10 Greek Yogurt Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

When I was younger, I distinctly remember how much I despised the flavor of Greek yogurt. The thick concoction offered the most putrid mouthfeel and really made me wonder, "How the heck could anyone ever eat this stuff?" But, as my palate has matured with age, I've noticed how delectable Greek yogurt actually is. Now, I couldn't imagine not eating a bowl of it for breakfast every morning, topped with sliced banana, a handful of fresh blueberries, and my favorite granola brand.

Greek yogurt isn't the same as regular yogurt; its whey has been removed, which gives it thicker texture and a slightly tangier flavor. But, despite the fact that Greek yogurt brands all undergo the same process of making their yogurt, I couldn't help but notice that every brand I've ever had has a slightly different flavor.

In order to decide which brands do Green yogurt the best, I sampled several different products that I found in my local grocery store before ranking them based on their flavor, consistency, and sweetness. I sampled the vanilla version of each brand, though you'll find that many also carry different fruity renditions, as well as low-sugar or plain flavors.

Dannon is a brand I associate more with plain yogurt and Jamie Lee Curtis (who was a spokesperson for Activia, another yogurt company under the Dannon umbrella) than Greek variety. But, I was able to find several of its Greek yogurt products at my local Walmart store. Its products come in large tubs and single-serve containers and include flavors that are a little more out of the box than other brands on this list, including toasted marshmallow, Boston cream pie, and tiramisu. It even took a card from Chobani's playbook with its Remix containers, which feature a crunchy topping on the side.

I wish that I could report that this fat-free yogurt scored favorably on this ranking. But unfortunately, this is one for the bottom of the pile. The first thing that I noticed was that this yogurt was sludgy and very thick when I opened the container and gave it a stir. Its thickness was significantly more noticeable than competitors like Chobani and Great Value. But, the flavor was so sweet that it made my taste buds hurt. The vanilla flavor is super synthetic and makes you feel like you're biting into a slab of white chocolate — which is bad news for a breakfast food. It makes me wonder Dannon's process of removing the fat also removed the natural flavor that's associated with Greek yogurt — leaving the brand no choice but to make this product taste super artificial. This is one yogurt that could appease a kid's palate in a pinch, but it's not something I would recommend adding to your shopping cart — especially if you plan on loading it up with sweet toppings like berries, granola, and a drizzle of honey.

If Dannon Light & Fit is marketed towards women, then Oikos is definitely doing everything it can to market itself towards men. The brand features burnished silver lettering against a black background, which makes it at least look like a really convincing post-lift snack. Oikos comes in several different flavors, though its offerings are much simpler than other brands. You'll find options like peach, lemon tart, and black cherry flavors, but not much by way of whimsical desserts and overtly sweet concoctions.

If you like things that taste like protein powder, you're going to like Oikos Pro. The flavor itself is just as I would expect a protein-enhanced yogurt to taste: not good. While it very clearly advertises that each serving has an impressive 23 grams of protein, every single gram of that protein goes down like a sludgy, artificially-sweetened protein shake. The cloying, artificially-sweet notes really override your taste buds, so much so that you can't enjoy the velvety smooth consistency of the yogurt.

There's something unique and off-putting about its texture, too. I instantly noticed some clear separation between the mixture when I first opened the container. After giving it a stir, I found that it took on the consistency of a very creamy body lotion rather than a thick, unstrained Greek yogurt.

The one application that I could see for this Oikos Pro yogurt is in a protein muffin or some other protein fro-yo that you whip up with your ice cream maker. Though, be advised that there's nothing that can really veil that acquired taste. And for that reason, Okios Pro had to descend to the bottom of my list.

Is Too Good really too good? I wanted to find out. The brand only offers a few yogurt products at my local Walmart, although it also carries a line of smoothie beverages in the cutest containers I've ever seen (I'm a sucker for great packaging, in case you couldn't tell). But, its normal Greek yogurt flavors are rather rudimentary. Vanilla, strawberry, cherry, and berry are some of its selections, which are considerably pared down from other brands like Chobani.

The first thing I noticed when I opened this container was that there were flecks of vanilla bean scattered throughout — so I figured that the brand would at least try to sell me on the fact that it uses authentic vanilla. I also noticed that this yogurt is chunky — so much so that it flops into the bowl like a bowl of whipped topping and jiggles like Jell-O. Though, the flavor of Too Good's Greek yogurt feels... incomplete. While other brands offered this luscious mouthfeel that coated all of my taste buds, Too Good kind of just sat on my tongue and quickly dissipated when I swallowed. There's no lingering milkiness here, which is disappointing.

