Best Mass Gainers of 2026

Most mass gainers sound like a simple fix: dump a scoop in a shaker, drink a thousand calories, get bigger. Then you actually try one—it’s gritty, too sweet, or so heavy it sits in your stomach through your next workout. A good mass gainer has to do more than stack calories; it needs to mix clean, taste like something you’ll finish, and go down without wrecking your appetite or your digestion. That’s the balance I went looking for.

Over the past four months, our team tested 14 mass gainers, mixing them after morning lifts and evening sessions, sipping them between meals, and tracking how we felt—and how our stomachs felt—over the following days. We weighed scoops, counted calories per dollar, and noted which ones dissolved smoothly and which turned into paste at the bottom of the bottle. The lesson? The biggest calorie number on the label means nothing if you can’t drink it consistently. The picks below are the ones we kept reaching for.

1

Best Overall

Dymatize Super Mass Gainer

Dymatize Super Mass Gainer

91 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Tub Size
12 lb
Protein Per Serving
1.83 oz
Calories Per Serving
1,280
Creatine Per Serving
0.04 oz
Check Price on Amazon

Twelve hundred and eighty calories and 52 grams of protein in a single serving is the biggest hit in this group, and it's why this Dymatize tub is the gainer we point most people to. Most bulks fail on calories rather than protein, and this is the powder that makes a surplus hard to miss. It's also the cheapest way here to buy calories by weight, which matters when you're restocking every few weeks.

The formula earns its place beyond the headline number. There's a gram of creatine per serving, so that's one less tub on the shelf, plus 14 vitamins and minerals, and the protein is a whey-and-casein blend rather than straight whey — fast protein after training, slower release between meals. The vanilla is mild enough to take additions: a banana, a spoon of peanut butter, a handful of oats, and it still tastes like a shake.

A full serving is two and a half cups of powder, and drinking that on top of three normal meals can leave you too full to eat the food that's supposed to be doing the work. We split it — one scoop in milk on rest days, the full serving after training — and a 12-pound tub lasts noticeably longer that way. Give yourself a week at a smaller serving before going all in.

Pros

  • 1,280 calories and 52 g protein per serving
  • Lowest cost per pound of the full-size gainers
  • Creatine and 14 vitamins and minerals included
  • Whey and casein blend for fast and slow release

Cons

  • Full serving is thick enough to need a blender
Our verdict

Our default pick: 1,280 calories and 52 grams of protein per shake, the lowest cost per pound in this group, and creatine already in the tub.

Check Latest Price
2

Best for Building Your Own Shake

Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass

Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass

91 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Tub Size
12 lb
Carbs Per Serving
Over 250 g
Protein Per Serving
1.76 oz
Calories Per Serving
Over 1,200
Check Price on Amazon

Twenty-plus vitamins and minerals, vitamin C and zinc among them, is a fuller nutrition panel than you'll find on most gainers, and it's the first thing we noticed on this one. The rest of the serving is blunt: over 1,200 calories, 50 grams of protein, and more than 250 grams of carbohydrate.

What we appreciate most is that it behaves like a base rather than a finished drink. Blend it with milk, a banana, oats, peanut butter or nuts and one shake goes past what the tub's own numbers suggest, which is useful when your appetite swings from week to week. The chocolate flavor holds up in milk, and a single scoop still makes a drinkable shake on days when the full serving feels like a lot.

The carbohydrate load is the thing to respect. More than 250 grams in one sitting is a big ask for a stomach, and the version that causes trouble is a full serving put down fast on an empty stomach. Halve it, add more liquid, and sip it over twenty minutes, and it's a different drink entirely.

Pros

  • 20+ vitamins and minerals in the mix
  • Takes added food without turning gluey
  • Over 1,200 calories and 50 g protein per serving

Cons

  • Costs more per pound than our top pick
Our verdict

We point anyone who wants a base to build shakes around to this one — the vitamin panel and the mixable chocolate flavor make it the most flexible tub here.

