8 Best Mass and Weight Gainers for Fast Results
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Whether due to a poor appetite, a busy schedule, or fast metabolism, consistently getting enough calories to gain weight each day can be difficult.
An efficient and cost-effective way to boost your calorie intake and promote weight gain is to supplement your diet with mass or weight gainer supplements.
Unlike traditional protein supplements or meal replacement shakes, weight gainers are loaded with calories, usually from carbohydrates but also protein.
This article provides a list of the eight best mass and weight gainers for fast results.
A quick look at the best mass and weight gainers
- Best overall: Dymatize Super Mass Gainer
- Best for bulking: MuscleTech MassTech Extreme 2000
- Best for men: Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
- Best for women: Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer
- Best for kids: Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder
- Best for elderly: BSN True-Mass
- Best for vegans: Vegan Naked Mass
- Best for lactose intolerance: MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass
How I chose these mass and weight gainers
- Third-party testing: When possible, I aim to include products that are third-party tested to ensure quality, purity, and potency.
- Company reputation: I include products from reputable brands that have existed for at least five years.
- Nutritional value: Each product contains at least 500 calories and 30 grams of protein to support weight gain.
- We’ve tried them: I only include mass and weight gainers that I have personally tried at least one flavor of so I can confidently speak to and recommend them.
A note about price
Each product is assigned a dollar sign ranging from one to three ($ to $$$). One dollar sign indicates the product is more affordable compared with the others, whereas three indicates a higher price range.
Generally, the weight gainers we selected range from $38–$70 or $2.50–$10 per serving, but the price may vary depending on the product flavor, container size, and where you live or shop.
Pricing guide
- $ = under $4.00 per serving
- $$ = $4.00–$6.00 per serving
- $$$ = over $6.00 per serving
Our picks of the best mass and weight gainers
Best overall
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer
Price: $$–$$$
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer takes possession of the best overall weight gainer because it can meet most people’s needs.
Weight gainers generally range in calories, providing 500 calories per serving on the lower end and up to 2,000 calories on the higher end.
Providing 1,280–1,310 calories per serving, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is the perfect middle ground for calorie content.
It provides 52 grams of protein per serving from the two milk proteins — whey and casein.
As a bonus, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer provides 17 vitamins and minerals along with one gram of creatine monohydrate to support muscle gains.
It’s available in 6- or 12-pound containers (8 or 16 servings) and in three flavors — Cookies & Cream, Gourmet Vanilla, and Rich Chocolate.
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is third-party tested by Informed Choice.
Nutrition facts per 2.5 cups:
- Calories: 1,280–1,310
- Fat: 10–11 grams
- Carbs: 245–252 grams
- Protein: 52 grams
Best for bulking
MuscleTech MassTech Extreme 2000
Price: $$$
Bulking is a strategy popular among bodybuilders for adding as much size as possible in the offseason before trimming down for competition during the cutting phase.
Bulking can also be helpful for teens, women, or skinny guys looking to build mass.
Packing 2,110 calories per serving, MuscleTech MassTech Extreme 2000 is the most calorie-dense weight gainer on this list.
It also contains the most protein per serving of any product on this list at 60 grams. The protein comes from whey protein concentrate and isolate.
Along with 21 vitamins and minerals, the product also contains a hefty 10-gram dose of creatine to promote weight gain and enhance your strength in the gym.
MuscleTech MassTech Extreme 2000 comes in a 7-pound (6 servings) container or a 22-pound container (18 servings) packaged in a 5-gallon bucket.
MuscleTech guarantees that this product is free of banned substances.
Nutrition facts per 6 scoops:
- Calories: 2,100–2,110
- Fat: 5–6 grams
- Carbs: 454–456 grams
- Protein: 60 grams
Best for Men
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
Price: $$
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass is a great choice for men because it supplies a moderate amount of calories for a weight gainer and it packs 50 grams of high-quality protein from whey, casein, and egg whites.
It also provides a standard 3-gram dose of creatine monohydrate along with 25 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc, which are important for maintaining healthy testosterone levels (1, 2, 3).
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass is available in a 6- or 12-pound package (8 or 16 servings) and in five flavors, including Banana, Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Strawberry, and Vanilla.
It is third-party tested for banned substances by Informed Choice.
Nutrition facts per 2 heaping scoops:
- Calories: 1,250
- Fat: 3.5–4.5 grams
- Carbs: 235–254 grams
- Protein: 50 grams
Best for women
Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer
Price: $
Due to differences in body composition and size, women generally require fewer calories than men, even when the goal is weight gain.
This makes Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer the perfect choice for women since it provides half the calories of the other products on this list but still packs 30 grams of protein per serving from whey and casein.
Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer is unique from other weight gainers in that it provides carbs from a variety of sources, including organic quinoa, blueberries, ginger root, and rice bran, whereas others provide carbs solely from maltodextrin, a type of fast-digesting carb.
This product has the most flavor options of any product on this list. Available flavors include Chocolate Fudge, Soft Serve Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Toast Cereals, and Campfire Smores.
It comes in a 5- or 10-pound package (15 or 30 servings).
Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer is third-party tested for banned substances by Informed Choice.
