Best greens powder to buy, tried and tested

With so many greens powders on the market – many of them fairly expensive – it can be hard to know where to begin and what is worth the investment. We put top brands of greens powders to the test, so you can make informed choices when you buy. Read on the find out the best greens powders to buy.

For more like this, check out our reviews of the best matcha to buy and six healthy coffee brands to try.

Best greens powders at glance

• Best overall greens powder: Free Soul greens (mango flavour), £30/150g
• Best greens powder for a range of flavours: Protein Works Super Greens Extreme, £15.49/250g
• Best greens powder for on-the-go: AG1 Food Supplement, £97/30 servings
• Best spiced flavour: Bioglan Supergreens, £13.19/70g
• Best for variety of ingredients: Huel Daily Greens, £50/250g
• Best greens powder for minimal ingredients: Rheal Superfoods Clean Greens, £25/150g
• Best greens powder for protein: Naturya Organic Greens Super Blend, £15.49/250g
• Best greens powder for probiotics: Shreddy Supergreens mango and pineapple, £34/240g

Best greens powders to buy 2024

Free Soul greens (mango)

• Available from Free Soul (£30/150g)

Best overall greens powder
Star rating: 4.5/5

• Cost per serving: £1
• Number of ingredients: 21
• Claims: 'High in fibre to support digestion, uniquely formulated for women, 21 ingredients to support energy and immunity'.
• Type of sweetener: Stevia

Free Soul greens comes in an original or mango flavour, and we tried the mango. The pouch has a resealable top and suggests using 1 teaspoon of powder mixed with water or added to a smoothie.

The list of 21 ingredients includes greens such as spinach, kale, broccoli and spirulina, alongside ashwagandha, wheatgrass, green tea, pineapple, red beetroot, maca and fennel seeds. Stevia is used as a sweetener.

When mixed with water, the powder had a pleasant mango aroma and strong tropical flavour. The thin texture was refreshing and it was an attractive deep green colour. This could be easily drunk on its own but we think it would be especially good in a tropical smoothie. You can taste a few of the individual ingredients a bit more clearly than in other green powders so you know what you're drinking, but in a good way.

Available from:
Free Soul (£30/150g)

Protein Works Super Greens Extreme (apple and lemon)

• Available from Protein Works (£15.49/250g)

Best for range of flavours
Star rating: 4/5

• Cost per serving: 77p
• Number of ingredients: 41
• Claims: 'High protein, nutrient dense, rich in antioxidants to boost your immunity and focus, added vitamin C to boost your immune system'. Two main benefits claims are convenience (enables you to get more greens with less cooking and less waste) and health (impacts of boosting your greens intake)'.
• Type of sweetener: Sucralose

Protein Works Super Greens is available in a very wide range of flavours – take your pick from mandarin orange, mojito, summer berry burst, tropical and more. We tried the apple and lemon flavour in a 250g pack, although 500g and 1kg packs are available too. There is a scoop inside for easy measuring and a 'super fresh seal' on the resealable pouch.

There are 41 active ingredients and it claims 20 of these are 'superfoods'. The base of 'super greens blend' includes spirulina, spinach, wheatgrass, broccoli, matcha tea, ashwagandha extract, green tea and green coffee bean extracts, yerba mate and ginseng. Then there's a 'vitamins and minerals' blend including vitamin C, vitamin B3, folic acid, vitamin E and vitamin B5. It also contains flavourings and a sweetener.

The flavour we tried was very sweet, and we'd be intrigued to try more of the flavours. It was an attractive deep green colour, the best colour of ones we tried. The texture is a bit grainy and powdery, so we would suggest blending this one for the smoothest results.

Available from:
Protein Works (£15.49/250g)

AG1 Food Supplement

• Available from AG1 (£97/30 servings)

Best greens powder for on-the-go
Star rating: 3.5/5

• Cost per serving: £3.23
• Number of ingredients: 75
• Claims: Daily support for energy, hormone function, immune system, cognitive and nervous system function, healthy blood glucose.
• Type of sweetener: Stevia

At £97 for a bag containing 30 servings (you can subscribe, bringing the cost slightly down to £79), AG1 is undoubtedly an investment and by far the most expensive greens powder we tried. Your first delivery comes with a free shaker. We liked that there are also individual portions of the powder available in sachets (although these are even more expensive) – handy for on-the-go, taking to work with you or on trips, or just not needing to think about daily measuring.

