PEScience vs Transparent Labs — Which Protein Powder Is Better?

PEScience Select Protein and Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey are two popular protein powders that many gym-goers recognize as high-quality options. Both brands make bold claims about their ingredients and effectiveness, often backed by eye-catching advertising. This comparison looks at which protein powder truly lives up to its promises and delivers real results, and which one might just be overhyped. If you’re looking for something straightforward that actually works, this review will help you decide.

For the full written reviews of both proteins, visit the links below:

• Transparent Labs Protein Review
• PEScience Protein Review

PEScience vs Transparent Labs; TLDR

In a straight PEScience vs Transparent Labs matchup, Transparent Labs wins for anyone who actually cares whether the protein number on the label is real. Transparent Labs publishes a full amino acid profile, delivers 28 grams of protein and ~2.8 grams of leucine per scoop, and backs it with Informed Protein and Informed Choice. 

PEScience Select tastes fantastic and mixes like a dream. That’s where the good ends. PEScience refuses to share a full amino acid profile and does not disclose the amount of added leucine peptide. Finally, the claimed “24g of protein” included the undisclosed amount of leucine peptides.

If you want a dessert-style comfort shake, PEScience is a fun option. If you want documented protein integrity, Transparent Labs is the stronger choice. Winner: Transparent Labs

How I Approach This PEScience vs Transparent Labs Review

This PEScience vs Transparent Labs review isn’t built from a brand press kit or recycled marketing claims—it comes from direct testing and the same scrutiny I apply to every protein I personally put in my own stack. As a certified strength and conditioning specialist (NSCA) and certified sports nutrition specialist (CISSN), I evaluate protein based on data, sourcing, and proven performance—not polished ads.

This PEScience vs Transparent Labs breakdown on my site exists for one purpose: to give lifters the real story behind the label. No sponsorships. No backchannel influence. Just verifiable protein integrity, amino acid transparency, third-party testing, and whether the flavor actually matches the picture on the front—not just the buzzwords.

You’ll see affiliate links—that’s how reviews like this stay independent—but my judgment isn’t for sale. My responsibility is to the consumer staring down another $60 decision.

If you want to watch me test and score these proteins, head to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jkremmerfitness

My mission with this PEScience vs Transparent Labs review—and every comparison I write—is simple: cut through the marketing fog so you can invest in the protein that truly supports your goals. Honest. Evidence-based. Useful. Every time.

Protein Transparency & Amino Integrity

shioned way—through nitrogen-based testing—so anything nitrogen-bearing (including added peptides and potentially flavor components) can show up as “protein” on the Nutrition Facts panel. You can’t tell how much of that is complete, naturally occurring protein versus boosted nitrogen. The math isn’t just fuzzy—it’s not allowed to be checked.

Transparent Labs, by contrast, actually hands you the map. When asked, they provided a full amino acid profile per serving: 28 grams of protein, around 2.8g of leucine, and 5.9 g of BCAAs. That data aligns with the label’s 28 g claim and lets you calculate your actual leucine intake instead of guessing. Also, Transparent Labs has been verified by Informed Protein. For the full amino acid profile that Transparent Labs shared with me, go here.

On transparency alone, PEScience is asking you to “trust us.” At the same time, Transparent Labs hands you enough numbers to run your own audit.

Does Either Brand Show Signs of Amino Spiking?

Neither review accuses these brands of outright fraud—but the risk profiles are very different. PEScience has three major red flags:

• No full amino acid profile
• Added leucine peptides with an undisclosed dose
• Reliance on nitrogen-based Kjeldahl testing that counts all nitrogen as protein

Those three together don’t prove amino spiking, but they create the exact fog amino spiking hides in.

For Transparent Labs, the evidence cuts the other way. Transparent Labs is certified by Informed Protein. However, there are concerns about the “Natural & Artificial Flavors” found on the ingredient list. It’s a backdoor for protein companies to inflate the final protein numbers on the nutrition panel.

The math suggests that the actual per-scoop serving of protein you’re getting with Transparent Labs is 25g, not the listed 28g. Inflated, yes. Verified? Yes.

