Vega One is one of the higher end protein shake options that many people have referred me to.
After experimenting with a vegan diet, I decided to try Vega One out to see if it could measure up to other shakes that I had tried. Vega One is particularly intriguing because it has a wholistic plant-based mixture.
With a full nutritional profile, there is a lot to like about Vega, including the fact that it is a 100% vegan dairy-free health supplement.
For the purposes of this review, I looked at the all-in-one protein blend, which also happens to be the most popular selection according to customer reviews and ratings.
Topic Contents
Nutritional Benefits of Vega One
The following are some of the notable features that stood out to me:
- 100% Plant Protein: Some people look down on plant protein as inferior to whey or casein, but largely without much factual background. Vega One delivers a powerful protein much without any dairy products. This is perfect for people with sensitive stomachs, dairy sensitivities or outright intolerance’s. Even for someone without any “issues” with dairy, this type of plant-based supplement can act as a “cleanse” to detox your body.
- Tons of Super Foods: Vega One has all the antioxidants, probiotics, and other digestive aids (digestive enzyme) that you might want. It is packed full of omega-3’s, maca root, kale, broccoli, chlorella, spinach, alfalfa, and much more. This is probably more than I would normally get, even with a green diet. This is also a nice contrast to Shakeology which markets a lot of exotic superfoods as their key difference maker.
- High Fiber: With 6 grams of fiber, Vega One immediately helped me regulate my metabolism which has a huge positive health impact overall.
Pros of Vega One
- No Side Effects: I actually feel better after taking Vega One, even without exercise. It is the ideal whole-body supplement.
- Gentle On The Stomach: This is a highly underrated benefit that I really love about Vega One. I hate the feeling of shakes just sitting in my stomach and I do not get that feeling at all with this mixture. Here are the 5 best protein supplements for sensitive stomachs.
- Low Sugar: 1 gram of sugar is outstanding for a protein supplement, even a vegan one.
- Low Sodium: I hate it when supplements load on the sodium as a cheap flavoring choice. I really like Vega One because they only have 30mg per serving. This is among the lowest I have seen for protein shakes in this class.
- Moderate Calories: Only 135 calories is not bad, especially for all of the ingredients. For a meal replacement, this is ideal.
Cons of Vega One
Price: At close to $55-70 per container retail (for the latest prices and discounts, check here), Vega One is not the cheapest protein supplement. I maintain that you get what you pay for, but I do understand that this might be outside some folks budgets. Thankfully, Vega does tend to offer frequent discounts here.
Keep in mind, it’s also not “just” a protein shake and serves as a full meal replacement shake (great compared to the cost of regular Shakeology – for example).
There's a lot of hype about certain brands, particularly in the multi-level marketing space. Vega is actually a GREAT alternative (with top of the line ORGANIC ingredients), BUT sells at a much lower price point. Check it out!
Vega One vs Shakeology
In researching and using Vega One, I came across a lot of comparisons to the Shakeology shake. Having tried Shakeology a few times, I also wanted to compare them to each other for our readers.
Now a lot of people have a vested interest in promoting the shakeology meal replacement shake because of the network marketing aspect of it, so it’s pretty hard to fine 100% honest information online.
With this in mind, I wanted to take some basic criteria to compare the two products. Here are the main points of comparison that I have found:
- Similar Ingredients: Both have rice protein, pea protein, savi seed protein and all of the assorted superfoods (maca, goji berry ingredient, etc…).
- More Protein: Vega One comes out with slightly more protein per serving at 20g to Shakeology’s 17g. Key difference here.
- MSM: Shakeology has 250mg of MSM which is supposed to help with joint and muscle pain. While this is a benefit for some, I don’t think this is crucial to a good supplement. If I want anti-inflammatory medication I will get it over the counter at my pharmacy. I’d prefer not to have it mixed in with my protein.
- Sugar: Vega One has only 1 gram of sugar, while Shakeology shake has 9 grams. This is a MAJOR difference that I don’t think most people are aware of. Sugar can be seriously detrimental to weight loss efforts.
- Salt: Vega One has only 30mg, Shakeology has 150mg. While not the highest sodium content that I’ve seen, I’ll take the much lower total per serving all day long.
- Business Model: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached by “distributors” pushing Shakeology on me. It’s not that it’s a terrible supplement, but the people selling it really have no idea what they are talking about. It’s kind of like a pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing system. They’ve been very successful at what they do, but I get turned off by my “friends” trying to convince me to buy through them. I’m a trainer myself so it’s even more of a nuisance.
- Cost: Despite Vega One being among the more pricey supplements, it is still far less expensive that the Shakeology alternative. Vega One averages $2.65 per serving, while Shakeology is over $4 per serving (based on a 44 gram serving of each).
Shakeology is a powerful Superfood formula designed to give your body the perfect combination of nutrients to help give you energy, reduce cravings, maintain healthy body weight, and support your immune system.
FAQ About Vega One Protein Meal Replacement Shakes
These are some common questions I get about Vega brand protein supplements:
Question: Does Vega One help you lose weight?
Question: Is Vega One a full meal replacement?
Question: Does Vega protein powder make you gain weight?
