What's in this guide
- At a glance
- Credit where it's due
- Ingredients
- The format difference
- Sourcing
- Protein and satiety
- Who should switch
- FAQ
Chomps is one of the most recognized names in the healthier-snack category, and people ask us constantly how our beef sticks compare. The short answer: Chomps is a genuinely clean product. But clean and best aren't the same thing, and the differences between these two sticks go deeper than the label.
This isn't a hit piece. Chomps helped build the market for better meat snacks, and we respect that. What we can offer is a category-by-category breakdown so you can decide which stick is right for you.
- Chomps uses grass-fed, finished beef and keeps the ingredient list clean. That's real and worth acknowledging.
- Both are ground, cased beef sticks. The real difference is the cut and the process. Farmer Bill's grinds whole-muscle cuts and air-dries them in natural sheep casing with no added water. Chomps grinds its beef, adds water, and cooks it in a collagen casing.
- Farmer Bill's delivers 16g of protein per ounce. Chomps delivers 10g per 1.15 oz serving, and lists water as its second ingredient.
- Sourcing matters. Farmer Bill's uses 100% American beef. Chomps sources its grass-fed beef internationally and domestically, most prominently from Cape Grim in Tasmania, Australia.
- Satiety is different. The higher fat-and-protein density of an air-dried, water-free stick keeps you full longer than a leaner, cooked one.
At a glance
Both are grass-fed beef sticks with short ingredient lists. Here's how they compare on the things that actually matter.
| Feature | Chomps | Farmer Bill's |
|---|---|---|
| Beef source | Intl + domestic; notably Cape Grim, Tasmania (grass-fed) | American pastures (grass-fed) |
| Processing method | Ground, then cooked | Ground from whole-muscle, then air-dried |
| Casing | Beef collagen | Natural sheep |
| Protein per ounce | ~8.7g (10g per 1.15 oz) | 16g per oz |
| Fat per ounce | ~6g (7g per 1.15 oz) | 11g per oz |
| Added water | Yes (second ingredient) | No |
| Cure method | Cultured celery powder | Apple cider vinegar + salt |
| Added nitrates | None synthetic (celery powder is a natural source) | None |
| Sugar-free | Yes | Yes |
| Artificial flavors | No | No |
| Texture | Uniform, smooth | Varied, with visible fat and darker meat |
| Color | Pink-brown | Dark, rich brown |
| Production | Mass produced | Handmade, small batch |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
Credit where it's due
Chomps paved the way for the healthier stick category. Before brands like them pushed into mainstream retail, the snack stick aisle was basically Slim Jim territory. They walked so brands like ours could run.
Their ingredients are fairly clean. They maintain a grass-fed and finished standard, which no one can take away from them. Their heart is in the right place as far as giving customers a cleaner product. And the convenience factor is real: Chomps is widely available, which matters to a lot of people.
If you want a clean-ish snack stick at a reasonable price and you're not thinking hard about sourcing or protein density, Chomps is a defensible choice. We can't beat them on price, and we're not trying to.
Ingredients
Chomps' ingredient list is short and recognizable. Celery powder is the one ingredient that matters for certain customers.
Cultured celery powder is a natural source of nitrates, which is why it functions as a curing agent. For most people, that's a non-issue. For those specifically trying to avoid nitrates in any form, it's worth knowing that "celery powder" on a label isn't meaningfully different from a nitrate cure. It just goes by a different name.
We cure our sticks with apple cider vinegar and salt. Combined with the air-drying process, that's all the preservation the meat needs. No celery powder, no nitrates in any form.
Both products are sugar-free. Neither uses synthetic flavoring agents. On the core ingredient cleanliness question, the gap between Chomps and Farmer Bill's is narrow. The bigger differences are in how the beef is processed and where it comes from.
The format difference
Start with what's the same: both are beef sticks, and both are ground. What's different is the casing, the cut of beef that goes in, and what happens to it after.
Chomps uses a beef collagen casing. We use a natural sheep casing, which gives more snap and is the more traditional choice. That's a texture decision, not a health one.
Chomps grinds grass-fed beef, adds water, stuffs it into a collagen casing, and cooks it. The result is a smooth, uniform stick with a pink-brown color and an even texture. The label doesn't say which cut of beef is used.
