Protein Works Whey Protein 360 vs Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard.

How the numbers stack up against the price

Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold is a sweetened all-in-one: 68g of protein per 100g, twelve added vitamins and minerals, a digestive enzyme complex, and soy protein isolate second on its ingredient list. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey is the long-standing benchmark, an isolate-led whey at 79g per 100g with very little else in it. Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold is the cheaper of the two per 25g of protein, at roughly 72p on its 4.8kg bag against 84p.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey wins for most buyers, and this one is not close on the numbers that matter.

The 11g per 100g protein advantage is large, and it comes with 5.2g of carbohydrate per 100g against Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold’s 19g. Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold carries 16g of sugar per 100g; Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey is a fraction of that. If you are buying protein powder to get protein, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey delivers noticeably more of it per scoop and per gram of powder, and the 12p per 25g you save on Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold does not cover the gap.

There is still a case for Protein Works Whey Protein 360 Gold. If you want the vitamins, the enzymes and the flavour range in a single tub, and you are buying the 4.8kg bag, it does that for less money than Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey costs. What it is not is a lean, protein-dense whey, and the name invites you to think otherwise. Anyone avoiding soy should skip it outright: the soy here is a protein source, not a lecithin trace.