Mass gainers are a category of dietary supplements that are high in calories with varying ratios of macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) and sometimes contain vitamins, minerals, and added ingredients for athletic performance. They are commonly used to gain weight (for those who may be under their ideal body weight) or gain muscle mass (for those who are working out heavily and want to bulk up).
To create the list of the Top 5 Mass Gainers, I collaborated with our in-house protein and mass gainer expert – Charlie Branovan. Charlie is on the merchandising team where she oversees the mass gainer category. She is responsible for curating the assortment of gainer products that you see on GNC shelves and online. Throughout her nearly 10-year tenure at GNC, she has sampled her fair share of gainers. So, who better to ask for the best of the best?
I sat down with Charlie and asked her to rank the best mass gainers out there. As a dietitian myself, I threw in my two cents on the nutritional profile of each product. Our criteria for choosing the products included:
- Nutritional Profile: Must provide at least 700 calories and 50g of protein
- Popularity: We prioritized products based on sales and customer reviews
- Flavor & Mixability: It must taste good with minimal clumping. Bonus points for having many flavor options.
- Additional Features: Bonus points for banned substance testing and added ingredients for performance.
Our picks for the top mass gainers
Customer Favorite GNC Pro Performance® Bulk 1340
Best Gainer for Beginners GNC Pro Performance® Weight Gainer
Best Gainer for Experienced Users GNC AMP Mass XXX
Best Gainer with Creatine Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
Most Innovative Gainer Beyond Raw® Dynamic Gainer
Here is a quick summary of the top 5 gainers in terms of price, nutritional profile, key features, and flavors:
| GNC Pro Performance® Bulk 1340 | GNC Pro Performance® Weight Gainer | GNC AMP Mass XXX | Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass | Beyond Raw® Dynamic Gainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Retail Price |
$49.99 (9 svgs)
$79.99 (15 svgs) |
$29.99 (6 svgs) |
$79.99 (13 svgs) |
$54.99 (8 svgs)
$79.99 (16 svgs) |
$89.99 (15 svgs) |
|
Price Per Serving |
$5.55 / $5.33 |
$4.99 |
$6.15 |
$6.87 / $5.00 |
$6.00 |
|
Calories |
1,340 |
700 |
800 |
1,250 |
810 |
|
Protein |
50g |
50g |
50g |
50g |
50g |
|
Carbs |
277-279g |
115-117g |
127-130g |
252-254g |
130g |
|
Added Features |
Banned Substance Tested, 1g Creatine |
Banned Substance Tested |
MyoTOR®, BetaPower®, 2.5g Creatine |
Banned substance tested, vitamins & minerals |
ioWHEY® protein, 3g myHMB®, 5g Tendoforte® collagen, vitamins & minerals |
|
What Makes It Great |
GNC's best-selling gainer |
Affordability |
Clinically proven for strength. Easy scoop |
3g Creatine |
Proven protein technology for enhanced absorption |
|
Flavors |
Double Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Strawberries & Cream |
Double Chocolate, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Strawberries & Cream |
Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and Cookies & Cream |
Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter |
Vanilla Cheesecake, Chocolate Éclair, and Strawberry Shortcake |
Do Mass Gainers Work?
When combined with a resistance training program, YES – mass gainers do work. The better question is: HOW do they work?
Bulking up sounds easy, but it can be quite difficult. An increase in muscle mass, or muscular hypertrophy, requires repeatedly challenging the muscles through strength training, causing strain and damage to the muscle fibers. The body responds by repairing the muscle damage and adapts by growing in size and strength. To make this happen, the body needs extra fuel in the form of calories. In fact, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), says “the primary component to optimize training and performance through nutrition is to ensure the athlete is consuming enough calories to offset energy expenditure”. Folks who work out a few times per week can usually get enough calories through a normal diet. However, athletes involved in moderate to high-intensity training (2-3 hours per day, 5-6 times per week…or more) can burn 600-1200 calories PER HOUR during exercise. Therefore, daily calorie needs can range from 40-70 calories per kilogram of body weight [1]. For a 200-pound person, that’s 3600-6300 calories (while the average person only needs about 2000)!
READ MORE: Avoid Losing Muscle Mass You Put On During Bulking Season
When it comes to protein, the ISSN recommends 1.4-2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily for exercising individuals trying to build muscle mass [2]. That same 200-pound person should consume 127-181 grams of protein per day. To put that into perspective, you’d have to eat 21-30 eggs per day to hit that protein number. Now, I wouldn’t recommend this, but you get the point – consuming adequate calories with the right macronutrient breakdown can be difficult, impractical, and expensive. That’s where protein powders, protein bars, and protein mass gainers can help. They’re convenient, require little to no preparation, and can be cheaper than some regular meals.
READ MORE: Best Protein Powders
Product Highlights
- GNC’s #1 best-selling gainer
- 1,340 calories, 50g protein, and 277-279g carbs per serving
- 11g BCAAs, 10g glutamine and glutamic acid, 1g creatine
- Banned Substance Tested, Gluten Free
- 7lb tub is $49.99 ($5.55 per serving) and comes in 4 flavors: Double Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Strawberries & Cream. The 12lb bag is $79.99 ($5.33 per serving) and comes in Double Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream.
As GNC’s best-selling gainer, Pro Performance® Bulk 1340 is the clear winner as customer favorite. It’s an all-around, great-tasting, high-quality gainer providing 1,340 calories and 50 grams of protein from whey protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate, and egg albumen. It has 11g of BCAAs for muscle recovery and growth, 10g of glutamine, one of the most abundant amino acids found in muscles, and an energizing ATP complex with creatine, choline, inositol, and PABA (as Para-Amino Benzoic Acid). Bulk 1340 is also banned substance tested so athletes can trust what they’re putting in their body.
