Microalgae is fairly expensive, so I think macroalgae is more promising—most of it is low protein, but there are high protein varieties. Leaf protein concentrate (e.g. Leaft) seems promising as well.
Plant-based meat prices per pound are based on frozen and refrigerated plant-based meat subcategories from SPINS year ending 12/​1/​24. Animal-based meat prices per pound are based on data for fresh meat subcategories from the Circana year ending Dec. 2024.
Fresh meat typically costs more, and it seems like this includes whole muscle meat, so I think if you do a fair comparison, PBM is more like double the cost of ground beef.
Microalgae is fairly expensive, so I think macroalgae is more promising—most of it is low protein, but there are high protein varieties. Leaf protein concentrate (e.g. Leaft) seems promising as well.
Fresh meat typically costs more, and it seems like this includes whole muscle meat, so I think if you do a fair comparison, PBM is more like double the cost of ground beef.