We start with whole-muscle cuts, grind them, stuff them into natural sheep casing, then air-dry instead of cooking, with no added water. You can see the difference: a dark, rich brown color, visible fat and darker muscle, nothing uniform. The texture has real chew.
The way I think about it, this is the difference between a steak and a hot dog. A lot of snack sticks in this category are built from trim, the cuttings left after the primal cuts come off. That isn't an insult: trim is still beef, and plenty of good food is made from it.
But it's a different category than a whole-muscle cut, the same way a hot dog is a different category than a steak. Chomps doesn't say which cut goes into theirs. We start with whole muscle, and we'll tell you so.
Customers switching from Chomps for the first time usually say the same thing: it's more beefy. That's the right word for it. The cut that goes in and the air-drying, not the grind, are what you taste.
Whole-muscle cuts bring more of the connective tissue and fat that give a stick its chew and beefier flavor into the grind.1 And because the meat is air-dried with no added water, the protein concentrates, so there's more of it in every ounce.
Sourcing
Chomps sources its grass-fed beef from international and domestic suppliers, most prominently Cape Grim in Tasmania, Australia.2 The sticks are made in the US, but a good portion of the beef travels from the other side of the world first. Most people don't think about how long that supply chain actually is.
Our beef comes from American ranchers. Pasture-raised, American-sourced, with a much shorter path from the animal to the stick in your hand. We're serving customers in the US with beef raised in the US, by ranchers who have an American interest in mind.
That's not flag-waving for the sake of it. It's a real difference in traceability and supply chain length. When you buy from a foreign exporter, you're trusting a chain you can't inspect. When the beef comes from American pastures, the accountability sits closer to home.
For customers who've already moved to buying American beef at the grocery store, buying an imported beef stick is a quiet contradiction. Our sourcing closes that gap.
You can read more about why sourcing decisions like this matter to us on our mission page.
Protein and satiety
The protein difference is real, and it comes down to two things: added water and the cut of meat.
Chomps delivers 10g of protein per 1.15 oz serving. Farmer Bill's delivers 16g per ounce. That's not a rounding difference. It's a gap that matters if you're eating these sticks as an actual protein source rather than just a snack.
Most of the gap is water. Chomps lists water as its second ingredient, and water adds weight without adding any protein. Air-drying adds no water and removes more of what's there, so the protein concentrates into each ounce.
The cut matters too: a whole-muscle stick starts denser than a ground, water-added one. It's the same reason an ounce of dried beef out-proteins an ounce of fresh.
The satiety difference is something customers notice on their own. A Chomps stick is easy to eat and easy to forget. You're hungry again soon after.
Our sticks carry about 11g of fat per ounce, where a Chomps stick has 7g in a 1.15 oz serving. Fat combined with protein is what actually keeps you full, and at that density the effect lasts longer. If you're eating between meals and need something that actually holds you for a few hours, that difference matters.
For a deeper look at how air-drying concentrates protein compared to a cooked, water-added stick, we broke it down here: Why Biltong.
Who should switch
If you're happy with Chomps, that's a legitimate answer. It's a clean product at a fair price, and if the protein content works for you, keep buying it.
But if you want American beef and you want better flavor, the switch to Farmer Bill's is obvious. If you've ever eaten a Chomps stick and immediately wanted another one without actually feeling full, that's the satiety gap working against you. If you care about where your beef comes from and you'd prefer a shorter supply chain with domestic ranchers, that's another reason.
Our sticks are more expensive. Small-batch production, whole muscle cuts, and American sourcing don't come cheap. We're a premium product and we price accordingly. For customers who've decided they want the best version of this thing, we think they'll find it's a different category entirely.
And the price gap is smaller than it looks: because each stick is bigger and far more protein-dense, the cost per gram of protein comes out close to Chomps.
If you want to see what that difference tastes like, our best sellers are a good place to start, or build your own selection with mix and match bundles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chomps healthy?
Chomps is a reasonably healthy snack stick by most standards. The ingredients are short and recognizable, the beef is grass-fed and finished, and there's no added sugar or artificial flavoring.
The main nuance is that celery powder, which appears in Chomps' ingredient list, is a natural source of nitrates and functions as a curing agent. For most people this is a non-issue, but if you're specifically avoiding nitrates in all forms, celery powder is not meaningfully different from a nitrate cure. Overall, Chomps is a cleaner option than most mass-market snack sticks.
What's the difference between Chomps and Farmer Bill's beef sticks?