With a hefty 75 ingredients, there's lots of different things in here, notably spirulina, apple powder, papaya, rosehip powder, acerola fruit juice powder extract, ashwaganda root extract, dandelion concentrate, alfalfa powder, green tea extract, several mushroom powders and added probiotics. Many of these ingredients we didn't spot in other greens powders we tested, so the versatility is a strong point if you're looking for a real variety of potential benefits.

The powder dissolves easily in water (we used the scoop provided) with just slightly chalky results but no clumps left unmixed. The drink had a deep green colour and a fruity, almost tropical scent. It does contain stevia which gives quite a sweet flavour, combined with some sweet fruits in the ingredients. Flavour-wise, we'd struggle to have a whole glass on it's own and would recommend mixing into smoothies.

Available from:
AG1 (£97/30 servings)

Bioglan Supergreens

• Available from Holland & Barrett (£13.19/70g)

Best for spiced flavour
Star rating: 4.5/5

• Cost per serving: 90p
• Number of ingredients: approx 20
• Claims: 'Bursting with superfoods, high in iron, vitamin B12, vitamin C, iodine'.
• Type of sweetener: Sugar

The Bioglan Supergreens says it has 'apple-infused flavour' for 'no grassy taste', and has mulled apple seasoning in the ingredients. This includes cinnamon, cloves, apple powder and ginger, and gives the powder a very strong spiced flavour when drunk on its own. You'd have to find the right flavours to balance this in a smoothie, as it would most likely clash with some berry or tropical flavours. The texture of the powder once mixed in water was quite thin but relatively clean tasting. There are three serving suggestions on the packet, although the suggested quantity of 5-10g of powder is quite vague (although means you can experiment to find the balance you like), and there is no scoop included.

We appreciated that the ingredients§ listed the percentage of each ingredient involved, and was overall relatively short and recognisable with approximately 20 ingredients. These included greens such as spirulina, spinach, broccoli and kale, as well as chlorella, turmeric and wheatgrass. It also contains both sugar and salt.

It is a small 70g packet which equals 14 servings and is under £15, so it is good entry-level, affordable greens powder to try for beginners who aren't sure if they want to splash out on a more expensive powder yet.

Available from:
Holland & Barrett (£13.19/70g)

Huel Daily Greens

• Available from Huel (£50/250g)

Best greens powder for most ingredients
Star rating: 3.5/5

• Cost per serving: £1.66
• Number of ingredients: 91
• Claims: Huel claims over 166 health benefits to their Daily Greens, including boosting metabolism, immunity, natural energy sources, supporting muscle growth.
• Type of sweetener: Stevia

Huel Daily Greens had the highest number of ingredients (91) and the biggest amount of health claims (166) of all the greens powders we tested. With so much going on, we found it interesting to read on their website a breakdown of every ingredient and its claimed role and health benefits, so that we could understand more about what we were consuming and why.

All the expected ingredients are in here, plus more. There's lots of fruit and veg powders: broccoli, carrot, spinach, kale, tomato, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry, to name a few. There's a mushroom and adaptogen blend including ashwagandha root and lion's mane mushrooms. Other notable ingredients include marine algae, black garlic, green coffee bean extract, pea protein, flaxseed and oats. It has sweetener in the form of stevia.

The powder comes in an easily resealable pouch with a scoop provided for measuring. There are clear instructions on how to mix, although we found it hard to mix smoothly with some lumps left when just using a spoon – we'd recommend trying a frother or blender. The colour was quite brown-toned and not the most attractive of powders we tested. The finished taste was extremely sweet with an artificial taste from sweetener. Instead of drinking on its own, this would need to be balanced in a smoothie or juice, perhaps with some more veg.

Rheal Superfoods Clean Greens

• Available from Holland & Barrett (£25/150g)

Best greens powder for minimal ingredients
Star rating: 4/5

• Cost per serving: 83p
• Number of ingredients: 7
• Claims: Contains vitamin C to contribute to normal function of the immune system, iron to help fight tiredness and fatigue
• Type of sweetener: None

Rheal have taken a different approach to their greens powder. Rather than loading it with anything and everything 'green', they have focused on just seven 'superfoods'. These are baobab, barley grass, chlorella, moringa, pineapple, wheatgrass and spirulina. There is no additional sweetener. It has high protein levels and we appreciate the ingredients being familiar and easy to understand. Rheal also plant a tree with every order.