So in PEScience vs Transparent Labs on amino spiking:

• PEScience — cannot confirm, cannot rule out; the silence is the problem.
• Transparent Labs — independently verified by Informed Protein.

Third-Party Testing: Who’s Actually Verified?

While having NSF-audited facilities is great for keeping ingredient clean. It doesn’t examine protein quality. We already know that the listed 24g of protein is inflated. Furthermore, PESciences “Gluten Free” is not verified by a third-party. It’s formulated as gluten free. 

Their tests focus on critical lifter concerns: Is the protein real? Is it clean? Will it pass a drug test? However, they don’t verify their claims of being “grass-fed, hormone-free, humane,” and they lack USDA Organic or similar certifications.

In summary, PEScience shows responsibility in testing, while Transparent Labs shows accountability.

Sourcing Transparency & Label Honesty

Now we get into the “where did this actually come from?” layer of PEScience vs Transparent Labs.

PEScience stamps “Manufactured in the USA” on the tub and confirms NSF-audited facilities, but sourcing stops there. When you pressed customer support… Sorry, AI, you got a polite, noncommittal answer: they try to source from the U.S. when possible. Some ingredients must come from elsewhere, and no specific farm or processor information was provided. There’s no documentation of whey origin, no COA tying batches to a region. The story is safe, but vague.

Transparent Labs goes the opposite route: highly specific claims, thin documentation. Grass-Fed Whey is advertised as being “sourced exclusively from grass-fed American dairy cattle, raised humanely and without the use of growth hormones or hormonal agents.” Strong words—but with no USDA Organic or sourcing information. When you compared their leucine percentage and protein profile to truly certified grass-fed brands, Transparent Labs looked more like a standard whey isolate with a generous serving size and very good testing, not like a uniquely grass-fed standout.

So, PEScience uses cautious sourcing language with no specifics. Transparent Labs gives you bold specifics with no certification. On label honesty, both leave a gap—PEScience in origin detail, Transparent Labs in grass-fed proof.

Ingredients & Sweeteners — Clean or Marketing Clean?

This is where the labels stop whispering and start shouting.

PEScience Select is unapologetically engineered to drink like a dessert. Ingredient lists for flavors like Chocolate Truffle and Chocolate Mint Cookie include:

• Milk protein isolate (casein + whey)
• Whey protein concentrate (80%)
• Leucine peptides (dose undisclosed)
• Cocoa powder and cocoa butter
• Tapioca starch and tapioca fiber for the body
• Natural & artificial flavors
• Guar gum for thickness
• Sucralose and acesulfame potassium as zero-calorie artificial sweeteners

The result is a thick, milkshake-like texture with elite mixability—but the price is a fairly synthetic flavor system and an undisclosed leucine add-on that directly intersects with nitrogen-based protein testing.

Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey leans into “minimalist clean”:

• Grass-fed whey protein isolate
• Cocoa powder
• Natural flavors
• Sodium chloride
• Stevia extract as the only sweetener

No artificial colors, dyes, fillers, or artificial sweeteners. You do taste the stevia curve if you’re sensitive to it, and some reviewers found the sweetness medicinal at higher concentrations—but compositionally, it’s the simpler formula.

Chemically, Transparent Labs is cleaner. Aesthetically, PEScience will look “fun,” and it will taste richer like a milkshake. 

Heavy Metals & Prop 65 Concerns

For Transparent Labs, the toxicology story is built around Labdoor. At the time of my written review, Labdoor was providing a toxicology reprot and screening. There are no Prop 65 Warning associated with Transparent Labs grass-fed whey.

If we are to examine the “looks clean vs proven clean” spectrum:

• PEScience — heavy metals are explicitly reported and shown under Prop 65 thresholds.
• Transparent Labs — Labdoor vetted toxicology

Both are safe, neither have a Prop 65 Warning.

Taste & Mixability — Which One Drinks Better?

Here’s where PEScience vs Transparent Labs becomes a battle of dessert vs discipline.

In my hands-on PEScience Select Review, I had no issues mixing in a shaker using cold water. It left no clumps. 

In my Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey review, I had minimal cake bits that slowly disappeared as I drank my shake. This is a standard watery shake. 

