🌱 Plant vs Animal Cost Per Gram

Lentils vs Meat: Which Is Actually the Cheaper Protein?

Lentils cost a fraction of meat per kilo, but protein content per gram tells a different story once you compare them properly. Here's the real cost per gram of protein for both.

Prices checked August 2026, indicative Coles/Woolworths/Aldi averages.

💰 A quarter the cost

Dry legumes cost roughly a quarter to a fifth of meat per 10g of protein

🍚 Pair to complete

Any grain fixes the one amino acid legumes are missing, at near-zero cost

Main Comparison Table

Food	Protein/100g	Basis	Cost/100g	Cost per 10g protein
Red lentils	24g	Dry	$0.40	$0.17
Green/brown lentils	24g	Dry	$0.45	$0.19
Chickpeas	19g	Dry	$0.40	$0.21
Split peas	24g	Dry	$0.35	$0.15
Beef mince (lean)	20g	Raw/cooked	$1.60	$0.80
Chicken thigh	26g	Raw/cooked	$0.70	$0.27
Canned tuna	26g	Drained	$2.20	$0.85
Eggs	13g	Whole	$0.92	$0.71

💡 The takeaway

Dry legumes cost roughly a quarter to a fifth of what meat costs per 10g of protein. This is the single clearest cost-per-nutrient gap on the whole site.

Iron Absorption — Not a Protein Issue

Protein absorption itself isn't meaningfully different between plant and animal sources at these intake levels — the real absorption story here is iron, not protein, and it's worth flagging so it isn't conflated with the protein comparison above.

Food	Iron type	Absorption rate	Note
Beef, chicken	Haem iron	~20–35%	Absorbed efficiently regardless of what else is eaten
Lentils, chickpeas, split peas	Non-haem iron	~10–20% (lower without help)	Absorption roughly doubles when eaten with vitamin C (capsicum, tomato, citrus, broccoli) in the same meal

The practical takeaway: legume-based meals should include a vitamin C source to get the most out of their non-haem iron — a squeeze of lemon over dal, or tomato in a lentil soup, meaningfully lifts effective iron uptake at zero extra cost. See the cheapest iron-rich foods guide for the full breakdown.

Complete Protein Pairings

Lentils, chickpeas and split peas are all missing methionine, so on their own they're "incomplete" proteins. Pairing with rice, bread, oats or any grain completes the amino acid profile.

Meal	Protein	Cost
Lentils (100g dry) + rice (75g dry)	~26g complete protein	$0.55
Chicken thigh (100g)	26g complete protein	$0.70

The complete lentil-and-rice pairing is still cheaper than chicken thigh alone, despite needing two ingredients — the grain adds negligible cost.

Batch Cooking Cost — 200g of Protein

Source	Amount needed	Ingredient cost	Approx. cook time
Red lentils (dry)	~830g dry (yields ~2kg cooked)	$3.32	25 min, mostly unattended simmering
Chicken mince	~770g	$6.16	15–20 min

Lentils are roughly half the cost for the same total protein, and the batch scales well for freezing — a pot of lentil soup or dal made in one 25-minute session covers several meals.

Buying Tips

Dry beats canned by a wide margin per gram of protein — canned chickpeas cost roughly 3–4× more per gram of protein than dry, because you're paying for water weight and convenience. Keep a bag of dry lentils/chickpeas/split peas in the pantry for regular cooking, and reserve canned for genuinely quick meals.
Best supermarket buys: home-brand dry lentils and split peas (Coles/Woolworths/Aldi own label) in 500g–1kg bags are consistently the cheapest option and identical in quality to branded versions for cooking purposes.
No fridge space required — dry legumes store indefinitely in the pantry, unlike fresh meat, which adds a real (if hard to quantify) cost advantage around food waste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are lentils cheaper than meat for protein?

Yes, substantially — roughly $0.15–0.19 per 10g of protein for dry lentils versus $0.27–0.85 for meat and fish, meaning lentils typically cost a quarter to a fifth as much per gram of protein.

How much protein is in lentils vs chicken?

Dry lentils have about 24g protein per 100g (dry weight), close to chicken thigh's 26g per 100g cooked — the protein content is comparable; the price per gram is not.

Is plant protein as good as animal protein?

For muscle protein synthesis at typical intakes, yes, provided plant sources are varied or paired to cover all essential amino acids (e.g. legumes with grains). The meaningful nutritional gap between plant and animal proteins is iron absorption and B12, not protein quality itself.

What is the cheapest way to get protein in Australia?

Dry split peas and red lentils, at roughly $0.015–0.017 per gram of protein — the cheapest protein sources tracked on this site by a clear margin.

Do lentils have complete protein?

Not on their own — they're low in methionine. Paired with any grain (rice, bread, oats), the combination becomes a complete protein at essentially no extra cost.

Is it cheaper to be vegan or eat meat in Australia?

On protein specifically, plant-based eating is meaningfully cheaper — dry legumes cost a fraction of meat per gram of protein. Overall diet cost depends on the rest of the shopping list, but the protein component alone favours a legume-heavy diet.

How many lentils do I need to eat to replace chicken?

About 100g dry lentils (cooking to roughly 250g) supplies close to the same protein as 90–100g of cooked chicken thigh, for around half the price.

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