Round 1: Protein and Nutrition
Winner: Ritual Essential Protein
Ritual 17/25, Momentous 16/25. Both deliver 20 g of protein per serving, Ritual in a 1/3 cup (about 31 g) and Momentous in a scoop of about 32 g. Ritual’s 120 calories make protein 67% of the total; Momentous hasn’t confirmed the Vanilla Spice calorie count, so our math uses the 130 calories Healthline lists for its chocolate, about 62%.
Both are mostly pea, and both earn full marks for amino-acid support. Ritual adds 400 mg of L-methionine, the amino acid pea runs short on, while Momentous’s own lab report shows 24.9 g of pea protein to 1.03 g of brown rice protein: a pea shake with a rice cameo.
Round 2: Value
Winner: Momentous 100% Plant Protein
Momentous 13/25, Ritual 7/25. Ritual is the most expensive protein per gram in our top 10 and Momentous is second, so Momentous wins as the smaller splurge, with 22 servings a tub against Ritual’s 15 per pouch.
Want pea protein without the velvet rope? Naked Pea costs the least per gram in our top 10 and is Informed Choice certified; more certified picks are on our athletes page.
Round 3: Purity and Testing
Winner: Tie
Ritual 17/25, Momentous 17/25. Both post batch heavy-metal results (+2 each), though Ritual shows one lot per flavor and Momentous lists 88 batches. Ritual adds 4 for its Clean Label Project Purity Award and NSF Contents certification, then loses 2 for CR’s 107% lead result (Chocolate, January 2026) and 2 for a Prop 65 lead label warning plus an open February 2026 notice alleging lead in the Vanilla (an allegation, not a finding).
Momentous adds 4 for NSF Certified for Sport, then loses 2 because six of its brand-commissioned lot reports average 119% of CR’s daily lead level, and 2 because CR measured its discontinued previous formula at 476% (Chocolate, October 2025). Its Vanilla Spice lot came in at 0.36 mcg of lead per scoop, while its 2026 chocolate lots ran 0.72 to 0.80 mcg. Dead heat, different paperwork.
Round 4: Taste and Texture
Winner: Ritual Essential Protein
Ritual 22/25, Momentous 15/25. Ritual has the best taste-and-mixing score in our top 10. BarBend gave the Vanilla 4.5 of 5 for taste and 5 of 5 for solubility, saying it “didn’t taste like the stereotypical earthiness of other plant-based powders,” and Garage Gym Reviews scored it 4 and 5 while noting a slight chalky aftertaste.
Healthline named Momentous its best vegan protein powder, and its tester found the Vanilla Spice “a little chalky” but said it dissolved well without a blender. Healthline gave no number, and BarBend’s perfect scores may cover the old formula, so our formula gives Momentous a neutral 60%. Ritual wins by a smooth margin.
Round 5: Ingredients and Extras
Winner: Tie
Ritual pairs organic pea protein with 400 mg of added methionine, 150 mg of choline, coconut MCT oil and xanthan gum, sweetened with Reb M (a stevia extract) and monk fruit for 0 g of sugar. It isn’t organic overall, by Ritual’s own account.
Momentous skips gums, fillers and stabilizers, per the brand, and flavors its Vanilla Spice with cinnamon, ginger, anise and black pepper, plus 2 g of organic cane sugar and stevia. Sugar-free fans lean Ritual, gum-free fans lean Momentous: a tie.