In straight sensory terms, PEScience is the richer, “fun” protein that drinks like a dessert. At the same time, Transparent Labs is a leaner, stevia-sweet isolate that tastes better than most “clean” formulas but won’t be mistaken for a milkshake.

For pure taste and shake experience, PEScience wins. For people who hate artificial sweeteners and still want something enjoyable, Transparent Labs is the cleaner compromise.

Nutrition Facts Comparison

Here’s how the key vanilla flavors stack up on paper:

PEScience vs Transparent Labs Key Differences & Comparison Metrics
Key Differences & Comparison Metrics	PEScience Gourment Vanilla	%DV	Transparent Labs French Vanilla	%DV
Leucine (g)	Requested/Proprietary		2.8g (Informed Protein Verified)
Leucine Percent (%)	Leucine is a listed ingredient		10.00%
Total BCAAs (g)	5.0g		5.9g
Protein per Serving (g)	24g	47%	28g	50%
Carbs per Serving (g)	2.5g	<1%	1g	0%
Fiber per Serving (g)	0g	0%	0g	0%
Total Sugars (g)	1g	—	1g	—
Calories	120 kcal		130 kcal
Serving Size (g)	31g		34.3g
Number of Servings	27		30
Amazon Price(November 2025)	$44.99		$59.99
Price per Serving	$1.67		$2.00

Between both brands, everything is very similar in the calories department. However, the one real difference between the two is price and value. If you want your protein to be verified, go with Transparent Labs. If you want something thats more budget friendly, PEScience Select. 

You can purchase either from Amazon. Use my affiliate link for PEScience or my Transparent Labs link. 

Price per Serving — Which Is the Better Value?

The money question in PEScience vs Transparent Labs is simple: what are you getting for each dollar?

• PEScience Gourmet Vanilla
  • Amazon price: $44.99 for 27 servings
  • $1.67 per serving
    
• Transparent Labs French Vanilla
  • Amazon price: $59.99 for 30 servings
  • $2.00 per serving

PEScience is cheaper at face value. But once you factor in transparency and testing, the equation shifts:

• PEScience gives you no amino profile, no leucine disclosure, and ingredient safety-only testing.
• Transparent Labs offers a full amino profile, 2.8 g of leucine, Informed Protein, and Informed Choice.

If you’re buying purely on cost-per-scoop, PEScience wins. If you’re buying on verified protein per dollar, Transparent Labs offers more value, especially for lifters who would otherwise over-scoop PEScience just to hedge against its missing data.

Who Each Brand Is Best For

PEScience Is Best For:

• Casual lifters who want a great tasting shake
• Indviduals who are looking for high-protein snacks or light meal replacements
• Dieters who value satiety and comfort
• Buyers who prioritize NSF-audited testing

Transparent Labs Is Best For:

• Lifters who want documented protein integrity
• Athletes who need Informed Protein and Informed Choice verification for peace of mind on banned substances and label accuracy
• People who prefer no artificial sweeteners or dyes
• Buyers willing to pay more for higher protein density and robust third-party testing, even if the “grass-fed, hormone-free” language isn’t yet USDA Organic certified

Final Verdict — Should You Buy PEScience or Transparent Labs?

When the dust settles on PEScience vs Transparent Labs, you’re really choosing between feel and proof. 

PEScience Select is the dessert protein: thick shakes, excellent mixability, rave flavor reviews, and a casein-heavy blend that shines as a snack or nighttime shake. But it hides its amino profile, refuses to disclose its added leucine dose, leans on nitrogen testing, and scored just 23.5/50 (47%) — Fails to Deliver in your own framework.

Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey is the documented protein: 28 g per scoop, ~2.8g of leucine, full amino table, Labdoor toxicology, and Informed Protein/Choice certifications, earning 39/50 (78%) — Good. Its weakest point is the unverified “grass-fed, hormone-free” story and a premium price tag. 

If your priority is a protein that tastes like a milkshake and you’re willing to overscoop and add high-protein milk to cover the gaps, PEScience will scratch that itch. Suppose your priority is verifiable protein quality for serious training. In that case, Transparent Labs is the better buy—until you step up to the fully certified grass-fed isolates, which you already rank above both.

PEScience vs Transparent Labs Frequently Asked Questions