfame potassium, plus a gum blend with carrageenan.
  • Premier Protein powder, Vanilla Milkshake: acesulfame potassium and sucralose.

Formulas differ by flavor and by country, so check the tub you're buying, not just the brand.

How to spot sucralose on a label

  • FDA rules require each ingredient to be listed by its common name, so it appears as sucralose. You won't see "Splenda" in an ingredient list.
  • Look near the end of the list, often after "contains 2% or less of". Sweeteners are used in tiny amounts, and ingredients are listed by weight.
  • It's often paired with acesulfame potassium (acesulfame K, or ace-K), another sweetener approved by the FDA.
  • A sweet flavored powder labeled "zero sugar" or "no added sugar" is sweetened with something. Find out what.

Or skip the squinting: paste the ingredient list into the checker below. It runs in your browser, flags sucralose and every other sweetener, and lists the allergens, gums, and added fibers too.

Check your protein powder’s label

Search for a popular powder or paste any ingredient list to see every sweetener, allergen, gum, and added fiber in it, and why each ingredient is there.

Try an example:

Runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere. The whey and plant examples are typical labels, not specific products.

The checker also has its own page: protein powder ingredient checker.

The short version

For whey without sucralose, go unflavored (Naked Whey), a little coconut sugar (Naked Vanilla Whey), or stevia (Naked Vanilla Whey Isolate). For plant-based and sugar-free, choose monk fruit: Promix is the best value, Cantein if you also want to avoid pea, Truvani for a short organic label at a premium. To avoid every sweetener, go unflavored.

I run Cantein, so weigh my view accordingly. Every product fact above comes from each brand's own product page or label, on the dates stated. Formulas change; check the current label before you buy.

Sources

Buying guides: Dairy-free protein powder · Sensitive stomach · Over 50 · Without stevia · Without sucralose · Clean protein powder · Hemp protein compared · All Learn pages