We Graded Every Beef Jerky & Meat Snack A–F. A Solid Protein Snack — Just Mind the Salt.

Jerky is one of the genuinely useful snacks in the store — dense protein, portable, usually low in sugar — so this report card is more good news than exposé. We graded the popular jerky and meat snacks on the same 6-dimension Labelgrade, and the order tracks one thing: what got added to the meat. Air-dried biltong with no added sugar tops the list, while the glazed and teriyaki jerkies and the meat sticks trail on sodium and added sugar. The category-wide watch-out is salt — jerky is cured and salted by definition — so even the winners sit in the B- range. A solid protein snack; just mind the sodium.

The verdict

Jerky grades well on protein, and the spread (66–73) is almost all sodium and added sugar: Stryve Original Beef Biltong tops it at B- (73), while the Field Trip Original Meat Stick lands last at C+ (66) — separated on salt and glaze, not protein.

Top of the class B- Stryve Original Beef Biltong, Original 73/100

Bottom of the class C+ Field Trip Original Meat Stick 66/100

The full report card — all 7 beef jerky & meat snacks, ranked

#	Beef jerky & meat snack	Grade	Score	Weakest link
1	Stryve — Original Beef Biltong, Original	B-	73	sodium (0/100)
2	Jack Link'S — Jack Link'S, Teriyaki Beef Jerky	B-	71	sodium (0/100)
3	Old Trapper — Old Fashioned Beef Jerky, Old Fashioned	B-	70	sodium (0/100)
4	Jack Link's — Premium Cuts Beef Jerky Original Hickory Smokehouse	C+	68	sodium (0/100)
5	Tillamook — Old Fashioned Beef Jerky, Old Fashioned	C+	68	sodium (0/100)
6	Country Archer — Country Archer, Beef Jerky, Original, Original	C+	67	sodium (15/100)
7	Field Trip — Original Meat Stick	C+	66	sodium (22/100)

Worth a closer look

The two ends of the list tell the story. Stryve Original Beef Biltong, Original tops the class at 73/100 (B-); Field Trip Original Meat Stick anchors the bottom at 66/100 (C+). Click any product for its full fact sheet — the six dimension sub-scores, the per-serving label, and what would move its grade. Prefer to slice it yourself? Filter every graded product by the dimension you care about.

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How we graded these

Each product is scored on six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — combined into a 0–100 score and a letter grade. Every number comes from the product’s own label, verified against USDA FoodData Central. The grade is absolute (relative to all packaged foods), which is why a whole category can land in the same band. See the full methodology. Last graded 2026-06-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which jerky scored best?

The no-added-sugar, air-dried options led — Stryve Original Beef Biltong took the top, with Jack Link’s Teriyaki and Old Trapper Old Fashioned close behind. See the ranked table above for the exact order and each one’s weakest dimension. Plain, unglazed cuts beat the sweet-glazed ones.

Why did the meat stick score lowest?

Meat sticks and the glazed jerkies carry more sodium and added sugar than plain air-dried biltong, and both are among our six dimensions. The Field Trip Original Meat Stick is a fine snack, but it lost points on salt and sugar rather than protein — which is why it sits at the bottom of an otherwise close pack.

Is beef jerky healthy?

For protein per bite it’s one of the better grab-and-go options, which is why the whole category grades in the B-range. The thing to watch is sodium — jerky is cured and salted, so it runs high by nature — plus added sugar on the teriyaki and honey styles. Plain or biltong-style, in a sensible portion, is the highest-scoring move.

How is the grade calculated?

Six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — into a 0–100 score and a letter grade, from each product’s own label, verified against USDA data. See our methodology page.