Product Highlights
- Great for beginners. It’s a no-frills formula and is the most affordable gainer on the list
- 700 calories, 50g protein, 115-117g carbs
- 5lb tub is $29.99 ($4.99 per serving) and is available in 3 flavors: Double Chocolate, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Strawberries & Cream
- Banned substance tested
Pro Performance® Weight Gainer provides 50g of high-quality protein from fast, medium, and slow-releasing protein sources (whey, soy, and casein) with naturally occurring BCAAs to help reduce muscle breakdown during exercise. It has added medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are quickly absorbed the body for energy, and a dual carbohydrate system to preserve and replenish energy stores. With just six servings, I liked the small size of this tub which made it easy to transport.
For beginners who want to try a gainer, but don’t want to pay a ton of money, Weight Gainer is your best bet.
Product Highlights
- Gainer blend proven in a clinical study to improve strength and put on added pounds with 40% less work▪
- Enhanced with 2.5g BetaPower® Betaine, 2.5g Creatine, and MyoTOR®, an ingredient clinically proven to get you stronger, faster◆
- 800 calories, 50g protein, and 127-130g carbs per serving
- Banned Substance Tested, Gluten Free
- 6lb tub is $79.99 ($6.15 per serving) and comes in 4 flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and Cookies & Cream
AMP Mass XXX is truly in a league of its own. The formula is absolutely stacked with 800 calories, 50g protein, 1g of amino acids, 2.5g creatine monohydrate, 2.5g BetaPower® Betaine, and 650mg MyoTOR®. MyoTOR® is a blend of two botanicals that has been clinically proven to improve bench press by 30 lbs and leg extension by 22 lbs, with strength benefits seen as early as 2 weeks•◆.
Have you ever heard of a mass gainer that’s been clinically proven for strength? Probably not. That’s what sets AMP Mass XXX apart from hundreds of gainers you’ll find online. In a clinical study, subjects completed 3 sets of resistance training daily and consumed the macro blend in Mass XXX while another ground performed 5 sets of training and did not take a supplement. After 8 weeks, subjects on Mass XXX showed equal gains in body weight, fat-free mass, maximal strength, and muscle endurance – while doing 40% fewer sets! To learn more about the science, read this blog article.
One of the things I loved about it was…the scoop. It sits perfectly in the neck of the bottle so you don’t have to get your fingers all dirty digging inside the powder!
Product Highlights
- 1,250 calories, 50g protein, 252-254g carbs
- Enhanced with 3g creatine monohydrate, 500mg L-glutamine, and a suite of vitamins and minerals
- Banned Substance Tested
- 6lb tub is $54.99 ($6.87 per serving) and the 12lb bag is $79.99 ($5.00 per serving). It’s available in 4 flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter
Optimum Nutrition has been in the sports nutrition game for over 30 years. It’s a go-to brand when it comes to protein, so it’s no surprise that Serious Mass was the winner for “Best Gainer with Creatine”. For new users, the packaging suggests starting with half a serving daily for the first week and then gradually increasing to a full serving. It is sweetened with sucralose, so that’s a watch out for folks who prefer a natural sweetener.
Product Highlights
- High-tech mass gainer powered by a proven technology for optimized absorption
- Supports unprecedented muscle mass, enhances muscle protein synthesis, and improves tendon strength and joint stability for whole body support
- 810 calories, 50g protein, and 130g carbs
- Enhanced with 5g creatine monohydrate, 3g myHMB®, 5g Tendoforte® Collagen, and a slew of vitamins & minerals
- 7lb tub is $89.99 ($6 per serving) and comes in 3 flavors: Vanilla Cheesecake, Chocolate Éclair, and Strawberry Shortcake
It’s time that protein evolved with Beyond Raw® Dynamic Gainer, the first-ever combination of technology-enhanced protein with performance support and a meticulously crafted blend of calories, carbs, and fats. It includes a type of protein that’s been technology-enhanced by cold plasma ionization, called ioWHEY Protein®, which increases bioavailability for optimized absorption. It’s loaded with other ingredients to support the strain put on the body during heavy lifting sessions, including 5g of Tendoforte® bioactive collagen peptides, which have been clinically shown to improve tendon strength and joint stability. It also combines 5g of creatine monohydrate, 3g of myHMB®, and Velositol® (amylopectin chromium complex) to support unprecedented muscle mass and enhance muscle protein synthesis.
With so many gainers to choose from, we hope this list helps narrow it down for you! For more nutrition and exercise tips, visit the GNC Learning Center for articles and recipes to help you on your fitness journey.
References
- Kerksick CM, Wilborn CD, Roberts MD, Smith-Ryan A, Kleiner SM, Jäger R, Collins R, Cooke M, Davis JN, Galvan E, Greenwood M, Lowery LM, Wildman R, Antonio J, Kreider RB. ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Aug 1;15(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0242-y. PMID: 30068354; PMCID: PMC6090881. ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations (nih.gov)
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, Cribb PJ, Wells SD, Skwiat TM, Purpura M, Ziegenfuss TN, Ferrando AA, Arent SM, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, Arciero PJ, Ormsbee MJ, Taylor LW, Wilborn CD, Kalman DS, Kreider RB, Willoughby DS, Hoffman JR, Krzykowski JL, Antonio J. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Jun 20;14:20. doi: 10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8. PMID: 28642676; PMCID: PMC5477153. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise (nih.gov)