Check Latest Price
3

Best Low-Sugar Gainer

Gold Standard Pro Gainer

Gold Standard Pro Gainer

92 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Carbs Per Serving
Over 80 g
Sugar Per Serving
Under 8 g
Protein Per Serving
2.12 oz
Calories Per Serving
650
Check Price on Amazon

Under 8 grams of sugar per serving is the figure that makes Gold Standard Pro Gainer the lean option on this page. At 650 calories it's the smallest calorie hit among the big tubs, but it carries 60 grams of protein and more than 80 grams of carbohydrate — the most protein per calorie in this group by a clear margin, which is the ratio you want if you're adding mass without adding much waist.

It's also the best-behaved powder here. It dissolves in a shaker with water or milk without the clumping that makes some gainers a blender-only proposition, and it's noticeably gentler than the 1,100- and 1,200-calorie tubs on this page: you finish it feeling fed rather than swollen. If you've tried a gainer before and abandoned it because it sat like a brick, this is the one to retry.

The trade is ceiling and patience. At 650 calories, a serious surplus means two shakes a day or one shake plus a genuinely large appetite, which suits a lean gainer and frustrates someone who can't clear a plate. Measure the scoop rather than eyeballing it, too — it's an enormous one, and it's easy to end up with half again the serving you intended.

Pros

  • Under 8 g sugar per serving
  • Highest protein per calorie in this set
  • Best mixing and gentlest digestion here

Cons

  • Most expensive tub in this group
Our verdict

We reach for this one on a lean bulk: 60 grams of protein and under 8 grams of sugar a serving, with the cleanest mixing and gentlest digestion in this group.

Check Latest Price
4

Best Whole-Food Carbs

Mutant Mass

Mutant Mass

90 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Bag Size
15 lb
Carbs Per Serving
6.77 oz
Protein Per Serving
1.98 oz
Calories Per Serving
1,100
Check Price on Amazon

Barley, sweet potato, rolled oats, avocado, coconut oil, flaxseed, pumpkin seed, sunflower oil — that's a carbohydrate source list you rarely see on a gainer, and it's the reason Mutant Mass stands apart in a category where the carbs are usually one refined starch. Whether your stomach notices the difference is personal, but the ingredient panel is a real distinction rather than a line of marketing.

The numbers back it up: 1,100 calories, 56 grams of protein from whey isolate, concentrate and casein, 192 grams of carbohydrate, and 26.1 grams of EAAs including 12.2 grams of BCAAs. The 15-pound bag is the biggest format here, and per pound it's one of the better values in the group if you're drinking it daily — you're paying for protein and carbohydrate, not for a flavor system.

Triple chocolate is rich, and we prefer it in cold milk; with water it tastes thinner and sweeter at once. A 15-pound bag is also awkward to work from at seven in the morning, so we decant the first few pounds into a tub with a scoop that fits. For straight mass with an ingredient list you can read down the side, it's the pick.

Pros

  • Carbohydrates from oats, barley, and sweet potato
  • 56 g protein and 1,100 calories per serving
  • Largest format here, keen per-pound value

Cons

  • Very large serving to drink in one sitting
Our verdict

We recommend it to anyone who wants whole-food carbohydrate sources and 56 grams of protein in a bag big enough to see a full bulking block through.

Check Latest Price
5

Best for Hard Gainers

BSN True-Mass

BSN True-Mass

90 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Fiber Per Serving
0.35 oz
Protein Per Serving
1.76 oz
Calories Per Serving
1,200
Carb-to-protein Ratio
4:1
Check Price on Amazon

Four parts carbohydrate to one part protein is the most old-school build on this list, and BSN True-Mass commits to it: 1,200 calories, 50 grams of multi-source protein, and 10 grams of fiber per serving. If your problem is that you cannot eat enough food, this is closer to a weight-gain tool than a protein supplement.

We rate it for the fast-metabolism buyer specifically. Someone already eating well and still stuck on the scale needs calories, not another 30 grams of protein, and the carb-heavy ratio here delivers them. If you're softer than you'd like, or you're chasing lean mass at a controlled pace, that same ratio works against you — this isn't the tub for a cut.