Instead of a plastic resealable pouch, Rheal comes in a cardboard tube with sealed metal opening, although this can get a little messy when popping open. A suggested serving of 1 teaspoon is given, to mix just with 'a glass of water'. When mixed together, it has an attractive deep green colour but the powder separates quickly when left to sit and forms two clear layers in the glass. It smells extremely grassy and also tastes grassy and vegetal. This has more of a savoury flavour, which we appreciate after testing some greens powders that are overly artificially sweet.

Available from:
Holland & Barrett (£25/150g)

Naturya Organic Green Superblend

• Available from Holland & Barrett (£15.49/250g)

Best greens powder for protein
Star rating: 4/5

• Cost per serving: 61p
• Number of ingredients: 6
• Claims: High in protein to build and maintain muscle mass, high in zinc to support the immune system and 'protect the body against oxidative stress'.
• Type of sweetener: None

Naturya is another minimalist greens powder, this time with just six ingredients: wheatgrass powder, hemp protein powder (30%), barleygrass powder (20%), pineapple powder, chlorella powder (5%) and spirulina powder (5%). It has no added sweetener. The ingredients list is refreshingly straightforward, although with 30 per cent hemp protein powder, it is more protein-heavy than other greens powders which focus on upping your greens intake through lots of veg.

At just over £15, it is one of the most affordable greens powders we tried. The pack suggests mixing with smoothies, milk or juice or even adding to baking. We stuck to mixing with water and the powder dissolved well.

Available from:
Holland & Barrett (£15.49/250g)

Shreddy Supergreens (mango and pineapple)

• Available from Shreddy (£34/240g)

Best greens powder for probiotics
Star rating: 4/5

• Cost per serving: £1.13
• Number of ingredients: 62
• Claims: Claims to be 100 per cent of NRV of key vitamins and minerals and contain five million probiotic bacteria. 100 per cent of biotin, nicacin and selenium that contribute to growth and maintenance of healthy skin, hair and nails.
• Type of sweetener: Stevia

Shreddy Supergreens has a mango and pineapple flavour. The resealable pouch comes with a scoop for measuring and suggests mixing 8g (1 scoop) with 150-250ml water, a wide range that helps you decide how intense you want the flavour to be. The claims have more of a focus on beauty benefits than some of the other greens powders we tried.

The list of 62 ingredients is broken down into different blends – probiotic and prebiotic blend (including chicory root extract and psyllium husk powder), antioxidant blend (including green tea extract, apple extract, basil, oregano, carrot, elderberry, blueberry, blackcurrant), superfood blend (chlorella powder, spirulina, wheatgrass), beauty blend (biotin, selenium), and a vitamin and mineral blend. It does also contain stevia sweetener.

When mixed with water, the finish is a paler green colour than others, but looks attractive. It has an inviting tropical smell but on the palate, the aftertaste tastes a bit like paint (potentially from the stevia). We wouldn't want to drink this on its own, but a smoothie might mask that aftertaste better than just mixing with water.

Available from:
Shreddy (£34/240g)

How we tested greens powders

We tested eight greens powders at the same time, so we could compare them side by side. Each greens powder was mixed with water, following the brand's suggested ratios of powder to water. They were all mixed by hand with a teaspoon. A team of our reviews and health experts tried each one.

We were looking for powders that dissolved well, had a pleasant texture to drink and a good balanced flavour – not too earthy, not too vegetal and not too artificially sweet from the presence of sweeteners. We also assessed the ingredients in each powder (which varied from seven to 91), the benefits it claimed to give, and sustainability factors such as packaging and how long the powder lasted. We also considered value for money, with price per serving ranging widely across the powders.

What should you mix greens powder with?

We tested greens powders simply mixed with water, which is quick and easy, but this is the most potent way to have them as it lets the original flavours and texture shine through with nowhere to hide. Blending the powders into smoothies and juices will help disguise the flavour and can make them more pleasant to drink, as well as potentially giving a smoother texture.

We stirred the powders by hand using a teaspoon, but you could also use a shaker or milk frother for an extra-smooth result.