The brand touts its low-sugar qualities on its label, so I doubt that it would be one that would be up to adding more sugar to its yogurt — but in this case, I kind of think that it needs it. Besides the lacking sweetness, I found that this Greek yogurt really skimps out on the acidity that other brands, like Great Value, were able to offer. Real vanilla beans or not, this is one yogurt that you're better of skipping. Indeed, the flavor wasn't as bad as some of the more artificial-tasting flavors, but there's so much better that you can do than this brand.

If there's one name-brand I see associated with Greek yogurt time and time again, it's Chobani. Not only does the brand offer single-serve yogurt cups and large tubs, but it also carries a line of Flips — which are basically the adult version of YoCrunch — as well as its dessert-inspired Chobani Creations line. Chobani's flavors are innovative and more out of the box than the other brands I sampled; they offer coffee (which is weirdly intriguing), mixed berry, mango, confetti Flips (which is made with a birthday cake-flavored yogurt). For now, I'll stick to the plain yogurt — please and thank you.

This yogurt was very thin, despite the fact that it's made with just as much fat as the other brands that I sampled. Moreover, I didn't noticed that it had a super prevalent sweet taste, nor a strong vanilla flavor to carry it through. Though, I did get some of that signature Greek yogurt tanginess on the back of my throat. There wasn't any unpleasant aftertaste associated with this brand, and I found it to be a rather inoffensive option when it came to all of the brands that I sampled.

Since there wasn't anything super remarkable about Chobani's vanilla Greek yogurt, I have to say that price and value played a big part in how this yogurt ranked how it did. Chobani's tubs and single-serve yogurts were priced significantly higher than other brands — and I don't think there's anything here that really justifies spending that much money on something as simple as yogurt — which you might end up covering with fruit and granola anyway.

When I ate the Stop & Shop yogurt, one word came to mind: unremarkable. This yogurt certainly had a milky flavor to it, but other than that, there was very little sweetness or flavor to it. I didn't find any bright or flavorful vanilla notes, nor did I discover that it had a tanginess that gave it any depth (like Great Value did). Rather, the flavor was lackluster. It wasn't even priced that inexpensively compared to the other, premium brands like The Greek Gods and Chobani, so I don't have any reason to settle for mediocrity and buy this yogurt ever again.

Stop & Shop has other Greek yogurt options, including a plain version, but other than that, there's no fun flavor options to mix and match. It was really hard to decide whether to place this yogurt above or below Chobani, but ultimately, its slightly thicker consistency won out against the name-brand.

Great Value is known for offering a wide range of products at Walmart grocery stores around the country. It carries several Greek yogurt products on its shelves, including plain, strawberry, peach, black cherry, coconut vanilla, and some light versions of its flavors, as well. The Greek yogurt tub that I sampled for this review was priced significantly less than the more premium brands like Chobani and The Greek Gods, which would make it a great buy if you're looking for bulk yogurt. Moreover, the vanilla Greek yogurt comes in small cups as well as a large tub, which earns it some extra points in this race.

The texture of this yogurt was great. It was thick enough that you could easily distinguish it from a bowl of plain yogurt, and I found it drove home that signature, tangy flavor more than Chobani did. The sweetness level of this yogurt was also kept very much in check, to the point where I craved a little bit more sweetness to balance out some of those stray tart notes. The one thing that I think this yogurt was missing was a more authentic vanilla flavor. It had a stale undertone that really drove home the fact that it probably wasn't made with any real vanilla beans.

Make no mistake, though, this isn't a bad budget yogurt. It has a great mouthfeel and really embodies the signature tangy flavor that Greek yogurt can and should have. Plus, if you've covering it with a ton of toppings or using it in a baked good, you can easily hide that fake vanilla essence.

I knew I was going to have a problem with The Greek Gods yogurt when I saw that its label said "All taste, no tang." If you don't want a tangy yogurt, why the heck would you buy Greek yogurt?

This label was, luckily, a little bit of a joke — because this yogurt has just a little bit of tang to it. Is it as puckering as I wish it was? No, but it has enough bite to help quell the sweetness of the sugar and the vanilla. Like my other top-ranked yogurts, this one was quite thick and scoopable. Overall, its texture was indicative of a quality Greek yogurt. While I felt that it had a milky mouthfeel, as I chewed (yes, The Greek Gods' yogurt is that thick), I didn't find much by way of sweetness. I tried this yogurt after the bettergoods' honey yogurt and found that brand had a better balance of sweetness than this honey yogurt from The Greek Gods did.

There are tons of uses for this yogurt, from adding it to your favorite baked goods for extra moisture or layering up a parfait. It slipped slightly behind BetterGoods and Cabot in this race because of the lack of tanginess and underdeveloped sweetness, but it would still be a product I would buy again. However, I should note that it was the priciest product that I sampled in this ranking, and I honestly don't think I could justify spending extra on it when there are better, more flavor-balanced yogurts out there.