It mixes fine in milk or a shaker but lands thick, and the carbohydrate load can sit heavy; a full serving on an empty stomach is the version most likely to leave you uncomfortable. Half a serving with more liquid, drunk over half an hour, is the way in. Get the chocolate milkshake flavor — it's the most consistently praised thing about the tub.

Pros

  • 1,200 calories on a 4:1 carb-to-protein ratio
  • 10 g fiber per serving
  • Chocolate milkshake flavor is well liked

Cons

  • Few servings for a tub this size
Our verdict

Our hard-gainer pick: 1,200 calories on a 4:1 carb-to-protein ratio, for the person who can't eat enough food to move the scale.

Check Latest Price
6

Smaller, Milder Tub

Muscle Milk Gainer

Muscle Milk Gainer

90 /100
Trail Score Outstanding

Key details

Container Size
5 lb
Protein Per Serving
1.13 oz
Calories Per Serving
650
Servings Per Container
About 14
Check Price on Amazon

About 14 servings in a 5-pound canister makes this the smallest commitment on the page, and for a first gainer that counts for something — you're not staring down 12 pounds of powder you might not finish. The formula is milder too: 32 grams of protein, 3 grams of leucine from milk proteins, and 650 calories across four scoops.

It drinks like chocolate milk, which is the compliment it sounds like. It mixes in a shaker without the chalky finish that puts people off gainers, and it works as a between-meals or post-workout shake rather than a project you schedule your day around.

Our read is that this is the right pick for someone testing whether a gainer fits their routine, or for a smaller appetite that can't handle a 1,200-calorie shake in one go. Four scoops for 32 grams of protein is a lot of powder, and the canister empties quickly at one serving a day — but as a low-stakes way to find out whether a daily shake fits your week, it earns its spot.

Pros

  • Small tub, about 14 servings
  • Mixes easily and tastes like chocolate milk
  • 32 g protein with 3 g leucine

Cons

  • Carbohydrate is mostly maltodextrin
Our verdict

We keep this one in mind for a first gainer — mild, easy to drink, and small enough to finish before you're tired of it.

Check Latest Price
7

Cheap Carb Blast

MuscleTech Mass Gainer

MuscleTech Mass Gainer

89 /100
Trail Score Excellent

Key details

Tub Size
5.15 lb
Carbs Per Serving
10.7 oz
Scoops Per Serving
6
Protein Per Serving
60 g with skim milk
Check Price on Amazon

Six scoops and 304 grams of carbohydrate in a single serving is the most extreme build on this page, and it tells you exactly who this MuscleTech gainer is for: the person who needs a carbohydrate bomb rather than a delicate lean-bulk shake. Mixed with skim milk, a serving carries 60 grams of protein.

It also brings creatine — HPLC-tested, the version worth having — along with 6.3 grams of leucine. The vanilla milkshake flavor is sweet to the point of chemical for some palates, and it's not the reason to buy this tub either way.

Tolerance is the real question. Bloating and nausea come up with this one more than with anything else on this page, and six scoops is a lot of powder to get down regardless. Start with two scoops in 16 ounces of liquid, hold there for a week, and only then work up — beginning at the full serving is how people end up giving away a nearly full tub.

At the lowest price of the group, it's a fair way into a bulk, and the carbohydrate and creatine numbers are genuinely useful if you struggle to eat enough. It's the pick for a strong stomach and a tight budget, in that order.

Pros

  • 304 g carbs and 60 g protein per serving
  • Includes HPLC-tested creatine
  • Lowest tub price in this set

Cons

  • Six-scoop serving empties the tub fast
Our verdict

We suggest it when the budget decides and the stomach can take it: 304 grams of carbs and creatine per serving, at the lowest price here.

Check Latest Price

How We Tested 14 Mass Gainers

We started with a list of three dozen mass gainers and cut it down by reading ingredient panels, comparing calories per serving and price per serving, and checking which ones relied on recognizable protein sources rather than mostly maltodextrin. We also looked at added sugars, fiber, digestive enzymes, and serving sizes that were realistic to drink in one sitting. That left us with 14 tubs to actually use.

