What supplements cost in South Africa: October 2026 prices

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.

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.

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.

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.