Aldi's Friendly Farms yogurt is a go-to in my household, simply because it's so inexpensive. Honestly, the price of this product was one of the driving forces for me wanting to sample all of these other brands. Had I been missing out on what other grocery stores were offering because I was being stingy? Well after trying this yogurt, I can confidently say that I can find everything I need in more in the aisles of my local, trusted Aldi store — to some extent.

This non-fat Greek yogurt has the perfect balance of creaminess and tanginess, which earns it big brownie points in my book. However, after tasting so many of the other yogurt brands, I quickly came to realize that the yogurt that I have grown so attached to over the years just lacks that sweetness and vanilla flavor. I absolutely load my morning bowl up with sweet granola and fruit, so it makes sense that I hadn't noticed the flavor pitfalls of the Friendly Farms brand in the past. But, when I taste it with nothing else added to it, I find myself searching for those bold flavor notes that I found in brands like Cabot and bettergoods. Is it a matter of "You don't know what you had until it's gone?" Maybe.

Ultimately, although its flavor isn't as top-of-the-line as some of the other brands I sampled, the consistency is passable for a Greek yogurt and the tanginess is far more pronounced than brands like Great Value and Stop & Shop. Moreover, it seems kind of silly that I would spend upwards of $3 more on a yogurt that's going to get hidden by granola anyway. In short, Friendly Farms is a very budget-friendly yogurt that will make you sacrifice on flavor to some extent, but is still more cost-effective than every other brand on this list.

I'm a Vermonter at heart, so I was excited to see a container of Cabot's Greek yogurt in my local Walmart. The farmer-owned cooperative is one of the state's mainstays, and I've enjoyed enough Cabot cheddar over the years to keep this brand on my own personal radar. The options for its Greek yogurt are pretty slim; it only carries plain and low-fat options of its vanilla and plain yogurts.

Cabot proves that you don't have to reinvent the wheel (erm, yogurt aisle) to make a quality product that everyone will love. This Greek yogurt is fantastic in all sense of the word. For one, it's just as thick as Too Good's — and it also boasts the same vanilla bean flecks throughout. Moreover, the color of this yogurt is slightly nude, which makes it all the more attractive when paired with a handful of fresh berries. Moreover, I found that the tanginess of this yogurt was far better than Chobani's, though I would have still liked to see a bit more acidity. I didn't find the sweetness of this yogurt to be too oppressive; rather, it made the tartness of this yogurt a bit more even-keeled.

If you buy this yogurt, anticipate a strong, milky flavor. This isn't as a bad thing by any means, as it clues you into the fact that this is a well-made, tasty dairy product. It isn't super expensive, either, which makes it one of my top picks among the Greek yogurt brands that I sampled. But, it just doesn't have the home-run flavor balance of my top-ranked brand.

I think that bettergoods' is Walmart's attempt to market to hipper, younger audiences — and outcompete Target's Good & Gather brand. These products have flashy colors and hip labels, but it's what is inside that really counts. Luckily, the flavor of this yogurt is quite delicious and beats out Walmart's other private label, Great Value, in a heartbeat.

This yogurt, right off the bat, is much creamier than the Great Value yogurt. It comes off the sides of the container and goops out into the bowl with ease. I don't notice the same oppressive tanginess with this yogurt that I noticed with some of the lower-ranked brands. Its flavor was milky, while the yogurt itself sticks to the back of your mouth with a pleasant sweetness and texture. Although this yogurt boasts honey as one of its ingredients, and I could detect a slightly more floral flavor, I don't think that this brand takes on the cloying sweetness that I'd associate with a sweetened yogurt brand. Rather, the taste and mouthfeel is quite full and remarkable, which earns it a spot among some of my favorites.

I would say that if you're looking for a slightly sweeter yogurt, you'd want to select this one over Cabot. Moreover, the price of this one is just slightly cheaper, which moves it ahead in my ranking.

I collected a range of yogurt brands for this review, including store-brands and name-brand products. I opted to purchase only vanilla yogurts (though some brands only offered honey vanilla flavors) to keep the review as consistent and as objective as possible. When it came time to sample, I poured each yogurt into a bowl and sampled it without any toppings or accompaniments.

Flavor and texture are the two most important factors I considered for this ranking. A great Greek yogurt should have a thick texture and a solid balance of tanginess, sweetness, and milkiness. Moreover, the vanilla flavor should also be pronounced, but not lean too artificial so that it skews the flavor of the entire product. I also considered the value of each product, as it relates to the yogurt's overall quality and its price point. In other words, I'd be willing to pay more for a higher-quality yogurt, but that price has to be justified in some capacity.