Beef Stick Calories: How Many Calories Are in a Beef Stick? (8 Brands Compared)
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A typical beef stick has 70 to 130 calories, and most 1 oz sticks land between 90 and 110. The calorie count matters less than where those calories come from. In some sticks most of the energy is protein. In others it's mostly fat. Here are the real beef stick calories for eight popular brands, and the one calculation that tells you which kind of stick you're holding.
Billi Tong's droëwors is on the launch list. South Africa's air-dried beef stick, no sugar in the cure. We're not open yet. The only way in early is a Founding 50 spot, which gets first dibs on every new product before it hits the site.
How many calories are in a beef stick?
A standard 1 oz beef stick has about 90 to 110 calories, with leaner sticks as low as 70 and fattier sticks such as Slim Jim and Jack Link's at 120 to 130. A 0.5 oz mini stick, such as a Chomps mini, has about 45. Most of the difference comes from fat content, not size.
Beef stick nutrition facts by brand
Here's the beef sticks nutrition breakdown for eight popular meat snacks, straight from each brand's current label. Serving sizes differ, so the calories per ounce column is the fair comparison.
| Stick (serving) | Calories | Calories per oz | Protein | Fat | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chomps Original (1.15 oz) | 100 | 87 | 10 g | 7 g | 380 mg |
| Chomps mini "Chomplings" (0.5 oz) | 45 | 90 | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Nick's Sticks Beef (1.7 oz) | 110 | 65 | 10 g | 8 g | 390 mg |
| Country Archer Original (1 oz) | 90 | 90 | 8 g | 6 g | 390 mg |
| Paleovalley Original (1 oz) | 70 | 70 | 6 g | 5 g | 220 mg |
| Vermont Smoke & Cure Original (1 oz) | 100 | 100 | 6 g | 8 g | 370 mg |
| Jack Link's Original Beef Stick (0.92 oz) | 120 | 130 | 5 g | 11 g | 430 mg |
| Slim Jim Original Giant (0.97 oz) | 130 | 134 | 6 g | not listed | 450 mg |
| Ayoba droëwors (1 oz) | 90 | 90 | 16 g | 2.5 g | 350 mg |
Sources: brand and retailer listings checked October 2026: Chomps (fat from the Food Lion listing), Nick's Sticks, Country Archer, Paleovalley, Vermont Smoke & Cure, Jack Link's via H-E-B, Slim Jim, and Ayoba droëwors via Whole Foods. Labels change, so check the pack.
Where beef stick calories come from
A beef stick is meat, fat, salt and a blend of spices such as black pepper and garlic in a casing, usually a beef collagen casing. Most American snack sticks are fully cooked or smoked after stuffing. Almost all of its calories come from two places: protein at 4 calories per gram, and fat at 9 calories per gram. That's why two sticks with the same calorie count can be completely different snacks.
Run the numbers on a few labels and the gap is obvious:
- Country Archer Original: 6 g fat is about 54 calories, 8 g protein about 32. Roughly 60% of the calories are fat.
- Jack Link's Original: 11 g fat is about 99 calories, 5 g protein about 20. Roughly 80% of the calories are fat.
- Lean droëwors: per the Ayoba label, 2.5 g fat is about 23 calories and 16 grams of protein about 64. Only about a quarter of the calories are fat.
Same aisle, same shape, very different food. If you're eating beef sticks for protein, the quickest check is protein per 100 calories: near 10 g means mostly meat, under 5 g means mostly fat. The brand-by-brand version of that is in best beef sticks.
Fat isn't the enemy, by the way. Beef sticks are keto friendly and paleo-friendly almost across the board, and if you're on keto a fattier stick may be exactly what you want. It just helps to know which one you're buying.
Carbs, sugar and sodium
Beef sticks are close to zero carbs. Most labels show 0 to 2 g of carbohydrate per stick, which comes from spices, onion and garlic, or a little sugar. Zero sugar sticks skip the sugar-fed culture: Archer uses encapsulated citric acid for its tang, and Chomps uses lactic acid with no added sugar. Sweeter flavors such as teriyaki can carry a few grams. Cheaper sticks may add dextrose, corn syrup or a filler such as soy, and a few add MSG. More on reading those labels in sugar-free meat sticks.
Sodium is the nutrient to watch. Most sticks have 350 to 450 mg, about 15 to 20% of the daily value (DV) on US labels, whether the stick is hickory smoked, jalapeno or plain sea salt and pepper. Paleovalley is the low outlier at 220 mg.
What about the cure?
The nutritional information panel won't show it, but most sticks are cured with sodium nitrite or with cultured celery powder, which supplies naturally occurring nitrate that becomes nitrite. Neither adds meaningful calories. They're a preservative step, not a nutrient. Read nitrate-free biltong for the long version.
Beef stick vs beef jerky calories
Ounce for ounce, beef jerky is usually leaner than a beef stick, because jerky is whole-muscle meat and sticks are ground meat with fat mixed in. That usually gives jerky more grams of protein for the calories. The catch is sugar: many jerky marinades are sweet, which adds carbs. A lean, zero-sugar stick and a sugary jerky can end up close on calories. Read both labels.
Either way, watch portion sizes. A single stick is a quick snack. A whole bag of high protein snacks in the car is a meal's worth of sodium.
Droëwors: the stick with more protein per calorie
Droëwors (DROO-uh-vors) is South Africa's air-dried beef sausage. It isn't cooked or smoked. It's spiced, cased and dried in moving air for days, which drives out water and leaves dense, savory meat behind. A lean droëwors stick lands at the same 90 calories per ounce as a typical beef stick, but with about twice the protein. Same calories, more meat, which makes it one of the most protein-rich snack sticks you can buy. Read is droëwors healthy for the full nutritional picture, including the fattier traditional style.
Billi Tong's droëwors is on the launch list. Until we open, the only way in early is a Founding 50 spot.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a Slim Jim?
A Slim Jim Original Giant stick has 130 calories, with 6 g of protein and 1 g of sugar, according to the brand's listing in October 2026.
How many calories are in a Jack Link's beef stick?
A 0.92 oz Jack Link's Original Beef Stick has 120 calories, 5 g of protein, 11 g of fat and 430 mg of sodium, according to the H-E-B listing in October 2026.
Are beef sticks a healthy snack?
They can be. A good beef snack has no sugar in the ingredients, 9 to 10 g of protein per 100 calories and moderate sodium. The full checklist is in healthy beef sticks.
Are beef sticks good for weight loss?
Lean, zero-sugar beef sticks can help because protein keeps you full for relatively few calories. Fattier sticks with 120 to 130 calories and only 5 to 6 g of protein are less useful. Compare protein per 100 calories.
How many calories are in beef sticks per 100g?
Most beef sticks have roughly 230 to 470 calories per 100 g. Lean sticks such as Nick's Sticks and Paleovalley sit around 230 to 250, mid-range sticks such as Country Archer near 320, and fattier sticks such as Slim Jim and Jack Link's around 460 to 470.
Nutrition figures come from brand and retailer listings in October 2026. This is general information, not dietary advice.
Same calories, more meat
Billi Tong's droëwors is coming: South African-style, air-dried for days, no sugar in the cure. The only way in before we open is a Founding 50 spot: $100 for a first-batch founder box of biltong, a numbered founder spot, and first dibs on everything new, droëwors included.
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