There's a version of summer where you drink a thick chocolate shake in the heat and regret it immediately. And there's a version where you mix a scoop of clear whey into cold water, watch it dissolve into something that looks like juice, and get through a solid 20–25 g of protein without your stomach complaining.
Clear whey is the second version. It has been quietly growing in the catalogue for a few years now, and summer is where it makes most sense. Here's what it actually is, how it works nutritionally, and which products scored highest across the 56 in our database.
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What makes clear whey different
The main thing is texture and calorie density. Standard whey isolate powders typically land around 370–420 kcal per 100 g. Clear whey lands closer to 280–360 kcal per 100 g because it skips the fat and carb-based ingredients that give milky shakes their thickness.
The result is a drink that feels nothing like a protein shake. It mixes thin and clear, tastes like fruit squash, and goes down quickly — which matters a lot when it's 32°C and you're not in the mood to eat anything substantial.
Nutritionally, the protein concentration is similar to milky isolates — most clear whey products land between 70–90 g of protein per 100 g. The key difference is leanness: the stripping of fats and carbs that milk-based powders rely on means clear whey consistently scores higher on our Leanness dimension.
The top clear whey products, ranked
We scored 56 clear whey products across five dimensions — protein efficiency, value, leanness, low carb, and fiber. Here's the shortlist.
| # | Product | XRay | P/100 kcal | kcal / 100 g | Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 100 | 25.0g | 360.0 | |||
2 | 94 | 25.0g | 281.7 | Buy | ||
3 | 91 | 25.0g | 312.5 | Buy | ||
4 | 91 | 25.0g | 312.5 | Buy | ||
5 | 89 | 24.3g | 370.0 | |||
6 | 82 | 24.1g | 332.0 | |||
7 |  MyProtein Clear Whey Protein Powder (Yoghurt) | 81 | 24.7g | 337.5 | ||
8 | 72 | 25.0g | 320.0 | Buy |
A quick note on the top entry: MyVitamins Clear Collagen Protein Powder scores 100.0 and holds rank #1 because its macro profile is essentially perfect — 90 g protein per 100 g with near-zero fat and carbs. But it's a collagen-enhanced product, which means it's slightly different from a standard clear whey. If you want a collagen-sourced protein, it's the benchmark. If you specifically want whey isolate in clear form, Ghost leads.
Ghost Clear: the standout at the top end
Ghost Clear Whey Strawberry Watermelon is the highest-scoring standard clear whey in the catalogue, and the numbers justify the position. At just 281.69 kcal per 100 g, it has the lowest calorie density of any clear whey product we've ranked — significantly lower than most milky isolates. The 70.42 g of protein per 100 g translates to nearly 25 g of protein per 100 kcal, matching the very best milky isolates on efficiency while tasting nothing like one.
281 kcal per 100 g — the lowest calorie density in the entire clear whey category.
Ghost runs three flavors in the clear isolate range — Strawberry Watermelon, Orange Cream, and Blue Raspberry — with near-identical macro profiles across all three. The Strawberry Watermelon edges ahead on XRay Score because its calorie density is marginally lower. If you've read our best protein powder for weight loss breakdown, Ghost Clear was the top clear whey there too.
The trade-off is price: at $54.99 for a full tub, Ghost is at the premium end of the category. If the budget is tighter, Animal and MyProtein both offer solid alternatives.
MyProtein Clear: the best range for flavor variety
MyProtein's Clear Whey Protein Powder (Cranberry & Raspberry) holds rank #7 with an XRay Score of 82.0 — a meaningful drop below Ghost, but still in the top 15% of the category. The real advantage of MyProtein Clear is variety: they run more flavors than any other brand in the catalogue, including Yoghurt, Mojito, Strawberry Kiwi, Raspberry Lemonade, Cranberry Raspberry, and a Chupa Chups collaboration.
Rank #7 of 56 clear powders — the best-ranked option with the widest flavor selection.
At 332 kcal per 100 g and 80 g protein per 100 g, the protein efficiency is strong (24.1 g per 100 kcal). The Yoghurt variant actually scores marginally higher (rank #8) with 83.33 g protein per 100 g, but neither has US pricing in our database — best bought direct from MyProtein's own store or in sale windows.
Animal Clear: the best value with a price
If you have a US price to compare against, Animal Clear Whey Isolate is the value option in this category. At $41.99 vs Ghost's $54.99, it offers 80 g protein per 100 g at 25 g protein per 100 kcal — the same protein efficiency as the market leader at a meaningfully lower price. The XRay Score of 71.8 (rank #16) is lower than Ghost because its value score pulls its overall position down; on pure protein per calorie, it matches the best in the category.
Three flavors available: Watermelon Limeade, Pineapple Orange, and Blueberry Acai — all with identical macro profiles.
Clear whey vs milky shake: what you're actually choosing between
We covered this in detail in our clear protein vs milky shake piece, but the short version applies here:
Clear whey wins when you want low calories, a light texture, and something that doesn't feel like eating. You're not trying to feel full — you're hitting a protein target in the cheapest calorie way possible. In a deficit, or in summer when appetite is naturally suppressed, that's exactly the right tool.
Milky whey wins when you need satiety or when you're in a bulk and want more total calories per drink. Thick shakes keep you full longer and blend better with milk for extra calories.
The bottom line
Clear whey is a genuinely different product from a milky shake — not better or worse in absolute terms, but built for specific conditions. When it's hot, when appetite is low, or when you're deep in a cut and every calorie counts, a drink that tastes like juice and delivers 20+ g of protein in under 100 kcal is hard to beat. Ghost leads the category on macro efficiency. MyProtein leads on flavor variety. Animal leads on value-for-money when you have a price to compare.
