Carbohydrates & sports fuel

Carbohydrate powders

Carbohydrate powders like maltodextrin or dextrose, mixed into drinks. Carbs are the muscles’ main fuel in hard and long training.

16 products from US online stores, sorted by what 50 g of carbohydrates costs – not by the price per pack.

$0.60Lowest cost
per 50 g carbohydrates

Prices checked Nov 1, 2026, US
No paid placements

What does 50 g mean?

carbohydrates per serving in most of the products we checked: 14–50 gcarbohydrates per serving in most of the products we checked

50 g is a fixed amount to compare by: half of the 16 products we checked have up to 18 g per serving, the other half more.
There’s no daily amount for sports fuel – how much people use depends on how long and how hard they exercise.

We compare by 50 g only so products line up – it’s not a recommendation. Not medical advice.

Where products miss quality points

How the 16 products score

Very good 90+: 4
Good 75+: 11
Fair 60+: 1
Low under 60: 0

have no seal from an independent testing program: 12 of 16have no seal from an independent testing program10 of 30 testing points for GMP, 15 for the 5 whose label says “third-party tested”

The full 30 testing points need an independent test. Every supplement sold in the US is made under the FDA’s GMP rules – the maker checks its own products, which gives 10 points. A seal from a testing program like NSF, USP or Informed Choice means a lab outside the company checks that what’s inside matches the label. Most brands don’t take part. That doesn’t make a product bad – without a seal, a clean product still gets up to 80.

We find seals on the label and in NSF’s public lists. USP and Informed Choice don’t let us search their lists automatically, so a seal that’s only in their lists can be missing. How the score works

Good to know

Fact: 250%more per 50 g for the most expensive product than for the cheapest.

How we checked: one-time price for each size in the store’s US online shop, before sales tax and shipping, without subscriptions or coupons. Prices change often, so check the store before you buy. More on how we check

The amount we compare by only makes products comparable – it is not a dosage recommendation. Not medical advice.

How we calculate

Cost per dose = price ÷ (servings × amount per serving) × comparison amount. Example: $119.99 for 74 servings with 24 g of protein each is 1,776 g of protein. $119.99 ÷ 1,776 g × 30 g = $2.03 per 30 g of protein.

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Carbohydrate powders

What does 50 g mean?

Where products miss quality points

Pack size

Dextrose, Unflavored

Maltodextrin Powder

Dextrose Powder

Real Food, Dextrose

Dextrose Powder

Maltodextrin Powder

Carbo Max Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin, Unflavored

Dextrose, Unflavored

Maltodextrin Powder

Pure Fuel Karbolyn Fuel, Orange Mango

Karbolyn Hydrate, White Cherry Frost

Sports, Dextrose Powder

Karbolyn Fuel, Neutral

Dextrose Powder

Organic Maltodextrin, Unflavored

Good to know