Nutrition facts per 2 heaping scoops:
- Calories: 560
- Fat: 4.5–5 grams
- Carbs: 97–99 grams
- Protein: 30 grams
Best for kids
Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder
Price: $
Kids who are underweight or have difficulty keeping weight on due to a poor appetite or some other reason can benefit from a supplement like Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder.
While classified as a protein powder and not a mass gainer, Muscle Milk Pro Gainer still provides 280 calories and 32 grams of protein per serving.
This is more than enough calories to promote weight gain yet still allows kids to get most of their calories and nutrition from whole food sources.
Each serving also provides an excellent source of 6 vitamins and minerals, including nutrients that children’s diets tend to lack, including calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin D (4).
It’s available in a 1.9- 2.5- and 4.9-pound tub and in Vanilla, Cookies ‘N Creme, Banana, Chocolate, and Stawberries ‘N Creme.
Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder is third-party tested for banned substances by NSF.
Nutrition facts per 2 scoops:
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 9 grams
- Carbs: 21 grams
- Protein: 32 grams
Best for elderly
BSN True-Mass
Price: $$
Unintentional weight loss — and consequently malnutrition — is common among older adults (5).
This is because aging is associated with various changes that decrease appetite and increase the need for certain nutrients, especially protein (6).
A great way to combat weight loss in the elderly is with the use of weight gainers like BSN True-Mass.
It packs 700 calories and 46–50 grams of high-quality protein from whey, casein, and egg whites per serving.
While marketed to athletes, this product is also a good option for older adults since it provides the most protein per calorie of any product on this list.
Older adults require more protein than their younger counterparts to combat the loss of muscle mass, strength, and function that progressively occurs with age (7).
BSN True-Mass is available in a 5-pound tub (16 servings) and in Chocolate Milkshake, Strawberry Milkshake, and Vanilla Ice Cream.
Nutrition facts per 3 scoops:
- Calories: 700
- Fat: 18 grams
- Carbs: 85–88 grams
- Protein: 46–50 grams
Best for vegans
Vegan Naked Mass
Price: $$
Most weight gainers utilize milk or egg white protein, limiting options for those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Fortunately, there are still high-quality options such as Vegan Naked Mass.
Vegan Naked Mass packs 1,230–1,280 calories and 50 grams of protein from yellow peas and brown rice.
Although plant proteins are inferior to animal proteins in terms of their absorbability and amino acid composition, pea protein is one of the highest-quality plant proteins and may even offer similar gains in muscle as whey protein (8).
Containing no soy or dairy, Vegan Naked Mass is also hypoallergenic.
Vegan Naked Mass comes in a 5-pound tub (11 servings) and is available in Chocolate or Vanilla.
There is also an unflavored option, allowing more versatility to make shakes and add different ingredients.
Nutrition facts per 4 scoops:
- Calories: 1,230–1,280
- Fat: 4–15 grams
- Carbs: 237–248 grams
- Protein: 50 grams
Best for lactose intolerance
MuscleMeds Carnivore Mass
Price: $$
Most weight gainers contain milk protein, making them unsuitable for those with lactose intolerance.
Some mass gainers contain whey protein isolate, which has little to no lactose, but they usually also contain whey or milk protein concentrates since isolate is much more expensive to produce.
The lactose from whey or milk protein concentrates isn’t stripped to the degree that it is with the production of whey protein isolates.
With lactose intolerance, you can use Vegan Naked Mass, but if you prefer an alternative, MuscleMeds Carnivore Mass is a good choice.
MuscleMeds Carnivore Mass provides 710 calories and 50 grams of protein from beef protein isolate.
This product is one of the few on the market that utilizes beef protein, in part because it’s much more expensive to make compared with other forms of protein.
MuscleMeds Carnivore Mass also provides a full 5-gram dose of creatine and is third-party certified for banned substances by Informed Choice.
It comes in a 6-pound tub (14 servings) and is available in Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Fudge, Vanilla Carmel, and Strawberry.
For more lactose-free protein powders, check out this article.
Nutrition facts per 4 scoops:
- Calories: 710–720
- Fat: 2–2.5 grams
- Carbs: 125 grams
- Protein: 50 grams
A comparison of the best mass and weight gainers
Here’s a quick look at how my top picks for mass and weight gainers compare:
| Weight Gainer | Price | Best For | Calories | Protein (grams) | Third-Party Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dymatize Super Mass Gainer | $$–$$$ | Everyone | 1,280–1,310 | 52 | Yes |
| MuscleTech MassTech Extreme 2000 | $$$ | Bulking | 2,100–2,110 | 60 | Yes |
| Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass | $$ | Men | 1,250 | 50 | Yes |
| Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer | $ | Women | 560 | 30 | Yes |
| Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder | $ | Kids | 280 | 32 | Yes |
| BSN True-Mass | $$ | Elderly | 700 | 46–60 | Unknown |
| Vegan Naked Mass | $$ | Vegans | 1,230–1,280 | 50 | Unknown |
| MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass | $$ | Lactose intolerance | 710–720 | 50 | Yes |
The bottom line
With the variety of weight gainers available, it can be difficult to select the best one for your needs.
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer can meet most people’s needs for a mass and weight gainer but the other products on this list may be a better fit depending on other factors like age, gender, and goals.
Remember, mass and weight gainers aren’t a substitute for whole foods, but if you struggle to get enough calories from food alone, they can be an effective way to boost your calorie and protein intake to promote weight gain.
