The highest per-scoop macros of the mainstream tubs — 1,280 kcal, 52 g protein, often the cheapest per calorie — but a maltodextrin base and token 1 g creatine.
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is essentially Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass's closest rival, and on raw numbers it edges ahead — 1,280 calories and 52 g of a genuinely good whey-concentrate, whey-isolate and casein blend with 10.7 g of BCAAs, and it's frequently the cheapest tub per calorie on the whole list. Mixability and the Gourmet Vanilla flavor are strong. It sits one rung below ON only on the extras: the creatine is a token 1 g rather than an effective dose, and ON's broader vitamin panel and best-seller value edge it out.
The core caveat is identical, though — the carbohydrate is maltodextrin and there's about 26 g of sugar a serving. It's a fine high-calorie, high-protein tub for someone who wants maximum macros per scoop and isn't bothered by the sugar.
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The lowest-scoring axis, tied with MuscleTech for the worst carb quality here. The carbohydrate is maltodextrin with about 26 g of added sugar per serving — the same refined-starch-plus-sugar template the ranking penalizes heaviest. It's marginally better than ON's ~31 g of sugar, which is why it isn't lower still, but this is a sugar-bomb carb profile.
The strongest axis and the badge here. At 1,280 calories and 52 g of protein per serving, it has the highest per-scoop macros of any mainstream tub on the list, with the protein at the top of the ideal window. If your metric is maximum calories and protein per scoop, this leads the pack.
A genuinely good protein blend — whey concentrate, whey isolate and casein with 10.7 g of naturally occurring BCAAs and 14 essential vitamins and minerals — held back by the maltodextrin carb base and a token 1 g of creatine, well short of the effective 3-5 g (Kreider 2017). The protein is a real strength; the carbs and creatine are not.
Excellent — at roughly $0.27 per 100 kcal it's frequently the cheapest tub per calorie on the entire list, edging even ON Serious Mass. On the honest cost-per-100-kcal metric it's near the top; we credit that cheap-calorie value even as we dock it on carb quality.
A strength. The two-scoop serving mixes cleanly for a 1,280-calorie shake, and the Gourmet Vanilla flavor is well regarded — a real compliance advantage. As with the other sweetened tubs, the added sugar is part of why it goes down easily.
“1,280 calories and 52 g protein — the highest per-scoop macros of the mainstream tubs.”
The label states 1,280 kcal and 52 g protein per two-scoop serving from the powder in water, both the highest among the mainstream maltodextrin tubs on this list. The figures are verifiable and don't depend on added milk.
“A quality whey-isolate-and-casein protein blend with 10.7 g BCAAs.”
The protein blend of whey concentrate, whey isolate and casein plus 10.7 g of naturally occurring BCAAs is label-stated. It is a genuinely better protein matrix than bargain concentrate, and the amounts are verifiable from the panel.
“Contains creatine to support strength and mass.”
The 1 g of creatine per serving is real but sub-clinical — well below the 3-5 g/day the ISSN identifies as effective (Kreider 2017, PMID 28615996). So the claim is technically true but the dose is a token amount that won't deliver creatine's documented benefits on its own; you'd supplement separately.
“A premium gainer for serious mass.”
The carbohydrate is maltodextrin with ~26 g of added sugar per serving — the same sugar-bomb template as ON. The protein blend is genuinely good, but framing the overall formula as 'premium' overstates it; on the heaviest-weighted carb-quality axis this is a budget-profile carb base, and muscle still requires a surplus plus training (Slater 2019).
If your metric is raw numbers per serving, Dymatize wins the mainstream tier: 1,280 calories and 52 g of protein, both the highest among the maltodextrin tubs, with 10.7 g of BCAAs on top. For a hardgainer who wants to move the most calories and protein per scoop, this is the density leader.
Where ON uses a concentrate-casein-egg blend, Dymatize adds whey isolate to the mix, giving a genuinely higher-quality protein matrix with 10.7 g of BCAAs. Among the bulk tubs, the protein here is a real strength and a legitimate reason to pick it over the cheaper concentrate-based formulas.
The label lists creatine, but at 1 g it's roughly a fifth of the 5 g effective dose and a third of ON's ~3 g. It's essentially a label-decoration amount. If creatine matters to you, treat this tub as having none and add 3-5 g of monohydrate separately (Kreider 2017) — it's cheap and mixes in fine.
The honest caveat is identical to ON's: maltodextrin carbs with about 26 g of sugar per serving. What Dymatize adds is value — at roughly $0.27 per 100 kcal it's frequently the cheapest tub per calorie here. So it's the best-value, highest-macro member of the maltodextrin tier, with all the sugar that implies.
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is ON Serious Mass's closest rival, and on raw numbers it edges ahead: 1,280 calories and 52 g of a genuinely good whey-concentrate, whey-isolate and casein blend with 10.7 g of BCAAs, frequently at the lowest cost per calorie on the whole list. Mixability and the vanilla flavor are strong. If your priority is maximum macros per scoop for minimum money, this is the mainstream tub to beat. It lands just below ON for two reasons: the creatine is a token 1 g rather than the effective 3-5 g, and ON's broader 25-vitamin panel and best-seller value edge it out. And the core caveat is the same one that keeps the whole maltodextrin tier mid-pack — the carbs are refined maltodextrin with about 26 g of added sugar a serving. Buy it if you want the most calories and protein per scoop and aren't bothered by the sugar, and add your own creatine. If you want whole-food or low-sugar carbs, the top three picks are cleaner fuel.
The value benchmark and closest rival — the same 1,250 kcal / 50 g protein with a broader 25-vitamin panel and a more effective ~3 g creatine dose, though slightly more sugar (~31 g).
See it on the list →A step up on protein quality — a six-source blend with 24 g EAAs, some whole oat flour and lower 16 g sugar — at a higher price per calorie. Choose it if protein quality beats raw macros for you.
See it on the list →The same bulk calorie target with only 5 g of sugar from three ingredients. Costs more per calorie, but it's the low-sugar way to hit a 1,250-calorie shake.
See it on the list →Protein supplementation aids resistance-training gains up to ~1.6 g/kg/day. Dymatize's 52 g dose from a whey-isolate-and-casein blend sits at the top of the useful window; the added sugar past that adds fat, not muscle.
A modest surplus supports hypertrophy; a large one mainly adds fat. This tub supplies a big single-shake surplus efficiently, but the ~26 g of sugar past your needs is fat-gain calories, not muscle.
The ISSN identifies 3-5 g/day as the effective creatine dose. Dymatize's 1 g is well short of that, so it functions as a token amount — add creatine separately to reach an effective dose.