At A Glance: Shakeology vs Vega One Comparison [Meal Replacement Shakes]
| Calories | Saturated Fat | Sodium | Carbs | Fiber | Sugars | Protein | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakeology (30 Servings) | 160 | 1g | 150mg | 17g | 6g | 6g | 17g | (For the latest prices and discounts, check here) |
| Vega One (20 servings) | 160 | 0.5g | 30mg | 10g | 6g | 20g | (For the latest prices and discounts, check here) |
Where to Buy Vega One
Hopefully this Vega shake comparison has helped you make a purchasing decision.
Like I mentioned earlier, the best place to find consistently good savings is directly via the Vega site here. I’ve checked out the other retailers and their prices are always at least a few dollars higher.
There's a lot of hype about certain brands, particularly in the multi-level marketing space. Vega is actually a GREAT alternative (with top of the line ORGANIC ingredients), BUT sells at a much lower price point. Check it out!
Additional Reading on Super Food and Meal Replacement Powder:
- Vega Pre Workout Supplements – Complete Review of the best supplements to try
- Top Reasons Why I Love Vega Protein and Greens Protein Powder
- Vega One Nutritional Shake Review – Vega One vs Shakeology
- Orgain vs Vega One – Which One Is Better
- How to Find the Best Protein Powder: The Full Alt Protein Guide
- Shakeology Review and Best Shakeology Alternativev Options to Try
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Last updated: March 16th, 2022
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Trevor
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
Hi Owen, Thanks for the information as it is quite helpful. For Vega One I noticed your data about the Sodium content may be low. I just bought Vega One from Costco this week and it shows 220mg of sodium. I think they changed the formula since previous versions so you may want to reevaluate this element. I saw some complaints on this sodium increase in reviews. Thank you!
Lisa
Tuesday 15th of January 2019
So, I've done Vega before and decided to try the Shakeology. I do like it, but the cost is crazy. I really bought into it because I felt like I needed something to force me into doing the shakes again and this seemed like something to try. I can't lie that I like the amount of stuff like Moringa there is in the Shakeology blend, but I like how you pointed out that we don't have any quantifiable amount to even know if those key things that I like about it are actually making a difference. I can just buy the mushrooms and Moringa on the side, know I'm getting a lot out of it, and probably still be paying the same price as Shakeology for VEGA and shakeology. The fact is this, I knew when signing up that I was perfectly capable of doing all of it on my own...I've done it. I think for some people belonging to some sort of group helps them out. For me, it's not working any better than anything I've done in the past. I'm here because I needed that extra push to go on and cancel my membership. I thought about teetering between the two, but now I'm pretty much convinced not to. The sugar is the main factor. Also, the app they have is really annoying compared to easier apps that I use. Lifesum for calorie counting, netflix or amazon for free workouts at home, fitbit or something similar to count those steps, vega for the morning breakfast shake and there you go. More than probably there is even another vegan option that is just as good. I like the vega brand because I've heard great things about the owner and I know that not all vitamins or supplements are created equal. Let's put it this way, most American vitamin brands buy the leftovers of European brands. It was explained to me that it's sort of like coffee. With the same set of coffee grains you can probably get one, two, maybe three brews of great, good, and decent coffee. After that, integrity is diminished greatly. Europe uses the first, second, and third and then American brands buy what's left over and use it until there is nothing left. They can still market it without problems because, technically, it's still made with those ingredients. I'm not saying that Shakeology is a farse, I'm just saying you can do everything they teach for way, way cheaper. The whole idea of it is calorie deprivation...it's not a new concept, it's just exploiting what everyone in weight loss knows in a different way. By getting your friends to sell it to you, you feel like you're apart of a group...you have competition, you're constantly seeing results. The same results can be achieved with a similar, but cheaper shake, free workouts, a free calorie counting app, and an activity tracker. Do what you have to do to get healthy, but I'm getting off the shakeology train now that I've tried it. Thanks for the comparison. I did not notice that about the sugars! Very important for someone who is insulin resistant and trying to avoid extra sugar!
Yvette Kleckley
Tuesday 3rd of July 2018
Thank you sir for the comparison! I really appreciate it?
barry ross
Tuesday 15th of May 2018
I have tried both, and I really want to switch to Vega One over Shakeology because of cost... I like Vega One, alot.. and if I could not get or afford Shakeology, it is what I would choose. When I switched to Vega one for one month... The two things I noticed is.. 1. My brain fog started coming back... 2. I started eating more again....
Jennifer
Wednesday 18th of April 2018
Can’t say enough good things about this article! It was everything I was looking for. However when I went to purchase Vega One on Amazon I found that there’s a “new” improved version. I noticed that the sodium content has upped to 280mg. But I’m not sure what else, if anything, has changed. Would you still recommend this new version? Thank you so much!
Owen Alexander
Tuesday 26th of June 2018
*sigh* Yes, this is disappointing for me. It has to do with one of their protein suppliers (I think the pea protein). I still use Vega One, but am testing out switching to Sun Warrior or Garden of Life where possible. I still prefer the Vega taste / texture and still better than Shakeology IMHO.