Chicken breast delivers 24.5 grams of protein per dollar. Extra firm tofu delivers 13.6. Chicken wins by 1.8x, and this is the matchup where the plant option loses, so let’s say that plainly instead of dancing around it. The honest caveat runs the other way this time: adjusting for protein quality makes chicken’s win bigger, not smaller.
| Tofu (extra firm) | Chicken breast (boneless, skinless) | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein per $1 | 13.6 g | 24.5 g |
| Protein per 100 g | 9.98 g | 22.5 g |
| Package | 14 oz block | per lb |
| Price | $2.92 | $4.17 |
| Price per 100 g | $0.74 | $0.92 |
| DIAAS (protein quality) | 0.90 | 1.08 |
| Quality-adjusted protein per $1 | 12.2 g | 24.5 g |
Source: USDA FoodData Central + single-store US prices, July 2026. Full methodology at /methodology/.
Which is actually cheaper per gram of protein?
Chicken, clearly. The block of tofu looks like the budget pick at $2.92 against $4.17, and that’s exactly the trap. Per 100 grams the prices are close, 74 cents for tofu versus 92 cents for chicken. The protein isn’t close at all: chicken breast carries 22.5 grams per 100 grams and extra firm tofu carries 9.98.
Tofu is mostly water. That’s not an insult, it’s the recipe. You’re paying nearly chicken prices for a food with less than half the protein density, and the math lands where you’d expect: 13.6 grams per dollar against 24.5. I eat tofu weekly and I’m not going to pretend the receipt says something it doesn’t.
Doesn’t tofu’s protein quality save it?
This is where plant-forward articles usually pull a rabbit out of the hat, and there’s no rabbit here. Soy is genuinely good protein. It scores 0.90 on DIAAS, the scale for how much of a protein your body can actually use, which beats almost every other plant. But chicken scores 1.08, so the quality adjustment can’t rescue tofu, it just confirms the loss. Adjusted, tofu delivers about 12.2 grams of usable protein per dollar. Chicken stays at 24.5. The gap widens to roughly 2x.
Compare that with our lentils vs chicken breast matchup, where the plant side wins 3.2x on price and survives the quality haircut. Tofu doesn’t get either win. Different plant, different verdict.
Is tofu just an expensive way to buy soy?
Pretty much, and the soy aisle itself proves it. TVP, the dry crumbles that cook into chili without anyone noticing, delivered 23.4 grams of protein per dollar, nearly level with chicken. Frozen shelled edamame came in at 18.0. Then tofu at 13.6 and tempeh at 13.2. Same bean, four prices, and the more processing and refrigeration involved, the worse the number gets.
Zoom out past soy and the comparison stops being close. Dry brown lentils delivered 77.7 grams of protein per dollar, dry pintos 97.9. A lentil curry or a pot of beans and rice crushes both foods in this article on cost. If the goal is eating less meat without spending more, legumes are the tool. Tofu losing to chicken tells you about tofu, not about plants.
When is tofu still the right buy?
Plenty of times, because nobody eats grams per dollar for dinner. If you’re cooking for vegetarians, tofu does things legumes can’t: it sears, it crisps, it soaks up a glaze, and a tray of sheet pan ginger tofu and broccoli is a legitimately great dinner that a bowl of lentils is not replacing. Texture is a real grocery category. It just isn’t measured in grams.
Tofu also asks nothing of you. No thawing, no raw-meat cutting board protocol, a month of fridge life unopened. Tossed with something like a cucumber and edamame salad, it’s a no-stress protein for hot nights. And at 13.6 grams per dollar it still beats 80/20 ground beef, which sits down at 11.5.
But if the question is the one in the title, the answer is chicken, and it isn’t especially close. Buy the chicken when protein per dollar is the job. Buy tofu because you want tofu. And when you want the plant-based dollar to actually win, walk past the refrigerated case and pick up a bag of lentils. The full 49-food ranking shows exactly where everything lands, and the high protein on a budget guide turns it into a plan.
