Products · Protein powders & shakes · Levels
Levels Grass-Fed Whey Protein (Unflavored)
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A two-ingredient whey concentrate whose UPC is on a Clean Label Project Purity Award certificate, which covers heavy metals. CLP does not publish the numbers, and the powder is not on NSF’s or Informed’s lists.
Best for People who want a short ingredient list and a contaminant certificate from an outside group, and who do not need banned-substance testing.
- Our quality rating
- Good (4 of 5)
- Price range
- Mid-range
- Verified marks
- Clean Label Project Purity Award (certificate SPP0042-2025A-07)
- Size
- 2 lb unflavored (28 servings); also 1, 5 and 10 lb
approx. $58 for 2 lb (28 servings)
See it on Levels’s site →We are not affiliated with Levels. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
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How we evaluated it
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- Clean Label Project’s certificate (no. SPP0042-2025A-07, effective Jan. 13, 2025, issued Aug. 21, 2026) lists Whey – Unflavored – 2lb (UPC 857965007014) and 5lb (UPC 857965007038) with the Purity Award. CLP says the award covers heavy metals, pesticides, glyphosate, phthalates and bisphenols, and goes only to products in the top third of their category.
- The unflavored label is two ingredients, whey protein concentrate and sunflower lecithin, with 25 g of protein a serving (Levels’ figure).
- The Vanilla Bean label uses stevia leaf and monk fruit extracts, and Levels says its powders have no sucralose, fillers or artificial flavors.
- At Levels’ own store the 2 lb is $57.99, about $2.07 a serving. The 5 lb is $129.99 for 71 servings, about $1.83 a serving.
- We found no California Prop 65 notices naming Levels in the Attorney General’s database (searched 2026-10-22).
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- CLP certifies the product but does not publish per-serving lead, cadmium or arsenic figures for Levels, and we found none from Levels. The pass is on trust, or you can ask Levels for results.
- Brands choose to submit products to CLP and sign a certification agreement. The Council for Responsible Nutrition, an industry group, has criticized how CLP’s 2025 protein study set its limits and picked products.
- No NSF or Informed listing, so we found no banned-substance testing. That matters to tested athletes more than to most people.
- “Grass-fed and hormone-free” is Levels’ wording. No certifier, farm or country is named.
- A concentrate has more lactose than an isolate. See our whey guide if lactose bothers you.
What to know Details worth knowing first
Levels sells a short-label whey. The unflavored version is whey protein concentrate and sunflower lecithin, nothing else. Our whey protein guide explains what whey can and cannot do, and how much protein you need is worth reading before you buy a tub.
What earns it a place here is the Clean Label Project certificate. CLP buys the packs off the shelf and has an accredited lab check them for heavy metals and other contaminants, and the certificate names this pack by UPC. That is an outside check, which matters because lead turns up in many foods and supplements and no rule forces a maker to test.
The limits are plain. CLP shows the pass, not the figures, so we cannot give you a lead number per serving. CLP has its critics, including an industry group that questioned how its 2025 study chose products and limits. And Levels is not on NSF’s or Informed’s lists, so we found no banned-substance testing. For how the seals compare, see how to tell if a supplement is pure.
Quality & testing How it measures up against our checklist
- Third-party tested
- Yes
- Tested by
- Clean Label Project (Purity Award)
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Third-party tested Verified | CLP’s certificate lists this product by UPC with the Purity Award. CLP says products are bought off the shelf and tested each year by an ISO 17025 lab. Levels does not appear in NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Choice or Informed Sport lists (checked 2026-10-22). |
| Heavy metals checked Verified | The Purity Award screens for heavy metals. The certificate shows a pass, not the results. Levels was not in CLP’s 2025 category study of 165 products, so we have no per-serving numbers. |
| A plain label Maker’s claim | Unflavored: whey protein concentrate and sunflower lecithin, 25 g protein per serving. No added amino acids listed. |
| Disclosed extras Maker’s claim | Unflavored has only sunflower lecithin. Vanilla Bean adds vanilla extract, sea salt, stevia leaf extract and monk fruit extract. We read only those two labels. Contains milk. |
| A clear source Maker’s claim | Levels says the dairy is grass-fed and hormone-free. We saw no certifier, named farm or country. |
| Prop 65 notices Verified | None found for Levels in the California Attorney General’s 60-day notice database. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Levels Grass-Fed Whey Protein product page. Maker’s page. Prices, sizes and ingredient lists by flavor. Open ↗
- Clean Label Project certificate for Levels Nutrition (issued Aug. 21, 2026). Certifier or regulator listing. Lists each certified pack by UPC, with list dates. Open ↗
- Clean Label Project: Levels Protein brand page. Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗
- Clean Label Project: types of certification. Independent source. What the Purity Award screens for. Open ↗
- Clean Label Project FAQ. Independent source. Brands choose to submit products; the lab buys them off the shelf. Open ↗
- HealthDay: report on Clean Label Project’s 2025 protein study. Independent source. Includes the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s criticism. Open ↗
- NSF Certified for Sport search for “levels” (no results). Certifier or regulator listing. Zero results on 2026-10-22. Open ↗
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored) An isolate with NSF listing and lot-level lead results posted online. About $2.00 a serving at 4 lb.
- Momentous Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored) NSF-listed, with a certificate of analysis for every lot. About $2.80 a serving.
- Naked Whey, unflavored One ingredient, grass-fed whey concentrate, with nothing added. Cheaper per serving, about $1.84 for the 5 lb bag.