Labelgrade

We Graded 19 Greek Yogurts. They're All Actually Good.

The one-line verdict: this is the rare aisle where the health halo is earned. We grade everything on the same harsh 0–100 scale, and most "healthy" categories have a wide spread of duds. Greek yogurt doesn't. All 19 Greek and skyr yogurts we've graded land between B (78) and A- — the most consistently high-scoring category in the catalog. The best, Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Blended Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Cherry, earns A- (85); even the lowest still clears a solid B. You almost can't buy a bad one.

The receipts: every Greek yogurt we grade, ranked

Pulled live from the catalog. Read the protein and sugar columns — the whole list is high-protein, and the only real spread is added sugar.

  1. Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Blended Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Cherry — Labelgrade A- (85/100) · 15g protein · 6g sugar
  2. Dannon Oikos Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Plain — Labelgrade B+ (84/100) · 15g protein · 6g sugar
  3. Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (83/100) · 18g protein · 5g sugar
  4. Oikos Pro Vanilla Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (83/100) · 20g protein · 3g sugar
  5. Stonyfield Organic Greek Nonfat Yogurt Plain - 32 oz — Labelgrade B+ (83/100) · 16g protein · 5g sugar
  6. Wallaby Plain Organic Aussie Greek Lowfat Yogurt, Plain — Labelgrade B+ (83/100) · 14g protein · 5g sugar
  7. Chobani Plain Non- Fat Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (82/100) · 16g protein · 6g sugar
  8. Too Good & Co. Two Good Blueberry Greek Lowfat Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (82/100) · 12g protein · 2g sugar
  9. Chobani Zero Sugar Vanilla Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (81/100) · 13g protein · 0g sugar
  10. Siggi's Peach Nonfat Icelandic Skyr — Labelgrade B+ (81/100) · 14g protein · 8g sugar
  11. Yoplait Greek 100 Strawberry Fat Free Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (81/100) · 14g protein · 7g sugar
  12. Dannon Light + Fit Greek Nonfat Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (80/100) · 12g protein · 7g sugar
  13. Two Good Lowfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (80/100) · 13g protein · 2g sugar
  14. Yoplait Greek 100 Protein Blueberry Fat Free Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (80/100) · 14.4g protein · 6.5g sugar
  15. Yoplait Greek 100 Peach Fat Free Yogurt — Labelgrade B+ (80/100) · 14g protein · 7g sugar
  16. Chobani Less Sugar Madagascar Vanilla & Cinnamon Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B (78/100) · 12g protein · 9g sugar
  17. Chobani Less Sugar Wild Blueberry Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B (78/100) · 18g protein · 13.5g sugar
  18. Fage Total 5% Greek Strained Yogurt — Labelgrade B (78/100) · 15g protein · 5g sugar
  19. Fage Total 2% Strawberry Greek Yogurt — Labelgrade B (78/100) · 18g protein · 10.5g sugar

Every score traces to the product's USDA-sourced label. Compare any two yourself in the filterable explorer →

Why the whole category scores well

It comes down to one manufacturing step: straining. Plain yogurt is cultured milk; Greek yogurt (and Icelandic skyr) is that yogurt strained to drain off the watery whey. That single move does two things the grade rewards: it roughly doubles the protein per spoonful, and it carries away a good share of the natural milk sugar with the liquid. The result is a food that's protein-dense and naturally lowish in sugar before any marketing gets involved. So when the formula goes looking for the things it rewards — protein density, low sugar, a short ingredient list — Greek yogurt has them built in. The category isn't gaming the scale; it's just genuinely well-built.

The one real spread: plain vs flavored

"They're all good" doesn't mean they're all identical, and the difference is entirely about sugar. The top of the list is the plain and "triple zero" style cups — all the protein, nothing added. The flavored and fruit-on-the-bottom versions take the same strong base and add 7–13g of sugar, which costs a few points but rarely drops them out of the B range. That's the honest hierarchy of an honest aisle: plain is best, "zero sugar" and "less sugar" lines are the smart middle, and even a sweetened fruit cup is a better food than most of what's marketed as a "protein" snack. Buy it plain and add your own fruit and you get the whole upside with none of the sugar tax.

The honest caveat

Two footnotes, because "buy any of them" deserves the fine print. First, the one trap in the aisle is the words "Greek-style": true Greek yogurt is strained, but some "Greek-style" products are thickened with added milk protein or stabilizers instead, which can mean less protein than the name implies — the tell is always the protein number, not the front of the cup. Second, this is a category verdict, not a claim that every cup is interchangeable: a plain high-protein tub and a candy-sweet dessert cup both clear a B, but they're not the same food, and if you're counting sugar the flavored ones still count. None of that dents the headline. Held to the same scale that sinks most "healthy" aisles, Greek yogurt is the one that keeps passing — usually because it was a good food to begin with. For the full weighting, see the methodology, and for the deeper dive on the format, what is Greek yogurt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Greek yogurt actually healthy?

On our data, it's one of the few aisles where the health reputation holds up across the board. We graded 19 Greek and skyr yogurts and every single one landed between B (78) and A- — the most consistently high-scoring category we've measured. The reason is structural: straining removes liquid whey, which concentrates the protein and drains off much of the lactose (milk sugar). So even before any brand makes a "high protein" claim, the base food is already protein-dense and relatively low in sugar. You can buy almost any plain Greek yogurt on the shelf and do fine.

What makes Greek yogurt different from regular yogurt?

Straining. Regular yogurt is cultured milk; Greek yogurt is that same yogurt strained to remove the watery whey, which roughly doubles the protein per spoonful (often ~15–20g per cup versus ~8–9g) and removes a chunk of the natural milk sugar along with the liquid. Icelandic skyr is made the same way and behaves nearly identically on the label. That concentration step is the whole nutritional advantage — and it's why the category grades so uniformly well.

Which Greek yogurt is the healthiest?

The plain and "triple zero" style versions sit at the very top, because the only thing that separates a great Greek yogurt from a merely good one is added sugar. Plain Greek yogurt brings the protein with nothing added; the fruit-on-the-bottom and flavored cups bolt on 7–13g of added sugar, which nudges the grade down a few points but rarely out of the B/B+ range. The honest hierarchy: buy it plain and add your own fruit, and you get the protein without the sugar tax. If you want flavored, the "zero sugar" and "less sugar" lines are the smart middle.

Is the sugar in flavored Greek yogurt a problem?

It's the one thing to watch, but keep it in proportion. A flavored Greek yogurt with 10g of added sugar is still a far better food than most "protein" snacks — it just isn't as clean as the plain version. The structural protein advantage doesn't disappear when they add fruit; the cup simply carries a dessert-ish amount of sugar on top of a genuinely good base. The fix is easy and cheap: buy plain, sweeten it yourself with real fruit or a drizzle of honey, and you control the dose.

Is "Greek-style" yogurt the same thing?

Not always, and it's the one trap in an otherwise honest aisle. True Greek yogurt is strained. Some products labeled "Greek-style" are thickened with added milk protein concentrate, cream, or stabilizers instead of straining — which can mean less protein and more additives than the name implies. The tell is the protein number: a real Greek yogurt posts a high protein figure for its calories. If a "Greek-style" cup has thin protein, it's borrowing the name without the method. Check the protein line, not the front of the cup.

How is the Labelgrade calculated?

One 0–100 score from the same six weighted dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and fiber — applied to every food alike. Greek yogurt scores well because the strained base is protein-dense and low in sugar and fat, so it earns points where most packaged foods lose them. Every number traces to the product's USDA-sourced label; the full weighting is on the methodology page.