The core difference is the cut of beef and how it's processed. Chomps grinds grass-fed beef and cooks it into a uniform stick. Farmer Bill's grinds whole-muscle cuts and air-dries them instead of cooking.
This changes the protein content, the texture, the flavor, and the satiety. Chomps delivers around 8.7g of protein per ounce, and lists water as its second ingredient. Farmer Bill's delivers 16g per ounce. On sourcing, Chomps' grass-fed beef comes from international and domestic suppliers, notably Cape Grim, Tasmania, while Farmer Bill's is 100% American.
Why does Farmer Bill's have more protein per ounce than Chomps?
Mostly water. Chomps lists water as its second ingredient, which adds weight but no protein, while an air-dried stick has none and loses more moisture in the drying, so the protein concentrates into each ounce. The other factor is the cut: a whole-muscle stick starts denser than a ground, water-added one. No added water plus a better starting cut is what produces the higher protein-per-ounce number.
Does Chomps have nitrates?
Chomps doesn't add synthetic nitrates, but celery powder, which is on their ingredient list, is a natural source of nitrates. It functions as a curing agent under a different name. This is a common practice in "nitrate-free" products across the industry. Farmer Bill's uses apple cider vinegar and salt to cure, with no celery powder and no nitrates in any form.
Where does Chomps source their beef?
Chomps sources its grass-fed beef from a mix of international and domestic suppliers, most prominently Cape Grim in Tasmania, Australia. It's a genuine grass-fed-and-finished standard, but a good portion of the beef travels from the other side of the world before the sticks are made in the US. Farmer Bill's sources from American pastures, which keeps the supply chain short and domestic.
Are beef sticks a good protein source?
They can be. The quality of the protein depends heavily on the cut of beef and the processing method. An air-dried stick made from whole-muscle cuts, like Farmer Bill's, delivers 16g of protein per ounce, which makes it a meaningful protein source rather than just a snack.
Sticks with added water generally land lower in protein per ounce, because the water adds weight without any protein. If you're eating beef sticks for protein, not just for a snack, check the protein-per-ounce number and the ingredient list. Added water near the top is a sign the number will be lower.
What makes an air-dried beef stick different from a cooked one?
An air-dried stick isn't cooked. The combination of salt, vinegar, and slow air-drying cures the meat and pulls moisture out instead of cooking it.
That changes what you get. Because the water is drawn out rather than locked in, an air-dried stick is denser, chewier, and darker, with more protein in each ounce. A cooked, water-added stick comes out smoother and more uniform. Air-dried beef also just tastes beefier.
Which beef stick is better for staying full between meals?
An air-dried stick with higher fat and protein content will keep you fuller longer. Fat and protein together slow digestion and signal satiety in a way that a leaner, cooked snack stick doesn't. Customers who switch from Chomps to Farmer Bill's frequently notice they're not immediately hungry again after eating. If satiety is a priority, a higher fat-and-protein density is what you're looking for.
Is Farmer Bill's worth the higher price compared to Chomps?
That depends on what you're optimizing for. If the lowest price per stick is the goal, Chomps wins.
But look at what the higher price buys. A Farmer Bill's stick is bigger and packs about twice the protein, so even though it costs more per stick, the cost per gram of protein lands right about where Chomps does.
If you want American-sourced beef, higher protein density, no nitrates in any form, and a beefier, chewier eating experience, Farmer Bill's is the better product. We're not trying to be the cheapest option in the snack aisle. We're trying to be the best one.
What are the healthiest beef sticks you can buy?
The healthiest beef sticks share a few common traits: short ingredient lists with no seed oils or artificial preservatives, grass-fed beef, no added sugar, and a high protein-per-ounce number that isn't watered down. Air-dried sticks made from whole-muscle cuts tend to score highest, since they add no water. If you're comparing options, look at the protein per ounce, check whether celery powder appears in the ingredient list, and find out where the beef is sourced. Those three data points tell you most of what you need to know.
Sources
- Purslow, P.P., Muscle and Meat Science: Intramuscular Connective Tissue and Muscle Fibre Structure, Royal Agricultural University, 2018. View ↩
- Chomps, Our Products, Ingredients & Nutrition. Beef sourced "from both international and domestic sources," 100% grass-fed/finished, sticks made in the US. View. On Cape Grim, Tasmania sourcing: CEO Peter Maldonado, New Hope Network. View ↩