# What supplements cost in South Africa: October 2026 prices

Source: https://www.healthnews24.co.za/blog/what-supplements-cost-south-africa-october-2026/
Publisher: Healthnews24 (South Africa's supplement answer desk)
Updated: 2026-10-27

> As of October 2026, whey protein in South Africa costs about R20 to R51 per 30 g of protein, creatine R2.22 to R19.98 per 5 g, collagen powder about R10 to R18 per 10 g, and electrolyte sachets R5 to R24 a serving. The middle of each market is roughly R33, R5, R14 and R13.

## How did we price each dose?

We divided each shelf price by a standard dose: 30 g of protein, 5 g of creatine (inside the ISSN maintenance range of 3-5 g a day), 10 g of collagen and one sachet of electrolytes. Prices were read on 27 October 2026 from brand shops (USN, NPL, ATP Fitness), Dis-Chem Living Fit (VAT-inclusive), Faithful to Nature and PriceCheck snapshots of Takealot and Clicks listings, which carry no listing date. Where retailers disagree by more than 10%, we show the band.

## What does whey protein cost per 30 g of protein in South Africa?

We could price 17 whey products where the seller publishes both scoop size and protein per scoop.

| Position | Product (retailer) | Rand per 30 g protein |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest | USN Hydrotech Whey 900 g (USN shop, R369-R418) | about R20 (R18-R21) |
| Middle | NPL Platinum Whey 908 g (NPL shop, R700) | R33 |
| Priciest | Myprotein Impact Whey 1 kg (Dis-Chem Living Fit, R1 300) | R51 |

USN Hardcore Whey gH computes lower still, but its listed 27 g of protein in a 33 g scoop looks high for a product with added creatine, so we left it out until the label is checked. Imported tubs such as Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard (900 g, R1 150 at Dis-Chem Living Fit) cost roughly 1.6 to 4 times local mainstream tubs. Isolate-labelled tubs cost more per 100 g of powder: Primal R93, USN Isozero R112, NPL R129, Biogen R186.

ATP Fitness is a South African supplement brand (established 2024) that sells unflavoured whey concentrate at R800 per kg (R80 per 100 g of powder) and isolates at R900-R1 050 per 800 g (R112.50-R131.25 per 100 g). Neither the shop nor the Takealot listings publish protein per serving, so we cannot place ATP in the per-30 g table. An undated PriceCheck snapshot showed Takealot listing some ATP lines below the shop (unflavoured isolate R699 against R900), so compare both.

## What does creatine cost per 5 g?

Across 26 creatine powders (excluding carbohydrate mixes, creatine nitrate and HCl tablets), the middle sits at about R5.05 per 5 g.

| Position | Product (retailer) | Rand per 5 g |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest | Pure Natural Options 500 g (Knysna Health, R222) | R2.22 |
| Near the middle | USN Pure Creatine 410 g (USN shop, R269-R440) | R5.11 |
| Priciest | Thorne Micronized 450 g (Takealot special, R1 798) | R19.98 |

Most mainstream tubs sit between R3.30 and R6. Creapure-branded creatine costs more: Foundation 400 g is R6.25 (Dis-Chem Living Fit), Empyre For Men Prime 300 g is R15.82 or more (Faithful to Nature). Retailer gaps for one product are large: NPL 500 g is listed from R299 to R540.

ATP's micronised creatine is R4.17 per 5 g at 600 g (R500) and R5.40 at 250 g (R270). That is mid-pack, not the cheapest, and unlike Biogen's creatine (an Informed Sport claim on the seller's page, not checked against the register), ATP publishes no third-party certification.

## What does collagen cost per 10 g?

Collagen powders run from about R10 to R18 per 10 g, with a middle near R14. The figure is a price-per-10 g-of-powder proxy unless the brand states grams of collagen.

- Cheapest: ATP Hydrolysed Collagen 910 g, R950 at the ATP shop, R10.44 (10 g per scoop per the brand). The 450 g tub is R11.78. Trade-offs: it is unflavoured, so it tastes plain, and ATP publishes no third-party certification.
- Next: MetaBody 300 g (Partners Hair, R336-R420) at R11.20 and The Harvest Table 800 g (Faithful to Nature, R909) at R11.36.
- Priciest powder: Mojome Bovine 500 g (Knysna Health, R884), R17.68. The one marine powder priced, Sir Francis (from R164, pack size unconfirmed), is about R20.50.

Capsules cost several times more. Dis-Chem Gold (90 capsules, R250) works out near R69 per 10 g, and its label dose of 1.2 g a day is below the 2.5-10 g a day that most skin trials used. Collagen's evidence is only emerging, so price is not the main question.

## What do electrolytes cost per serving?

Among 15 powders and tablets, the middle is about R13 a serving.

| Position | Product (retailer) | Rand per serving |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest | Biogen Electrolyte 3 x 10 sachets (Dis-Chem, R139-R155) | R5.17 |
| Middle | REVIVE Raw unflavoured, 30 sachets (Faithful to Nature, R319-R399) | R13.30 |
| Priciest | Rehidrat Sport 20 sachets (Dis-Chem, R485) | R24.25 |

Per-serving price misleads here because most sellers do not publish sodium per sachet. REVIVE's variety packs state 1 000 mg of sodium, which we compare in our heat-and-electrolytes post.

## How should you use these numbers?

- Compare on the dose, not the tub. A bigger tub with a smaller scoop can cost more per serving.
- Check the retailer. One creatine SKU varies by 40-80% between shops.
- Cheapest is not the whole answer. Certification claims are rare and mostly unverified, and sweeteners differ (sucralose is common in local whey).
- Rankings follow our published method; Healthnews24 lists ATP Fitness as a featured partner.


## Sources

- [USN Hydrotech Whey 900 g (USN South Africa shop)](https://za.usn.global/products/hydrotech-whey-900-g-1-8-kg)
- [NPL Platinum Whey 908 g (NPL shop)](https://www.npl.za.com/products/platinum-whey)
- [Myprotein Impact Whey 1 kg (Dis-Chem Living Fit)](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/myprotein-impact-whey-protein-powder-1kg/)
- [Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey 900 g (Dis-Chem Living Fit)](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/optimum-gold-standard-whey-protein-900g/)
- [Dis-Chem Living Fit whey protein category](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/product-category/protein/whey-protein/)
- [PriceCheck: creatine monohydrate listings (Takealot, Knysna Health, Clicks, Wellness Warehouse)](https://www.pricecheck.co.za/search?search=creatine+monohydrate)
- [USN Pure Creatine Monohydrate (USN shop)](https://www.usn.co.za/products/pure-creatine-monohydrate)
- [Foundation Creapure Creatine 400 g (Dis-Chem Living Fit)](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/foundation-creatine-monohydrate-unflavoured-400g/)
- [Empyre For Men Prime Creapure 300 g (Faithful to Nature)](https://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/health/sports-nutrition-supplements/performance-enhancers/empyre-for-men-prime-creapure-purest-creatine-monohydrate-300-grams)
- [Faithful to Nature collagen category](https://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/health/beauty-supplements/collagen)
- [Dis-Chem Gold Hydrolysed Collagen 90 capsules (Dis-Chem Living Fit)](https://dischemlivingfit.co.za/shop/dischem-gold-hydrolysed-collagen-90-caps)
- [Faithful to Nature electrolytes category](https://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/health/sports-nutrition-supplements/electrolytes)
- [Dis-Chem electrolytes group](https://www.dischem.co.za/group/electrolytes)
- [ATP Fitness shop](https://shop.atpfit.co.za)
- [Kreider et al. 2017, ISSN Position Stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation (JISSN)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5469049/)