For four months, I mixed them in a 20-ounce shaker with water and again with milk—after morning workouts, after evening leg sessions, and between meals on days when eating enough was a struggle. I noted clumps at the bottom, foam that wouldn’t settle, and whether the texture turned chalky as it sat. I weighed each scoop on a kitchen scale, because a label that lists 1,250 calories can be misleading if the scoop is enormous or the powder settles into a brick.

Taste got logged at first sip and again after ten minutes, since some drinks turned cloying or metallic as they warmed. I kept a running note on stomach irritation: did it sit heavy, cause gas, or make me feel like skipping my next meal? Digestibility mattered as much as the calorie count, especially on days with two shakes.

We tracked body weight weekly and wrote down how we felt going into the next training session—not just whether the scale moved, but whether recovery felt normal or sluggish. At the end, we compared price per 1,000 calories and per gram of protein, then factored in how often we actually wanted to finish the tub. The mass gainers that made the list were the ones that combined a useful calorie load with a shake we could drink day after day.

How to Choose a Mass Gainer

Compare Servings Per Tub, Not Just Calories Per Serving

Two tubs can both advertise 1,200 calories and behave nothing alike, because one spreads that across two scoops and another across six. Divide what's in the container by the serving size before you commit. MuscleTech's gainer runs on six scoops a serving, so a 5-pound tub goes quickly, while the 12- and 15-pound formats from Dymatize, Optimum Nutrition, and Mutant last weeks at one shake a day.

The trap is comparing the calorie figure on the front of two very different tubs and assuming the bigger number is the better buy. Read the serving size first, then the calories.

Match the Carb-to-Protein Ratio to Your Goal

Mass gainers run from roughly 2:1 carbohydrate-to-protein up to BSN's 4:1, and the ratio decides who the tub is for. A carb-heavy formula such as True-Mass or Serious Mass suits someone who genuinely cannot eat enough food. A higher-protein, lower-calorie formula such as Gold Standard Pro Gainer — 60 grams of protein at 650 calories and under 8 grams of sugar — suits a leaner bulk where you want the extra calories to land as muscle rather than waistline.

Choose by what's actually limiting you: total food intake, or protein quality.

Plan for How You'll Actually Mix It

Serving sizes here run from two and a half cups of powder down to a couple of scoops, and that decides whether you need a blender. A shaker bottle tops out well before most full servings, so if you're drinking at the gym, a formula that dissolves cleanly in water is worth more than a few extra grams of protein. At home, a blender turns a heavy gainer into something closer to a milkshake and lets you add milk, oats, or fruit for extra calories.

Read the Carbohydrate Source and the Sugar Line

Maltodextrin is cheap, mixes easily, and is the carbohydrate in most of these tubs; Mutant Mass builds its carbs from oats, sweet potato, and barley instead. Neither approach is wrong, but refined starch in a 250-gram dose is a common reason people feel bloated. If you react badly to big carbohydrate loads, look for a lower-sugar, higher-protein formula and make up the calories with food — or start at half a serving with more liquid and build up.

Check the Extras Before You Add Supplements

Creatine, vitamins and minerals, and fiber are the usual bonuses. Dymatize includes a gram of creatine per serving, Serious Mass carries more than 20 vitamins and minerals, and MuscleTech uses HPLC-tested creatine. None of that justifies a tub on its own, but it's a reason not to double up: if you already take creatine separately, a gainer that includes it changes nothing but the label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

Two things decide a gainer: whether you can drink it daily, and whether the calories arrive at a cost you can sustain for a whole bulk. Dymatize Super Mass wins both — the most calories and protein per shake in this group, the lowest cost per pound, and creatine already in the tub.

If sugar is what you're watching, pay more for Gold Standard Pro Gainer and its 60 grams of protein at 650 calories. If you want a base to build shakes around, Serious Mass takes additions better than anything else here.