How we chose: This is a research-based guide, not a hands-on test. We compared manufacturer labels (calories, protein, sugar, carb sources), third-party testing status, verified buyer feedback and price-per-tub data from price trackers, then shortlisted gainers that suit women who struggle to gain: calorie-dense, but easy to portion up or down.
Why Gaining Weight Is Genuinely Hard for Some Women
Most fitness advice assumes you want to lose weight. If you are naturally slim, have a fast metabolism or a small appetite, gaining can feel just as hard as losing does for someone else.
The basic maths is simple. To gain weight, you need to eat slightly more energy than you burn — a calorie surplus — day after day. In practice, that consistency is the hard part, especially when you feel full quickly.
A sensible surplus is modest: roughly 250–500 extra calories a day. Our guide on how to gain weight fast and naturally covers the food-first side of that plan in detail.
A weight gainer shake helps because drinking calories is easier than eating them. One shake between meals can quietly add the surplus without leaving you too full for dinner.
Pair the extra calories with resistance training. Training tells your body to spend the surplus on muscle instead of storing all of it as fat, which is how you gain shape and strength, not just scale weight.
How We Chose These Weight Gainers
We looked for gainers a smaller appetite can actually live with. That means sensible serving sizes, the option to take a half serving, and protein high enough to support training — at least 30 g per full serving on every pick here.
We also checked what the calories are made of. Some gainers are mostly maltodextrin and sugar; others use oat flour, sweet potato or quinoa. Neither style is automatically “bad”, but you should know which one you are buying.
A note on sugar and blood sugar: several gainers below carry 20 g or more of sugar per full serving, and maltodextrin-heavy formulas digest fast. If you have diabetes, pre-diabetes or any blood-sugar concern, check the label carefully and talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before using a gainer.
The 7 Best Weight Gainers for Women at a Glance
| Product | Calories / serving | Protein | Best for | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum Nutrition Pro Gainer | 650 | 60 g | Best overall — moderate calories, high protein | ~$85 (5 lb) |
| Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer | 560 | 30 g | Gentlest start — lowest-calorie pick | ~$40 (5 lb) |
| Transparent Labs Mass Gainer | 760 | 53 g | Best clean label — whole-food style carbs | ~$72–80 (15 servings) |
| Naked Mass | 1,250 | 50 g | Fewest ingredients — just three | ~$80–105 (8–12 lb) |
| Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass | 1,250 | 50 g | Stubborn hardgainers (half servings) | ~$100–107 (12 lb) |
| Dymatize Super Mass Gainer | 1,280 | 52 g | Best budget pick | ~$40–46 (6 lb) |
| Naked Vegan Mass | 1,230 | 50 g | Best plant-based | ~$80 (8 lb) |
1. Optimum Nutrition Pro Gainer — Best Overall
Who it’s for: most women starting out. At 650 calories, Pro Gainer adds a solid surplus without the 1,200-calorie commitment of the big tubs, and its 60 g of protein is the highest on this list.
The protein comes from a blend of whey, casein and egg, and the formula adds a vitamin and mineral panel. Sugar stays low at around 5 g per serving, which is rare in this category.
Pros
- Moderate 650-calorie serving that is easy to fit between meals
- 60 g protein per serving — the most here
- Low sugar (about 5 g) for a gainer
- From Optimum Nutrition, a long-established brand
Cons
- Expensive per tub compared with the high-calorie picks
- Thick texture — some reviewers split it into two smaller shakes
Price: around $85 for 5 lb; the 10 lb bag runs roughly $130–145.
Check the price of Optimum Nutrition Pro Gainer on Amazon
2. Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer — Best Gentle Start
Who it’s for: anyone who finds the giant gainers intimidating. At 560 calories, Clean Gainer is closer to a hearty snack than a meal replacement, so it rarely ruins your appetite for real food.
Its carbs lean on whole-food sources such as quinoa, oat fibre and rice bran, with fats from flaxseed, avocado and sunflower. Protein is a modest 30 g from whey, milk protein and casein.
Pros
- Lowest-calorie pick — easy to stay consistent with
- Whole-food style carb sources, only about 8–9 g sugar
- Banned-substance tested, from the team behind Rule 1 Proteins
Cons
- 30 g protein is the lowest here — pair it with protein-rich meals
- The smaller surplus means slower scale progress
Price: around $34–46 for 5 lb, depending on flavour and offers.
Check the price of Rival Nutrition Clean Gainer on Amazon
3. Transparent Labs Mass Gainer — Best Clean Label
Who it’s for: label readers. Transparent Labs prints full ingredient doses, uses grass-fed whey, and sweetens with stevia and monk fruit instead of sucralose.
Each serving gives 760 calories and 53 g of protein. The carb blend is led by tapioca, with oat flour and sweet potato in the mix, and you also get a full serving of creatine monohydrate — so skip a separate creatine product if you use this.
Pros
- No artificial sweeteners, colours or flavours
- Third-party tested (Informed Choice) with published results
- Creatine built in; moderate 760-calorie serving
Cons
- The most expensive per serving on this list
- Only a few flavours, and availability on Amazon varies — it is mainly sold direct
Price: around $72–80 for a 15-serving bag.
Check the price of Transparent Labs Mass Gainer on Amazon
4. Naked Mass — Fewest Ingredients
Who it’s for: women who want maximum calories with minimum extras. Naked Mass contains just three ingredients: whey protein, casein and organic maltodextrin. Nothing artificial at all.
A full serving is a serious 1,250 calories with 50 g of protein, so most women will do better starting with half. The unflavoured version disappears into smoothies with banana, oats and peanut butter.
