The budget certified pick — single-ingredient, Informed Sport tested, and the cheapest per serving here.
NOW Sports Micellar Casein is the value-and-trust pick: it's about the cheapest casein per serving you'll find that also carries an Informed Sport banned-substance certification, which is genuinely unusual at this price. It's a single, clean ingredient — unflavored micellar casein with a touch of sunflower lecithin for mixing — so there are no artificial sweeteners, and you can stir it into a smoothie, oatmeal or Greek yogurt for a pre-bed slow-release boost. Two honest caveats: the scoop is a lighter 19 g, so you'll want a slightly bigger serving to hit a full 25 g, and being unflavored, it needs you to bring the taste. It's soy-free and gluten-free, and for a budget, tested, no-nonsense casein it punches well above its price.
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It's genuine micellar casein — the slow-release form — as a single ingredient plus about 1% sunflower lecithin to help it mix. That's a clean, minimally-additive formula, which this axis rewards. It scores a bit below the top picks mostly on the lighter per-scoop dose and its no-frills, unflavored presentation, not on the form itself, which is exactly right.
The honest deduction: 19 g per scoop for ~90 calories is lighter than the 24-26 g leaders, so to match a full 25 g dose you'll use roughly one-and-a-third scoops. The macros themselves are lean and clean, but on a per-scoop basis it delivers less protein than the top tubs, which is why it lands mid-pack here despite the clean profile.
The star axis: NOW Sports carries a genuine Informed Sport certification — independent banned-substance screening — at a budget price, which is genuinely rare. It's also made in a cGMP facility. Getting a real third-party seal on the cheapest casein here is the whole reason this pick outranks pricier tubs on testing, and it earns the near-top score on this axis honestly.
At about $22 for a 1.8 lb bag, per-serving cost lands near $0.65 — the lowest sticker-per-serving here. The nuance that keeps it from a perfect value score: the 19 g scoop means a true 25 g dose costs a bit more than the headline figure. Even adjusted, it's excellent value, especially for a certified product — cheap slow-release protein without giving up the seal.
It's unflavored, so there's no taste to rate and you supply your own — and plain casein is bland and thick, which drags this axis down. The sunflower lecithin helps it mix better than raw casein, and stirring it into oats, yogurt or a flavored shake works well, but on its own it's the least drinkable format. The lowest-weighted axis, and the honest weak spot of an otherwise strong budget pick.
“Informed Sport certified.”
NOW Sports carries a genuine Informed Sport certification — independent banned-substance lot screening. Having that real seal on the cheapest casein here is unusual and verifiable, and it's the core of the pick's value proposition.
“Single-ingredient, unflavored micellar casein — no artificial sweeteners.”
It's essentially single-ingredient — micellar casein — with roughly 1% sunflower lecithin added as a mixing aid, so 'single-ingredient' is true in spirit but not literally one component. There are genuinely no artificial sweeteners or flavors, which is the meaningful part.
“19 g of protein per scoop.”
The label states 19 g protein for ~90 calories per scoop — a lighter dose than the 25 g picks, which the listing shows honestly. To hit 25 g you'd use about one-and-a-third scoops.
“Budget-friendly slow-release protein.”
At roughly $0.65 per serving it's the lowest sticker-per-serving in the lineup, and it's genuine micellar casein — the slow-release form. Even adjusting for the lighter scoop, it's excellent value, especially for a certified product.
“Soy-free and gluten-free.”
The listing states soy-free and gluten-free, and the formula (micellar casein + sunflower lecithin, not soy lecithin) is consistent with that. It does contain milk and is not lactose-free.
The standout is that NOW pairs the lowest cost per serving here with a genuine Informed Sport certification — independent banned-substance screening. That's an unusual combination; certified caseins are usually premium. If you want third-party verification without paying the clean-label premium of Ascent, this is the answer, and it's why it outranks pricier uncertified tubs.
Its one honest weakness is the lighter dose: 19 g per scoop versus 24-26 g in the top picks. That's fine — just use about one-and-a-third scoops to hit a full 25 g. It nudges the effective cost per gram up slightly and it's the main reason this sits at #4 rather than higher, but it's a measuring-cup issue, not a quality one.
There's nothing to drink here on its own — plain casein is bland and thick. That's a feature if you want to avoid sweeteners and stir it into oatmeal, Greek yogurt or a flavored smoothie, and a chore if you wanted a ready shake. Blend it with fruit or cocoa and it disappears into the mix; sip it plain in water and you won't enjoy it.
It's soy-free (uses sunflower rather than soy lecithin) and gluten-free, which is a nice edge over the mainstream flavored tubs that carry soy. It's still a dairy protein and not lactose-free — micellar casein is naturally low in lactose, so most dairy-sensitive people tolerate it, but genuine dairy reactors should look at whey isolate or a plant protein instead.
NOW Sports Micellar Casein is the value-and-trust play: about the cheapest casein per serving you'll find that also carries an Informed Sport banned-substance certification, which is genuinely unusual at this price. It's a single clean ingredient — unflavored micellar casein with a touch of sunflower lecithin — so there are no artificial sweeteners, and you can stir it into a smoothie, oatmeal or yogurt for a pre-bed slow-release boost. The two honest caveats: the scoop is a lighter 19 g, so you'll want a slightly bigger serving to hit 25 g, and being unflavored, it needs you to bring the taste. If you want a full 25 g in one flavored scoop, Dymatize (#1) or Ascent (#3) is better; if you want the same certification with a stevia flavor, Ascent is the step up. But for a budget, tested, no-nonsense casein, this punches well above its price. (Dairy-derived — low lactose, not lactose-free.)
The flavored, clean step up: also Informed Sport certified, but 25 g per scoop, stevia-sweetened and ready to drink — at nearly triple the cost per serving. The pick if you want the same certification with a real chocolate flavor.
See it on the list →The other unflavored value bag: ~25 g per serving at a rock-bottom cost per gram in a 1 kg bag — but no banned-substance seal. The pick if you want the biggest unflavored dose per dollar and don't need certification.
See it on the list →The best overall flavored option: 100% micellar at a full 25 g, smooth-mixing chocolate and strong value — but sucralose-sweetened and uncertified. The pick if you'd rather have a ready 25 g flavored scoop than measure an unflavored one.
See it on the list →40 g of casein before sleep raised overnight muscle protein synthesis versus placebo — the basis for a pre-bed casein dose. Note the study used ~40 g, so NOW's 19 g scoop is worth doubling toward that range for the overnight slot.
About 20 g of high-quality protein near-maximally stimulated muscle protein synthesis per serving — so a single 19 g NOW scoop already sits near the effective per-serving dose, though pre-sleep protocols used more.