Pros
- Only three ingredients; NSF Certified and independently tested
- Unflavoured option for building your own calorie-dense smoothies
- Gluten-free and soy-free
Cons
- The carb source is maltodextrin, which digests quickly
- Premium price per tub; unflavoured taste is plain on its own
Price: around $80 for 8 lb and $90–105 for the 12 lb bulk bag.
Check the price of Naked Mass on Amazon
5. Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass — Best for Stubborn Hardgainers
Who it’s for: the true hardgainer whose weight will not move on smaller shakes. Serious Mass is the classic 1,250-calorie gainer, with 50 g of protein, creatine and a full vitamin panel.
Our honest advice: treat the labelled serving as two. A half serving gives you roughly 625 calories — much closer to what most women need — and makes the tub last twice as long.
We also shortlisted Serious Mass as the bulking pick in our guide to the best protein powders for strength athletes, where we note it is not third-party certified the way some rivals are. The same caution applies here.
Pros
- Proven, widely reviewed formula with 1,250 calories per serving
- Good value per calorie in the 12 lb bag
- Creatine and glutamine included
Cons
- Around 20–30 g sugar per full serving, depending on flavour
- Not third-party certified; very filling at full size
Price: around $100–107 for 12 lb; the 6 lb bag is roughly $50.
Check the price of Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass on Amazon
6. Dymatize Super Mass Gainer — Best Budget Pick
Who it’s for: maximum calories per dollar. Super Mass Gainer delivers 1,280 calories and 52 g of protein per serving, yet the 6 lb bag is one of the cheapest ways into this category.
Dymatize adds 10.7 g of BCAAs and 1 g of creatine, and the formula is Informed Choice banned-substance tested — reassuring at this price.
Pros
- Lowest cost per 1,000 calories on this list
- Informed Choice tested; 52 g protein per serving
- Widely stocked, with frequent discounts
Cons
- About 21 g sugar per serving
- Only 8 servings in the 6 lb bag — it runs out fast
Price: around $40–46 for 6 lb.
Check the price of Dymatize Super Mass Gainer on Amazon
7. Naked Vegan Mass — Best Plant-Based
Who it’s for: women avoiding dairy. Vegan Mass pairs pea protein with brown rice protein — together they cover the full amino acid profile — plus organic tapioca maltodextrin.
Each serving provides 1,230 calories and 50 g of plant protein, with no artificial ingredients and no soy or gluten. As with Naked Mass, a half serving is the sensible starting point for most women.
Pros
- Complete plant protein blend; dairy-free and easier on sensitive stomachs
- No artificial sweeteners or flavours; NSF Certified
- 50 g protein matches the dairy-based picks
Cons
- Plant blends taste earthier — best blended with fruit
- Thick; a blender beats a shaker bottle
Price: around $80 for 8 lb.
Check the price of Naked Vegan Mass on Amazon
How to Use a Gainer Without Just Adding Fat
Start with half servings. Most labels are written for large male bodybuilders. Half a serving of a 1,250-calorie gainer gives you about 625 calories, which is already a full surplus for many women.
Drink it between meals, not instead of them. A shake that replaces lunch adds nothing. A shake at 11 a.m. or after training adds calories on top of your normal food.
Train three to four times a week. Progressive resistance training — adding a little weight or a few reps over time — is what steers extra calories toward muscle. Our roundup of the best weight gain supplements explains how gainers fit alongside creatine and other basics.
Weigh yourself weekly, not daily. Aim for a slow trend of roughly 0.25–0.5 kg (about 0.5–1 lb) a week. If the scale jumps faster for two weeks running, trim the shake slightly; if it does not move after three weeks, add a snack before adding more powder.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many extra calories does a woman need to gain weight?
Most women gain steadily on a surplus of about 250–500 calories a day. Start at the lower end, track your weight for two to three weeks, and adjust. A moderate gainer like Pro Gainer, or a half serving of a big gainer, covers that gap on its own.
Will a weight gainer make me look bulky?
No shake can do that by itself. Muscle is built slowly — even with good training and a surplus, women typically gain it gradually. What a gainer changes is your calorie total; your training decides how much of the gain is muscle.
When is the best time to drink a weight gainer?
Between meals or straight after a workout works best for most people. The golden rule is addition, not replacement: the shake should sit on top of your normal breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Can I take half a serving instead of a full one?
Yes — and for most women it is the smartest way to use the high-calorie products here. You halve the calories, the sugar and the cost per day, and the tub lasts twice as long.
I watch my blood sugar. Can I still use a weight gainer?
Be careful. Several gainers carry 20 g or more of sugar per serving and use fast-digesting maltodextrin. Lower-sugar options like Pro Gainer or Rival Clean Gainer are gentler choices, but if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, speak to your doctor or dietitian first. This guide is general information, not medical advice.
How fast should I expect results?
A realistic pace is about 0.25–0.5 kg (0.5–1 lb) per week once your surplus and training are consistent. Faster usually means more of the gain is fat. No supplement can promise a specific result — consistency with food and training does the work.
The Bottom Line
For most women, Optimum Nutrition Pro Gainer is the easiest place to start: moderate calories, the most protein here, and low sugar. If even that feels like a lot, Rival Clean Gainer is the gentlest first step.
If your weight genuinely will not budge, step up to a half-serving routine with Serious Mass or Naked Mass, keep an eye on the budget with Dymatize Super Mass Gainer, and choose Naked Vegan Mass if you are plant-based.
Whichever tub you pick, remember the shake is only the delivery system. A small daily surplus, protein at every meal and steady strength training are what actually build the body you are after.
Affiliate disclosure: This guide contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, Tikkay Khan may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices shown are approximate US prices checked in October 2026 and change often — the live price on Amazon is the one that counts.